Surah Adh-Dhaariyat (51) — Ayah 31

(Ayah 31) ➊ { قَالَ فَمَا خَطْبُكُمْ اَيُّهَا الْمُرْسَلُوْنَ:} When Ibrahim (peace be upon him) became frightened because the guests did not eat the food and he clearly expressed it: « اِنَّا مِنْكُمْ وَ جِلُوْنَ» [ الحجر : ۵۲ ] “We are indeed afraid of you.” Because he realized that they were angels, and he also knew that the coming of angels in this manner is not an ordinary matter, as He said: « مَا نُنَزِّلُ الْمَلٰٓىِٕكَةَ اِلَّا بِالْحَقِّ وَ مَا كَانُوْۤا اِذًا مُّنْظَرِيْنَ» [ الحجر : ۸ ] “We do not send down the angels except with truth (punishment), and then they are not given respite.” Therefore, he became extremely afraid, so to remove his fear, the angels said two things to him. First: « لَا تَخَفْ اِنَّاۤ اُرْسِلْنَاۤ اِلٰى قَوْمِ لُوْطٍ» [ ہود : ۷۰ ] “Do not be afraid, for we have been sent to the people of Lut.” That is, you do not need to fear, our destination is elsewhere. The second thing they said was that we have come to give you glad tidings of a son and grandson, Ishaq and Yaqub. (See Hud: 71) When Ibrahim (peace be upon him) was reassured, he asked, “So, O sent angels! What is your matter (with the people of Lut), and what do you intend to do regarding them?” Note! The word {’’خَطْبٌ‘‘} is generally used only for some important or severe matter.
➋ This entire incident proves that the Prophets (peace be upon them) are not ‘Alim al-Ghayb’ (knowers of the unseen). For details, see the commentary of Surah Al-Hijr (62).