Explained in Detail, Revelations Well Expounded — Verse 42

The Punishment of the Deniers and the Description of the Qur'an إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يُلْحِدُونَ فِى ءَايَـتِنَا (Verily, Yulhiduna Fi Our Ayat) Ibn `Abbas said, "Al-Ilhad means putting words in their improper places." Qatadah and others said, "It means disbelief and obstinate behavior." لاَ يَخْفَوْنَ عَلَيْنَآ (are not hidden from Us.) This is a stern warning and dire threat, stating that He, may He be exalted, knows who denies His signs, Names and attributes, and He will punish them for that. He says: أَفَمَن يُلْقَى فِى النَّارِ خَيْرٌ أَم مَّن يَأْتِى ءَامِناً يَوْمَ الْقِيَـمَةِ (Is he who is cast into the Fire better or he who comes secure on the Day of Resurrection) means, are these two equal They are not equal. Then Allah warns the disbelievers: اعْمَلُواْ مَا شِئْتُمْ (Do what you will.) Mujahid, Ad-Dahhak and `Ata' Al-Khurasani said that اعْمَلُواْ مَا شِئْتُمْ (Do what you will. ) is a threat. Meaning, `do what you will of good or evil, for He knows and sees all that you do.' He says: إِنَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ (Verily, He is All-Seer of what you do.) إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ بِالذِّكْرِ لَمَّا جَآءَهُمْ (Verily, those who disbelieved in the Reminder when it came to them.) Ad-Dahhak, As-Suddi and Qatadah said, "This is the Qur'an." وَإِنَّهُ لَكِتَـبٌ عَزِيزٌ (And verily, it is an honorable well-fortified respected Book.) means, it is protected and preserved, and nobody can produce anything like it. لاَّ يَأْتِيهِ الْبَـطِلُ مِن بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَلاَ مِنْ خَلْفِهِ (Falsehood cannot come to it from before it or behind it,) means, there is no way to corrupt it, because it has been sent down by the Lord of the worlds. Allah says: تَنزِيلٌ مِّنْ حَكِيمٍ حَمِيدٍ ((it is) sent down by the All-Wise, Worthy of all praise.) meaning, He is Wise in all that He says and does, Praiseworthy in all that He commands and forbids; everything that He does is for praiseworthy purposes and its consequences will be good. مَّا يُقَالُ لَكَ إِلاَّ مَا قَدْ قِيلَ لِلرُّسُلِ مِن قَبْلِكَ (Nothing is said to you except what was said to the Messengers before you.) Qatadah, As-Suddi and others said, "Nothing is said to you by way of rejection and disbelief, that was not said to the Messengers who came before you. Just as you have been rejected, they were also rejected. Just as they bore their people's insults with patience, so too you must bear your people's insults with patience." وَإِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَذُو مَغْفِرَةٍ (Verily, your Lord is the Possessor of forgiveness,) means, for those who turn to Him in repentance. وَذُو عِقَابٍ أَلِيمٍ (and (also) the Possessor of painful punishment.) means, for those who persist in disbelief, transgression and stubborn opposition.

falsehood cannot approach it from before it or from behind it in other words there is no scripture before it or after it that contradicts it; it is a revelation from One Wise Praised that is to say from God the One Who is praised in His affair.

إن الذين جحدوا بهذا القرآن وكذَّبوا به حين جاءهم هالكون ومعذَّبون، وإن هذا القرآن لكتاب عزيز بإعزاز الله إياه وحفظه له من كل تغيير أو تبديل، لا يأتيه الباطل من أي ناحية من نواحيه ولا يبطله شيء، فهو محفوظ من أن يُنقص منه، أو يزاد فيه، تنزيل من حكيم بتدبير أمور عباده، محمود على ما له من صفات الكمال.

"لا يأتيه الباطل من بين يديه ولا من خلفه" أي ليس للبطلان إليه سبيل لأنه منزل من رب العالمين ولهذا قال "تنزيل من حكيم حميد" أي حكيم في أقواله وأفعاله حميد بمعنى محمود أي في جميع ما يأمر به وينهى عنه الجميع محمودة عواقبه وغاياته.

ثم أكد - سبحانه - هذا المعنى فقال : ( لاَّ يَأْتِيهِ الباطل مِن بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَلاَ مِنْ خَلْفِهِ ) أى : لا يستطيع الباطل أن يتطرق إليه من أى جهة من الجهات ، لا من جهة لفظه ولا من جهة معناه لأن الله - تعالى - تكفل بحفظه وصيانته ، كما قال - تعالى -( إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذكر وَإِنَّا لَهُ لَحَافِظُونَ ) قال صاحب الكشاف : فإن قلت : أما طعن فيه الطاعنون وتأوله المبطلون؟قلت : بلى ، ولكن الله قد تكفل بحمايته عن تعلق الباطل به ، بأن قيض قوما عارضوهم بإبطال تأويلهم ، وإفساد أقاويلهم . فلم يخلوا طعن طاعن إلا ممحوقا ، ولا قول مبطل إلا مضمحلا .وقوله : ( تَنزِيلٌ مِّنْ حَكِيمٍ حَمِيدٍ ) أى : هذا الكتاب منزل من لدن الله الحكيم فى أقواله وأفعاله ، المحمود على ما أسدى لعباده من نعم لا تحصى .

وقوله: ( لا يَأْتِيهِ الْبَاطِلُ مِنْ بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَلا مِنْ خَلْفِهِ ) اختلف أهل التأويل في تأويله فقال بعضهم: معناه: لا يأتيه النكير من بين يديه ولا من خلفه.* ذكر من قال ذلك:حدثنا أبو كريب, قال: ثنا ابن يمان, عن أشعث, عن جعفر, عن سعيد ( لا يَأْتِيهِ الْبَاطِلُ مِنْ بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَلا مِنْ خَلْفِهِ ) قال: النكير من بين يديه ولا من خلفه.وقال آخرون: معنى ذلك: لا يستطيع الشيطان أن ينقص منه حقا, ولا يزيد فيه باطلا قالوا: والباطل هو الشيطان.وقوله: ( مِنْ بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ ) من قبل الحق ( وَلا مِنْ خَلْفِهِ ) من قبل الباطل.* ذكر من قال ذلك:حدثنا بشر, قال: ثنا يزيد, قال: ثنا سعيد, عن قتادة ( لا يَأْتِيهِ الْبَاطِلُ مِنْ بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَلا مِنْ خَلْفِهِ ) الباطل: إبليس لا يستطيع أن ينقص منه حقا, ولا يزيد فيه باطلا.وقال آخرون: معناه: إن الباطل لا يطيق أن يزيد فيه شيئا من الحروف ولا ينقص, منه شيئا منها.* ذكر من قال ذلك:حدثنا محمد بن الحسين, قال: ثنا أحمد بن المفضل, قال: ثنا أسباط, عن السديّ ( لا يَأْتِيهِ الْبَاطِلُ مِنْ بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَلا مِنْ خَلْفِهِ ) قال: الباطل: هو الشيطان لا يستطيع أن يزيد فيه حرفا ولا ينقص.وأولى الأقوال في ذلك عندنا بالصواب أن يقال: معناه: لا يستطيع ذو باطل بكيده تغييره بكيده, وتبديل شيء من معانيه عما هو به, وذلك هو الإتيان من بين يديه, ولا إلحاق ما ليس منه فيه, وذلك إتيانه من خلفه.وقوله: ( تَنـزيلٌ مِنْ حَكِيمٍ حَمِيدٍ ) يقول تعالى ذكره: هو تنـزيل من عند ذي حكمة بتدبير عباده, وصرفهم فيما فيه مصالحهم, ( حَمِيدٍ ) يقول: محمود على نعمه عليهم بأياديه عندهم.

وهو قوله : ( لا يأتيه الباطل من بين يديه ولا من خلفه ) قال قتادة والسدي : الباطل : هو الشيطان ، لا يستطيع أن يغيره أو يزيد فيه أو ينقص منه .قال الزجاج : معناه أنه محفوظ من أن ينقص منه فيأتيه الباطل من بين يديه أو يزاد فيه فيأتيه الباطل من خلفه . وعلى هذا معنى : " الباطل " الزيادة والنقصان .وقال مقاتل : لا يأتيه التكذيب من الكتب التي قبله ، ولا يجيء من بعده كتاب فيبطله . . ( تنزيل من حكيم حميد ) ثم عزى نبيه - صلى الله عليه وسلم - على تكذيبهم

لَا يَأْتِيهِ الْبَاطِلُ مِنْ بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَلَا مِنْ خَلْفِهِ تَنْزِيلٌ مِنْ حَكِيمٍ حَمِيدٍ (42)فمعنى : لا يأتِيهِ الباطل } لا يوجد فيه ولا يداخله ، وليس المراد أنه لا يُدعَى عليه الباطل .الوصف الخامس : أنه مشتمل على الحكمة وهي المعرفة الحقيقية لأنه تنزيل من حكيم ، ولا يصدر عن الحكيم إلا الحكمة : { ومن يؤت الحكمة فقد أوتي خيراً كثيراً } [ البقرة : 269 ] فإن كلام الحكيم يأتي محكماً متقناً رصيناً لا يشوبه الباطل .الوصف السادس : أنه تنزيل من حميد ، والحميد هو المحمود حمداً كثيراً ، أي مستحقّ الحمد الكثير ، فالكلام المنزل منه يستحق الحمد وإنما يحمد الكلام إذْ يكون دليلاً للخيرات وسائقاً إليها لا مطعن في لفظه ولا في معناه ، فيحمده سامعه كثيراً لأنه يجده مجلبة للخير الكثير ، ويحمد قائله لا محالة خلافاً للمشركين .وفي إجراء هذه الأوصاف إيماء إلى حماقة الذين كفروا بهذا القرآن وسفاهة آرائهم إذ فرطوا فيه ففرطوا في أسباب فوزهم في الدنيا وفي الآخرة ولذلك جيء بجملة الحال من الكتاب عقب ذكر تكذيبهم إياه فقال : { وَإنَّهُ لكتاب عَزِيزٌ } الآيات .

{ لَا يَأْتِيهِ الْبَاطِلُ مِنْ بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَلَا مِنْ خَلْفِهِ } أي: لا يقربه شيطان من شياطين الإنس والجن، لا بسرقة، ولا بإدخال ما ليس منه به، ولا بزيادة ولا نقص، فهو محفوظ في تنزيله، محفوظة ألفاظه ومعانيه، قد تكفل من أنزله بحفظه كما قال تعالى: { إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذِّكْرَ وَإِنَّا لَهُ لَحَافِظُونَ } { تَنْزِيلٌ مِنْ حَكِيمٍ } في خلقه وأمره، يضع كل شيء موضعه، وينزله منازله. { حَمِيدٌ } على ما له من صفات الكمال، ونعوت الجلال، وعلى ما له من العدل والإفضال، فلهذا كان كتابه، مشتملاً على تمام الحكمة، وعلى تحصيل المصالح والمنافع، ودفع المفاسد والمضار، التي يحمد عليها.

لا يأتيه الباطل من بين يديه ولا من خلفه أي لا يكذبه شيء مما أنزل الله من قبل ، ولا ينزل من بعده يبطله وينسخه ، قاله الكلبي . وقال السدي وقتادة : لا يأتيه الباطل يعني الشيطان من بين يديه ولا من خلفه لا يستطيع أن يغير ولا يزيد ولا ينقص . وقال سعيد بن جبير : لا يأتيه التكذيب من بين يديه ولا من خلفه ابن جريج : لا يأتيه الباطل فيما أخبر عما مضى ولا فيما أخبر عما يكون . وعن ابن عباس : من بين يديه من الله تعالى : ولا من خلفه يريد من جبريل - صلى الله عليه وسلم - ، ولا من محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم .تنزيل من حكيم حميد ابن عباس : حكيم في خلقه حميد إليهم . قتادة : حكيم في أمره حميد إلى خلقه .

The Quran is a book of unsurpassable greatness. The proof of its being so is that untruth cannot enter it either from the front or from behind, i.e., there is no possibility of interference with it from any side. It cannot be distorted either directly or indirectly. And this holds true now and for all time to come. This is a very extraordinary forecast to make. In terms of the cause-and-effect system of this world, if this forecast has to come true, it is necessary that a strong community should permanently exist as the bearer of the Quran; it should not be at variance with the teachings of previous prophets; nobody should ever be able to find fault with the Quran; the evolution of knowledge should never result in contradiction of any of its statements; the vicissitudes of history should not exert any influence upon it; the language of the Quran, Arabic, should always remain a living language. Islam’s long history after the revelation of the Quran shows that, surprisingly, all these factors in its favour have strongly resisted erosion. The very convergence of these factors is quite extraordinary: there is no other book except the Quran in respect of which so many positive factors have continuously remained accumulated for so long a period as one thousand five hundred years. This is sufficient proof that the Quran is the Book of God. The greatness of the Quran must be discovered through argument and reasoning and not by a display of power. Its greatness will be apparent on the basis of power on the Day of Judgement. But then those who did not accept God’s Truth on the strength of arguments would be compelled to accept this Truth by being humbled.

لَّا يَأْتِيهِ الْبَاطِلُ مِن بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَلَا مِنْ خَلْفِهِ (that cannot be approached by falsehood, neither from its front, nor from its behind.) Qatadah and Suddi have stated that ` batil' (falsehood) in this verse means Shaitan (Satan), and ` neither from its front, nor from its behind' means ` from any side'. To sum up, Satan's manipulation and contrivance just do not work on this Book; Shaitan cannot distort this Book by adding something to it, or deleting something from it. The author of Tafsir Mazhari, after quoting this explanation, has added that Satan here includes the satans both from jinn and from humans - neither can carry out any change or distortion in the Qur'an. Some Rawafid1. (1) This term is used for the extremists among the Shi'ites who tried to add ten parts (Ajza' ) and some tried to add some particular verses, but none could succeed. Abu Hayyan has stated in Al-Bahr-ul-Muhit that the word batil (falsehood) as a word is not specific to Shaitan; any falsehood or falsifier, whether from Shaitan or from any other source, cannot succeed in the Qur'an. Then, referring to Tabari, he has mentioned that this verse means that a disbeliever can neither dare to carry out any change in this Book openly, nor can he distort its meaning through ilhad covertly. The explanation of Tabari is very appropriate here, because there can be only two ways of introducing any distortion or ilhad in the Qur'an. First, that any disbeliever tries openly to add something to or delete something from the Qur'an. This has been denoted by the words, ` from its front'. The second way of distortion is that somebody, claiming to have faith, tries to distort the meaning of the Qur'an covertly through false interpretations. This has been referred to by the words, ` nor from its behind'. The sense, in nut shell, is that this Book is so noble and protected by Allah that nobody has the power to bring any addition, omission or change in its words, nor can one succeed in bringing any change in the injunctions of the Qur'an by distorting its meaning. Whenever any wretched person attempted to do so, he had to face ignominy -The Qur'an remained pure and untouched by his evil plans. As for its protection from open distortion or change, everybody can see that there is no way for anyone to do it, because it is being read and recited throughout the world for the last fourteen centuries, fully memorized by hundreds of thousands of people; if anybody makes even the slightest mistake, the young, the old, the learned scholars, the illiterate - thousands and thousands of Muslims raise their voice for correction. The words ` nor from its behind' in the present verse indicate that the protection of the Qur'an that has been undertaken by Allah Almighty Himself by saying "And We are there to protect it." (15:9) is not limited to its words only; rather Allah Almighty has ensured that its meanings will remain protected as well. Allah Almighty has so safeguarded even the meaning and injunctions of Qur'an through His Messenger and his direct disciples, the noble Companions ؓ ، that if any infidel attempts to distort it through false explanations, thousands of scholars stand up to refute it, and he faces rejection. The fact is that in the verse إِنَّا لَهُ لَحَافِظُونَ (We are there to protect it) the pronoun ` it' points towards the Qur'an and Qur'an is not just the name of words, but is the name of both words and meanings. It is clearly mentioned in correct ahadith that a group will always remain among Muslims, till Doomsday, who would expose the distortions of those who commit ilhad (false interpretation), and would clarify the correct meaning of the Qur'an. They may hide their kufr from the whole world, but they cannot hide it from Allah Almighty, and since Allah Almighty is aware of their conspiracy, they are bound to face punishment.

(Falsehood cannot come at it) it is not contradicted by the Torah, the Gospel or by any revealed Scriptures (from before it) before its revelation (or behind it) and after there will be no Scripture which will contradict it; it is also said that this means: the Torah, the Gospel, the Psalms and all the Scriptures which were revealed before the Qur'an do not contradict it and there will be no Scripture in the future which will contradict it and, hence, it will remain uncontradicted; and it is also said that this means: Iblis did not come to Muhammad (pbuh) before the coming of Gabriel to him such that he added to the Qur'an, nor did he come to him after Gabriel such that he took away from the Qur'an; and it is also said that this means: the Qur'an does not contradict itself, but rather everything in it is in perfect agreement. ((It is) a revelation from the Wise) in His command and decree, (the Owner of Praise) the Praiseworthy in His acts.