وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا رُسُلًا مِّن قَبْلِكَ مِنْهُم مَّن قَصَصْنَا عَلَيْكَ وَمِنْهُم مَّن لَّمْ نَقْصُصْ عَلَيْكَ ۗ وَمَا كَانَ لِرَسُولٍ أَن يَأْتِىَ بِـَٔايَةٍ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ فَإِذَا جَآءَ أَمْرُ ٱللَّهِ قُضِىَ بِٱلْحَقِّ وَخَسِرَ هُنَالِكَ ٱلْمُبْطِلُونَ 78
Translations
And We have already sent messengers before you. Among them are those [whose stories] We have related to you, and among them are those [whose stories] We have not related to you. And it was not for any messenger to bring a sign [or verse] except by permission of Allāh. So when the command of Allāh comes, it will be concluded [i.e., judged] in truth, and the falsifiers will thereupon lose [all].
Transliteration
Wa-laqad arsalnā rusulān min qablika minhum man qasashnā 'alayka wa-minhum man lam naqsus 'alayka wa-mā kāna li-rasūlin an ya'tiya bi-āyatin illā bi-idhni-Allāh fa-idhā jāa amru-Allāh qudiya bi-al-haqq wa-khasira hunālika al-mubṭilūn
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah affirms that Allah sent many messengers before Prophet Muhammad, some of whose stories are detailed in the Quran and others whose stories are not mentioned. It establishes that no messenger can produce a miracle except by Allah's permission, emphasizing divine sovereignty in confirmation of prophethood. When Allah's command (judgment) comes on the Day of Judgment, truth prevails and those who pursued falsehood lose entirely. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir note this reassures the Prophet that his mission follows the established pattern of divine messengership throughout history.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in Surah Ghafir (a Meccan surah revealed during the period of intensified opposition to the Prophet). It provides comfort to Muhammad and the believers by contextualizing his prophethood within the long continuum of divine messengers, countering the disbelievers' rejection and demands for miracles. The surah addresses the Meccan polytheists who questioned the Prophet's authenticity.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet said, 'The number of prophets is 124,000, and the number of messengers is 313' (Musnad Ahmad). Additionally, the principle that miracles occur only by Allah's will is affirmed in the hadith: 'Every prophet was given miracles because of which people believed, but what I have been given is the Divine Revelation which Allah has revealed to me' (Sahih Bukhari 4981).
Themes
Key Lesson
Believers should understand that prophethood is a continuous divine institution established by Allah's wisdom, and ultimate victory belongs to truth and those who follow it, regardless of present opposition. This ayah teaches reliance on Allah's plan rather than human approval, and confidence that falsehood will ultimately perish before divine justice.
Related Ayahs
أَفَلَمْ يَسِيرُوا۟ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ فَيَنظُرُوا۟ كَيْفَ كَانَ عَـٰقِبَةُ ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ ۚ كَانُوٓا۟ أَكْثَرَ مِنْهُمْ وَأَشَدَّ قُوَّةً وَءَاثَارًا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ فَمَآ أَغْنَىٰ عَنْهُم مَّا كَانُوا۟ يَكْسِبُونَ
Have they not traveled through the land and observed how was the end of those before them? They were more numerous than themselves and greater in strength and in impression on the land, but they were not availed by what they used to earn.
ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِى جَعَلَ لَكُمُ ٱلْأَنْعَـٰمَ لِتَرْكَبُوا۟ مِنْهَا وَمِنْهَا تَأْكُلُونَ
It is Allāh who made for you the grazing animals upon which you ride, and some of them you eat.
يَـٰقَوْمِ لَكُمُ ٱلْمُلْكُ ٱلْيَوْمَ ظَـٰهِرِينَ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ فَمَن يَنصُرُنَا مِنۢ بَأْسِ ٱللَّهِ إِن جَآءَنَا ۚ قَالَ فِرْعَوْنُ مَآ أُرِيكُمْ إِلَّا مَآ أَرَىٰ وَمَآ أَهْدِيكُمْ إِلَّا سَبِيلَ ٱلرَّشَادِ
O my people, sovereignty is yours today, [your being] dominant in the land. But who would protect us from the punishment of Allāh if it came to us?" Pharaoh said, "I do not show you except what I see, and I do not guide you except to the way of right conduct."
فَلَمَّا جَآءَتْهُمْ رُسُلُهُم بِٱلْبَيِّنَـٰتِ فَرِحُوا۟ بِمَا عِندَهُم مِّنَ ٱلْعِلْمِ وَحَاقَ بِهِم مَّا كَانُوا۟ بِهِۦ يَسْتَهْزِءُونَ
And when their messengers came to them with clear proofs, they [merely] rejoiced in what they had of knowledge, but they were enveloped by what they used to ridicule.