Islam - Its Meaning for Modern Man — Page 116
116 yourselves. I have received revelation that your God is only One God. So let him who hopes to meet his Lord act righteously, and let him associate no one in the worship of his Lord’ ” (18:111). When challenged by his opponents to show them a sign, like causing a spring to gush forth from the earth, or causing the heavens to fall upon them in pieces, or ascending to heaven and bringing down with him a book which they could read, he was commanded to reply: “Holy is my Lord. I am but a man sent as a Messenger” (17:91 ⎯ 94). It was necessary to stress this both in view of what had happened in the case of some previous prophets who were exalted as divinities by their followers and also for the simple reason that only a man can be an exemplar for men. An angel or a god cannot set an example which man can follow. The dimensions would be utterly disparate. It is a curious inversion that a prophet’s opponents often seek to justify their rejection of him on the ground that he is but a man, a single individual from among themselves (54:25). Yet, as the Quran points out, it is only a man who can serve as God’s Messenger to men. An angel would be sent as a prophet if the earth were peopled with angels (17:95 ⎯ 96). The Prophet’s disclaimer of any supernatural powers or capacities is repeatedly emphasized in the Quran. For instance, he is commanded to say that he