Reasons for Choosing the Prophets from Among People

Allah (swt) chose prophets, whom he assigned to convey His messages to people, from among people. The Qur'an emphasizes that prophets are not angels, but human beings who do shopping, eat and drink. (Furqan, 25/20) In many verses, it is pointed out that there had been an expectation of a prophet with extraordinary features in the societies before Prophet Muhammad (saw). For instance, when Prophet Nuh (Noah) invited his people to be servants of Allah only, the prominent figures among them tried to mislead the people and said: "This is not but a man like yourselves who wishes to take precedence over you. If Allah had willed,  He would have sent down angels. We have not heard of this among our forefathers." (Mu’minun, 23/24)

The situation did not change during the Jahiliyyah Period. The polytheist Arabs inherited the perception of the extraordinary prophet exactly from their ancestors. Therefore, people were astonished that Prophet Muhammad (saw) was chosen among people. In this respect, it is said in the Qur'an, "Then do you wonder that there has come to you a reminder [revelation and advice] from your Lord through a man from among you, that he may warn you and that you may fear Allah so you might receive mercy?"(A’raf, 7/63) Like their ancestors, the Meccan polytheists expected that the prophet would be someone who had extraordinary features and privileges that normal people did not have. This issue is stated in the Qur'an as follows: "And they say, 'We will not believe you until you break open for us from the ground a spring. Or [until] you have a garden of palm trees and grapes and make rivers gush forth within them in force. Or you make the heaven fall upon us in fragments as you have claimed or you bring Allah and the angels before [us]. Or you have a house of gold or you ascend into the sky. And [even then], we will not believe in your ascension until you bring down to us a book we may read.' Say, 'Exalted is my Lord! Was I ever but a human messenger?'"(Isra, 17/90-93) 

Our Almighty Lord (swt) chose Prophet Muhammad (saw) from among people. But the polytheists showed this situation as a reason to oppose his Prophethood. Allah (swt) pointed out in a verse that this reaction of idolaters was an excuse, and responded to those who did not want to accept that prophets had human features just like them as follows: "And what prevented the people from believing when guidance came to them except that they said, 'Has Allah sent a human messenger?' Say, 'If there were upon the earth angels walking securely, We would have sent down to them from the heaven an angel [as a] messenger'." (Isra, 17/95)

Allah sent each prophet with the language of his own people. It is said in a verse of the Holy Qur'an that "And We did not send any messenger except [speaking] in the language of his people to state clearly for them." (Ibrahim, 14/4) The prophets conveyed the revelations of Allah to the people with the language of the nation they lived in. This situation facilitated the communication of the prophets with the community. If Allah had sent His messages through other creatures, people would not be able to communicate with them.

Prophets do not only convey the orders and prohibitions they are revealed. They also guide people, lead and set an example for them. A person can only take a person like himself/herself as an example. For this reason, prophets were sent by Allah from among people to set an example. The selection of prophets from among people provided great convenience for people's understanding, acceptance, and application of the revelation. Because prophets are people who know very well the problems of the society they live in. They found solutions to the problems of the society in accordance with the revelation they received from Allah and they guided them in this regard. Prophets and society should share the same values and feelings. 

Prophets demonstrated how to live a virtuous and honored life by illustrating it with their own practices, introduced the religion of Allah to people, taught love of Allah, responsibility for the Hereafter, righteousness and justice, and living together happily. For this reason, choosing prophets from among people is a mercy of Allah upon His servants.(Basics of Islam, M.E.B.Y., p. 123)