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wa-mā ʾarsalnā qablaka ʾillā rijālan nūḥī ʾilayhim fa-sʾalū ʾahla dh-dhikri ʾin kuntum lā taʿlamūna
We did not send [any apostles] before you except as men to whom We revealed. Ask the People of the Reminder if you do not know.
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah Al-’Anbiya’ – Verses 6 - 7
6. “There did not believe before them any town which We destroyed; will these (now) believe?”
7. “And We sent none before you, but men to whom We made revelation. So ask the people of ‘Thikr’(the Reminder) if you do not know.”
Former verses denoted that the disbelievers said:
In this verse, the Qur’an implies that not only this Prophet (S) but also the former Divine prophets were human beings to whom the revelation was made. And this, the descent of revelation to them, does not contrast with being a human being. In the previous holy verses, there were mentioned six contradictory pretexts that the opponents of Islam sought unto the holy Prophet (S). Here by this verse, the Qur’an answers them. At first, it refers to the miracles that they demanded as their pretext, and that the people of the towns, whom were destroyed before them, sought for such miracles, but when their suggestions were fulfilled they did not believe.
The verse says:
In the meantime, the holy verse warns the disbelievers that if their demand concerning the miracles are responded and they do not believe, their destruction is certain. Then the Qur’an answers their first rejection about the Prophet (S) as a human being. It implies that all the Messengers sent before the Prophet of Islam (S) were totally human beings and from the sort of humankind. The verse says:
This is a clear historical reality with which everybody is acquainted. Therefore, if you do not know it, ask other people. The verse continues saying: