Surah 17:94
Show Full Scripture Context (17:94-95) — 2 Verses
وَمَا مَنَعَ ٱلنَّاسَ أَن يُؤۡمِنُوٓاْ إِذۡ جَآءَهُمُ ٱلۡهُدَىٰٓ إِلَّآ أَن قَالُوٓاْ أَبَعَثَ ٱللَّهُ بَشَرٗا رَّسُولٗا
What prevented the people from believing when the guidance came to them, except that they said, ‘Has God raised up a human being as a messenger?’
قُل لَّوۡ كَانَ فِي ٱلۡأَرۡضِ مَلَـٰٓئِكَةٞ يَمۡشُونَ مُطۡمَئِنِّينَ لَنَزَّلۡنَا عَلَيۡهِم مِّنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ مَلَكٗا رَّسُولٗا
Say: ‘If there were angels walking contentedly on the earth, We would indeed have sent down on them an angel from the sky as a messenger.’
{And nothing prevented men} means, most of them,
{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:
And Allah says:
Fir'awn and his people said:
Similarly, the nations said to their Messengers:
{"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:
{Verily, there has come unto you a Messenger from among yourselves} [10:128]
Allah says here:
meaning, just as you do,
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.'
— from Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Page 88-90)