They do not eat food as a description of the body, and the meaning is: And We did not make the prophets, peace be upon them, before him as beings with bodies that do not eat. The body is mentioned in the singular to indicate the species, as if he said: beings of a certain type of bodies. This is a refutation of their saying, 'What is this messenger that eats food?' If you say: Yes, it has refuted their denial that the messenger is a human who eats and drinks by what you mentioned. Then what has been refuted from their saying with His words, 'And they were not eternal'? I say: It is possible that they say he is a human like us who lives as we live and dies as we die. Or they may say: Why was he not an angel who does not eat and is eternal: either believing that angels do not die, or describing their prolonged life and extended existence as eternity.