وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا رُسُلًا مِّن قَبْلِكَ وَجَعَلْنَا لَهُمْ أَزْوَٰجًا وَذُرِّيَّةً ۚ وَمَا كَانَ لِرَسُولٍ أَن يَأْتِىَ بِـَٔايَةٍ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِ ٱللَّهِ ۗ لِكُلِّ أَجَلٍ كِتَابٌ
Wa laqad arsalnaa Rusulam min qablika wa ja'alnaa lahum azwaajanw wa zurriyyah; wa maa kaana lirasoolin ai yaatiya bi aayatin illaa bi iznil laah; likulli ajalin kitaab
And olsun ki, senden önce nice peygamberler gönderdik; onlara eşler ve çocuklar verdik. Allah'ın izni olmadan hiçbir peygamber bir ayet getiremez. Her şeyin vakti ve süresi yazılıdır.
And we sent messengers before you and gave them wives and offspring. No messenger could bring a sign except by God's permission. For every appointed term there is a decree.
Two objections are answered in one breath: that a genuine messenger would live apart from ordinary domestic life, and that he ought to produce a sign whenever challenged. Marriage and children are placed on the side of prophecy here, as the normal condition of the men who carried it. The closing clause about an appointed term sets up the verse that follows, where God erases and confirms what he wills.