قالوا ما أَنتُم إِلّا بَشَرٌ مِثلُنا وَما أَنزَلَ الرَّحمٰنُ مِن شَيءٍ إِن أَنتُم إِلّا تَكذِبونَ
They said: ‘You are nothing but humans like us, and the All-Beneficent has not sent down anything, and you are only lying.’
EXEGESIS
Bashar (humans) is a noun which is used for both plural and singular, and is applied to males and females alike. It may first appear that bashar and insān are synonyms for human being, however, the linguists have indicated a few differences. Starting from the literal differences, bashar is from basharah, which means the surface of the skin or epidermis, as opposed to the dermis which is the hidden layer under the skin. Humans are called bashar because their epidermis or skin is apparent, unlike the animal skin which is normally covered with wool or hair, and so on. On the other hand, insān is from anisa that is used to indicate sociability, amicability, intimacy, and having cordial feeling and behaviour.
Therefore, linguistically bashar is more indicative of the physical structure of a human, whereas insān is indicative of his metaphysical and social aspects, which could be positive or negative. However, bashar would normally be used to distinguish the physical features between humans and other creatures.
Having said that, at times insān is used in the Quran and in common language to indicate the meaning of bashar, and vice versa. Thus, the context of each verse must be examined carefully to determine whether the words insān and bashar have been used to indicate the meta-physical and intellectual aspects of the human or his physical creation.
EXPOSITION
The people of this town are an example of those who have barriers from before and from behind and whose eyes are veiled (verse 9), and to whom admonition does not help. They were rude to the messengers of God and very disrespectful to them. This was a typical response of most people towards all messengers of God, including the Meccans who treated Prophet Muhammad (s) in the same way.
Tabatabai opines that they denied the messengers because they thought that if there was a revelation, they could have received it as well. That is why they said: You are nothing but humans like us. Certainly, the messengers themselves acknowledged that they were human beings like others, however, the rejecters underestimated the capability of the human soul when purified and cleansed from material attachments. Their apostles said to them: ‘Indeed we are just human beings like yourselves, but Allah favours whomever of His servants that He wishes’ (14:11); and Prophet Muhammad (s) was commanded to say: I am just a human being like you. It has been revealed to me that your God is the one God (18:110). Therefore, the messengers would not have any problem being addressed as humans like them, however, the problem was in their belief that the one who receives the revelation should be non-human, such as an angel.
Their statement, the All-Beneficent has not sent down anything, indicates that even though they were polytheist and idol worshippers, they believed in God as the All-Beneficent, which was used as another word for the Creator. However, they believed that the All-Beneficent had created everything but had left all the affairs of the creation with the closest of His creations, such as the honourable angels, who were believed to provide and sustain and run the affairs of the universe and were from the worshipped deities. Furthermore, they did not estimate that the All-Beneficent may send revelation to human beings. They may have also wanted to emphasise that God is the all-merciful to the extent that He leaves the people free on their way of life without punishing them and placing any pressure over them.
Furthermore, they belied the statement of the messengers by saying you are only lying instead of ‘you are liars’. This may indicate that they knew in their hearts that these messengers were not liars, or they had never experienced any lie from them. They thought that they were lying only in this case, because the character of the messengers in that community was known to be one of honesty and truthfulness.
INSIGHTS FROM HADITH
- Imam Ali (a) said: ‘From Adam’s progeny God chose prophets and took their pledge for His revelation and for carrying His message as their trust. When most of the people perverted God’s covenant with them, thus ignored His position and took compeers along with Him, and when the devils turned them away from acknowledging Him and kept them aloof from His worship, He issued towards them His messengers and incessantly sent to them His prophets. [He did so] to get them to fulfil the covenant of His creation, to make them recall His bounties, to provide them proofs by preaching, to provoke their hidden intellects, and to show them the signs of His omnipotence.’
Note: God sent prophets who were human beings so that people could easily follow them as role models.
- Imam Ali (a) said: ‘If the prophets had undefeated power, an unvanquished might, and that kingdom for which the necks of people would stretch [in obedience], and the saddles would be mounted to reach it, then it would be easier for the people to consider [their authority], and it would have kept them away from being arrogant [against the prophets]. Thus, they would have believed in them out of compelling fear or the inclining desire for what they have [from their riches]. Consequently, the [true] intentions would have been mixed [with fear or greed]; hence, their good deeds would have been dispersed [between God and materialism]. Therefore, the glorified God wanted the obedience of the people to be for His prophets [and not for the fear or desire in whatever material they possess], and their belief in His books, being humble for His sake, having tranquillity in His command, and submitting to His obedience with sincerity for Him without blending it with others at all, and whenever the test and tribulation would be greater, the reward and recompense would be grander.’
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
The All-Beneficent has not sent down anything could be interpreted in two ways. One interpretation is that they meant that God has not revealed anything to the three messengers who came to them. Another interpretation is that God has never revealed any message to any human at all, so how could He have sent them with a message. In both cases, the conclusion was that they accused the messengers of lying.
[1] Meaning of bashar in the Quran, Almaany the online dictionary, <https://www.almaany.com/ar/dict/ar-en/%D8%A8%D8%B4%D8%B1/ >.
[2] Lane, p. 208.
[3] Raghib, p. 124.
[4] Lane, p. 113; meaning of ins in the Quran, Almaany the online dictionary, <https://www.almaany.com/ar/dict/ar-en/%D8%A3%D9%86%D8%B3/ >.
[5] Mubīn al-Ḥaqq al-Nadawī discusses that whenever God mentions the word bashar in the Quran, it indicates the physical aspect of a human that distinguishes him from other creatures, and insān indicates the meta-physical characteristic of a human (https://nbdalarab.com/articles/395184/).
[6] Amthal, 14/151.
[7] Mizan, 14/73.
[8] Nahj, sermon 1.
[9] Nahj, sermon 192.
[10] Razi, 26/260.