21:24 Al-Anbiyaa (The Prophets)

رجع إلى تهجين حال المشركين، وأنهم اتخذوا من دونه آلهة فقل لهم موبخا ومقرعا: { أَمِ اتَّخَذُوا مِنْ دُونِهِ آلِهَةً قُلْ هَاتُوا بُرْهَانَكُمْ ْ} أي: حجتكم ودليلكم على صحة ما ذهبتم إليه، ولن يجدوا لذلك سبيلا، بل قد قامت الأدلة القطعية على بطلانه، ولهذا قال: { هَذَا ذِكْرُ مَنْ مَعِيَ وَذِكْرُ مَنْ قَبْلِي ْ} أي: قد اتفقت الكتب والشرائع على صحة ما قلت لكم، من إبطال الشرك، فهذا كتاب الله الذي فيه ذكر كل شيء، بأدلته العقلية والنقلية، وهذه الكتب السابقة كلها، براهين وأدلة لما قلت. ولما علم أنهم قامت عليهم الحجة والبرهان على بطلان ما ذهبوا إليه، علم أنه لا برهان لهم، لأن البرهان القاطع، يجزم أنه لا معارض له، وإلا لم يكن قطعيا، وإن وجد في معارضات، فإنها شبه لا تغني من الحق شيئا. وقوله: { بَلْ أَكْثَرُهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ الْحَقَّ ْ} أي: وإنما أقاموا على ما هم عليه، تقليدا لأسلافهم يجادلون بغير علم ولا هدى، وليس عدم علمهم بالحق لخفائه وغموضه، وإنما ذلك، لإعراضهم عنه، وإلا فلو التفتوا إليه أدنى التفات، لتبين لهم الحق من الباطل تبينا واضحا جليا ولهذا قال: { فَهُمْ مُعْرِضُونَ ْ}

أكثرهم لا يلعمون الحق فهم معرضون يقول تعالى " أم اتخذوا من دونه آلهة قل " يا محمد " هاتوا برهانكم " أي دليلكم على ما تقولون " هذا ذكر من معي " يعني القرآن " وذكر من قبلي " يعني الكتب المتقدمة على خلاف ما تقولونه وتزعمون فكل كتاب أنزل على كل نبي أرسل ناطق بأنه لا إله إلا الله ولكن أنتم أيها المشركون لا تعلمون الحق فأنتم معرضون عنه ولهذا.

أَمِ اتَّخَذُواْ مِن دُونِهِ ءَالِهَةً قُلْ

(Or have they taken for worship gods besides Him Say:) -- O Muhammad --

هَاتُواْ بُرْهَـنَكُمْ

(Bring your proof.) your evidence for what you are saying.

هَـذَا ذِكْرُ مَن مَّعِىَ

(This is the Reminder for those with me) means, the Qur'an.

وَذِكْرُ مَن قَبْلِى

(and the Reminder for those before me) means, the previous Books, unlike what you claim. Each Book was revealed to each Prophet who was sent with the message that there is no god except Allah, but you idolators do not recognize the truth, so you turn away from it. Allah says:

وَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَا مِن قَبْلِكَ مِن رَّسُولٍ إِلاَّ نُوحِى إِلَيْهِ أَنَّهُ لا إِلَـهَ إِلاَّ أَنَاْ فَاعْبُدُونِ

(And We did not send any Messenger before you but We revealed to him (saying): "There is no god but I. ..") This is like the Ayat:

وَاسْئلْ مَنْ أَرْسَلْنَا مِن قَبْلِكَ مِن رُّسُلِنَآ أَجَعَلْنَا مِن دُونِ الرَّحْمَـنِ ءَالِهَةً يُعْبَدُونَ

(And ask those of Our Messengers whom We sent before you: "Did We ever appoint gods to be worshipped besides the Most Gracious") 43:45

وَلَقَدْ بَعَثْنَا فِى كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ رَّسُولاً أَنِ اعْبُدُواْ اللَّهَ وَاجْتَنِبُواْ الْطَّـغُوتَ

(And verily, We have sent among every Ummah a Messenger (proclaiming): "Worship Allah, and avoid Taghut (all false deities).") 16:36 Every Prophet who was sent by Allah called people to worship Allah Alone, with no partner or associate. The natural inclination of man (Al-Fitrah) also bears witness to that. The idolators have no proof and their dispute is of no use before their Lord; on them is wrath, and for them will be a severe torment.

Or have they chosen besides Him exalted be He other than Him gods? herein is an interrogative meant as a rebuke. Say ‘Bring your proof for this — but such a thing is impossible. This is the Remembrance of those with me namely my community and that Remembrance is the Qur’ān and the Remembrance of those before me of communities namely the Torah and the Gospel and other Books of God not a single one of which contains the statement that with God there exists another god in the way that they claim — exalted be He above such a thing. Nay but most of them do not know the truth the affirmation of God’s Oneness and so they are disregardful’ of that discernment that leads to knowledge of it.

هَـٰذَا ذِكْرُ‌ مَن مَّعِيَ وَذِكْرُ‌ مَن قَبْلِي (Here is the Message for those with me and the Message for those before me. - 21: 24) One explanation of this verse on which the translation is based is that ذِکر means Message and "Message for those with me" refers to Qur'an, while "the Message for those before me" refers to Torah, Injil (Evangel) and Zabur (Psalms), the earlier divine books. According to this interpretation, the meaning of the verse is that neither the Qur'an (which is the Book for the Holy Prophet ﷺ and his followers) nor the older books contain anything to suggest worship of anyone else but Allah. Despite the fact that the texts of Torah and Injil (Evangel) have been altered, it is not suggested in either of them that Allah has partners with whom he shares His authority. Another explanation of the verse is given in Al-Bahr ul-Muhit according to which the word (dhikr) means here "description", and the sense is that this Qur'an is a description for the people who were in the days of the Holy Prophet ﷺ which describes for them the rules of Shari'ah and invites them to the correct way of life. At the same time it is a description of those who were before the Holy Prophet ﷺ because it keeps alive the stories and the traditions of people long gone by.

Or have they taken gods apart from Him? Say, “Bring your proof.” This alludes to true tawḤīd and the Lord's solitariness in the description of aloneness and the at- tribute of unity. The root of tawḤīd is to fly in the field of disengagement, to take up residence at His rulings through solitariness, to cut off fear and hope from both the near and the far, and to surrender the affair to God so that He may decree however He desires. Shiblī said, “The One suffices you against all, but all will not suffice you against the One.” He is saying, “The Real is One. If you have a thousand enemies and the Real is with you, He will suffice against all. And supposing you have a thousand friends and helpers but the Real is not with you, then nothing will be in your hand but wind.” God's Messenger said to Abū Bakr al-ṣiddīq in the cave, “Grieve not; surely God is with us” [9:40]. It was said to a spider, “We have concealed the paragon of the prophets and the head of the sincerely truthful in a cave. Go, prepare the corner of your incapacity and poverty in the door of that cave so that it may be their escort.” Nothing in the world is more incapable than a spider, and no house is weaker than its house. And surely the frailest of houses is the house of the spider [29:41]. When He wants to destroy an enemy like Nimrod, He destroys him with a gnat. He is a Lord who does whatever He wants and who shows His power however He wants. Take a look at His perfect power in the creation of heaven and earth, as He says: