Transliteration:( Qul maa kuntu bid'am minal Rusuli wa maaa adreee ma yuf'alu bee wa laa bikum in attabi'u illaa maa yoohaaa ilaiya wa maaa ana illaa nazeerum mubeen )
Please declare: "I am not new [23] among the Messengers, and I do not know [24] what shall be done with me and with you. I only follow what is revealed [25] to me. And I am not but a clear Warner [26]".
This verse emphasizes that the Holy Prophet ﷺ is not a novel or unprecedented Prophet. The word "new" here does not imply being matchless—for he is indeed matchless—but refers to being baseless or without precedent. Many Prophets had come before him, so his mission is part of a continuous chain of Divine guidance, not a bid‘ah (innovation).
This clarifies that not every form of knowledge is certain or categorical—some are based on assumption or conjecture, which cannot be attributed to Allah Almighty or His Prophets. The knowledge granted through revelation is absolute and definitive, not speculative.
The Holy Prophet ﷺ’s knowledge is not based on guesswork, but on categorical revelation. While this verse states, "I do not know what shall be done", it does not imply total unawareness. Rather, it negates any claim to independent knowledge without revelation.
Allah Almighty says, “That Allah may forgive your former and latter sins” (Surah Al-Fath, 48:2), and also, “You will be a witness over the people” (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:143). These confirm that the Holy Prophet ﷺ is aware of the fate of people and will testify over all nations on the Day of Judgement—knowledge granted through divine revelation, not conjecture.
This affirms that everything the Holy Prophet ﷺ knows about the unseen and future is entirely through wahy (revelation). Human intellect alone is incapable of accessing the unseen. This verse does not negate his knowledge of the future, but rather negates any knowledge acquired without revelation.
The Holy Prophet ﷺ is a clear Warner, sent to convey the message—not to guarantee people's belief or disbelief. He is not accountable for the faith or rejection of others. This verse does not imply helplessness, but rather shows his contentment and detachment—that the rejection or acceptance of guidance by others does not diminish his status or mission.
The tafsir of Surah Ahqaf verse 9 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Ahqaf ayat 7 which provides the complete commentary from verse 7 through 9.
(46:9) Tell them: “I am not the first of the Messengers; and I do not know what shall be done with me or with you. I follow only what is revealed to me, and I am nothing but a plain warner.”[12]
12. Its background is this: When the Prophet (peace be upon him) presented himself as Allah’s Messenger, the people of Makkah raised different kinds of objections against it. They said: What kind of a Messenger he is who has a family, who moves about in the streets, eats and drinks and lives a common man’s life. There is nothing special about him, which might distinguish him above the other people and therefore we may know that Allah has specially made this man His Messenger. Then they said: Had he ban appointed a Messenger by God, He would have sent an angel as an attendant with him who would have announced that he was God’s Messenger, and would have punished with a scourge every such person who had behaved insolently towards him. How strange that God should appoint a person as His Messenger and then should leave him alone to roam the streets of Makkah and suffer every kind of humiliation. If nothing else Allah should at least have created a magnificent palace and a blooming garden for His Messenger. He should not have been left to depend on his wife’s resources. Besides, these people demanded different kinds of miracles from him and asked news of the unseen. They thought that a person’s being God’s Messenger meant that he should possess supernatural powers so that mountains should move at his bidding and deserts at once turn into green fields. He should have the knowledge of the past and the future events and of everything hidden from others.
An answer to the same has been given in these sentences, and each sentence contains a world of meaning.
First, it is said: Tell them, I am not a novel Messenger. That is, my being appointed as a Messenger is not a novel event of its kind in the world so that you may have some confusion about the characteristics of a Messenger. Many Messengers have come to the world before me, and I am not any different from them. Never has a Messenger come, who did not have a family, who did not eat and drink, or who did not live a common man’s life. Never has an angel descended as an attendant with a Messenger, heralding his prophethood and carrying a whip before him. Never have gardens and palaces been created for a Messenger and never has a Messenger been spared of the hardships which I am suffering. Never has a Messenger shown a miracle by his own power, or known everything by his own knowledge. Then, how is it that you are bringing forth these strange criteria only to judge my Prophethood?
Then it is said: Tell them also, I do not know what shall befall you tomorrow nor what shall befall me. I only follow that which is revealed to me. That is, I am not a knower of the unseen so that everything of the past and present and future should be known to me, and I should have the knowledge of everything in the world. Not to speak of your future, I do not even know my own future. I only know that of which I am given knowledge by revelation. More than that I have never claimed to know, nor has there ever been a Messenger in the world, who made that claim. It is not a Messenger’s job to tell the whereabouts of the lost articles, or tell whether a pregnant woman will deliver a boy or a girl, or whether a sick patient will live or die. In conclusion, it is said: Say to them, I am no more than a plain warner. That is, I do not possess divine powers so that I may show you the wonderful miracles that you demand from me every next day. My only mission is that I should present the right way before the people, and should warn of an evil end those who do not accept it.
[1479]- i.e., I am neither the first messenger to be sent, nor do I bring something different from the other messengers.
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