Tafsir of Surah Al-Isra - Verse 95

The refusal of the Idolators to believe because the Messenger was a Human -- and its refutation

وَمَا مَنَعَ النَّاسَ

(And nothing prevented men) means, most of them,

أَن يُؤْمِنُواْ

(from believing) and following the Messengers, except the fact that they found it strange that human beings would be sent as Messengers, as Allah says:

أَكَانَ لِلنَّاسِ عَجَبًا أَنْ أَوْحَيْنَآ إِلَى رَجُلٍ مِّنْهُمْ أَنْ أَنذِرِ النَّاسَ وَبَشِّرِ الَّذِينَ ءامَنُواْ أَنَّ لَهُمْ قَدَمَ صِدْقٍ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ

(Is it a wonder for mankind that We have sent Our revelation to a man from among themselves (saying): "Warn mankind, and give good news to those who believe that they shall have with their Lord the rewards of their good deeds") 10:2 And Allah says:

ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّهُ كَانَت تَّأْتِيهِمْ رُسُلُهُم بِالْبَيِّنَـتِ فَقَالُواْ أَبَشَرٌ يَهْدُونَنَا

(That was because there came to them their Messengers with clear proofs, but they said: "Shall mere men guide us") 64:6 Fira`wn and his people said:

أَنُؤْمِنُ لِبَشَرَيْنِ مِثْلِنَا وَقَوْمُهُمَا لَنَا عَـبِدُونَ

(They said: "Shall we believe in two men like ourselves, and their people are obedient to us with humility!") 23: 47 Similarly, the nations said to their Messengers:

إِنْ أَنتُمْ إِلاَّ بَشَرٌ مِّثْلُنَا تُرِيدُونَ أَن تَصُدُّونَا عَمَّا كَانَ يَعْبُدُ ءَابَآؤُنَا فَأْتُونَا بِسُلْطَـنٍ مُّبِينٍ

("You are no more than human beings like us! You wish to turn us away from what our fathers used to worship. Then bring us a clear authority") 14:10 And there are many other similar Ayat. Then Allah says, pointing out His kindness and mercy towards His servants, that He sends to them Messengers of their own kind so that they will understand what he says and will be able to speak to him directly. If He sent to mankind a Messenger from among the angels, they would not be able to deal with him face to face and learn from him, as Allah says:

لَقَدْ مَنَّ اللَّهُ عَلَى الْمُؤمِنِينَ إِذْ بَعَثَ فِيهِمْ رَسُولاً مِّنْ أَنفُسِهِمْ

(Indeed, Allah conferred a great favor on the believers when He sent among them a Messenger from among themselves) 3:164

لَقَدْ جَآءَكُمْ رَسُولٌ مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ

(Verily, there has come unto you a Messenger from among yourselves) 10:128

كَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَا فِيكُمْ رَسُولاً مِّنْكُمْ يَتْلُواْ عَلَيْكُمْ آيَـتِنَا وَيُزَكِّيكُمْ وَيُعَلِّمُكُمُ الْكِتَـبَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَيُعَلِّمُكُم مَّا لَمْ تَكُونُواْ تَعْلَمُونَ - فَاذْكُرُونِى أَذْكُرْكُمْ وَاشْكُرُواْ لِي وَلاَ تَكْفُرُونِ

(Similarly, We have sent among you a Messenger of your own, reciting to you Our verses (the Qur'an) and purifying you, and teaching you the Book and the Hikmah, and teaching you that which you used not to know. Therefore remember Me. I will remember you, and be grateful to Me and never be ungrateful to Me.) (2:151-152) Allah says here:

قُل لَوْ كَانَ فِى الاٌّرْضِ مَلَـئِكَةٌ يَمْشُونَ مُطْمَئِنِّينَ

(Say: "If there were on the earth, angels walking about in peace and security,) meaning, just as you do,

لَنَزَّلْنَا عَلَيْهِم مِّنَ السَّمَآءِ مَلَكًا رَّسُولاً

(We should certainly have sent down for them from the heaven an angel as a Messenger). meaning, `one of their own kind. But as you are human, We have sent to you Messengers from yourselves, as a kindness and a mercy.'

In the last verse (95), it was said that they, despite being human, can-not demand that their messenger should be an angel. This demand was unreasonable. Yes, if angels had been living on the Earth and there was the need to send a messenger to them, then, indeed, an angel would have been sent as a messenger. It will be noted that the attribute of an-gels living on the Earth has been described here in the words: يَمْشُونَ مُطْمَئِنِّينَ (walking about in peace). This tells us that the need to send an angel deputed as a messenger to other angels would have come up only at a time when the angels of the Earth could not themselves go to the heavens rather remained living on the Earth alone. Otherwise, had they themselves possessed the power to go to the heavens, there would have remained just no need to send a messenger to the Earth.

Anyone studying such verses, will find the stubbornness of those who denied such a ‘great’ Prophet as Muhammad very strange. The cause of this astonishment is traceable to the fact that before him is the ‘great’ Prophet as he is known today, while the deniers of the first phase had before them a contemporary prophet who was at that time just Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullah, as yet with no glorious history to commend him. A prophet to his contemporaries appears to be only a human being like any other, but later on, with the accumulation of historical proofs regarding his prophethood, people have no doubt about his being a real prophet. That is why all the prophets have been rejected by their contemporaries, save a tiny minority, while the next generation had no reason not to acknowledge their greatness. Since man is in a state of trial in the present world, he will never be informed of the truth through the angels. Such a communication of the truth would mean unveiling reality to the ultimate extent. If reality were to be unveiled in this way, how would man be put to the test?