قُل لَّوْ كَانَ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ مَلَٰٓئِكَةٌ يَمْشُونَ مُطْمَئِنِّينَ لَنَزَّلْنَا عَلَيْهِم مِّنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ مَلَكًا رَّسُولًا
23:25; 25:22; 43:61.
Commentary:
It is clear from this verse that what is here meant by "angels" are not real angels but angel-like men, because real angels certainly would not need other angels to come as Warners to them.
The verse constitutes an effective answer to those people who in their arrogance say that, being superior to their Prophet, they should have received revelation direct from God. They are told that angels descend upon angel-like men, and not upon their opposites and that if they bring about an angelic change in their lives, angels would begin to descend upon them.
But as they have allied themselves with Satan they could not expect visits from angels. The verse also provides an answer to another class of men who believe that man is too puny and inconsequential a being to be the recipient of Divine revelation and that higher beings are required for this purpose. The answer given is that only beings of the same species can help their prototypes achieve their salvation, because only they can serve as exemplars or models for them. Thus none but a man could be the bearer of a Divine Message for mankind, because only a man could serve as a model for other men. The word رسول (Messenger) here does not mean simply the bearer of Divinerevelation, but the possessor of all the attributes and qualifications of a Divine Messenger.
23:25; 25:22; 43:61.
The verse may have two meanings: (a) Angels descend upon angel- like men, and not upon their opposites, and if the disbelievers should also bring about an angelic change in their lives, angels would descend upon them. (b) Beings of the same species only can serve as exemplars or models for one another. Thus only a man could be the bearer of Divine Message for mankind, because only he alone could serve as a model for other men.