21:25 Al-Anbiyaa (The Prophets)

ولما حول تعالى على ذكر المتقدمين، وأمر بالرجوع إليهم في بيان هذه المسألة، بيَّنها أتم تبيين في قوله: { وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِنْ قَبْلِكَ مِنْ رَسُولٍ إِلَّا نُوحِي إِلَيْهِ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنَا فَاعْبُدُونِ ْ} فكل الرسل الذين من قبلك مع كتبهم، زبدة رسالتهم وأصلها، الأمر بعبادة الله وحده لا شريك له، وبيان أنه الإله الحق المعبود، وأن عبادة ما سواه باطلة.

قال " وما أرسلنا من قبلك من رسول إلا نوحي إليه أنه لا إله إلا أنا فاعبدون " كما قال " واسأل من أرسلنا من قبلك من رسلنا أجعلنا من دون الرحمن آلهة يعبدون " وقال " ولقد بعثنا في كل أمة رسولا أن اعبدوا الله واجتنبوا الطاغوت " فكل نبي بعثه الله يدعو إلى عبادة الله وحده لا شريك له والفطرة شاهدة بذلك أيضا والمشركون لا برهان لهم وحجتهم داحضة عند ربهم وعليم غضب ولهم عذاب شديد.

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.

And We did not send any Messenger before you but We revealed to him read nūhī or yūhā ‘but it was revealed to him’ that ‘There is no god except Me so worship Me’ that is affirm My Oneness.

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.