The Prophets — Verse 111

The main Objective of Revelation is that Allah be worshipped Allah commands His Messenger to say to the idoators: إِنَّمَآ يُوحَى إِلَىَّ أَنَّمَآ إِلَـهُكُمْ إِلَـهٌ وَحِدٌ فَهَلْ أَنتُمْ مُّسْلِمُونَ ("It is revealed to me that your God is only one God. Will you then be Muslims") meaning, will you then follow that and submit to it فَإِن تَوَلَّوْاْ (But if they turn away) means, if they ignore that to which you call them. فَقُلْ ءَاذَنتُكُمْ عَلَى سَوَآءٍ (say: "I give you a notice to be known to us all alike...") meaning, `I declare that I am in a state of war with you as you are in a state of war with me. I have nothing to do with you just as you have nothing to do with me.' This is like the Ayah: وَإِن كَذَّبُوكَ فَقُل لِّى عَمَلِى وَلَكُمْ عَمَلُكُمْ أَنتُمْ بَرِيئُونَ مِمَّآ أَعْمَلُ وَأَنَاْ بَرِىءٌ مِّمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ (And if they belie you, say: "For me are my deeds and for you are your deeds! You are innocent of what I do, and I am innocent of what you do!") 10:41 وَإِمَّا تَخَافَنَّ مِن قَوْمٍ خِيَانَةً فَانبِذْ إِلَيْهِمْ عَلَى سَوَآءٍ (If you fear treachery from any people, throw back (their covenant) to them (so as to be) on equal terms (that there will be no more covenant between you and them)) 8:58 which means: so that both you and they will know that the treaty is null and void. Similarly, Allah says here: فَإِن تَوَلَّوْاْ فَقُلْ ءَاذَنتُكُمْ عَلَى سَوَآءٍ (But if they turn away say: "I give you a notice to be known to us all alike...") meaning, `I have already informed you that I have nothing to do with you and you have nothing to do with me.' No one knows when the Hour will come وَإِنْ أَدْرِى أَقَرِيبٌ أَم بَعِيدٌ مَّا تُوعَدُونَ (And I know not whether that which you are promised (i.e., the Day of Resurrection) is near or far.) meaning: `it will inevitably come to pass, but I have no knowledge of whether it is near or far.' إِنَّهُ يَعْلَمُ الْجَهْرَ مِنَ الْقَوْلِ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا تَكْتُمُونَ (Verily, He (Allah) knows that which is spoken aloud (openly) and He knows that which you conceal.) Allah knows the Unseen in its entirety; He knows what His creatures do openly and what they do secretly. He knows what is visible and what is concealed; He knows what is secret and hidden. He knows what His creatures do openly and in secret, and He will requite them for that, for both minor and major actions. وَإِنْ أَدْرِى لَعَلَّهُ فِتْنَةٌ لَّكُمْ وَمَتَاعٌ إِلَى حِينٍ (And I know not, perhaps it may be a trial for you, and an enjoyment for a while.) meaning, `I do not know, perhaps it is a trial for you, and an enjoyment for a while.' Ibn Jarir said: `perhaps that is being delayed for you as a test for you, and enjoyment for an allotted time.' This was narrated by `Awn from Ibn `Abbas. And Allah knows best. قَالَ رَبِّ احْكُم بِالْحَقِّ (He said: "My Lord! Judge You in truth!) means, judge between us and our people who disbelieve in the truth. Qatadah said: "The Prophets (peace be upon them) used to say: رَبَّنَا افْتَحْ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَ قَوْمِنَا بِالْحَقِّ وَأَنتَ خَيْرُ الْفَـتِحِينَ ("Our Lord! Judge between us and our people in truth, for You are the Best of those who give judgment.") 7:89, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was commanded to say this too." It was reported from Malik from Zayd bin Aslam that when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ witnessed any fighting, he would say: رَبِّ احْكُم بِالْحَقِّ ("My Lord! Judge You in truth!") وَرَبُّنَا الرَّحْمَـنُ الْمُسْتَعَانُ عَلَى مَا تَصِفُونَ (Our Lord is the Most Gracious, Whose help is to be sought against that which you attribute!) means, `against the various lies and fabrications that you utter, some of which are worse than others; Allah is the One Whose Help we seek against that.' This is the end of the Tafsir of Surat Al-Anbiya'. To Allah be praise and blessings.

I do not know; perhaps that which I have notified you of but whose time is not known may be a trial a test for you to see how you will act and an enjoyment for a while that is until your terms of life are concluded this second clause wa-matā‘un ‘and an enjoyment’ counters the former which is the object of the optative expressed by the particle la‘alla ‘perhaps’; the second clause cannot be an optative.

ولست أدري لعل تأخير العذاب الذي استعجلتموه استدراج لكم وابتلاء، وأن تتمتعوا في الدنيا إلى حين؛ لتزدادوا كفرًا، ثم يكون أعظم لعقوبتكم.

وقوله " وإن أدري لعله فتنة لكم ومتاع إلى حين " أي وما أدري لعل هذا فتنة لكم ومتاع إلى حين قال ابن جرير لعل تأخير ذلك عنكم فتنة لكم ومتاع إلى أجل مسمى وحكاه عون عن ابن عباس فالله أعلم.

وقوله - سبحانه - : ( وَإِنْ أَدْرِي لَعَلَّهُ فِتْنَةٌ لَّكُمْ وَمَتَاعٌ إلى حِينٍ ) زيادة فى تأكيد أن علم ما سينزل بهم من عقاب مرده إلى الله - تعالى - وحده .أى : وإنى - أيضا - ما أدرى ، لعل تأخير عقابكم - بعد أن أعرضتم عن دعوتى - من باب الامتحان والاختبار لكم ، أو من باب الاستدراج لكم إلى حين مقدر عنده - سبحانه - ، ثم يأخذكم بعد ذلك أخذ عزيز مقتدر .وفى إسناد علم ما سينزل بهم إلى الله - تعالى - وحده ، تخويف لهم أى : تخويف ، وأدب ليس بعده أدب من النبى - صلى الله عليه وسلم - مع الله - عز وجل - .

*ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثنا القاسم ، قال : ثنا الحسين ، قال: ثني حجاج ، عن ابن جريج ، عن عطاء الخراساني ، عن ابن عباس ( وَإِنْ أَدْرِي لَعَلَّهُ فِتْنَةٌ لَكُمْ وَمَتَاعٌ إِلَى حِينٍ ) يقول: لعل ما أقرب لكم من العذاب والساعة ، أن يؤخر عنكم لمدتكم ، ومتاع إلى حين ، فيصير قولي ذلك لكم فتنة.

( وإن أدري لعله ) أي لعل تأخير العذاب عنكم كناية عن غير مذكور ، ( فتنة ) اختبار ، ( لكم ) ليرى كيف صنيعكم وهو أعلم ( ومتاع إلى حين ) أي تتمتعون إلى انقضاء آجالكم

وَإِنْ أَدْرِي لَعَلَّهُ فِتْنَةٌ لَكُمْ وَمَتَاعٌ إِلَى حِينٍ (111)عطف على جملة { وإن أدري أقريب أم بعيد ما توعدون } [ الأنبياء : 109 ]. والضمير الذي هو اسم ( لعلّ ) عائد إلى ما يدل عليه قوله تعالى : { أقريب أم بعيد ما توعدون } من أنه أمر منتظر الوقوع وأنه تأخر عن وجود موجِبه ، والتقدير : لعل تأخيره فتنة لكم ، أو لعل تأخير ما توعدون فتنة لكم ، أي ما أدرى حكمة هذا التأخير فلعله فتنة لكم أرادها الله ليملي لكم إذ بتأخير الوعد يزدادون في التكذيب والتولّي وذلك فتنة .والفتنة : اختلال الأحوال المفضي إلى ما فيه مضرة .والمتاع : ما ينتفع به مدة قليلة ، كما تقدم في قوله تعالى : { لا يغرنك تقلب الذين كفروا في البلاد متاع قليل } في [ سورة آل عمران : 196197 ].والحين : الزمان .

{ وَإِنْ أَدْرِي لَعَلَّهُ فِتْنَةٌ لَكُمْ وَمَتَاعٌ إِلَى حِينٍ } أي: لعل تأخير العذاب الذي استعجلتموه شر لكم، وأن تتمتعوا في الدنيا إلى حين، ثم يكون أعظم لعقوبتكم.

وإن أدري لعله أي لعل الإمهال فتنة لكم أي اختبار ليرى كيف صنيعكم وهو أعلم . ومتاع إلى حين قيل : إلى انقضاء المدة . وروي أن النبي - صلى الله عليه وسلم - رأى بني أمية في منامه يلون الناس ، فخرج الحكم من عنده فأخبر بني أمية بذلك ؛ فقالوا له : ارجع فسله متى يكون ذلك . فأنزل الله تعالى وإن أدري أقريب أم بعيد ما توعدون ، وإن أدري لعله فتنة لكم ومتاع إلى حين يقول لنبيه - عليه السلام - قل لهم ذلك .

All the prophets who were sent by God were sent here for one and the same purpose. Through them, God wanted to impart to man that knowledge of reality which would enable him to become an inhabitant of eternal paradise. But every time a prophet came, he was rejected. All prophets were dispensers of God’s grace on earth. But, what distinguished the Prophet Muhammad from the others was that God chose him as a means of sending a special kind of His blessings to His subjects. God decided that a door of guidance, which had hitherto been closed to them, should be opened forever. Accordingly, it was God’s plan that his addressees’ community should somehow be brought on to the right path, so that a strong band of his Companions could be formed, made up of stalwarts who could then bring about a revolution in the world and thus change the course of history. This gracious plan of God was indeed fulfilled, completely and perfectly, through the Prophet Muhammad and his Companions.

Commentary وَمَا أَرْ‌سَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَ‌حْمَةً لِّلْعَالَمِينَ (And We have not. sent you but as mercy for all the worlds. - 21:107) عَالَمِينَ is plural of عَالَم which means 'world' and includes all creatures including humans, animals, plants, Jinns etc. In order to properly understand the meaning of the verse one should also understand that the true essence of the entire universe is the invocation of Allah Ta` ala and His worship. When this essence departs from this world and no one is left to worship Allah, everything in it will perish. In other words that is the day when Qiyamah would occur. When it is understood that the invocation and worship of Allah Ta` ala is the essence of all living things, then the reason for describing the Holy Prophet ﷺ as mercy to the Worlds becomes obvious because it is his teachings and the purity of his personal life alone which keep alive the worship of Allah Ta` ala until Qiyamah. That is why he declared "I am the blessing sent by Allah اَنَا رَحمَۃُ مُھدَاۃُ (Ibn ` Asakir quoting Abu Hurairah). Sayyidna Ibn ` Umar , has reported that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said اَنَا رَحمَۃُ مُھدَاۃُ بِرَفعِ قَومِ وَخفضِ آخرِینَ that is "I am the blessing sent by Allah so that I lift up the people (who obey Allah) and humble the other people (who disobey Allah). (Ibn Kathir) It, therefore, follows that performing jihad against the unbelievers in order to lessen shirk and kufr (unbelief) and in the hope of reclaiming those who transgress the Divine Commands of Allah Ta` ala is an act of mercy.

(And I know not but that this) postponement of chastisement (may be a trial for you) may be a test for you, (and enjoyment for a while) until the chastisement visits you.