"Nothing but a human like us"
إِلَّا بَشَرٌ مِّثْلُنَا
illā basharun mithlunā — "except a human like us" / "nothing but a human like us"
In these eight verses the restrictive frame "nothing but a human like us/you" is put in the mouth of those who deny a messenger, reducing him to their own kind; the frame is constant while the subject, the addressee pronoun, and the accusation that follows vary.
The expression is a restrictive clause: a negative or interrogative statement followed by إِلَّا and the noun بَشَر ("human"), itself qualified by مِّثْل plus a pronoun ("like us", "like you"). In all eight verses the words are spoken by people rejecting a messenger or messengers, and the frame does one thing: it restricts the messenger's identity to the speakers' own kind, denying him any superiority. The grammatical frame varies. In (11:27) the chiefs say مَا نَرَىٰكَ إِلَّا بَشَرًا مِّثْلَنَا, "We do not see you except as a human being like ourselves", with بَشَرًا in the accusative as the object of "see". In (14:10), (21:3), (23:24), (23:33), (26:154), (26:186) and (36:15) the noun is nominative بَشَرٌ, the predicate of a nominal sentence: "you are" (14:10, 26:154, 26:186, 36:15), "is this" (21:3, 23:24, 23:33). The pronoun on مِّثْل shifts: مِّثْلُنَا "like us" when speakers address a messenger directly (11:27, 14:10, 26:154, 26:186, 36:15), and مِّثْلُكُمْ "like you" when the speakers describe the messenger to a third-party audience (21:3, 23:24, 23:33). What follows the frame supplies the speakers' inference: that the messenger wants to bar them from their fathers' practice (14:10), that he wants to exalt himself over them (23:24), and that he shares their food and drink (23:33), that he is a liar (11:27, 26:186), that what he brings is sorcery (21:3), or that nothing has been sent down at all (36:15). The frame thus functions as the premise from which each denial argues.
Where it occurs
- 11:27 The chiefs restrict what they see of the messenger to "a human being like ourselves", as premise for judging his followers lowly and calling him a liar.
- 14:10 The people tell the messengers "you are nothing but humans like us", then accuse them of barring them from their fathers' worship and demand an evident authority.
- 21:3 Those who did wrong ask, in concealed talk, "Is this nothing but a human being like you?", concluding that what he brings is sorcery.
- 23:24 The chiefs say "This is nothing but a mortal like yourselves", inferring that he wants to exalt himself and that God would have sent angels instead.
- 23:33 The elite say "This is nothing but a human like you", supporting it with his eating and drinking what they eat and drink.
- 26:154 The people tell the messenger "You are nothing but a human, like us", and demand a sign if he is truthful.
- 26:186 The people say "you are nothing but a human being like us" and declare their assumption that he is among the liars.
- 36:15 The people say "You are nothing but humans like us" and deny that the All-Merciful has sent down anything.
All Qur'anic expressions