Al-Jawāb as-Sahīh li-man baddala dīn al-Masīh - Ibn Taimiya - (2/361)

He—exalted is He—also says:

“Thamūd denied the warnings and said, ‘Shall we follow a single human being from among ourselves? Then indeed we would be in error and madness.’” (al-Qamar: 23)

Likewise, those who came after them declared,

“This is nothing but a man like yourselves; he eats what you eat and drinks what you drink. If you obey a human being like yourselves, you will surely be losers.” (al-Muʾminūn: 33)

In the same vein, Pharaoh’s people said to Moses and Aaron,

“Should we believe in two men like ourselves, while their own people are subservient to us?” (al-Muʾminūn: 47)

Pharaoh himself said,

“Am I not better than this contemptible man who can scarcely make himself understood? Why have bracelets of gold not been cast upon him, or why have the angels not come down with him side by side?” (al-Zukhruf: 52)

They said the very same about Muhammad as well, and He—exalted is He—said:

وَقَالَ - تَعَالَى -: {كَذَّبَتْ ثَمُودُ بِالنُّذُرِ فَقَالُوا أَبَشَرًا مِنَّا وَاحِدًا نَتَّبِعُهُ إِنَّا إِذًا لَفِي ضَلَالٍ وَسُعُرٍ} [القمر: ٢٣] وَكَذَلِكَ قَالَ الَّذِينَ مِنْ بَعْدِهِمْ {مَا هَذَا إِلَّا بَشَرٌ مِثْلُكُمْ يَأْكُلُ مِمَّا تَأْكُلُونَ مِنْهُ وَيَشْرَبُ مِمَّا تَشْرَبُونَ وَلَئِنْ أَطَعْتُمْ بَشَرًا مِثْلَكُمْ إِنَّكُمْ إِذًا لَخَاسِرُونَ} [المؤمنون: ٣٣] وَكَذَلِكَ قَالَ قَوْمُ فِرْعَوْنَ لِمُوسَى وَهَارُونَ {أَنُؤْمِنُ لِبَشَرَيْنِ مِثْلِنَا وَقَوْمُهُمَا لَنَا عَابِدُونَ} [المؤمنون: ٤٧] وَقَالَ: فِرْعَوْنُ {أَمْ أَنَا خَيْرٌ مِنْ هَذَا الَّذِي هُوَ مَهِينٌ وَلَا يَكَادُ يُبِينُ فَلَوْلَا أُلْقِيَ عَلَيْهِ أَسْوِرَةٌ مِنْ ذَهَبٍ أَوْ جَاءَ مَعَهُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ مُقْتَرِنِينَ} [الزخرف: ٥٢] وَكَذَلِكَ قَالُوا: لِمُحَمَّدٍ وَقَالَ: