Al-Qur'an Surah Al-Mu'minun Verse 24

Mufti Taqi Usmani

So, said the disbelieving chiefs from among his nation, “This (man) is nothing but a human being like you. He wishes to impose his superiority over you. Had Allah willed, He would have sent down angels (instead of him). We have not heard of such a thing among our forefathers.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

But the disbelieving chiefs of his people said ˹to the masses˺, “This is only a human like you, who wants to be superior to you. Had Allah willed, He could have easily sent down angels ˹instead˺. We have never heard of this in ˹the history of˺ our forefathers.

Ruwwad Translation Center

The disbelieving chiefs of his people said, “This is only a man like yourselves who wants to be superior to you. If Allah had willed, He could have sent down angels. We have not heard such a thing from our forefathers.

A. J. Arberry

Said the Council of the unbelievers of his people, 'This is naught but a mortal like yourselves, who desires to gain superiority over you. And if God willed, He would have sent down angels. We never heard of this among, our fathers, the ancients.

Abdul Haleem

But the leading disbelievers among his people said, ‘He is merely a mortal like you, trying to gain some superiority over you. God would have sent down angels if He had wished; besides, we never heard of anything like this from our forefathers.

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

Then said the chiefs of those who disbelieved among his people: this is no other than a human being like unto you, he seeketh to make himself superior unto; and if God had willed, He would save sent down angels; we have not heard of this among our fathers ancient.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

The chiefs of the Unbelievers among his people said; "He is no more than a man like yourselves; his wish is to assert his superiority over you; if Allah had wished (to send messengers), He could have sent down angels; never did we hear such a thing (as he says), among our ancestors of old."

Abul Ala Maududi

But the notables among his people had refused to believe, and said: "This is none other than a mortal like yourselves who desires to attain superiority over you. Had Allah wanted (to send any Messengers) He would have sent down angels. We have heard nothing like this in the time of our forebears of old (that humans were sent as Messengers).

Ahmed Ali

The chiefs of his people, who did not believe, said: "He is only a man like you. He wishes to acquire ascendancy over you. If God had willed He would have sent down angels. We never heard this from our elders.

Ahmed Raza Khan

So the disbelieving chieftains of his people said, “He is just a human like you, he wishes to become your leader; and had Allah willed, He would have sent down angels; We did not hear this in the case of our forefathers.”

Ali Quli Qarai

But the elite of the faithless from among his people said, ‘This is just a human being like you, who seeks to dominate you. Had Allah wished, He would have sent down angels. We never heard of such a thing among our forefathers.

Ali Ünal

The leading ones who disbelieved from among his people reacted, saying (among themselves and to each other): "This is but a mortal like you. He only wishes to gain superiority over you. Had God willed (to send us a Messenger to convey His Message), He would surely have sent down angels (to communicate His Message). Further, we have never heard of anything like this in the case of our forefathers of old.

Amatul Rahman Omar

But the chiefs of those who disbelieved from among his people said, `He is nothing but a human being like yourselves, (only) he seeks to assert (his) superiority over you. And if Allâh had so willed He could have certainly sent down angels (with him). We have never heard of this (sort of a thing) happen in the times of our fathers of yore.

English Literal

So said the nobles/assembly from those who disbelieved from his nation: "That (is) not except a human similar to you he wants that (he) makes himself more preferred/favoured on (to) you, and if God willed/wanted , He would have descended angels, we did not hear with that in our fathers/forefathers, the first/beginners."

Faridul Haque

So the disbelieving chieftains of his people said, "He is just a human like you, he wishes to become your leader; and had Allah willed, He would have sent down angels; We did not hear this in the case of our forefathers."

Hamid S. Aziz

We sent Noah unto his people, and he said, "O my people! Serve Allah, you have no God but Him; do you then not fear (evil)?"

Hilali & Khan

But the chiefs of those who disbelieved among his people said: "He is no more than a human being like you, he seeks to make himself superior to you. Had Allah willed, He surely could have sent down angels; never did we hear such a thing among our fathers of old.

Maulana Mohammad Ali

And certainly We sent Noah to his people, so he said: O my people, serve Allah, you have no God other than Him. Will you not guard against evil?

Mohammad Habib Shakir

And the chiefs of those who disbelieved from among his people said: He is nothing but a mortal like yourselves who desires that he may have superiority over you, and if Allah had pleased, He could certainly have sent down angels. We have not heard of this among our fathers of yore:

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

But the chieftains of his folk, who disbelieved, said: This is only a mortal like you who would make himself superior to you. Had Allah willed, He surely could have sent down angels. We heard not of this in the case of our fathers of old.

Muhammad Sarwar

The chiefs of the unbelievers said to the others, "He is a mere mortal like you. He wants only to be superior to you. Had God wanted He would have sent the angels (instead of him). We have never heard from our fathers anything like what he says.

Qaribullah & Darwish

The unbelieving assembly of his nation said: 'This is but a human like you, who desires to gain superiority over you. Had Allah willed, He could have sent down angels. We never heard of this among our ancient forefathers.

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

But the chiefs of his people who disbelieved said: "He is no more than a human being like you, he seeks to make himself superior to you. Had Allah willed, He surely could have sent down angels. Never did we hear such a thing among our fathers of old."

Wahiduddin Khan

The leaders of his people who denied the truth, said, "He is only a human being like yourselves who wants to make himself superior to you. If God had wished, He would have sent down angels. We never heard about this from our forefathers.

Talal Itani

But the notables of his people, who disbelieved, said, “This is nothing but a human like you, who wants to gain superiority over you. Had God willed, He would have sent down angels. We never heard of this from our forefathers of old.

Tafsir jalalayn

But the council of his people, who disbelieved, said, to their followers, `This is just a human being like you who desires to gain superiority, to have the honour, over you, by acquiring followers, you being [his] followers. And had God willed, that none other than Him be worshipped, He would have sent down angels, with that [Message], and not [assigned] a human being [for it]. We never heard of such, an affirmation of God's Oneness as that which Noah summons [us], among our forefathers, [among] past communities.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

فَقَالَ الْمَلَُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِن قَوْمِهِ

But the chiefs of his people who disbelieved said;

The chiefs or leaders of his people said;

مَا هَذَا إِلاَّ بَشَرٌ مِّثْلُكُمْ يُرِيدُ أَن يَتَفَضَّلَ عَلَيْكُمْ

He is no more than a human being like you, he seeks to make himself superior to you.

meaning, `he is putting himself above you and trying to make himself great by claiming to be a Prophet, but he is a human being like you, so how can he receive revelation when you do not!'

وَلَوْ شَاء اللَّهُ لَاَنزَلَ مَلَيِكَةً
.

Had Allah willed, He surely could have sent down angels.

meaning, `if Allah had wanted to send a Prophet, He would have sent an angel from Him, not a human being.

..
مَّا سَمِعْنَا بِهَذَا فِي ابَايِنَا الاَْوَّلِينَ



Never did we hear such a thing among our fathers of old."

We have never heard of such a thing -- i.e., sending a man to our forefathers' -- their predecessors in times past