The Objections to Prophethood - 251

Est. Read time: 3 min
Edition Number: 251
Adapted from: The Heart of the Quran
Instructor: Shaykh Furhan Zubairi

Assalamu Alaykum,

Today’s gem is from Shaykh Furhan Zubairi’s course: The Heart of the Quran. In this gem, Shaykh Furhan Zubairi explains the people’s objections to the messengers were rooted in disbelief, including the notion that messengers must be angels, the rejection of divine revelation, and the labeling of the messengers as liars, just as the Prophet ﷺ faced similar objections from the Quraysh.

Hope you enjoy!

We begin in the Name of Allah ﷻ, the Most Merciful and Compassionate,
We ask that He ﷻ sends Peace and Blessings upon our noble and beloved
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ

They would say what makes you so special that Allah ﷻ chose you as messengers?

مَا أَنزَلَ الرَّحْمَٰنُ مِنْ شَيْءٍ – The Most Merciful has not sent down anything. They claimed that Allah had not revealed any commands or prohibitions. إِنْ أَنْتُمْ إِلَّا تَكْذِبُونَ – You are simply lying about your claim.

Perhaps the people of this town had a false belief that if God were to send messengers, He would send angels. This is a common misconception, and it was also part of the false beliefs of the people of Quraysh. It’s interesting to note that there are many parallels between this story and the story of the Prophet ﷺ.

One of the similarities is that both these groups were polytheists and idol worshippers, but in this case, they acknowledged Allah ﷻ as Ar-Rahman (The Most Merciful). They said وَمَا أَنزَلَ الرَّحْمَٰنُ مِنْ شَيْءٍ – "The Most Merciful has not sent anything down." They recognized the existence of Allah, and that He is Ar-Rahman, but they still associated partners with Him. This is in contrast to the people of Quraysh who also recognized the existence of Allah ﷻ but denied knowing Him as Ar-Rahman. They claimed that they didn’t know who Ar-Rahman was.

The people of this town had three primary objections, and these are captured in this verse:

1. Objection #1: You can’t be messengers because you're just human beings, like us. There’s nothing unique or special about you.

2. Objection #2: There’s no such thing as revelation. وَمَا أَنزَلَ الرَّحْمَٰنُ مِنْ شَيْءٍ – "God has not revealed anything."

3. Objection #3: إِنْ أَنْتُمْ إِلَّا تَكْذِبُونَ – "You are simply lying.”

These are the same objections that have been directed towards all the prophets throughout history, including our beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.

For example, one of the objections of the Quraysh was that Muhammad ﷺ was a human being just like them. They said, "You eat and drink just like we do. You walk around in the same markets that we walk around in. Why would God choose you as a prophet and messenger?"

The second objection was that there was no such thing as revelation. They didn’t believe that God communicates with human beings.

And the third objection was that they called him a liar. They accused Prophet Muhammad ﷺ of being an imposter, a forger, and a liar.

May Allah make us among those who believe in You and Your messengers, and grant us understanding and knowledge in Your religion.

أقول قولي هذا وأستغفر الله لي ولكم، فاستغفروه إنه هو الغفور الرحيم

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