Surah Al-Muminoon (23) — Ayah 24

(Ayah 24) ➊ { فَقَالَ الْمَلَؤُا الَّذِيْنَ كَفَرُوْا مِنْ قَوْمِهٖ :} It appears that this nation had clearly distinct tribes, and the tribe of Noah (peace be upon him) itself was at the forefront of denial. Therefore, to highlight the disgrace of denial and objection coming from one's own people, it is said in {’’ مِنْ قَوْمِهٖ ‘‘}. (Biqā‘ī) In this, there is comfort for our Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), because his closest relative, Abu Lahab, was his most severe opponent. (See Surah Lahab) A poet has said:
{وَ ظُلْمُ ذَوِي الْقُرْبٰي أَشَدُّ مَضَاضَةً ¤ عَلَي الْمَرْئِ مِنْ وَقْعِ الْحُسَامِ الْمُهَنَّدِ}
"And the oppression of relatives is more painful in its affliction to a person than being struck by an Indian sword."
➋ {مَا هٰذَاۤ اِلَّا بَشَرٌ مِّثْلُكُمْ :} The commentator Razi said: "Allah Almighty mentioned five doubts of these people, but did not answer any of them, because with a little reflection, their futility becomes clear." Their first doubt was that he is a human like you. Biqā‘ī said: "They did not accept that a human could be a prophet, so it would have been necessary for them not to accept that a human is made of clay, or that a drop of water becomes a clot, or that a clot of blood becomes a lump of flesh..." Ibn Juzayy said in al-Tashīl: "How astonishing it is that they did not accept a human as a messenger, but accepted a stone as a lord." Such is the intellect of a polytheist. Some people of our time, who are hereditary Muslims, accept Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) as a prophet based on what they have heard from their ancestors, but do not accept him as a human. The people of old used to say that a human cannot be a messenger, and these people say that a messenger cannot be a human. The result of both statements is the same. The Qur'an has repeatedly refuted the idea that a messenger cannot be a human or that a human cannot be a messenger. See Surah al-A‘rāf (63–69), Yūnus (2), Hūd (27–31), Yūsuf (109), Ra‘d (38), Ibrāhīm (10, 11), Nahl (43), Banī Isrā’īl (94, 95), Kahf (110), Anbiyā’ (3), Mu’minūn (33, 34, 47), Furqān (7–20), Shu‘arā’ (154, 186), and Surah Yā Sīn (15).
➌ { يُرِيْدُ اَنْ يَّتَفَضَّلَ عَلَيْكُمْ:} This is the second doubt which the disbelieving leaders presented to make the prophets insignificant among the masses: that he wants to gain superiority over you. Most disbelievers said the same about their prophets, that they are hungry for power. Pharaoh and his chiefs said this to Moses and Aaron (peace be upon them): « قَالُوْۤا اَجِئْتَنَا لِتَلْفِتَنَا عَمَّا وَجَدْنَا عَلَيْهِ اٰبَآءَنَا وَ تَكُوْنَ لَكُمَا الْكِبْرِيَآءُ فِي الْاَرْضِ» [ یونس : ۷۸ ] "They said, 'Have you come to us to turn us away from that upon which we found our forefathers, and so that you two may have greatness in the land?'" As if leadership and superiority are the hereditary right of these polytheists alone, and no one else has a right to it. The answer to this objection is that if the messenger seeks superiority due to his position, then being superior is his right, so that no one feels ashamed to follow him. And if he seeks superiority out of arrogance and pride, then this is a slander against him, because no one is more humble than them.
➍ { وَ لَوْ شَآءَ اللّٰهُ لَاَنْزَلَ مَلٰٓىِٕكَةً :} This is the third objection. From this, it is clear that they believed in Allah, but associated partners with Him. Upon hearing from Noah (peace be upon him) the command to worship only Allah, they made the excuse that if Allah had willed to send a messenger, He would have sent angels instead of a human. This too is, in reality, a denial of the prophethood of a human. They did not consider that the Owner is the One with the will; He chooses whomever He wills for whatever task He wills. What kind of owner would He be if He were bound by your wishes?
➎ {مَّا سَمِعْنَا بِهٰذَا فِيْۤ اٰبَآىِٕنَا الْاَوَّلِيْنَ :} This is the fourth objection. From this, it appears that a long period of ignorance had passed before Noah (peace be upon him). In the first three points, there was denial of Noah (peace be upon him) being a messenger, and this is a denial of the message that Noah (peace be upon him) brought. That is, we have never heard of worshipping anyone except Allah, nor have we heard that, to attain closeness to Allah or to make someone an intercessor, one should not worship anyone else. This statement of the disbelieving leaders is also not worthy of a reply, because it is based on imitation, whereas imitation is pure ignorance, and the answer to the ignorant is silence and the greeting of peace, as He said: « وَ اِذَا خَاطَبَهُمُ الْجٰهِلُوْنَ قَالُوْا سَلٰمًا» [ الفرقان : ۶۳ ] "And when the ignorant address them, they say, 'Peace.'" (See Baqarah: 170) Tell me, what could be greater ignorance than saying that what we have not heard does not exist?

24-1. That is, he is just a human like you; how can he be a prophet and messenger? And if he is claiming prophethood and messengership, then the real purpose is to gain superiority and excellence over you.

24-2. And if, in reality, Allah wanted to make us understand through His messenger that only He is worthy of worship, then He would have sent an angel as a messenger, not a human; the angel would have come and explained the matter of Tawheed to us.

24-3. That is, his call to Tawheed is a strange call; before this, we never heard this in the times of our forefathers.

24. But the chiefs of his people who disbelieved said, "He is nothing but a man like yourselves [27], who wishes to gain superiority [28] over you. If Allah had willed, He would have sent down angels. We have never heard of such a thing in the times of our forefathers [29]."

[27]
Why is it Necessary for the Messenger to be Human:

All the prophets and messengers have always been human beings. And for mankind, the messenger should also be a human from among themselves so that when he conveys Allah’s message to them in their own language, they can understand it. Moreover, the duty of the messenger is not only to convey Allah’s message, but also to be the first to act upon those commands himself and present a practical example. Now, if the messenger were an angel, a being of light, or from some other superior species instead of a human, then those who believed in him could say: “How can we, as humans, follow an angel or a being of a higher species?” These are the reasons why it is necessary for the messenger to be human, and that is why Allah Almighty has always sent a human as a prophet and messenger, and the Noble Quran clarifies this at many places. And for this reason, Allah Almighty has, through the tongue of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, made him acknowledge his humanity several times. To the extent that this reality has been made an essential part of the declaration (kalimah) upon which a person enters Islam.

The Debate of Light and Humanity:

However, among the common misguidances of misguided people, this misguidance has also been a shared trait: that both humanity and messengership cannot coexist. Those who denied the prophets were the first to say, as a taunt, “You are just like us, a human being—how can you be a messenger?” This was one kind of misguidance, and another kind of misguidance arises among the devotees of the prophets, who, by adopting the path of exaggeration, reach the other extreme. Their belief is also that prophethood or messengership and humanity cannot be combined in one person. The difference is that they acknowledge messengership but deny humanity. No need to look far—among us Muslims, there is a group that accuses those who call the Messenger of Allah ﷺ a human of being “insulters of the Messenger.” Thus, their slogan “No human can cross the Throne” reflects this very belief. These people try to prove that the Prophet ﷺ was light, not human, and they deny his humanity. This discussion has already passed under footnote number 42 of verse 15 of Surah Al-Ma’idah.

[28] It has always been the belief of worldly people that whenever someone starts a reformative mission, they immediately think that this person is doing it to establish his own leadership and raise his own flag. And to some extent, they are justified in this belief, because they themselves spend their lives and all their efforts for this very purpose. Therefore, they view everyone from this perspective. The people of Noah gave this taunt to Noah ؑ. Pharaoh said the same thing to Moses ؑ: “Moses wants to take over this land.” And your ﷺ people formed the same opinion about you and said: “If you want wealth, as much as you want is ready. If you want power, we will accept you as our leader. And if you want to marry a beautiful woman, we will arrange that too—provided you stop opposing us and our gods and make peace with us.”

The Difference Between the Acquisition of Power by Prophets and Others:

Then it is also clear that prophets too, ultimately, attain power with Allah’s help. But there is a world of difference between the way the two acquire power. The aim of a worldly person is the acquisition of power itself, whereas the real aim of a prophet is the implementation of Allah’s commands, and for that, he uses power merely as a means. To understand this difference, consider this example: if a person commits murder unjustly, it is pure corruption; but if a judge sentences that murderer to death in retribution, it is pure justice, mercy, and prevention of corruption. Although, in terms of the act of killing, both incidents are the same.

[29] That is, the statement “The messenger is only a human being,” or that the One and Only Allah alone is sufficient for the sovereignty and fulfillment of the needs of the entire universe, and all other deities are false and baseless.