Transliteration:( Wa maaa arsalnaa min qablika illaa rijaalan nooheee ilaihim min ahlil quraa; afalam yaseeroo fil ardi fa yanzuroo kaifa kaana 'aaqibatul lazeena min qablihim; wa la Daarul Aakhirati Khairul lillazeenat taqaw; afalaa ta'qiloon )
And We did not send before you except men [226] to whom We revealed, from the people of the towns. Have they not traveled in the land to see how was the end [227] of those before them? And the home of the Hereafter is better for those who are mindful [228]. Will you not then understand?
Reason for revelation: The disbelievers questioned why human beings were chosen as Prophets — why not angels instead? This verse responds by affirming that all previous Prophets were men, chosen from among the residents of towns.
From this we understand:
The very first Prophet was also a man, so it is not a new concept.
Angels, jinns, and women were never chosen as Prophets.
Some Prophets were granted prophethood during childhood, as Allah says: “And We bestowed prophethood upon him in his childhood” (Surah Maryam, 19:12).
This verse also affirms the superiority of men in specific roles such as prophethood, leadership, and judicial authority, which Allah has designated for men.
Additionally, Prophets were always from urban societies, not villages. For instance, Hazrat Yaqoob (peace be upon him) and his family had temporarily settled in rural areas due to their livestock, but they were not originally villagers.
This rhetorical question is directed at the people of Makkah, who, during their trade journeys, passed by the ruins of ancient nations like ʿĀd and Thamūd.
Despite witnessing the destroyed remnants of these disobedient nations, they failed to reflect or take lessons from history. They knew those nations were destroyed for rejecting their Prophets, yet they repeated the same mistake.
This verse teaches that:
No matter how much comfort a believer enjoys in this world, the blessings of the Hereafter will be far superior.
Conversely, even if an infidel faces hardship in this life, the torments of the Hereafter will be far worse.
Therefore, a true believer is not charmed by worldly luxury, and even in hardship, his heart is tied to the Akhirah. By contrast, the disbeliever, even in distress, still clings to this world.
As the Hadith says:
“The world is a prison for the believer and a paradise for the disbeliever.”
This does not mean that every believer must live in misery or that every disbeliever will enjoy luxury — rather, it refers to their ultimate destinies in comparison with the Hereafter.
109. And We sent not before you (as Messengers) any but men unto whom We revealed, from among the people of townships. Have they not traveled in the land and seen what was the end of those who were before them And verily, the home of the Hereafter is the best for those who have Taqwa. Do you not then understand
Allah states that He only sent Prophets and Messengers from among men and not from among women, as this Ayah clearly states. Allah did not reveal religious and legislative laws to any woman from among the daughters of Adam. This is the belief of Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jama`ah. Shaykh Abu Al-Hasan, `Ali bin Isma`il Al-Ash`ari mentioned that it is the view of Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jama`ah, that there were no female Prophets, but there were truthful believers from among women. Allah mentions the most honorable of the truthful female believers, Maryam, the daughter of `Imran, when He said,
(The Messiah ﴿’Isa﴾, son of Maryam (Mary), was no more than a Messenger; many were the Messengers that passed away before him. His mother was a Siddiqah ﴿truthful believer﴾. They both used to eat food.) ﴿5:75﴾ Therefore, the best description Allah gave her is Siddiqah. Had she been a Prophet, Allah would have mentioned this fact when He was praising her qualities and honor. Therefore, Mary was a truthful believer according to the words of the Qur’an.
Ad-Dahhak reported that Ibn `Abbas commented on Allah’s statement,
(And We sent not before you (as Messengers) any but men) “They were not from among the residents of the heaven (angels), as you claimed.” This statement of Ibn `Abbas is supported by Allah’s statements,
(And We never sent before you any of the Messengers, but verily, they ate food and walked in the markets), ﴿25:20﴾
(And We did not create them with bodies that ate not food, nor were they immortals. Then We fulfilled to them the promise. So We saved them and those whom We willed, but We destroyed extravagants), ﴿21:8-9﴾ and,
(Say: “I am not a new thing among the Messengers.”) ﴿46:9﴾ Allah said next,
(from among the people of townships), meaning, from among the people of cities, not that they were sent among the bedouins who are some of the harshest and roughest of all people.
Allah said next,
(Have they not traveled in the land), meaning, `Have not these people who rejected you, O Muhammad, traveled in the land,’
(and seen what was the end of those who were before them) that is, the earlier nations that rejected the Messengers, and how Allah destroyed them. A similar end is awaiting all disbelievers. Allah said in another Ayah,
(Have they not traveled through the land, and have they hearts wherewith to understand) ﴿22:46﴾ When they hear this statement, they should realize that Allah destroyed the disbelievers and saved the believers, and this is His way with His creation. This is why Allah said,
(And verily, the home of the Hereafter is the best for those who have Taqwa.) Allah says, `Just as We saved the faithful in this life, We also wrote safety for them in the Hereafter, which is far better for them than the life of the present world.’ Allah said in another Ayah,
(Verily, We will indeed make victorious Our Messengers and those who believe in this world’s life and on the Day when the witnesses will stand forth (i.e. Day of Resurrection). The Day when their excuses will be of no profit to the wrongdoers. Theirs will be the curse, and theirs will be the evil abode (in Hellfire).) 40:51-52)
(12:109) The Messengers whom We raised before you, (O Muhammad), and to whom We sent down revelations, were only human beings, and were from among those living in earthly habitations. Have these people not travelled in the earth that they may observe the end of their predecessors? Certainly the abode of the Hereafter is much better for those (who accepted the call of the Messengers and) acted in a God-fearing manner. Will you still not act with good sense?[79]
79. A very comprehensive subject has been condensed here into a couple of sentences, which may be expanded like this: “O Muhammad! these people do not listen to you because it is not an easy thing for them to believe you to be a Messenger of Allah just because you are a mere human being who was born in their own city among them and brought up like other people. But there is nothing strange in this. For this is not the first instance of its kind. All the Prophets, whom We sent before you, were also human beings and lived in the same habitations to which they were sent. It never happened that a stranger came to a town and declared, “I have been sent as a Messenger to you. On the other hand, all the Prophets, Jesus, Moses, Abraham and Noah (peace be upon them all), who were raised for the reform of the people, were human beings who were born and brought up in their own habitations. Then it addresses the disbelievers directly, as if to say: Now it is for you to judge and decide whether you should accept the Messenger or reject him on such flimsy grounds as these. You have traveled abroad and seen the end of those people who rejected the message of their Prophets and followed their own desires. You have seen, on your journeys, the ruined habitations of the people of Aad, Thamud, Midian, Lot, and others. Have you not observed these as object lessons, for these warn you that they would meet with far worse consequences in the Hereafter, and that conversely, those who are pious and God fearing will have a very happy life?
[620]- Those who deny Prophet Muḥammad (ﷺ).
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