Quran 46:9, I am not something new among the messengers.

Surah Al-Ahqaf, ayah 9: "Say, "I am not something original among the messengers, nor do I know what will be done with me or with you. I only follow that which is revealed to me, and I am..." Read it in Arabic with transliteration and the Sahih International translation, with the ayah before and after it, and listen to it recited.

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46:8Before

أَمْ يَقُولُونَ ٱفْتَرَىٰهُ ۖ قُلْ إِنِ ٱفْتَرَيْتُهُۥ فَلَا تَمْلِكُونَ لِى مِنَ ٱللَّهِ شَيْـًٔا ۖ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا تُفِيضُونَ فِيهِ ۖ كَفَىٰ بِهِۦ شَهِيدًۢا بَيْنِى وَبَيْنَكُمْ ۖ وَهُوَ ٱلْغَفُورُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ ﴿٨﴾

Am yaqooloonaf taraahu qul inif taraituhoo falaa tamlikoona lee minal laahi shai'an Huwa a'lamu bimaa tufeedoona feehi kafaa bihee shaheedam bainee wa bainakum wa Huwal Ghafoorur Raheem

Or do they say, "He has invented it?" Say, "If I have invented it, you will not possess for me [the power of protection] from Allah at all. He is most knowing of that in which you are involved. Sufficient is He as Witness between me and you, and He is the Forgiving the Merciful."

46:9This ayah

قُلْ مَا كُنتُ بِدْعًۭا مِّنَ ٱلرُّسُلِ وَمَآ أَدْرِى مَا يُفْعَلُ بِى وَلَا بِكُمْ ۖ إِنْ أَتَّبِعُ إِلَّا مَا يُوحَىٰٓ إِلَىَّ وَمَآ أَنَا۠ إِلَّا نَذِيرٌۭ مُّبِينٌۭ ﴿٩﴾

Qul maa kuntu bid'am minal Rusuli wa maaa adreee ma yuf'alu bee wa laa bikum in attabi'u illaa maa yoohaaa ilaiya ya maaa ana illaa nazeerum mubeen

Say, "I am not something original among the messengers, nor do I know what will be done with me or with you. I only follow that which is revealed to me, and I am not but a clear warner."

46:10After

قُلْ أَرَءَيْتُمْ إِن كَانَ مِنْ عِندِ ٱللَّهِ وَكَفَرْتُم بِهِۦ وَشَهِدَ شَاهِدٌۭ مِّنۢ بَنِىٓ إِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ عَلَىٰ مِثْلِهِۦ فَـَٔامَنَ وَٱسْتَكْبَرْتُمْ ۖ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِى ٱلْقَوْمَ ٱلظَّٰلِمِينَ ﴿١٠﴾

Qul ara'aytum in kaana min 'indil laahi wa kafartum bihee wa shahida shaahidum mim Banee Israaa'eela 'alaa mislihee fa aamana wastak bartum innal laaha laa yahdil qawmaz zaalimeen

Say, "Have you considered: if the Qur'an was from Allah, and you disbelieved in it while a witness from the Children of Israel has testified to something similar and believed while you were arrogant...?" Indeed, Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people.

Arabic: Tanzil, Uthmani script. English: Sahih International. Audio: EveryAyah. Transliteration is a learning aid; read from the Arabic when you can.

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Meaning and lessons

What Quran 46:9 means, in brief.

Allah tells the Prophet ﷺ to say: I am not the first of the messengers, nor do I know what will happen to me or to you; I only follow what is revealed to me, and I am only a clear warner. Ibn Kathir explains that he was not a strange novelty: messengers had come before him with the same message.

On "I do not know what will happen", Ibn Kathir reports al-Hasan al-Basri's view that it refers to matters of this world, and he notes that Allah later told the Prophet ﷺ that his past and future sins were forgiven (48:2). The ayah teaches that the Prophet ﷺ knew of the unseen only what Allah revealed to him.

Summarised in our own words from Tafsir Ibn Kathir, on Quran 46:9. Translation of the ayah: Sahih International.

Lessons from this ayah

The Prophet ﷺ came with the same message as the prophets before him.
Only Allah knows the unseen.
Follow revelation rather than speculation.

Where Quran 46:9 is in the mushaf

Ayah 9 of Surah Al-Ahqaf (الأَحۡقَافِ), "The Dunes", surah 46 of the Quran, a Meccan surah of 35 ayat revealed in Makkah. It is in juz 26 (para 26), hizb 51, on page 503 of the standard Madinah mushaf. People search for it as 46/9, 46 9 or Quran 46 9.

Questions

Good to know.

What does Quran 46:9 say?

Say, "I am not something original among the messengers, nor do I know what will be done with me or with you. I only follow that which is revealed to me, and I am not but a clear warner." (Sahih International)

What is Quran 46:9 about?

Which surah and juz is 46:9 in?

It is in Surah Al-Ahqaf, surah 46 of the Quran, in juz 26 (para 26), on page 503 of the Madinah mushaf.

What comes before and after 46:9?

The ayah before, 46:8, says: "Or do they say, "He has invented it?" Say, "If I have invented it, you will not possess for me [the power of protection] from Allah at all. He is most knowing of that in which you are involved. Sufficient is He as Witness between me and you, and He is the Forgiving the Merciful."" The ayah after, 46:10, says: "Say, "Have you considered: if the Qur'an was from Allah, and you disbelieved in it while a witness from the Children of Israel has testified to something similar and believed while you were arrogant...?" Indeed, Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people."