Yusuf · Makki · ayah 109 of 111

Yusuf 12:109

وَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَا مِن قَبْلِكَ إِلَّا رِجَالًا نُّوحِىٓ إِلَيْهِم مِّنْ أَهْلِ ٱلْقُرَىٰٓ ۗ أَفَلَمْ يَسِيرُوا۟ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ فَيَنظُرُوا۟ كَيْفَ كَانَ عَـٰقِبَةُ ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ ۗ وَلَدَارُ ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ خَيْرٌ لِّلَّذِينَ ٱتَّقَوْا۟ ۗ أَفَلَا تَعْقِلُونَ

“And We sent not before you [as messengers] except men to whom We revealed from among the people of cities. So have they[620] not traveled through the earth and observed how was the end of those before them? And the home of the Hereafter is best for those who fear Allāh; then will you not reason?”

Saheeh International

Essence

Every messenger walked among people, and every people's end walks at the heel of its deeds, for travellers to read.

A reflection

They were men

We sent before you only men, to whom We revealed, from the people of the towns.

The Makkans had an objection ready. A messenger from Allah should be something more than human. One commentary records their claim from another surah: Allah has not sent down anything to a human being (6:91). A Companion explained this ayah as the answer: they were not from the people of heaven, as you claimed. Another surah adds that every messenger ate food and walked in the markets (25:20).

The word rijāl, men, comes from a root whose core is the leg. A rājil is someone with no mount, who must cross rough ground on his own feet. The messengers walked.

This surah has already staged the mistake. When the women of Egypt saw Yusuf, they cried: this is no human being, this is nothing but a noble angel (12:31). But Yusuf was human. A few ayat later he prayed: if You do not turn their scheming from me, I will incline towards them (12:33). His strength was not that he could not be tempted. It was that he turned to Allah when he was.

We make the same mistake from the other side. We put prophets on pedestals so high that their example cannot reach us. They were special, we say; I am ordinary.

The ayah closes that excuse. They were men. They walked. Their example was meant to be followed on foot.

The full entry has 6 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.