"say (O Muhammad): "I am only a man like you. It has been inspired to me that your Illaah [God] is one Illaah (God i.e Allah), so whoever hopes for the meeting with his Lord, let him work righteously and associate none as a partner in the worship of his Lord, (18: 110)
"Inclusive in the characteristics of jaahiliyyah is to determine the falsehood of a religion by using a wicked and false type of reasoning to establish evidence, as it occurs in his saying: "You are no more than human beings like us!" (Q14: 10)
Yes, they were no more than human beings like them but they have an edge by being chosen to convey the message of Allaah to them. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings be upon him) was told to say:
"Say (O Muhammad): I am only a man like you. It has been inspired to me that your iIIaah (God) is One iIIaah (God i.e. Allah). So whoever hopes for the Meeting with his Lord, let him work righteously and associate none as a partner in the worship of his Lord. "(Q18: 110)
But they eat food? Other than the above, the disbelievers rejected the truth by saying:
"Why does this Messenger (Muhammad) eat food, and walk about in the markets (like ourselves). Why is not an angel sent down to him to be a warner with him?" (Q25: 7)
A fitting reply to this argument of them is given by Allaah thus:
"And We never sent before you (O Muhammad) any of the Messengers but verily, they ate food and walked in the markets ... " (Q25: 20)
i.e. every prophet sent by Allaah possessed these qualities Why should their being human beings be- an excuse for their rejection of the truth. Was there any authentic information that Allaah sent other than human to those who came before them?
"So ask of those who know the Scripture [learned men of the Tawraat and the Injeel], if you know not." (Q16:43)
Allaah was telling the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to ask them if messengers were sent to them from among human beings or angels. If messengers sent to them were human beings, then, why are they objecting to the fact that the messengers are human beings? If messengers had been angels, they would have had reasons for objection. They were wrong in their objection. The analogy they make between themselves and the messengers sent to them was correct but false, They thought since the messengers were eating, drinking, procreating, sleeping and possessing other human qualities like them, then, there is no difference between them, But there is a difference. Allaah chose them and revealed His message to them which they were commanded to convey to their people, the above fact is established in the following verse:
"Say (O Muhammad): I am only a man like you. It has been inspired to me that your illaah (God) is One iIIaah (God i.e. Allah). " (Q18: 110)
The fact that Allaah chose them to reveal His message shows that they had an edge over them. Their humanity was even a blessing for them. It made message easy for implementation. If the messengers were angels it would have been very difficult for them to relate with human beings, the angels would not have been able to share their feelings with them. Continues next edition,
This article was culled from the publications of Deen Communication Limited