In Sura 17, we see the following requests that were made to God’s messenger.
17:89 We have cited for the people in this Quran all kinds of examples, but most people insist upon disbelieving. 17:90 They said, “We will not believe you unless you cause a spring to gush out of the ground. 17:91 “Or unless you own a garden of date palms and grapes, with rivers running through it. 17:92 “ Or unless you cause masses from the sky, as you claimed, to fall on us. Or unless you bring GOD and the angels before our eyes. 17:93 “Or unless you own a luxurious mansion, or unless you climb into the sky. Even if you do climb, we will not believe unless you bring a book that we can read.” Say, “Glory be to my Lord. Am I any more than a human messenger?”
If these are the requests made against the prophet Muhammad by his objectors, when did the prophet claim that masses would fall down upon the people as per 17:92? Were the objectors lying that he made this claim? If so, why wouldn’t the Quran clarify this? And if he made such a claim, was he mistaken for making this claim as this event never happened to his objectors? Or is this further evidence that this is not about the prophet but about a future messenger?
Alternatively, Rashad Khalifa, who claimed to be God’s messenger of the covenant as prophesized in 3:81, did make this claim.
3:81 GOD took a covenant from the prophets, saying, “I will give you the scripture and wisdom. Afterwards, a messenger will come to confirm all existing scriptures. You shall believe in him and support him.” He said, “Do you agree with this, and pledge to fulfill this covenant?” They said, “We agree.” He said, “You have thus borne witness, and I bear witness along with you.”
He made this claim towards the Arabs who rejected him based on the prophecy of the smoke from the Quran in Sura 44, The Smoke (Al-Dukhãn).
44:10 Therefore, watch for the day when the sky brings a profound smoke.*
44:11 It will envelop the people; this is a painful retribution.
44:12 “Our Lord, relieve this retribution for us; we are believers.”
44:13 Now that it is too late, they remember! An enlightening messenger had come to them.
44:14 But they turned away from him, saying, “ Well educated, but crazy! “
44:15 We will relieve the retribution for awhile; you will soon revert.
From these verses, we see that this is not in reference to the Day of Resurrection as the retribution of the smoke will be temporary with enough time for the people to revert after it is removed. Additionally, 44:16 then talks about the Day or Resurrection occurring after this event.
These verses also refer to the messenger as “a clarifying messenger” (rasūlun mubīnun / رَسُولٌ مُبِينٌ) as well as describing him as “well educated, but crazy” (muʿallamun majnūnun / مُعَلَّمٌ مَجْنُونٌ). Muhammad was called many things, but one thing that he has not been labeled by his opponents is “well educated.”
Some make the argument that based on 16:104, this could be in reference to Muhammad because people accused him of being taught and that the meaning of muʿallamun ( مُعَلَّمٌ) is just one who was taught, but this is not correct.
16:103 We are fully aware that they say, “A human being is teaching him!” The tongue of the source they hint at is non-Arabic, and this is a perfect Arabic tongue.
The meaning of muʿallamun ( مُعَلَّمٌ) can mean one who teaches or one who is well-educated and not one who just repeats what they heard. This is also consistent with the 24 other occurrences in the Quran of the word ‘allam ( عَلَّم) used in the Quran. This word is consistently used in the context of teaching. In addition, below is a snippet from Lanes Lexicon for this meaning.
Sura 26 is one of the suras that describes the five annihilated communities in the Quran, e.g. the people of Noah, the people of Hud (Ad), the people of Lot (Sodom), the people of Saleh (Thamud), the people of Shuaib (The Woods). After these communities are mentioned, it describes the Quran, and another community that is not specifically specified.
26:198 If we revealed this to people who do not know Arabic. 26:199 And had him recite it (in Arabic), they could not possibly believe in it. 26:200 We thus render it (like a foreign language) in the hearts of the guilty. 26:201 Thus, they cannot believe in it; not until they see the painful retribution. 26:202 It will come to them suddenly, when they least expect it. 26:203 They will then say, “Can we have a respite?” 26:204 Did they not challenge our retribution? 26:205 As you see, we allowed them to enjoy for years. 26:206 Then the retribution came to them, just as promised. 26:207 Their vast resources did not help them in the least. 26:208 We never annihilate any community without sending warners. 26:209 Therefore, this is a reminder, for we are never unjust.
Many people want to think that this is discussing the Day of Judgment, but it is clear that this retribution is describing one particular community that will be annihilated. Specifically, a community that had the Quran in their own language with vast resources who were allowed to enjoy their sinful ways for many years.
We see another challenge made by the disbelievers in the following verses regarding this same topic.
52:42 Are they plotting and scheming? The disbelievers’ schemes backfire against them. 52:43 Do they have another god besides GOD? GOD be glorified, far above having partners. 52:44 When they see masses falling from the sky, they will say, “Piled clouds!” 52:45 Disregard them until they meet the day in which they are struck. 52:46 On that day, their schemes will not protect them, nor will they be helped. 52:47 Those who transgress suffer retribution here, but most of them do not know.
Some individuals claim that Rashad’s translation of 52:44 is wrong because he translated ( وَإِن) as “When” instead of “And if” which would be the literal translation. The reason for this difference in translation from the Arabic is that this statement was no longer an “if” statement but a “when” statement after God revealed the details of the smoke prophecy to His messenger to proclaim. Also, note that this is verse 44, and Sura 44 is The Smoke.
In another verse, we see the Quran telling the messenger:
41:13 If they turn away, then say, “I am warning you of a disaster like the disaster that annihilated ‘Ãd and Thamûd.”
Again, such an event did not happen after the prophet but is a prophecy given by Rashad Khalifa, God’s messenger of the covenant.
Similarly, if we look at Rashad’s translation of 2:101, he translated ( وَلَمَّا) not as “And when,” but he translated it as “Now.” This is because 2:101 was no longer a “when” statement after God’s messenger of the covenant came and carried out this function.
2:101 Now that a messenger from GOD has come to them,* and even though he proves and confirms their own scripture, some followers of the scripture (Jews, Christians, and Muslims) disregard GOD’s scripture behind their backs, as if they never had any scripture.
Every month Rashad Khalifa would publish his newsletter called Submitters Perspective. On January 31, 1990, Rashad Khalifa was martyred at his Masjid in the late hours of the night. Interestingly, he happened to have published his March 1990 in advance before his martyrdom. In this issue, he made the following claims regarding the prophecy of the smoke.
34:46 Say, “I ask you to do one thing: Devote yourselves to GOD, in pairs or as individuals, then reflect. Your friend (Rashad) is not crazy. He is a manifest warner to you, just before the advent of a terrible retribution.”