Joseph — Verse 104
12:104 · Yusuf
Verse display
وَمَا تَسۡءَلُهُمۡ عَلَیۡهِ مِنۡ أَجۡرٍۚ إِنۡ هُوَ إِلَّا ذِكۡرࣱ لِّلۡعَـٰلَمِینَ ١٠٤
wamā tasaluhum ʿalayhi min ajrin in huwa illā dhik'run lil'ʿālamīn
Joseph / Yusuf (12:104)
Connections 9 single-source 2 commentators
Multi-source connections
No verses on this ayah are cited by 2 or more commentators using numeric S:A notation. All extracted references come from a single source's commentary.
Single-source mentions (9) cited by only one commentator
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Q 5:37 (al-Ma`idah)
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Q 5:38 (al-Ma`idah)
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Q 5:39 (al-Ma`idah)
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Q 5:40 (al-Ma`idah)
cited by
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Q 6:116 (al-An`am)
cited by
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Q 26:8 (ash-Shu`ara`)
cited by
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Q 28:44 (al-Qasas)
cited by
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Q 28:45 (al-Qasas)
cited by
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Q 28:46 (al-Qasas)
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By commentator who cites how many verses on this ayah
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Tafsir Ibn Kathir (abridged) 5 verses
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Tazkirul Quran 4 verses
Note: these connections are extracted from numeric S:A references inside the commentary text and are therefore biased toward mufassirun who use that notation. Prose-style references (e.g. "Surat al-Baqarah verse 30") will be added later, which should surface additional multi-source consensus.
You ask no reward from them for this: it is a reminder for all peopl
wamā tasaluhum ʿalayhi min ajrin in huwa illā dhik'run lil'ʿālamīn
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Tafsir Commentary
This Story is a Revelation from Allah
Allah narrated to Muhammad ﷺ, the story of Yusuf and his brothers and how Allah raised him over them, giving him the better end, triumph, the sovereignty and wisdom (i.e., prophethood), even though they tried to harm and kill him. Allah said, `This and similar stories are part of the unseen incidents of the past, O Muhammad,
نُوحِيهِ إِلَيْكَ
(which We reveal to you.) and inform you of, O Muhammad, because it carries a lesson, for you to draw from and a reminder to those who defy you.' Allah said next,
وَمَا كُنتَ لَدَيْهِمْ
`(You were not (present) with them), you did not witness their conference nor saw them,
إِذْ أَجْمَعُواْ أَمْرَهُمْ
(when they arranged their plan together,) to throw Yusuf into the well,
وَهُمْ يَمْكُرُونَ
(and (while) they were plotting) against him. We taught you all this through Our Revelation which We sent down to you.' Allah said in other Ayat,
وَمَا كُنتَ لَدَيْهِمْ إِذْ يُلْقُون أَقْلَـمَهُمْ
(You were not with them, when they cast lots with their pens..) and,
وَمَا كُنتَ بِجَانِبِ الْغَرْبِىِّ إِذْ قَضَيْنَآ إِلَى مُوسَى الاٌّمْرَ
(And you were not on the western side, when We made clear to Musa the commandment...) 28:44 until,
وَمَا كُنْتَ بِجَانِبِ الطُّورِ إِذْ نَادَيْنَا
(And you were not at the side of the Tur when We did call.)28:46 Allah also said,
وَمَا كُنتَ ثَاوِياً فِى أَهْلِ مَدْيَنَ تَتْلُو عَلَيْهِمْ ءَايَـتِنَا
(And you were not a dweller among the people of Madyan, reciting Our verses to them.) 28:45 Allah states that Muhammad is His Messenger and that He has taught him the news of what occurred in the past, which carry lessons for people to draw from, so that they acquire their safety in their religious affairs as well as their worldly affairs. Yet, most people did not and will not believe, so Allah said,
وَمَآ أَكْثَرُ النَّاسِ وَلَوْ حَرَصْتَ بِمُؤْمِنِينَ
(And most of mankind will not believe even if you desire it eagerly.) Allah said in similar Ayat,
وَإِن تُطِعْ أَكْثَرَ مَن فِى الاٌّرْضِ يُضِلُّوكَ عَن سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ
(And if you obey most of those on the earth, they will mislead you far away from Allah's path) 6:116, and,
إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لأَيَةً وَمَا كَانَ أَكْثَرُهُمْ مُّؤْمِنِينَ
(Verily, in this is an Ayah, yet most of them are not believers.) 26:8 Allah said next,
وَمَا تَسْأَلُهُمْ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ أَجْرٍ
(And no reward you ask of them for it;) Allah says, `You, O Muhammad, do not ask them in return for this advice and your call to all that is good and righteous, for any price or compensation for delivering it. Rather, you do so seeking Allah's Face and to deliver good and sincere advice to His creatures,
إِنْ هُوَ إِلاَّ ذِكْرٌ لِّلْعَـلَمِينَ
(it (the Qur'an) is no less than a Reminder unto the `Alamin (men and Jinn)) with which they remember, receive guidance and save themselves in this life and the Hereafter.'
Nor do you ask them any wage that you should take for it that is for the Qur’ān — it namely the Qur’ān is but a reminder an admonition to all the worlds.
وما تطلب من قومك أجرة على إرشادهم للإيمان، إن الذي أُرسلتَ به من القرآن والهدى عظة للناس أجمعين يتذكرون به ويهتدون.
وقوله " وما تسألهم عليه من أجر " أي ما تسألهم يا محمد على هذا النصح والدعاء إلى الخير والرشد من أجر أى من جعالة ولا أجرة بل تفعله ابتغاء وجه الله ونصحا لخلقه " إن هو إلا ذكر للعالمين " أي يتذكرون به ويهتدون وينجون به في الدنيا والآخرة.
وقوله ( وَمَا تَسْأَلُهُمْ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ أَجْرٍ إِنْ هُوَ إِلاَّ ذِكْرٌ لِّلْعَالَمِينَ ) زيادة فى تسلية الرسول - صلى الله عليه وسلم - وفى إعلاء شأنه .أى أنك - أيها الرسول الكريم - ما تسألهم على هذا القرآن الذى تتلوه عليهم لهدايتهم وسعادتهم من أجر ولو كان زهيداً ضئيلاً . كما يفعل غيرك من الكهان والأحبار والرهبان . . .وإنما تفعل ابتغاء رضا الله - تعالى - ونشر دينه .وقوله ( إِنْ هُوَ إِلاَّ ذِكْرٌ لِّلْعَالَمِينَ ) أى : ما هذا القرآن الذى تقرؤه عليهم إلا تذكير وعظة وهداية للعالمين كافة لا يختص به قوم دون قوم ، ولا جنس دون جنس .قالوا : وهذه الجملة كالتعليل لما قبلها ، لأن التذكير العام لكل الناس ، يتنافى مع أخذ الأجرة من العبض دون البعض ، وإنما تتأتى الأجرة ، إذا كانت الدعوة خاصة وليست عامة .
القول في تأويل قوله تعالى : وَمَا تَسْأَلُهُمْ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ أَجْرٍ إِنْ هُوَ إِلا ذِكْرٌ لِلْعَالَمِينَ (104)قال أبو جعفر: يقول تعالى ذكره لمحمد صلى الله عليه وسلم: وما تسأل، يا محمد، هؤلاء الذين ينكرون نبوتك، ويمتنعون من تصديقك والإقرار بما جئتهم به من عند ربك، على ما تدعوهم إليه من إخلاص العبادة لربك، وهجر عبادة الأوثان وطاعةِ الرحمن ، ( من أجر ) ، يعني: من ثواب وجزاء منهم، (1) بل إنما ثوابك وأجر عملك على الله. يقول: ما تسألهم على ذلك ثوابًا , فيقولوا لك: إنما تريد بدعائك إيّانا إلى اتباعك لننـزلَ لك عن أموالنا إذا سألتنا ذلك. وإذ كنت لا تسألهم ذلك، فقد كان حقًّا عليهم أن يعلموا أنك إنما تدعوهم إلى ما تدعوهم إليه، اتباعًا منك لأمر ربك، ونصيحةً منك لهم , وأن لا يستغشُّوك.* * *وقوله: ( إن هو إلا ذكر للعالمين ) ، يقول تعالى ذكره: ما هذا الذي أرسلك به ربك، يا محمد، من النبوة والرسالة ، ( إلا ذكر ) ، يقول: إلا عظة وتذكير للعالمين , ليتعظوا ويتذكَّروا به. (2)* * *----------------------الهوامش:(1) انظر تفسير" الأجر" فيما سلف من فهارس اللغة ( أجر ) .(2) انظر تفسير" الذكر" فيما سلف من فهارس اللغة ( ذكر ) .
( وما تسألهم عليه ) أي : على تبليغ الرسالة والدعاء إلى الله تعالى ( من أجر ) جعل وجزاء ( إن هو ) ما هو يعني القرآن ( إلا ذكر ) عظة وتذكير ( للعالمين ) .
وجملة { وما تسألهم عليه من أجر } معطوفة على جملة { وما أكثر الناس } إلى آخرها باعتبار ما أفادته من التأييس من إيمان أكثرهم . أي لا يسوءك عدم إيمانهم فلست تبتغي أن يكون إيمانهم جزاء على التبليغ بل إيمانهم لفائدتهم ، كقوله : { قل لا تمنوا علي إسلامكم } [ سورة الحجرات : 17 ].وضمير الجمع في قوله : وما تسألهم } عائد إلى الناس ، أي الذين أرسل إليهم النبي صلى الله عليه وسلموجملة { إن هو إلا ذكر للعالمين } بمنزلة التعليل لجملة { وما تسألهم عليه من أجر }. والقصر إضافي ، أي ما هو إلا ذكر للعالمين لا لتحصيل أجرِ مبلّغه .وضمير { عليه } عائد إلى القرآن المعلوم من قوله : { ذلك من أنباء الغيب نوحيه إليك } [ يوسف : 102 ].
{ وَمَا تَسْأَلُهُمْ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ أَجْرٍ إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا ذِكْرٌ لِلْعَالَمِينَ } يتذكرون به ما ينفعهم ليفعلوه، وما يضرهم ليتركوه.
قوله تعالى : وما تسألهم عليه من أجر " من " صلة ; أي ما تسألهم جعلا ." إن هو " أي ما هو ; يعني القرآن والوحي .إلا ذكر للعالمين أي عظة وتذكرة للعالمين .
The story of Joseph is in itself a proof of the Quran being the revelation of God and not the discourse of a human being. This incident occurred about two and half thousand years prior to the advent of the Prophet Muhammad. He had neither witnessed this train of events himself, nor was it recorded in history books so that he could have read about it, nor could he have heard it from others. It was found only on the pages of the Torah, and before the age of the printing press, the Torah was a book which was known only to a few Jewish scholars at Jewish centres and not to anybody else. Moreover, the events pertaining to Joseph’s life have been described in the Quran in such a way that, in spite of their tallying basically with the descriptions in the Torah, they differ in respect of details. This difference is in itself a proof of the Quran being the revelation of God, because throughout the Quran its description appears to be very rational and natural. The descriptions given in the Quran are clearly consistent with Jacob’s and Joseph’s prophetic character, while the descriptions given in the Torah are not. Similarly, many very important aspects, for instance, Joseph’s speech in the prison (
5: 37-40
), which is mentioned in the Quran, find no place in the Bible or in the Talmud: even certain historical errors that are found in the Bible are not repeated in the Quran. For example, the Bible says that the king of Egypt in Joseph’s period was Pharaoh. In actual fact, the dynasty which assumed the title of Pharaoh became the rulers of Egypt only five hundred years after Joseph. During the period of Joseph, Egypt was ruled by an Arab dynasty, the Hyksos, known as the shepherd kings. (See Bible, chapter ‘Genesis’). The refusal to accept the Truth here is due to an apparent lack of reason. But as soon as a convincing argument is presented to an individual, he should immediately accept it. Most often the real reason for denial of the Truth is stubbornness. People do not accept the Truth because they do not want to do so. Acceptance of the Truth generally involves humbling oneself and this is a very difficult task for a human being. This is one reason why arrogant people never change their ways, in spite of valid arguments or reasoning being used to convince them. They will tolerate the downgrading of the truth, but they are not ready to humble themselves; they forget that those who keep a low profile in this world will be glorified in the Hereafter, whereas one who does not do so will be forever reduced to insignificance in the next world.
After that it was said: وَمَا تَسْأَلُهُمْ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ أَجْرٍ ۚ إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا ذِكْرٌ لِّلْعَالَمِين ، that is, ` your mission is to tell them the truth and call 'them to the straight path. For this you do not ask them to give you something in return - which could have caused them to find it difficult to listen to him or follow him. In fact, what you are telling them is for their own good. It is only an advice to heed to and a lesson to learn from. And it is for everyone. The text here also carries a hint to the effect: When the purpose behind your effort is no worldly gain, in fact it is nothing but the reward of the Hereafter and the betterment of your people, then, that purpose of yours already stands achieved. Why would you then grieve over it?
(Thou askest them) O Muhammad (no fee) no payment (for it) for the profession of monotheism. (It is) i.e. the Qur'an (naught else than a reminder) an admonition (unto the peoples) unto the jinn and humans.