Surah 51:26
"So he turned to his family and brought a fattened calf,"
Nature and Identity of Messengers
Supporting Verses
Surah 11:69 → "Certainly Our messengers brought Abraham the good news. They said, ‘Peace!’ He said, ‘Peace!,’ and did not delay in bringing a roasted calf."
Surah 11:70 → "When he saw their hands not reaching for it, he became suspicious of them and began to feel fear of them. They said, ‘Do not fear! Surely we have been sent to the people of Lot.’"
Surah 11:77 → "And when Our messengers came to Lot, he became distressed about them, and felt powerless (to protect) them, and he said, ‘This is a hard day.’"
Surah 22:75 → "God chooses messengers from the angels and from the people. Surely God is hearing, seeing."
Surah 27:82 → "When the word falls upon them, We shall bring forth for them a creature from the earth, (which) will speak to them: ‘The people were not certain of Our signs.’"
Surah 35:1 → "Praise (be) to God, Creator of the heavens and the earth, (who) makes the angels messengers having two, and three, and four wings. He adds to the creation whatever He pleases. Surely God is powerful over everything."
Surah 51:24 → "Has the story come to you of the honored guests of Abraham?"
Surah 51:25 → "When they entered upon him, and said, ‘Peace!,’ he said, ‘Peace! (You are) a people unknown (to me).’"
Surah 51:27 → "and he placed it near them. He said, ‘Will you not eat?’"
Surah 51:28 → "And he began to feel a fear of them. They said, ‘Do not fear!’ And they gave him good news of a knowing boy."
Surah 6:130 → "‘Assembly of the jinn and humans! Did messengers not come to you from among you, recounting to you My signs and warning you of the meeting of this Day of yours?’ They will say, ‘We bear witness against ourselves.’ This present life deceived them, and they bear witness against themselves that they were disbelievers."
Opposing Verses
Surah 12:109 → "We have not sent (anyone) before you except men whom We inspired from the people of the towns. Have they not traveled on the earth and seen how the end was for those who were before them? The Home of the Hereafter is indeed better for those who guard (themselves). Do you not understand?"
Surah 21:7 → "We have not sent (anyone) before you except men whom We inspired – just ask the People of the Reminder, if you do not know (it) –"
Surah 25:20 → "We have not sent any of the envoys before you, except that they indeed ate food and walked about in the markets. We have made some of you a test for others: ‘Will you be patient?’ Your Lord is seeing."
Does the Quran state that messengers are exclusively human men, or can they be chosen from other beings? Some verses state that Allah only sends human men who eat food and walk in markets as messengers, while other verses indicate that messengers are also chosen from among the angels, the jinn, and a creature from the earth.