Surah Al-Kahf (18) — Ayah 110

(Ayah 110) ➊ { قُلْ اِنَّمَاۤ اَنَا بَشَرٌ مِّثْلُكُمْ …:} Out of the never-ending words of Allah, all the prophets and our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) brought words, but the disbelievers refused to believe in them because the bringers were human beings. In their view, a human could not be a messenger of Allah. See the exegesis of Surah Ibrahim (11) and Bani Isra'il (94). Look at these blind ones of intellect: they are not ready to accept the best-formed human as Allah's messenger, but they are accepting lifeless stones as deities. Allah Almighty said, say to them that I am nothing but a human like you; I am not a Lord, nor do I have any share in being a Lord, nor am I Knower of the unseen, nor am I the owner of any benefit or harm for myself or for you. Rather, I am only a human like you, a descendant of Adam (peace be upon him). I have parents, a wife and children, and I share with you in the need for food, drink, and countless other things. In birth, childhood, youth, old age, health, sickness, and death, I am just like you. Yes, Allah Almighty has favored me by granting me the honor of revelation to convey His words, whose fundamental principle is the worship of one Allah. So, accept my prophethood and believe in the oneness of Allah.

It should be clear that according to the Noble Qur'an, the messenger is a human whom Allah chooses for messengership. If someone says that a human cannot be a messenger, or says that a messenger cannot be a human, both have the same belief and there is no difference between them. Hafiz Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) has explained this verse as follows: "Say to these polytheists who deny your messengership that I am only a human like you. Then, whoever thinks I am a liar, let him bring a discourse like the one I have brought. See, I have told you about past events (such as the People of the Cave, Dhul-Qarnayn, etc.) exactly as they happened, without being Knower of the unseen. If Allah had not informed me, I could never have told you." This is also a good explanation.

➋ The meaning of {فَمَنْ كَانَ يَرْجُوْا لِقَآءَ رَبِّهٖ … : ’’ يَرْجُوْا ‘‘ ’’رَجَاءٌ‘‘} is hope, and within it is also fear that perhaps the hope may not be fulfilled. Thus, its meaning includes both hope and fear. By highlighting the relationship between the servant and his Lord, it is said that whoever hopes to meet his Lord and see Him, or fears His punishment at the time of meeting, two things are necessary for him: first, that he does righteous deeds, and righteous deeds are those which Allah Almighty has prescribed through His Messenger; everything else is innovation and misguidance. Second, that he does not associate anyone with his Lord in worship, neither by worshipping another nor by showing off, because worshipping other than Allah is major shirk, and showing off (riya) is minor shirk. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ قَالَ اللّٰهُ تَبَارَكَ وَ تَعَالٰی أَنَا أَغْنَی الشُّرَكَاءِ عَنِ الشِّرْكِ، مَنْ عَمِلَ عَمَلاً أَشْرَكَ فِيْهِ مَعِيَ غَيْرِيْ تَرَكْتُهُ وَ شِرْكَهُ ] [ مسلم، الزھد، باب تحریم الریاء : ۲۹۸۵، عن أبي ھریرۃ رضی اللہ عنہ ] "Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, says: I am more free from any need of partners than all partners. Whoever does a deed in which he associates someone else with Me, I leave that deed and its share. That is, I do not accept even the part of that deed which he did for Me, because someone else is also a partner in it, so I leave My share and give it to him; now let him take his reward from that one. I only accept the deed which is done entirely for Me, with no share for anyone else in it." Jundub (may Allah be pleased with him) says that I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: [ مَنْ سَمَّعَ سَمَّعَ اللّٰهُ بِهِ، وَ مَنْ يُرَائِيْ يُرَائِي اللّٰهُ بِهِ ] "Whoever acts to be heard (for fame), Allah will make his intention heard by all, and whoever acts to be seen by people, Allah will make him visible to all people." [ بخاری، الرقاق، باب الریاء والسمعۃ : ۶۴۹۹ ]

Umm al-Mu'minin Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that the king of Abyssinia, Najashi, who was a Christian, said to Ja'far ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him): "If you remember any part of the Book that was revealed to Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), then recite it to me." So Ja'far (may Allah be pleased with him) recited the beginning part of Surah Maryam to him. By Allah, upon hearing it, Najashi began to weep until his beard became wet, and all the priests sitting with him also began to weep until their books became wet. Then Najashi said: [ إِنَّ هٰذَا وَاللّٰهِ! وَالَّذِيْ جَاءَ بِهٖ مُوْسَی لَيَخْرُجُ مِنْ مِشْكَاةٍ وَاحِدَةٍ ] [ مسند أحمد : 202/1، ۲۰۳، ح : ۱۷۴۵، حسنہ محققوہ ] "By Allah! This word and the word which Musa (peace be upon him) brought are both coming from the same niche (source of light)."

110. 1. Therefore, I too cannot encompass the words of the Lord.
110. 2. However, I have the distinction that revelation comes to me. By virtue of this revelation, I have conveyed those matters regarding the Companions of the Cave and Dhul-Qarnayn which were revealed by Allah, upon which the thick layers of time had settled or whose reality had been lost in legends. Moreover, the most important command in this revelation is that the deity of all of you is only One.
110. 3. Righteous deed is that which is according to the Sunnah, that is, whoever believes in meeting his Lord should perform every deed according to the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ, and secondly, he should not associate anyone with Allah in worship, because both innovation and shirk are causes for the nullification of deeds. May Allah keep every Muslim safe from both. In the events of the migration to Abyssinia, it is mentioned that when the beginning part of Surah Maryam was recited by Ja'far bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) before the king of Abyssinia, Najashi, and his courtiers and nobles, all their beards became wet with tears, and Najashi said that this Qur'an and what Jesus (peace be upon him) has brought, all are rays of the same lamp (Fath al-Qadeer).

110. Say: I am only a human being like you [90]. (The difference is that) revelation is sent to me that your God is only One God. So whoever hopes to meet his Lord should do righteous deeds and not associate anyone in the worship of his Lord.

[90] This objection of the disbelievers and its answer have already been mentioned several times before, that is, I am also a human being like you: I eat, drink, walk, marry, and have wives. However, the difference is that I am also the Messenger of Allah. This answer was for those who did not accept you as a Messenger, and even before those who knew (i.e., the noble Companions), you admitted your human weaknesses several times, as is evident from the following hadiths.

1.
Your Repeated Admission of Being Human Before the Noble Companions:

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud ؓ narrates that once the Prophet ﷺ led the prayer and made some addition or omission in it. When he finished the prayer with salam, the people said, "O Messenger of Allah ﷺ, has a new command regarding the prayer come?" The Prophet ﷺ asked, "Why, what is the matter?" The people said, "You have performed such and such number of rak'ahs." Upon hearing this, the Prophet ﷺ turned back, faced the qiblah, performed two prostrations of forgetfulness (sahw), then finished with salam, then turned towards us and said: "If a new command regarding the prayer had come, I would certainly have informed you, but the fact is that I am also a man like you; just as you forget, I also forget. So when I forget, remind me, and when any of you is uncertain about his prayer, he should complete his prayer according to what he thinks is most likely, then finish with salam and perform two prostrations of forgetfulness." [بخاري، كتاب الصلوة۔ باب التوجه نحو القبلة]

2. Umm al-Mu'mineen Sayyidah Umm Salamah ؓ narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "I am also only a human being, and you come to me with your disputes, and sometimes it happens that one of you is more eloquent in presenting his case than the other, so I decide in his favor based on what I hear. Now, if I grant someone a right that belongs to his brother, then remember, I am giving him a piece of fire." [بخاري، كتاب الاحكام۔ باب موعظة الامام للخصوم]

From this hadith, it is also clear that the Prophet ﷺ did not possess knowledge of the unseen, as some people think.

3. Sayyiduna Rafi' bin Khadij ؓ narrates that when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came to Madinah, the people used to graft date palms. The Prophet ﷺ asked, "What are you doing?" The Companions ؓ replied, "We have always done this." The Prophet ﷺ said, "Perhaps it would be better if you did not do this." So the people stopped grafting, and the yield of dates decreased. The Companions ؓ mentioned this to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and he said: "I am also only a human being. When I command you regarding your religion, then act upon it, but when I say something from my own opinion, then I am only a man (i.e., I can also make a mistake)." [مسلم۔ كتاب الفضائل باب وجوب امتثال ماقاله، دون ما ذكره، من معائش الدنيا على سبيل الراي]

Those Who Fall Into Excess or Negligence Regarding Your Status:

We felt the need to mention these hadiths because the Ummah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ has fallen into excess and negligence regarding him. Some people insist that he was not a human being at all, but rather light (nur). These hadiths are recorded to explain to them and as a proof against them. The other group, which fell into negligence, brought him down to the level of an ordinary human being and argued that "innama" is a word of restriction, whereas "innama" only serves to distinguish between divinity and servitude, meaning that there is no share of divinity in the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. This does not negate the perfections of prophethood. In Bukhari, under the chapter "Signs of Prophethood in Islam," hundreds of your miracles are mentioned. Therefore, considering the Messenger of Allah ﷺ as an ordinary human being like any other is extreme disrespect and grave ignorance.

[91] That is, whoever longs to meet Allah and wishes that this meeting be pleasant, he should continue to perform righteous deeds while fearing Allah, but with the condition that there is not even a trace of shirk in the worship of Allah. Firstly, he should worship Him alone with sincerity, and secondly, he should not associate anyone with Him in His worship, and the ways of worship, veneration, and supplication that are legislated for Allah should not be performed for anyone else.