This is just as the Almighty says in another surah:
“They ask you about the Spirit. Say, ‘The Spirit is by the command of my Lord, and you have been given only a little knowledge. If We willed, We could surely take away what We have revealed to you; then you would find no protector for yourself against Us—except as a mercy from your Lord. Truly His favor toward you is great. Say, ‘If all mankind and the jinn were to gather to produce the like of this Qur’an, they could never produce its like, even if they backed one another with every help.’ And We have indeed set forth for people in this Qur’an every kind of parable, yet most people persist in nothing but denial.’” (Qur’an 17:85–89)
—and He continues until His words—
“Nothing has prevented people from believing when guidance came to them except that they said, ‘Has Allah sent a human being as a messenger?’ Say, ‘If there had been angels walking securely upon the earth, We would certainly have sent down to them from the heaven an angel as a messenger.’” (Qur’an 17:94–95)
Moreover, His phrase sahibukum (your companion) makes it clear that he is an Arab who was sent in their own tongue, just as He says: “We have never sent a messenger except in the language of his people” (Qur’an 14:4).
The Exalted also says: “There has certainly come to you a messenger from among yourselves; grievous to him is what you suffer; he is deeply concerned for you; to the believers he is gentle and merciful.” (Qur’an 9:128)
Some scholars say that “from among yourselves” refers specifically to the Arabs, for the address in the verse is to them. Others maintain that it means from among the children of Adam—in other words, a human being, neither an angel nor a jinn—because the address is to all the created beings to whom he was sent. This is especially pertinent since the verse occurs in Sūrat Barā’ah, one of the last portions of the Qur’an to be revealed; indeed, some hold that it was the very last verse revealed, coming after the Prophet had already called the Byzantines, Persians, and Copts to the faith. To the believers among all of these peoples he is, without doubt, kind and merciful.
Surely, may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him, he is a member of humankind; among humanity he is the best, among the Arabs the best of humanity, among Quraysh the best of the Arabs, and among Banū Hāshim the best of Quraysh. The word al-anfus (selves) thus denotes the entire human race, as the Exalted says: “When you heard it, why did the believing men and believing women not think good of their own selves?” (Qur’an 24:12).
Accordingly, His expressions sahibukum (your companion), min anfusikum (from among yourselves), and His saying, “Has it been a wonder to people that We revealed to a man from among them, ‘Warn the people’?” (Qur’an 10:2) all convey the same point.
Likewise, the words, “Glory be to my Lord! I am nothing but a human messenger” (Qur’an 17:93), were never intended—as some imagine—to exalt the angel above him, any more than the statement, “that We revealed to a man…” was meant to do so.