[3698] That is, if God Almighty were to ever send a Messenger, he would be an angel not a mere human being, was the original issue that stood between people of all nations and Believing (cf. al-Rāzī, Ibn ʿĀshūr). Out of rebelliousness they thought that it would be unbecoming of them to follow the Messenger, who was no more than a human being like themselves, but they forgot about the proofs and evidences that he came with (cf. al-Qurṭubī): “And they say ˹mockingly˺: “What kind of messenger is this who eats food and goes about in market-places ˹for a living˺? If only an angel had been sent down with him to be his co-warner!” (25: 7)