Is it a matter of wonderment to men that
We have sent Our inspiration to a man from among themselves? —
that he should warn mankind (of their danger), and give the good
news to the Believers that they have before their Lord the lofty
rank of truth. (But) the Unbelievers say: "This is indeed an
evident sorcerer!" (Quran 10:2) [Translation of the meaning]
Allah Almighty chose honorable humans to be
His Prophets, a choice that the disbelievers would oppose till the
Day of Judgment. Every Prophet was a human and was attacked by his
people for being a human.
Allah's words may be translated as follows:
The chiefs of the disbelievers among his
people said: "We see you [are] but a human like ourselves,
nor do we see [that] any follow you but the meanest among us and
they (too) followed you without thinking. And we do not see in you
any merit above us." (Quran 11:27)
This verse was revealed regarding the people
of Noah, the first messenger sent after Adam (peace and blessings be
upon both of them).
The same attitude was repeated in nation
after nation. The Quran narrates the stories of the peoples of Aad
and Thamud and those after them. They rejected the prophets' message
under the pretext that the prophets were "no more than human
beings like us" (Quran 14:10).
When Allah sent Shuaib (peace and blessings
be upon him) to his people to tell them that they should give full
measure and weigh with the true and straight balance, they answered,
"You are but a human being like us and verily, we think that
you are one of the liars!" (Quran 26:186).
Also Pharaoh and his people accused Moses
and his brother Aaron (peace and blessings be upon both of them) of
lying, with words that may be translated thus: "Shall we
believe in two men like ourselves, and their people are servile unto
us?" (Quran 23:47).
Similarly, the humanity of Muhammad (peace
and blessings be upon him) was taken as a basis for raising doubts
about his message: "The wrong-doers conceal their private
counsels, (saying), 'Is this (one) more than a man like yourselves?
Will yougo to witchcraft with your eyes open?'" (Quran 21:3).
Angels Unsuitable
Why did Allah Almighty chose His messengers
from humans? Why did He not send angels to guide people and to show
them the straight path?
A messenger is assigned to convey the law of
Allah and to inform people about the divine message, so he must be
one of them, speaking their language and knowing their habits, to be
able to convey the message. People must have known him before his
mission; his honesty, truthfulness, and noble manners should be
unquestionable.
Not only would the prophet convey the divine
law but he would also teach people how to apply it. The law is
theoretical and must be practically applied; people need to see
their messenger offering prayers, performing Hajj and applying the
divine law he brought to them. Therefore the humanity of the prophet
is imperative.
Moreover, if Allah had sent down angels as
prophets, people would have not recognized them, being that angels
do not live on the earth. Even if we assume that He had made the
angel prophets known to people, they would say, "Such angelic
prophets could not be examples to us because they are created from
light and we are created from clay. They are infallible by nature
and they carry out the commands they receive from Allah. Unlike
them, we humans are liable to err."
Angels, therefore, could not be prophets to
humans because angelic powers and nature differ from those of
humans. Allah willed that His prophets be as human as the peoples to
whom they were sent, so that none would dare argue on the Day of
Judgment, "O Lord, You have burdened us beyond our power and
enjoined on us what we could not do." The answer would simply
be that your prophet was a human like you, yet he was able to
faithfully apply the divine law without feeling burdened beyond the
capacity of humans.
* Excerpted with some
modifications from the author's book Muhammad.
** Sheikh Muhammad
Mitwalli Ash-Sha'rawi (1911 – 1998), was a prominent Muslim
scholar and one of the most famous Arabic-speaking preachers. He was
known particularly for his TV program in which he interpreted the
Qur'an in a way easily understood by the common people. He lectured
in Saudi Arabia and served as the Egyptian minister of religious
endowments from 1976 to 1978. Sheikh Ash-Sha`rawai authored
many books.
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