Surah Yusuf (12) — Ayah 109

(Ayah109) ➊ {وَ مَاۤ اَرْسَلْنَا مِنْ قَبْلِكَ … :} This refutes those people who were not willing to accept you (ﷺ) as a prophet because you were a human being. They used to say, “Why do angels not descend upon us?” (See Furqan: 21) “This messenger eats and drinks like us and walks in the markets.” (See Furqan: 7) Allah Almighty said that before you, We sent all the messengers {’’رِجَالٌ‘‘} (as men) only. The difference between them and other men was that We sent revelation to them, which others were deprived of.

➋ { اِلَّا رِجَالًا:} This also refutes those who say that some women were also prophets, such as Hawwa, Asiya, Sarah, the mother of Musa, and Maryam (peace be upon them). Hafiz Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) writes that these women did receive revelation or glad tidings through angels, but this does not necessitate that they were prophets in the well-known sense. A prophet is one upon whom the laws of Shariah are revealed, and this type of revelation was never sent to any woman; this honor has always belonged to men. Although the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) explicitly stated that there will be no prophet after me, in this verse there is an additional, prior refutation of the false claim of those women who claimed prophethood after him, such as the woman named Sajah. Thus, it is said that before you, We sent men as messengers; women have no part in this, because a messenger has to invite men, face opposition, and even fight battles, and these tasks are not within the capacity of women.

➌ { مِنْ اَهْلِ الْقُرٰى:} Most scholars use this to prove that prophets have always come from among the inhabitants of cities and towns, not from the Bedouins or desert dwellers, because Bedouins are naturally unserious and harsh in temperament. However, Ibn Ashur (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “This restriction is relative, not absolute.” That is, what you are saying—that an angel should descend from the sky—is not correct; all prophets were human and residents of earthly settlements, not descended from the sky. The proof is that Yaqub (peace be upon him) lived among the Bedouins and was a prophet, as Yusuf (peace be upon him) said: «{ وَ جَآءَ بِكُمْ مِّنَ الْبَدْوِ }» [ یوسف : ۱۰۰ ] Or it may be said that Yaqub (peace be upon him) also lived in a settlement, but compared to the developed and civilized city of Egypt, the settlement of Canaan was also like a Bedouin or desert area, as mentioned earlier.

➍ { اَفَلَمْ يَسِيْرُوْا فِي الْاَرْضِ … :} The disbelievers did not believe in the Hereafter, so to make them understand, it was said by referring to events that occurred in this world: when they traveled to Syria, did they not see the houses of the people of Thamud carved into the mountains, the ruins of the towns of the people of Lut, and then the pyramids of Egypt, so that they might take heed?

➎ { وَ لَدَارُ الْاٰخِرَةِ خَيْرٌ …:} Although the previous discourse required that it be said that the fate awaiting these disbelievers in the Hereafter is even worse than this, Allah Almighty, due to their disbelief in it, left their mention and instead mentioned the outcome of the righteous, from which their own outcome becomes evident by itself; in the terminology of rhetoric, this is called ihtibak.

19. 1. This verse is a definitive ruling that all prophets have been men; no woman has ever attained the rank of prophethood. Similarly, their origin was from a "qaryah," which includes towns, villages, and cities. None of them were from the Bedouins (desert dwellers), because Bedouins are generally harsher in temperament and rougher in manners, whereas city dwellers are comparatively gentle, mild, and well-mannered, and these qualities are necessary for prophethood.

109. And before you, We sent only men as Messengers, from among the people of the towns, to whom We revealed [103]. Have they not traveled through the earth and seen what was the end of those before them? And surely, the home of the Hereafter is better for those who fear Allah. Do you not then understand?

[103]
Why is it necessary for the Messenger to be from the same nation and to be a human being?

This is, in fact, an answer to an objection raised by the deniers of prophethood in every era, as well as by the disbelievers of Makkah, that how can we believe in the prophethood and messengership of a man like ourselves, who has all the human needs and weaknesses as we do. Without mentioning this objection, its answer is being given in this verse. That is, all the prophets spent their childhood and youth before their people, so that their life before prophethood could serve as a testimony to their call, and their people could fully understand their message. And if We had sent a stranger from outside as a prophet, would they have been able to understand his message? Then, if they could not even understand, how could they have believed? Then, when no other situation is possible except this, what room is left for such an objection? And the second aspect is that those people who, by making such objections, refused to accept the call of the prophets, should at least have considered their outcome. Then, from this, it could also be concluded that when this was the fate of the deniers of truth in this world, then in the Hereafter it will be even worse. Also, those who reformed themselves in this world and feared Allah, not only were they good in this world, but their outcome in the Hereafter will be even better.

No woman has ever been a prophetess:

In this verse, two additional points are incidentally learned. One is that no woman has ever been made a prophet in any era. The second is that no prophet was ever sent to a Bedouin or wild region. They were born in large towns or cities, and those were the centers of their preaching.