Why didn’t Allah send angels as prophets?
وَقَالُوا۟ مَالِ هَـٰذَا ٱلرَّسُولِ يَأْكُلُ ٱلطَّعَامَ وَيَمْشِى فِى ٱلْأَسْوَاقِ ۙ لَوْلَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْهِ مَلَكٌۭ فَيَكُونَ مَعَهُۥ نَذِيرًا
They also say, ‘What sort of messenger is this? He eats food and walks about in the marketplaces! Why has no angel been sent down to help him with his warnings? [25:7]
The Quraysh threw all kinds of challenges at Prophet Muhammad ﷺ throughout the years he was preaching in Makkah. These were not genuine questions to help them believe, but excuses they were coming up with to avoid accepting Islam.
In this ayah in Surat al-Furqan, Allah talks about one of those challenges, when they asked why Allah would send a human messenger who was just like them, not something special like an angel.
This idea of Allah sending an angel instead is also mentioned in other surahs, but Allah reminds us that they still would not believe, because deep down they don’t want to. All they want are excuses to keep the status quo as it is.
وَلَوْ أَنَّنَا نَزَّلْنَآ إِلَيْهِمُ ٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةَ وَكَلَّمَهُمُ ٱلْمَوْتَىٰ وَحَشَرْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ كُلَّ شَىْءٍۢ قُبُلًۭا مَّا كَانُوا۟ لِيُؤْمِنُوٓا۟ إِلَّآ أَن يَشَآءَ ٱللَّهُ وَلَـٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ يَجْهَلُونَ
Even if We sent the angels down to them, and the dead spoke to them, and We gathered all things right in front of them, they still would not believe, unless God so willed, but most of them are ignorant [of this]. [6:111]
The importance of having human messengers
قُلْ إِنَّمَا أَنَا بَشَرٌ مِّثْلُكُمْ
Say, “I am only a man like you,” [18:110]
The fact that the Messenger ﷺ was a human like us is actually a mercy from Allah. It meant he was able to empathise with his people and communicate with them on their level. When they were hungry, he was too. Or when they were sad, he also felt sadness.
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was offered treasures
أَوْ يُلْقَىٰٓ إِلَيْهِ كَنزٌ أَوْ تَكُونُ لَهُۥ جَنَّةٌۭ يَأْكُلُ مِنْهَا ۚ وَقَالَ ٱلظَّـٰلِمُونَ إِن تَتَّبِعُونَ إِلَّا رَجُلًۭا مَّسْحُورًا
Why has he not been given treasure or a garden to supply his food?’ and the evildoers say, ‘The man you follow is simply under a spell.’ [24:8]
The Quraysh’s idea about what a leader should be like was the same as the mental image we would picture today: big entourages, security guards, wealth, etc. They expected someone who was not of the people, but above them, who looked down on them. When they saw someone as humble as Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, they didn’t believe this could be a leader. We see a similar approach to leadership in the stories of Pharaoh.
Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was offered wealth and the treasures of the dunya, but he rejected them out of his humility.
Aisha reported God’s Messenger ﷺ as saying, “If I wished, Aisha, mountains of gold would go with me. An angel whose waist was as high as the Ka’ba came to me and told me that my Lord sent me a greeting and said that if I wished I could be a prophet and a servant, or if I wished I could be a prophet and a king. I looked at Gabriel and he gave me a sign to humble myself. I then said that I would be a prophet and a servant.” [Tabaqaat Ibn Sa’d]
Following the fitrah
Sometimes people’s corrupted minds can lead them to disbelief. Allah has created the fitrah in every person – the ability to recognise truth when it is presented to you. But the purity of this can be tampered with by being in toxic environments and communities polluted with corruption and shirk.
Over the 13 years of preaching in Makkah, only 113 people accepted Islam out of an estimated population of around 3-5 thousand. This gives us a sense of how deeply rooted the stagnant culture was, and how resistant to change the people were.
They knew deep down that Prophet Muhammad ﷺ wasn’t a liar, sorcerer, or madman, but they still accused him of all sorts of things. If someone doesn’t want to believe and starts bringing up irrelevant and nonsense points, don’t waste your time – just walk away.
فَلَعَلَّكَ بَـٰخِعٌۭ نَّفْسَكَ عَلَىٰٓ ءَاثَـٰرِهِمْ إِن لَّمْ يُؤْمِنُوا۟ بِهَـٰذَا ٱلْحَدِيثِ أَسَفًا
But [Prophet] are you going to worry yourself to death over them if they do not believe in this message? [18:6]
We ask Allah to make us His humble servants and enable us to have a pure fitrah and spread the pure message.
Delivered by Shaykh Haytham Tamim on 29th Ramadan. Transcribed by Hana Khan.
When truth walks among us
By Samia Ahmed
As we move towards the closing nights of Ramadan, these verses take us into a powerful reflection on how truth is often rejected, not because it is unclear, but because hearts are unwilling to accept it.
One of the striking objections raised by the disbelievers was:
“And they say, ‘What is this Messenger who eats food and walks in the markets?’”
(Surah al-Furqan 25:7)
They could not reconcile with the idea that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would live like them, walk among them, eat as they eat, and engage in daily life. In their minds, a leader had to be distant, elevated, surrounded by status and spectacle.
This was not a sincere question. It was an excuse.
They began to place conditions for belief. They said an angel should have been sent. They demanded treasures from the sky. They wanted something extraordinary, something beyond human.
Allah Almighty responds by showing that what they were rejecting was in fact a mercy:
“Certainly, Allah conferred a great favour upon the believers when He sent among them a messenger from themselves.” (Surah Aal ʿImran 3:164)
A human messenger is not a limitation. It is a gift.
How could we follow someone who does not experience hunger, hardship, emotion, family, struggle, and society as we do?
The perfection of the Prophet ﷺ lies in the fact that he lived among people, dealt with people, and yet remained the most God conscious, the most truthful, the humblest.
This is what makes him the perfect role model.
Allah says:
“Indeed, in the Messenger of Allah you have an excellent example.” (Surah al-Ahzab 33:21)
What they failed to see was not due to a lack of evidence, but due to the state of their hearts.
Their fitrah, the natural disposition to recognise truth, had become clouded. Culture, pride, and inherited norms had become so deeply rooted that they were no longer able to see clearly.
Shaykh Haytham highlighted that this is not just a historical reality. It is something we see even today.
When truth challenges deeply embedded habits, systems, or cultural norms, people resist. Not because truth is unclear, but because change is uncomfortable.
The Quraysh were not lacking intelligence. They were lacking willingness.
Deep down, many of them recognised the truth of the Prophet ﷺ. They knew his character. They called him al-Sadiq, the truthful, long before revelation. Yet when the message required them to change, to surrender their authority, their ego, their way of life, they resisted.
So, they raised objections.
They shifted the goalposts.
They demanded more signs.
And even if those signs were given, they would still not believe.
Allah says:
“And even if We had sent down to them angels, and the dead spoke to them, and We gathered all things before them, they would not believe unless Allah wills.” (Surah al-Anʿam 6:111)
This is a sobering reminder.
Guidance is not just about seeing truth. It is about being willing to accept it.
There is also an important lesson here for us in how we direct our efforts. We cannot exhaust ourselves trying to convince those whose hearts are closed.
The Prophet ﷺ himself faced rejection, mockery, and resistance. Yet he remained steadfast, continuing to convey the message with patience and wisdom.
Allah reminds him:
“And those who disbelieve say, ‘Why was the Qur’an not revealed to him all at once?’ Thus it is, so that We may strengthen your heart with it.” (Surah al-Furqan 25:32)
Even the gradual revelation of the Qur’an was part of Allah’s wisdom, strengthening the heart of the Prophet ﷺ as he faced ongoing challenges.
There is also a profound reflection here on leadership.
The disbelievers had a distorted perception of what leadership looks like. To them, a leader had to be elevated above people, distant, powerful, surrounded by status.
But the Prophet ﷺ redefined leadership.
True leadership is not about status. It is about character.
It is about humility, integrity, truthfulness, and service.
He ﷺ walked among people, sat with the poor, responded to the weak, and lived a life of simplicity. Yet his impact transformed the world.
This is a lesson for us today. In a world where leadership is often associated with image, power, and visibility, the Qur’an redirects us to the essence of true leadership.
It is not what you display. It is who you are.
It is your honesty in private, your fairness in dealings, your humility with others, and your sincerity with Allah.
Fitrah allows us to recognise truth when it is presented. But that recognition can become clouded by environment, culture, and ego if we do not actively purify our hearts.
These verses invite us to reflect deeply.
Are we open to truth when it comes to us?
Or do we, like those before us, create conditions, excuses, and barriers that allow us to avoid change?
As we approach the end of Ramadan, this is a moment of honesty with ourselves.
Truth has been presented to us clearly. The Qur’an has been recited. The reminders have been given.
Now the question is not whether we have seen the truth.
The question is whether we are willing to accept it and live by it.
O Allah, purify our hearts so that we recognise the truth and follow it. Do not allow pride, habit, or culture to blind us to Your guidance. Make us among those who accept the truth with humility and live by it with sincerity. O Allah, allow us to follow the example of Your Messenger ﷺ in character, humility, and leadership. Strengthen our hearts upon Your path and do not let us turn away after You have guided us. Ameen.