The Holy Quran 6:9 — Surah Al-An'am

Arabic text

وَلَوْ جَعَلْنَـٰهُ مَلَكًا لَّجَعَلْنَـٰهُ رَجُلًا وَلَلَبَسْنَا عَلَيْهِم مَّا يَلْبِسُونَ

Translation

If We were to make him (the Prophet) an angel (as the Kuffaar request when they say that the Prophets are nothing more than human beings like themselves and should rather have been angels), We would surely make him (the angel in the form of) a man (because humans cannot see an angel in his true form) and then cast the same doubt on them in which they find themselves (they would then again say that the Prophet is merely a human being like themselves).

Tafsir (excerpt) — Tafsir Usmani

since the sending of an angel in his true form has already been negated in the previous ayah, now the answer is given to the second possibility, namely that an angel be sent in the form of a man, because in that case, owing to outward likeness, people could benefit from his example and teaching.

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