Sūrat al-Anbiyāʾ
Section 3 of 21 · Surah Studies · Mufti Abdul Rahman Mangera
Only Men Were Sent Before You
Another thing these mushrikīn would do — and this is directly about the mushrikīn and their response to the Qur'an, for it is the Qur'an that is being discussed here. There are a few things they would say.
First, they would say of this whole claim of his to be the messenger that he is not truly a prophet; that he is only an insān, a human being like everyone else. And, they would say, he cannot furnish miracles of the kind the earlier prophets used to furnish, as they may have heard of the staff of Mūsā (peace be upon him) and the like. What is this Qur'an? Give us some physical miracles. The prophets had physical miracles enough, of course; but these were only pretexts in any case.
بَلْ قَالُوٓا۟ أَضْغَـٰثُ أَحْلَـٰمٍۭ بَلِ ٱفْتَرَىٰهُ بَلْ هُوَ شَاعِرٌ فَلْيَأْتِنَا بِـَٔايَةٍ كَمَآ أُرْسِلَ ٱلْأَوَّلُونَ
“Further they said, “(The Qur’ān is) a mixture of jumble dreams. Rather, he (the prophet) has fabricated it. Rather, he is a poet. So, let him bring a sign to us, as the earlier ones were sent with.”” (21:5)
They say aḍghāthu aḥlāmin bal iftarāhu bal huwa shāʿir.
وَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَا قَبْلَكَ إِلَّا رِجَالًا نُّوحِىٓ إِلَيْهِمْ ۖ فَسْـَٔلُوٓا۟ أَهْلَ ٱلذِّكْرِ إِن كُنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
“And We did not send before you messengers except men whom We inspired with revelation. So, ask the people (having the knowledge) of the Message, if you do not know.” (21:7)
Allah answers this by saying that every single prophet who came before was a human being as well. None was an angel. They were all human beings, and all had human traits. There was none who was not a human being. They were all human beings, just like the Prophet (peace be upon him). Wa mā arsalnā qablaka illā rijālan nūḥī ilayhim: We sent before you only men, to whom We would reveal the message. And if you do not believe it — fa-sʾalū ahla al-dhikri in kuntum lā taʿlamūn: if you do not know, go and ask the people of knowledge. They were all men. There were no angels.
وَمَا جَعَلْنَـٰهُمْ جَسَدًا لَّا يَأْكُلُونَ ٱلطَّعَامَ وَمَا كَانُوا۟ خَـٰلِدِينَ
“We did not make them such bodies as ate no food, nor were they immortal.” (21:8)
Wa mā jaʿalnāhum jasadan lā yaʾkulūna al-ṭaʿām — wa mā kānū khālidīn: nor did they live for ever.
ثُمَّ صَدَقْنَـٰهُمُ ٱلْوَعْدَ فَأَنجَيْنَـٰهُمْ وَمَن نَّشَآءُ وَأَهْلَكْنَا ٱلْمُسْرِفِينَ
“Then We caused the promise to come true for them, so We saved them and those whom We willed, and destroyed the transgressors.” (21:9)
But whatever We promised through them, We fulfilled. So We saved them and whomever else We willed, and then those who were in excess We destroyed.