15:91 Al-Hijr (The Rock)

{ الذين جعلوا القرآن عضين } أي: أصنافا وأعضاء وأجزاء، يصرفونه بحسب ما يهوونه، فمنهم من يقول: سحر ومنهم من يقول: كهانة ومنهم من يقول: مفترى إلى غير ذلك من أقوال الكفرة المكذبين به، الذين جعلوا قدحهم فيه ليصدوا الناس عن الهدى.

وقوله " الذين جعلوا القرآن عضين " أي جزءوا كتبهم المنزلة عليهم فآمنوا ببعض وكفروا ببعض قال البخاري: حدثنا يعقوب بن إبراهيم حدثنا هشيم أنبانا أبو بشر سعيد بن جبير عن ابن عباس " جعلوا القرآن عضين " قال هم أهل الكتاب جزءوه أجزاء فآمنوا ببعضه وكفروا ببعضه. حدثنا عبيد الله بن موسى عن الأعمش عن أبي ظبيان عن ابن عباس " جعلوا القرآن عضين " قال هم أهل الكتاب جزءوه أجزاء فآمنوا ببعضه وكفروا ببعضه. حدثنا عبيد الله بن موسى عن الأعمش عن أبي ظبيان عن ابن عباس قال " كما أنزلنا على المقتسمين " قال: آمنوا ببعض وكفروا ببعض اليهود والنصارى. قال ابن أبي حاتم وروي عن مجاهد والحسن والضحاك وعكرمة وسعيد بن جبير وغيرهم نحو ذلك. وقال الحكم بن أبان عن عكرمة عن ابن عباس " جعلوا القرآن عضين " قال السحر. وقال عكرمة: العضه السحر بلسان قريش يقول للساحرة إنها العاضهة. وقال مجاهد: عضوه أعضاء قالوا سحر وقالوا كهانة وقالوا أساطير الأولين وقال عطاء قال بعضهم ساحر وقالوا مجنون وقالوا كاهن فذلك العضين. وكذا روي عن الضحاك وغيره وقال محمد بن إسحاق عن محمد بن أبي محمد عن عكرمة أو سعيد بن جبير عن ابن عباس أن الوليد بن المغيرة اجتمع إليه نفر من قريش وكان ذا شرف فيهم وقد حضر الموسم فقال لهم يا معشر قريش إنه قد حضر هذا الموسم وإن وفود العرب ستقدم عليكم فيه وقد سمعوا بأمر صاحبكم هذا فأجمعوا فيه رأيا واحدا ولا تختلفوا فيكذب بعضكم بعضا ويرد قولكم بعضه بعضا فقالوا وأنت يا أبا عبد شمس فقل وأقم لنا رأيا نقول به قال: بل أنتم قولوا لأسمع قالوا: نقول كاهن قال ما هو بكاهن قالوا فنقول مجنون قال ما هو بمجنون قالوا فنقول شاعر قال ما هو بشاعر قالوا فنقول ساحر قال ما هو بساحر قالوا فماذا نقول؟ قال والله إن لقوله لحلاوة فما أنتم بقائلين من هذا شيئا إلا عرف أنه باطل وإن أقرب القول أن تقولوا هو ساحر; فتفرقوا عنه بذلك وأنزل الله فيهم " الذين جعلوا القرآن عضين " أصنافا.

The Messenger is a Plain Warner

Allah commanded His Prophet to tell the people:

إِنِّى أَنَا النَّذِيرُ الْمُبِينُ

(I am indeed a plain warner) coming to warn the people of a severe punishment that they will suffer if they reject him, as happened to those nations before them who disbelieved in their Messengers, upon whom Allah sent His punishment and vengeance. In the two Sahihs it is reported from Abu Musa that the Prophet said:

«إِنَّمَا مَثَلِي وَمَثَلُ مَا بَعَثَنِي اللهُ بِهِ كَمَثَلِ رَجُلٍ أَتَى قَوْمَهَ فَقَالَ: يَا قَوْمِ إِنِّي رَأَيْتُ الْجَيْشَ بِعَيْنَيَّ، وَإِنِّي أَنَا النَّذِيرُ الْعُرْيَانُ فَالنَّجَاءَ النَّجَاءَ، فَأَطَاعَهُ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْ قَوْمِهِ فَأَدْلَجُوا وَانْطَلَقُوا عَلَى مُهْلِهِمْ فَنَجَوْا، وَكَذَّبَهُ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْهُمْ فَأَصْبَحُوا مَكَانَهُمْ، فَصَبَّحَهُمُ الْجَيْشُ فَأَهْلَكَهُمْ وَاجْتَاحَهُمْ، فَذَلِكَ مَثَلُ مَنْ أَطَاعَنِي وَاتَّبَعَ مَا جِئْتُ بِهِ وَمَثَلُ مَنْ عَصَانِي وَكَذَّبَ مَا جِئْتُ بِهِ مِنَ الْحَق»

(The parable of myself and that with which Allah has sent me is that of a man who came to his people and said, `O people! I have seen the invading army with my own eyes, and I am a naked warner, so escape, escape!' Some of his people obeyed him and set out at nightfall, setting off at a slow pace and managing to escape. Others did not believe him and stayed where they were until the next morning when the invading army overtook them and destroyed them, wiping them out. This is the parable of the one who obeys me and follows what I have brought, and the example of the one who disobeys me and rejects the truth that I have brought.)

Explanation of "Al-Muqtasimin

الْمُقْتَسِمِينَ

(the Muqtasimin) refers to those who had made a pact to oppose, deny, and insult the Prophets. Similarly, Allah tells us about the people of Salih:

قَالُواْ تَقَاسَمُواْ بِاللَّهِ لَنُبَيِّتَنَّهُ وَأَهْلَهُ

(They said, "Swear to one another Taqasamu by Allah that we shall make a secret night attack on him and his household") 27:49 i.e., they plotted to kill him at night. Mujahid said "Taqasamu means they swore an oath."

وَأَقْسَمُواْ بِاللَّهِ جَهْدَ أَيْمَـنِهِمْ لاَ يَبْعَثُ اللَّهُ مَن يَمُوتُ

(And they swear by Allah with their strongest oaths, that Allah will not raise up one who dies)(16:38).

أَوَلَمْ تَكُونُواْ أَقْسَمْتُمْ مِّن قَبْلُ

((It will be said): "Did you not before swear that you would not leave (the world for the Hereafter)) (14:44)

أَهَـؤُلاءِ الَّذِينَ أَقْسَمْتُمْ لاَ يَنَالُهُمُ اللَّهُ بِرَحْمَةٍ

(Are they those, of whom you swore that Allah would never show them mercy)7:49 It is as if they took an oath for every single thing that they denied in this world, so they are called the Muqtasimin.

الَّذِينَ جَعَلُواْ الْقُرْءَانَ عِضِينَ

(Who have made the Qur'an into parts.) meaning, they have split up the Books that were revealed to them, believing in parts of them and rejecting parts of them. Al-Bukhari reported that Ibn `Abbas said,

جَعَلُواْ الْقُرْءَانَ عِضِينَ

(Who have made the Qur'an into parts.) "They are the People of the Book, who divided the Book into parts, believing in some of it, and rejecting some of it." Some have said that Al-Mutaqasimin refers to the Quraysh, that the Qur'an means this Qur'an as opposed to the Scriptures of the People of the Book, and that "made it into parts" referred to what `Ata' said that some of them said that he (the Prophet ) was a sorcerer, some said he was crazy, or a soothsayer. These various allegations were the parts. This opinion was also reported from Ad-Dahhak and others. Muhammad bin Ishaq reported from Ibn `Abbas that Al-Walid bin Al-Mughirah - holding a noble position among the people - rallied a group of Quraysh behind him when Al-Mawsim (the time for pilgrims to meet in Makkah for Hajj) had come. He said to them, "O people of Quraysh! The time of Al-Mawsim has come, and delegations of Arabs will come to you during this time. They will have heard some things about this companion of yours (meaning the Prophet ), so agree on one opinion, let there be no contradicting or denials of each other's sayings". They said, "And you, O Abu `Abd Shams, give us an opinion and we will say that." He said, "No, you make the suggestions and I will listen." They said, "We say he is a soothsayer." He said, "He is not a soothsayer." They said, "We say he is crazy." He said, "He is not crazy." They said, "We say he is a poet." He said, "He is not a poet." They said, "We say he is a sorcerer." He said, "He is not a sorcerer." They said, "So what should we say" He said, "By Allah, what he says is as palatable to the average person as something sweet, so you cannot say anything against it without it being obviously false. Therefore the most appropriate thing you can say is that he is a sorcerer." So they left having agreed upon that, and Allah revealed concerning them:

الَّذِينَ جَعَلُواْ الْقُرْءَانَ عِضِينَ

(Who have made the Qur'an into parts.) meaning, of different types, and

فَوَرَبِّكَ لَنَسْـَلَنَّهُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ - عَمَّا كَانُواْ يَعْمَلُونَ

(So, by your Lord, We shall certainly call all of them to account. For all that they used to do) Those were the group who said that about the Messenger of Allah ﷺ."

فَوَرَبِّكَ لَنَسْـَلَنَّهُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ - عَمَّا كَانُواْ يَعْمَلُونَ

(So, by your Lord, We shall certainly call all of them to account. For all that they used to do.) Abu Ja`far reported from Ar-Rabi` that Abu Al-`Aliyah said, "All the people will be asked about two things on the Day of Resurrection: what they used to worship, and what their response was to the Messengers." `Ali bin Abi Talhah repor- ted that Ibn `Abbas said,

فَوَرَبِّكَ لَنَسْـَلَنَّهُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ - عَمَّا كَانُواْ يَعْمَلُونَ

(So, by your Lord, We shall certainly call all of them to account. For all that they used to do.) then he said:

فَيَوْمَئِذٍ لاَّ يُسْـَلُ عَن ذَنبِهِ إِنسٌ وَلاَ جَآنٌّ

(So on that Day no question will be asked of man or Jinn as to his sin) (55:39). He said, "They will not be asked, `Did you do such and such' Because Allah knows better than they do about that. But He will say, `Why did you do such and such"'

those who have reduced the Recitation namely those scriptures revealed to them to parts believing in some and disbelieving in others. It is alternatively said that the individuals meant here were those who ‘divided up’ among themselves the roads to Mecca barring people from Islam. Some of them said that the Qur’ān was sorcery some that it was soothsaying and others that it was poetry.

Commentary

Surah Al-Fatihah is the Text and Summary of the Whole Qur'an

That Surah Al-Fatihah (The Opening) has been called the Glorious Qur’ an in this verse (87) indicates that Surah Al-Fatihah is, in a way, the whole Qur’ an - because the basic principles of Islam have been merged in it.l

1. In order to understand this, one must keep in mind that the words: اَلسَبعَ المثانِی واَلقُرآن (the seven oft repeated verses and the glorious Qur'an) in verse (87) are interpreted by the commentators in different ways. Most of them are of the view that 'seven oft-repeated verses' refer to Surah al-Fatihah which consists of seven verses. Since these seven verses are repeated in every Salah, they have been referred to in the verse 87 as 'oft-repeated verses'. Then, the words 'and the glorious Qur'an' occurring after it are of explanatory nature which refer to the same 'seven oft repeated verses'. Therefore, the name of the 'glorious Qur'an' has been given here to the Surah al-Fatihah itself. The comment of the author is based on this interpretation.

On Being Questioned in Al-Mal} shar : About what will it be?

In verse 92, swearing by His Own sacred Being, Allah Ta’ ala has declared that all such people who came earlier or later shall definitely be questioned.

The Sahabah ؓ asked the Holy Prophet ﷺ as to what it will be about. He said that it will be about saying: لا إله إلا اللہ (la ilaha illallah: there is no god worthy of worship but Allah). Al-Qurtubi, after reporting this narration in his Tafsir, has said: It means the fulfilling of this pledge practically as signified by the Kalimah Tayyibah: La ilaha illallah. A simple verbal statement is not what is desired here because, as for verbal attestation, that was done by the hypocrites (munafiqin) too. Hazrat al-Hasan al-Basri (رح) said: 'Iman (faith) does not become a living reality by taking on a particular style and form, and Din (religion) does not prosper by simply having the best of wishes for it. 'Iman is the name of that certitude which has been poured into the heart and which has been proved true by deeds. This is well illustrated by a Hadith from Sayyidna Zayd ibn Arqam in which the Holy Prophet ﷺ has been reported to have said: A person who says: لا إله إلا اللہ (la ilaha illallah : there is no god worthy of worship but Allah) with ikhlas (totally unalloyed sincerity) will definitely go to Jannah. People asked: Ya Rasul Allah, how is 'ikhlas' related to this Kalimah? He said: When this Kalimah stops a person from what has been prohibited by Allah as unlawful and impermissible, then, it is with 'ikhlas' (with sincerity in the absolute sense). (Qurtubi)