Tafsir Ibn Kathir (abridged)

Tafsir Ibn Kathir (abridged) — Hafiz Ibn Kathir

The Command to Follow the Revelation Allah commands His Messenger and those who followed his path, اتَّبِعْ مَآ أُوحِىَ إِلَيْكَ مِن رَّبِّكَ (Follow what has been inspired to you from your Lord,) meaning, follow it, obey it and act according to it. What has been revealed to you from your Lord is the Truth, no doubt, and there is no deity worthy of worship except Him, وَأَعْرِضْ عَنِ الْمُشْرِكِينَ (and turn aside from the idolators) meaning, forgive them, be forbearing and endure their harm until Allah brings relief to you, supports you and makes you triumphant over them. Know -- O Muhammad -- that there is a wisdom behind misleading the idolators, and that had Allah willed, He would have directed all people to guidance, وَلَوْ شَآءَ اللَّهُ مَآ أَشْرَكُواْ (Had Allah willed, they would not have taken others besides Him in worship.) Allah's is the perfect will and wisdom in all decrees and decisions, and He is never questioned about what He does, while they all will be questioned. Allah's statement, وَمَا جَعَلْنَـكَ عَلَيْهِمْ حَفِيظاً (And We have not made you Hafiz over them.) means, a watcher who observes their statements and deeds, وَمَآ أَنتَ عَلَيْهِم بِوَكِيلٍ (Nor are you set over them to dispose of their affairs. ) or to control their provision. Rather, your only job is to convey, just as Allah said, فَذَكِّرْ إِنَّمَآ أَنتَ مُذَكِّرٌ - لَّسْتَ عَلَيْهِم بِمُسَيْطِرٍ (So remind them, you are only one who reminds. You are not a dictator over them.) 88:21-22 and, فَإِنَّمَا عَلَيْكَ الْبَلَـغُ وَعَلَيْنَا الْحِسَابُ (Your duty is only to convey and on Us is the reckoning.) 13:40

Tafsir Ibn Kathir (abridged) — Hafiz Ibn Kathir

The Command to Follow the Revelation Allah commands His Messenger and those who followed his path, اتَّبِعْ مَآ أُوحِىَ إِلَيْكَ مِن رَّبِّكَ (Follow what has been inspired to you from your Lord,) meaning, follow it, obey it and act according to it. What has been revealed to you from your Lord is the Truth, no doubt, and there is no deity worthy of worship except Him, وَأَعْرِضْ عَنِ الْمُشْرِكِينَ (and turn aside from the idolators) meaning, forgive them, be forbearing and endure their harm until Allah brings relief to you, supports you and makes you triumphant over them. Know -- O Muhammad -- that there is a wisdom behind misleading the idolators, and that had Allah willed, He would have directed all people to guidance, وَلَوْ شَآءَ اللَّهُ مَآ أَشْرَكُواْ (Had Allah willed, they would not have taken others besides Him in worship.) Allah's is the perfect will and wisdom in all decrees and decisions, and He is never questioned about what He does, while they all will be questioned. Allah's statement, وَمَا جَعَلْنَـكَ عَلَيْهِمْ حَفِيظاً (And We have not made you Hafiz over them.) means, a watcher who observes their statements and deeds, وَمَآ أَنتَ عَلَيْهِم بِوَكِيلٍ (Nor are you set over them to dispose of their affairs. ) or to control their provision. Rather, your only job is to convey, just as Allah said, فَذَكِّرْ إِنَّمَآ أَنتَ مُذَكِّرٌ - لَّسْتَ عَلَيْهِم بِمُسَيْطِرٍ (So remind them, you are only one who reminds. You are not a dictator over them.) 88:21-22 and, فَإِنَّمَا عَلَيْكَ الْبَلَـغُ وَعَلَيْنَا الْحِسَابُ (Your duty is only to convey and on Us is the reckoning.) 13:40

Tafsir Ibn Kathir (abridged) — Hafiz Ibn Kathir

The Prohibition of Insulting the False gods of the Disbelievers, So that they Do not Insult Allah Allah prohibits His Messenger and the believers from insulting the false deities of the idolators, although there is a clear benefit in doing so. Insulting their deities will lead to a bigger evil than its benefit, for the idolators might retaliate by insulting the God of the believers, Allah, none has the right to be worshipped but He. `Ali bin Abi Talhah said that Ibn `Abbas commented on this Ayah 6:108; "They (disbelievers) said, `O Muhammad! You will stop insulting our gods, or we will insult your Lord.' Thereafter, Allah prohibited the believers from insulting the disbelievers' idols, فَيَسُبُّواْ اللَّهَ عَدْواً بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ (lest they insult Allah wrongfully without knowledge.)" `Abdur-Razzaq narrated that Ma`mar said that Qatadah said, "Muslims used to insult the idols of the disbelievers and the disbelievers would retaliate by insulting Allah wrongfully without knowledge. Allah revealed, وَلاَ تَسُبُّواْ الَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ (And insult not those whom they worship besides Allah.)" On this same subject -- abandoning what carries benefit to avert a greater evil - it is recorded in the Sahih that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, «مَلْعُونٌ مَنْ سَبَّ وَالِدَيْه» (Cursed is he who insults his own parents!) They said, "O Allah's Messenger! And how would a man insult his own parents" He said, «يَسُبُّ أَبَا الرَّجُلِ فَيَسُبُّ أَبَاهُ وَيَسُبُّ أُمَّهُ فَيَسُبُّ أُمَّه» (He insults a man's father, and that man insults his father, and insults his mother and that man insults his mother.) Allah's statement, كَذَلِكَ زَيَّنَّا لِكُلِّ أُمَّةٍ عَمَلَهُمْ (Thus We have made fair seeming to each people its own doings;) means, as We made fair seeming to the idolators loving their idols and defending them, likewise We made fair seeming to every previous nation the misguidance they indulged in. Allah's is the most perfect proof, and the most complete wisdom in all that He wills and chooses. ثُمَّ إِلَى رَبِّهِمْ مَّرْجِعُهُمْ (then to their Lord is their return,) gathering and final destination, فَيُنَبِّئُهُمْ بِمَا كَانُواْ يَعْمَلُونَ (and He shall then inform them of all that they used to do.) He will compensate them for their deeds, good for good and evil for evil.

Tafsir Ibn Kathir (abridged) — Hafiz Ibn Kathir

Asking for Miracles and Swearing to Believe if They Come Allah states that the idolators swore their strongest oaths by Allah, لَئِن جَآءَتْهُمْ ءَايَةٌ (that if there came to them a sign...) a miracle or phenomenon, لَّيُؤْمِنُنَّ بِهَا (they would surely believe therein.) affirming its truth, قُلْ إِنَّمَا الاٌّيَـتُ عِندَ اللَّهِ (Say: "Signs are but with Allah.") 6:109 meaning: Say, O Muhammad - to those who ask you for signs out of defiance, disbelief and rebellion, not out of the desire for guidance and knowledge - "The matter of sending signs is for Allah. If He wills, He sends them to you, and if He wills, He ignores your request." Allah said next, وَمَا يُشْعِرُكُمْ أَنَّهَآ إِذَا جَآءَتْ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ (And what will make you perceive that (even) if it came, they will not believe) It was said that `you' in `make you preceive' refers to the idolators, according to Mujahid. In this case, the Ayah would mean, what makes you -- you idolators -- preceive that you are truthful in the vows that you swore Therefore, in this recitation, the Ayah means, the idolators will still not believe if the sign that they asked for came. It was also said that `you' in, `what will make you preceive', refers to the believers, meaning, what will make you preceive, O believers, that the idolators will still not believe if the signs come. Allah also said, مَا مَنَعَكَ أَلاَّ تَسْجُدَ إِذْ أَمَرْتُكَ ("What prevented you (O Iblis) that you did not prostrate, when I commanded you") 7:12 and, وَحَرَامٌ عَلَى قَرْيَةٍ أَهْلَكْنَـهَآ أَنَّهُمْ لاَ يَرْجِعُونَ (And a ban is laid on every town (population) which We have destroyed that they shall not return (to this world again).) 21:95 These Ayat mean: `What made you, O Iblis, refrain from prostrating, although I commanded you to do so, and, in the second Ayah, that village shall not return to this world again. In the Ayah above 6:109, the meaning thus becomes: What makes you perceive, O believers, who wish eagerly for the disbelievers to believe, that if the Ayat came to them they would believe Allah said next, وَنُقَلِّبُ أَفْئِدَتَهُمْ وَأَبْصَـرَهُمْ كَمَا لَمْ يُؤْمِنُواْ بِهِ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ (And We shall turn their hearts and their eyes away, as they refused to believe therein for the first time,) Al-`Awfi said that Ibn `Abbas said about this Ayah, "When the idolators rejected what Allah sent down, their hearts did not settle on any one thing and they turned away from every matter (of benefit)." Mujahid said that Allah's statement, وَنُقَلِّبُ أَفْئِدَتَهُمْ وَأَبْصَـرَهُمْ (and We shall turn their hearts and their eyes away, ) means, We prevent them from the faith, and even if every sign came to them, they will not believe, just as We prevented them from faith the first time. Similar was said by `Ikrimah and `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam. `Ali bin Abi Talhah said that Ibn `Abbas said, "Allah mentions what the servants will say before they say it and what they will do before they do it. Allah said; وَلاَ يُنَبِّئُكَ مِثْلُ خَبِيرٍ (And none can inform you like Him Who is the All-Knower.) 35:14 and, أَن تَقُولَ نَفْسٌ يحَسْرَتَى عَلَى مَا فَرَّطَتُ فِى جَنبِ اللَّهِ (Lest a person should say, "Alas, my grief that I was undutiful to Allah.") 39:56 until, لَوْ أَنَّ لِى كَـرَّةً فَأَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ ("If only I had another chance, then I should indeed be among the doers of good.") 39:58. So Allah, glory be to Him, states that if they were sent back to life, they would not accept the guidance, وَلَوْ رُدُّواْ لَعَـدُواْ لِمَا نُهُواْ عَنْهُ وَإِنَّهُمْ لَكَـذِبُونَ (But if they were returned, they would certainly revert to that which they were forbidden. And indeed they are liars.) 6:28 Allah said, وَنُقَلِّبُ أَفْئِدَتَهُمْ وَأَبْصَـرَهُمْ كَمَا لَمْ يُؤْمِنُواْ بِهِ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ (And We shall turn their hearts and their eyes away (from guidance), as they refused to believe therein for the first time,) meaning: `If they were sent back to this life, they would be prevented from embracing the guidance, just as We prevented them from it the first time, when they were in the life of this world." Allah said, وَنَذَرُهُمْ (and We shall leave them...) and abandon them, فِي طُغْيَـنِهِمْ (in their trespass...) meaning, disbelief, according to Ibn `Abbas and As-Suddi. Abu Al-`Aliyah, Ar-Rabi` bin Anas and Qatadah said that `their trespass' means, `their misguidance'. m يَعْمَهُونَ (to wander blindly) or playfully, according to Al-A`mash. Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, Abu Al-`Aliyah, Ar-Rabi`, Abu Malik and others commented, "to wander in their disbelief."

Tafsir Ibn Kathir (abridged) — Hafiz Ibn Kathir

Asking for Miracles and Swearing to Believe if They Come Allah states that the idolators swore their strongest oaths by Allah, لَئِن جَآءَتْهُمْ ءَايَةٌ (that if there came to them a sign...) a miracle or phenomenon, لَّيُؤْمِنُنَّ بِهَا (they would surely believe therein.) affirming its truth, قُلْ إِنَّمَا الاٌّيَـتُ عِندَ اللَّهِ (Say: "Signs are but with Allah.") 6:109 meaning: Say, O Muhammad - to those who ask you for signs out of defiance, disbelief and rebellion, not out of the desire for guidance and knowledge - "The matter of sending signs is for Allah. If He wills, He sends them to you, and if He wills, He ignores your request." Allah said next, وَمَا يُشْعِرُكُمْ أَنَّهَآ إِذَا جَآءَتْ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ (And what will make you perceive that (even) if it came, they will not believe) It was said that `you' in `make you preceive' refers to the idolators, according to Mujahid. In this case, the Ayah would mean, what makes you -- you idolators -- preceive that you are truthful in the vows that you swore Therefore, in this recitation, the Ayah means, the idolators will still not believe if the sign that they asked for came. It was also said that `you' in, `what will make you preceive', refers to the believers, meaning, what will make you preceive, O believers, that the idolators will still not believe if the signs come. Allah also said, مَا مَنَعَكَ أَلاَّ تَسْجُدَ إِذْ أَمَرْتُكَ ("What prevented you (O Iblis) that you did not prostrate, when I commanded you") 7:12 and, وَحَرَامٌ عَلَى قَرْيَةٍ أَهْلَكْنَـهَآ أَنَّهُمْ لاَ يَرْجِعُونَ (And a ban is laid on every town (population) which We have destroyed that they shall not return (to this world again).) 21:95 These Ayat mean: `What made you, O Iblis, refrain from prostrating, although I commanded you to do so, and, in the second Ayah, that village shall not return to this world again. In the Ayah above 6:109, the meaning thus becomes: What makes you perceive, O believers, who wish eagerly for the disbelievers to believe, that if the Ayat came to them they would believe Allah said next, وَنُقَلِّبُ أَفْئِدَتَهُمْ وَأَبْصَـرَهُمْ كَمَا لَمْ يُؤْمِنُواْ بِهِ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ (And We shall turn their hearts and their eyes away, as they refused to believe therein for the first time,) Al-`Awfi said that Ibn `Abbas said about this Ayah, "When the idolators rejected what Allah sent down, their hearts did not settle on any one thing and they turned away from every matter (of benefit)." Mujahid said that Allah's statement, وَنُقَلِّبُ أَفْئِدَتَهُمْ وَأَبْصَـرَهُمْ (and We shall turn their hearts and their eyes away, ) means, We prevent them from the faith, and even if every sign came to them, they will not believe, just as We prevented them from faith the first time. Similar was said by `Ikrimah and `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam. `Ali bin Abi Talhah said that Ibn `Abbas said, "Allah mentions what the servants will say before they say it and what they will do before they do it. Allah said; وَلاَ يُنَبِّئُكَ مِثْلُ خَبِيرٍ (And none can inform you like Him Who is the All-Knower.) 35:14 and, أَن تَقُولَ نَفْسٌ يحَسْرَتَى عَلَى مَا فَرَّطَتُ فِى جَنبِ اللَّهِ (Lest a person should say, "Alas, my grief that I was undutiful to Allah.") 39:56 until, لَوْ أَنَّ لِى كَـرَّةً فَأَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ ("If only I had another chance, then I should indeed be among the doers of good.") 39:58. So Allah, glory be to Him, states that if they were sent back to life, they would not accept the guidance, وَلَوْ رُدُّواْ لَعَـدُواْ لِمَا نُهُواْ عَنْهُ وَإِنَّهُمْ لَكَـذِبُونَ (But if they were returned, they would certainly revert to that which they were forbidden. And indeed they are liars.) 6:28 Allah said, وَنُقَلِّبُ أَفْئِدَتَهُمْ وَأَبْصَـرَهُمْ كَمَا لَمْ يُؤْمِنُواْ بِهِ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ (And We shall turn their hearts and their eyes away (from guidance), as they refused to believe therein for the first time,) meaning: `If they were sent back to this life, they would be prevented from embracing the guidance, just as We prevented them from it the first time, when they were in the life of this world." Allah said, وَنَذَرُهُمْ (and We shall leave them...) and abandon them, فِي طُغْيَـنِهِمْ (in their trespass...) meaning, disbelief, according to Ibn `Abbas and As-Suddi. Abu Al-`Aliyah, Ar-Rabi` bin Anas and Qatadah said that `their trespass' means, `their misguidance'. m يَعْمَهُونَ (to wander blindly) or playfully, according to Al-A`mash. Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, Abu Al-`Aliyah, Ar-Rabi`, Abu Malik and others commented, "to wander in their disbelief."