أَلَمْ يَأْتِكُمْ نَبَأُ الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ قَوْمِ نُوحٍ وَعَادٍ وَثَمُودَ وَالَّذِينَ مِنْ بَعْدِهِمْ لَا يَعْلَمُهُمْ إِلَّا اللَّهُ جَاءَتْهُمْ رُسُلُهُمْ بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ فَرَدُّوا أَيْدِيَهُمْ فِي أَفْوَاهِهِمْ وَقَالُوا إِنَّا كَفَرْنَا بِمَا أُرْسِلْتُمْ بِهِ وَإِنَّا لَفِي شَكٍّ مِمَّا تَدْعُونَنَا إِلَيْهِ مُرِيبٍ ﴿۹﴾ قَالَتْ رُسُلُهُمْ أَفِي اللَّهِ شَكٌّ فَاطِرِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ يَدْعُوكُمْ لِيَغْفِرَ لَكُمْ مِنْ ذُنُوبِكُمْ وَيُؤَخِّرَكُمْ إِلَى أَجَلٍ مُسَمًّى قَالُوا إِنْ أَنْتُمْ إِلَّا بَشَرٌ مِثْلُنَا تُرِيدُونَ أَنْ تَصُدُّونَا عَمَّا كَانَ يَعْبُدُ آبَاؤُنَا فَأْتُونَا بِسُلْطَانٍ مُبِينٍ ﴿۱۰﴾

﴾9﴿ Alam ya'tikum naba'ul lazeena min qablikum qawmi Noohinw wa 'Aadinw wa Samood, wallazeena mim ba'dihim; laa ya'lamuhum illallaah; jaaa'at hum Rusuluhum bilbaiyinaati faraddooo aydiyahum feee afwaahihim wa qaalooo innaa kafarnaa bimaaa ursiltum bihee wa innaa lafee shakkim mimmaa tad'oonanaaa ilaihi mureeb
﴾10﴿ Qaalat Rusuluhum afillaahi shakkun faatiris samaawaati wal ardi yad'ookum liyaghfira lakum min zunoobikum wa yu'akhirakum ilaaa ajalin musammaa; qaaloo in antum illaa basharum mislunaa tureedoona an tasuddoonaa 'ammaa kaana ya'budu aabaaa'unaa fa'toonaa bi sultaanin mubeen

﴾9﴿ Has the news not come to you of those before you—the people of Noah, ‘Ād, Thamūd, and those after them, None knows them except Allah. Their messengers came to them with clear proofs, but they put their hands in their mouths and said: Indeed, we disbelieve in that with which you have been sent, and we are in doubt about that to which you invite us, causing great uncertainty
﴾10﴿ Their messengers said: Is there any doubt about Allah, the Creator of the heavens and the earth? He invites you so that He may forgive you your sins and grant you respite for a specified term. They said: You are but human beings like us. You want to turn us away from what our forefathers used to worship. Then bring us a clear proof

[9] In this verse, the mention is of previous nations who opposed the messengers in three ways:
First, (فَرَدُّوا أَيْدِيَهُمْ)—this has three interpretations:
1. The deniers placed their hands on their mouths out of intense grief, intending to slap their own faces.
2. They placed their hands on the mouths of the prophets to silence them.
3. It is a metaphor for preventing the prophets from preaching their message.
The second way of opposition is (وَقَالُوا إِنَّا كَفَرْنَا بِمَا أُرْسِلْتُمْ بِهِ)—they verbally rejected the message.
The third is (لَا يَعْلَمُهُمْ إِلَّا اللَّهُ)—this is clear evidence that knowledge of the unseen and complete knowledge is denied to the messengers and all servants.
Ibn Kathir has transmitted that from this verse, it becomes clear that the genealogy of the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace) up to Adam (peace be upon him) is authentically proven, but beyond that, it is not established with sound evidence.
[10] In this part, it begins with the prophets responding to their people: (أَفِي اللَّهِ شَكٌّ)—the intended meaning is doubt in the oneness of Allah, since they did not deny His existence. This question is posed in the form of denial and amazement.
Then, two benefits of calling to monotheism are mentioned: the first is forgiveness, and the second is a delay (respite).
The opposition of the nations to the messengers is again mentioned in three ways:
First, they said: “You are humans like us,” implying that a human cannot be a prophet.
Second, they accused the prophets of turning them away from the path of their forefathers, which reflects the shirk-based tradition of blind following.
Third, they demanded miracles from the prophets, thinking that miracles were in the prophets’ own control.
(قَالُوا إِنْ أَنْتُمْ إِلَّا بَشَرٌ مِثْلُنَا)—this is evidence that in every era, the disbelievers held the belief that there is a contradiction between humanity and prophethood, meaning that a human being cannot be a messenger. Therefore, a prophet being human was seen as impossible to them.