ﲐ ﲑ ﲒ ﲓ ﲔ ﲕ ﲖ ﲗ ﲘ ﲙ ﲚ ﲛ ﲜ ﲝ ﲞ ﲟ ﲠ ﲡ ﲢ ﲣ ﲤ ﲥ ﲦ ﲧ ﲨ ﲩ
But the eminent among those who disbelieved from his people said, "This is not but a man like yourselves who wishes to take precedence over you; and if Allah had willed [to send a messenger], He would have sent down angels. We have not heard of this among our forefathers.
Tafsir
Verse range: 23:24
فقال المﻼ الذين كفروا من قومه
But the chiefs of his people who disbelieved said: The chiefs or leaders of his people said:
ما هذا إﻻ بشر مثلكم يريد أن يتفضل عليكم
He is no more than a human being like you, he seeks to make himself superior to you. meaning, `he is putting himself above you and trying to make himself great by claiming to be a Prophet, but he is a human being like you, so how can he receive revelation when you do not!'
ولو شاء الله ﻻنزل مﻼيكة
Had Allah willed, He surely could have sent down angels. meaning, `if Allah had wanted to send a Prophet, He would have sent an angel from Him, not a human being.
ما سمعنا بهذا في آباينا اﻻولين
Never did we hear such a thing among our fathers of old.'' We have never heard of such a thing -- i.e., sending a man to our forefathers' -- their predecessors in times past
