21:36 Al-Anbiyaa (The Prophets)

وهذا من شدة كفرهم، فإن المشركين إذا رأوا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، استهزأوا به وقالوا: { أَهَذَا الَّذِي يَذْكُرُ آلِهَتَكُمْ ْ} أي: هذا المحتقر بزعمهم، الذي يسب آلهتكم ويذمها، ويقع فيها، أي: فلا تبالوا به، ولا تحتفلوا به. هذا استهزاؤهم واحتقارهم له، بما هو من كماله، فإنه الأكمل الأفضل الذي من فضائله ومكارمه، إخلاص العبادة لله، وذم كل ما يعبد من دونه وتنقصه، وذكر محله ومكانته، ولكن محل الازدراء والاستهزاء، هؤلاء الكفار، الذين جمعوا كل خلق ذميم، ولو لم يكن إلا كفرهم بالرب وجحدهم لرسله فصاروا بذلك، من أخس الخلق وأرذلهم، ومع هذا، فذكرهم للرحمن، الذي هو أعلى حالاتهم، كافرون بها، لأنهم لا يذكرونه ولا يؤمنون به إلا وهم مشركون فذكرهم كفر وشرك، فكيف بأحوالهم بعد ذلك؟ ولهذا قال: { وَهُمْ بِذِكْرِ الرَّحْمَنِ هُمْ كَافِرُونَ ْ} وفي ذكر اسمه { الرَّحْمَنِ ْ} هنا، بيان لقباحة حالهم، وأنهم كيف قابلوا الرحمن - مسدي النعم كلها، ودافع النقم الذي ما بالعباد من نعمة إلا منه، ولا يدفع السوء إلا إياه - بالكفر والشرك.

يقول تعالى لنبيه صلوات الله وسلامه عليه " إذا رآك الذين كفروا " يعني كفار قريش كأبي جهل وأشباهه " إن يتخذونك إلا هزوا " أي يستهزئون بك وينتقصونك يقولون " أهذا الذي يذكر آلهتكم " يعنون أهذا الذي يسب آلهتكم ويسفه أحلامكم قال تعالى " وهم بذكر الرحمن هم كافرون " أي وهم كافرون بالله ومع هذا يستهزءون برسول الله- صلى الله عليه وسلم- كما قال في الآية الأخرى " وإذا رأوك إن يتخذونك إلا هزوا أهذا الذي بعث الله رسولا إن كاد ليضلنا عن آلهتنا لولا أن صبرنا عليها وسوف يعلمون حين يرون العذاب من أضل سبيلا ".

How the Idolators mocked the Prophet Allah tells His Prophet ...

وَإِذَا رَآكَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ

(And when those who disbelieved see you,) meaning, the disbelievers of the Quraysh, such as Abu Jahl and his like.

إِن يَتَّخِذُونَكَ إِلاَّ هُزُواً

(they take you not except for mockery) means, they make fun of you and insult you, saying,

أَهَـذَا الَّذِى يَذْكُرُ آلِهَتَكُمْ

("Is this the one who talks about your gods") meaning, is this the one who insults your gods and ridicules your intelligence Allah says:

وَهُمْ بِذِكْرِ الرَّحْمَـنِ هُمْ كَـفِرُونَ

(While they disbelieve at the mention of the Most Gracious.) meaning, they disbelieve in Allah and yet they mock the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. As Allah says:

وَإِذَا رَأَوْكَ إِن يَتَّخِذُونَكَ إِلاَّ هُزُواً أَهَـذَا الَّذِى بَعَثَ اللَّهُ رَسُولاً - إِن كَادَ لَيُضِلُّنَا عَنْ ءَالِهَتِنَا لَوْلاَ أَن صَبْرَنَا عَلَيْهَا وَسَوْفَ يَعْلَمُونَ حِينَ يَرَوْنَ الْعَذَابَ مَنْ أَضَلُّ سَبِيلاً

(And when they see you, they treat you only in mockery (saying): "Is this the one whom Allah has sent as a Messenger He would have nearly misled us from our gods, had it not been that we were patient and constant in their worship!" And they will know, when they see the torment, who it is that is most astray from the path!) 25:41-42

خُلِقَ الإنْسَانُ مِنْ عَجَلٍ

(Man is created of haste.) This is like the Ayah:

وَكَانَ الإِنْسَـنُ عَجُولاً

(and man is ever hasty) 17:11, in all matters. The reason why the haste of man is mentioned here is that when mention is made of those who mock the Messenger , (the believers) will want to avenge them swiftly, and that so should happen sooner. Allah says,

خُلِقَ الإنْسَانُ مِنْ عَجَلٍ

(Man is created of haste.) because He delays (the punishment) until a time when, once He seizes him, He will never let him go. He delays it, then He hastens it; He waits, then He does not delay any longer. So He says:

سَأُوْرِيكُمْ ءَايَـتِى

(I will show you My Ayat) meaning, My vengeance, ruling and power over those who disobey Me.

فَلاَ تَسْتَعْجِلُونِ

(So ask Me not to hasten (them).)

And whenever the disbelievers see you they only take you in derision that is as one to be derided saying ‘Is this the one who mentions your gods?’ that is the one who derides them? And yet when it comes to the mention of the Compassionate One to them they hum repeated for emphasis are disbelieving of it saying ‘We do not know of any such individual’.

What is death?

Allah has said كُلُّ نَفْسٍ ذَائِقَةُ الْمَوْتِ 'Every soul has to taste death'. Here the word soul refers to the living things of the earth, who must all face death, but does not include the angels. There is a difference of opinion about whether the angels will also die or not on the Day of Judgment. Some say that every living thing will die, though momentarily, irrespective of whether they are of the earth or the skies. But others maintain that angels and hurs and ghilman of Paradise are excluded from this general rule. (Only God knows best) (Ruh ul-Ma` ani) Majority of the scholars believe that death is the departure of soul from the mortal human frame, while soul itself is a subtle ethereal living thing which is made of light and resides in human body just as fragrance resides in the rose. Ibn al-Qayyim has convincingly proved this point in his book. (Ruh ul-Ma` ani)

The term ذَائِقَةُ الْمَوْتِ means that every individual will feel the pain of death - 21:35, because considering the manner in which body and soul are conjoined together their separation should obviously entail some pain. There are some saintly persons who regard death as a deliverance from the trials and tribulations of the worldly life and a means of bringing them closer to their Supreme love, that is Allah. This pleasure does not negate the agony of death, because where the reward is high, a little pain is easily tolerated.

Worldly comforts and discomforts are a test

وَنَبْلُوكُم بِالشَّرِّ‌ وَالْخَيْرِ‌ فِتْنَةً

And We test you all through bad and good (situations) with a trial. - 21:35

It means that man is tested both by good things and by bad things. شَر (bad) includes unpleasant things such as illness, grief, pain, poverty etc. while خَیر (good) means desirable things, like good health, happiness, comfort and abundance. Man is subjected to these conditions in this world for test and the test is that he should show patience and endurance in the face of adversity and should offer thanks to Allah when his life is peaceful and comfortable. Wise men have said that, it is more difficult to be steadfast and consistent in offering thanks to Allah for His gifts than to persevere and show patience in difficult circumstances. Sayyidna ` Umar ؓ is reported to have said:

بُلینا بالضّراء فصبرنا و بلینا بالسّراء فلم نصبر (روح المعانی)

"We were tested by discomforts and We bore it with patience, but when we were tested by pleasures, we could not observe patience (i.e. we could not offer gratitude to Allah as was due) ". (Ruh ul-Ma'ani)