29:51 Al-Ankaboot (The Spider)

ولما كان المقصود بيان الحق، ذكر تعالى طريقه، فقال: { أَوَلَمْ يَكْفِهِمْ } في علمهم بصدقك وصدق ما جئت به { أَنَّا أَنْزَلْنَا عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ يُتْلَى عَلَيْهِمْ } وهذا كلام مختصر جامع، فيه من الآيات البينات، والدلالات الباهرات، شيء كثير، فإنه كما تقدم إتيان الرسول به بمجرده وهو أمي، من أكبر الآيات على صدقه.ثم عجزهم عن معارضته، وتحديه إياهم آية أخرى، ثم ظهوره، وبروزه جهرا علانية، يتلى عليهم، ويقال: هو من عند اللّه، قد أظهره الرسول، وهو في وقت قلَّ فيه أنصاره، وكثر مخالفوه وأعداؤه، فلم يخفه، ولم يثن ذلك عزمه، بل صرح به على رءوس الأشهاد، ونادى به بين الحاضر والباد، بأن هذا كلام ربي، فهل أحد يقدر على معارضته، أو ينطق بمباراته أو يستطيع مجاراته؟.ثم إخباره عن قصص الأولين، وأنباء السابقين والغيوب المتقدمة والمتأخرة، مع مطابقته للواقع.ثم هيمنته على الكتب المتقدمة، وتصحيحه للصحيح، ونَفْيُ ما أدخل فيها من التحريف والتبديل، ثم هدايته لسواء السبيل، في أمره ونهيه، فما أمر بشيء فقال العقل \"ليته لم يأمر به\" ولا نهى عن شيء فقال العقل: \"ليته لم ينه عنه\" بل هو مطابق للعدل والميزان، والحكمة المعقولة لذوي البصائر والعقول [ثم مسايرة إرشاداته وهدايته وأحكامه لكل حال وكل زمان بحيث لا تصلح الأمور إلا به] فجميع ذلك يكفي من أراد تصديق الحق، وعمل على طلب الحق، فلا كفى اللّه من لم يكفه القرآن، ولا شفى اللّه من لم يشفه الفرقان، ومن اهتدى به واكتفى، فإنه خير له فلذلك قال: { إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَرَحْمَةً وَذِكْرَى لِقَوْمٍ يُؤْمِنُونَ } وذلك لما يحصلون فيه من العلم الكثير، والخير الغزير، وتزكية القلوب والأرواح، وتطهير العقائد، وتكميل الأخلاق، والفتوحات الإلهية، والأسرار الربانية.

ثم قال تعالى مبينا كثرة جهلهم وسخافة عقلهم حيث طلبوا آيات تدلهم على صدق محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم فيما جاءهم وقد جاءهم بالكتاب العزيز الذي لا يأتيه الباطل من بين يديه ولا من خلفه الذى هو أعظم من كل معجزة إذ عجزت الفصحاء والبلغاء عن معارضته بل عن معارضة عشر سور من مثله بل عن معارضة سورة منه فقال تعالى: "أو لم يكفهم أنا أنزلنا عليك الكتاب يتلى عليهم" أي أولم يكفهم آية أنا أنزلنا عليك الكتاب العظيم الذي فيه خبر ما قبلهم ونبأ ما بعدهم وحكم ما بينهم وأنت رجل أمي لا تقرأ ولا تكتب ولم تخالط أحدا من أهل الكتاب فجئتهم بأخبار ما في الصحف الأولى ببيان الصواب مما اختلفوا فيه وبالحق الواضح البين الجلي كما قال تعالى "أو لم يكن لهم آية أن يعلمه علماء بني إسرائيل" وقال تعالى "وقالوا لولا أنزل عليه آية من ربه أو لم تأتهم بينة ما في الصحف الأولى" وقال الإمام أحمد حدثنا حجاح حدثنا ليث حدثني سعيد بن أبي سعيد عن أبيه عن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم "ما من الأنبياء من نبي إلا قد أعطي من الآيات ما مثله آمن عليه البشر وإنما كان الذي أوتيته وحيا أوحاه الله إلي فأرجو أن أكون تابعا يوم القيامة" أخرجاه من حديث الليث. وقد قال الله تعالى "إن في ذلك لرحمة وذكرى لقوم يؤمنون" أي إن في هذا القرآن لرحمة أي بيانا للحق وإزاحة للباطل وذكرى بما فيه حلول النقمات ونزول العقاب بالمكذبين والعاصين لقوم يؤمنون.

The Idolators' demand for Signs, and the Response

Allah tells us how the idolators stubbornly demanded signs, meaning that they wanted signs to show them that Muhammad was indeed the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, just as Salih was given the sign of the she-camel. Allah says:

قُلْ

(Say) -- `O Muhammad' --

إِنَّمَا الاٌّيَـتُ عِندَ اللَّهِ

(The signs are only with Allah) meaning, `the matter rests with Allah, and if He knew that you would be guided, He would respond to your request, because it is very easy for Him to do that. Yet He knows that you are merely being stubborn and putting me to the test, so He will not respond to you.' This is like the Ayah,

وَمَا مَنَعَنَآ أَن نُّرْسِلَ بِالاٌّيَـتِ إِلاَّ أَن كَذَّبَ بِهَا الاٌّوَّلُونَ وَءَاتَيْنَا ثَمُودَ النَّاقَةَ مُبْصِرَةً فَظَلَمُواْ بِهَا

(And nothing stops Us from sending the Ayat but that the people of old denied them. And We sent the she-camel to Thamud as a clear sign, but they did her wrong) (17:59).

وَإِنَّمَآ أَنَاْ نَذِيرٌ مُّبِينٌ

(and I am only a plain warner) means, `I have been sent to you only as a warner to bring a clear warning; all I have to do is convey the Message of Allah to you. '

مَن يَهْدِ اللَّهُ فَهُوَ الْمُهْتَدِ وَمَن يُضْلِلْ فَلَن تَجِدَ لَهُ وَلِيًّا مُّرْشِدًا

(He whom Allah guides, he is the rightly-guided; but he whom He sends astray, for him you will find no guide to lead him.) (18:17)

لَّيْسَ عَلَيْكَ هُدَاهُمْ وَلَـكِنَّ اللَّهَ يَهْدِى مَن يَشَآءُ

(Not upon you is their guidance, but Allah guides whom He wills) (2:272). Then Allah shows us how ignorant and foolish they were when they demanded a sign to prove to them that what Muhammad ﷺ had brought to them was true. He brought them a great Book which falsehood cannot reach, neither from before it or behind it, it was greater than all other miracles, for the most eloquent of men could not match it or produce ten Surahs, or even one Surah like it.

أَوَلَمْ يَكْفِهِمْ أَنَّآ أَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَـبَ يُتْلَى عَلَيْهِمْ

(Is it not sufficient for them that We have sent down to you the Book which is recited to them) means, `is it not sufficient as a sign for them that We have sent down to you this great Book which tells them about what happened before their time, what will happen after they are gone, and passes judgement between them. Even though you are an unlettered man who can neither read nor write, and you have not mixed with any of the People of the Book. Yet you brought them news of what was said in the first Scriptures showing what is right in the matters that they dispute over, and bringing clear and obvious truth. ' As Allah says:

أَوَلَمْيَكُن لَّهُمْ ءَايَةً أَن يَعْلَمَهُ عُلَمَاءُ بَنِى إِسْرَءِيلَ

(Is it not a sign to them that the learned scholars of the Children of Israel knew it (to be true)) (26:197)

وَقَالُواْ لَوْلاَ يَأْتِينَا بِـَايَةٍ مِّن رَّبِّهِ أَوَلَمْ تَأْتِهِمْ بَيِّنَةُ مَا فِى الصُّحُفِ الاٍّولَى

(They say: "Why does he not bring us a sign from his Lord" Has there not come to them the proof of that which is in the former Scriptures) (20:133) Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

«مَا مِنَ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ مِنْ نَبِيَ إِلَّا قَدْ أُعْطِيَ مِنَ الْآيَاتِ مَا مِثْلُهُ آمَنَ عَلَيْهِ الْبَشَرُ، وَإِنَّمَا كَانَ الَّذِي أُوتِيتُهُ وَحْيًا أَوْحَاهُ اللهُ إِلَيَّ، فَأَرْجُو أَنْ أَكُونَ أَكْثَرَهُمْ تَابِعًا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَة»

(There is no Prophet who was not given some miracles that would make the people believe in him. What I have been given is revelation which Allah reveals to me, and I hope that I will have the greatest number of followers on the Day of Resurrection.)" It was also recorded by Al-Bukhari and Muslim. Indeed Allah has said:

إِنَّ فِى ذلِكَ لَرَحْمَةً وَذِكْرَى لِقَوْمٍ يُؤْمِنُونَ

(Verily, herein is mercy and a reminder for a people who believe.) In this Qur'an there is mercy, that is, explanation of the truth and removal of falsehood, and a reminder to the believers of the punishment that is to come to the disbelievers and sinners. Then Allah says:

قُلْ كَفَى بِاللَّهِ بَيْنِى وَبَيْنَكُمْ شَهِيداً

(Say: "Sufficient is Allah for a witness between me and you...") `He knows best the words of denial that you utter, and he knows what I am telling you about Him and that He has sent me. If I were telling lies about Him, He would have executed His vengeance upon me,' as Allah says elsewhere:

وَلَوْ تَقَوَّلَ عَلَيْنَا بَعْضَ الاٌّقَاوِيلِ - لأَخَذْنَا مِنْهُ بِالْيَمِينِ - ثُمَّ لَقَطَعْنَا مِنْهُ الْوَتِينَ - فَمَا مِنكُم مِّنْ أَحَدٍ عَنْهُ حَـجِزِينَ

g(And if he had forged a false saying concerning Us, We surely would have seized him by his right hand, and then We certainly would have cut off his aorta, and none of you could have withheld Us from (punishing) him.) (69:44-47). `But I am telling the truth in what I say to you about Him, so He has supported me with clear miracles and definitive evidence.'

يَعْلَمُ مَا فِى السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ

(He knows what is in the heavens and the earth.) means, nothing is hidden from Him at all.

وَالَّذِينَ ءامَنُواْ بِالْبَـطِلِ وَكَفَرُواْ بِاللَّهِ أُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْخَـسِرُونَ

(And those who believe in falsehood, and disbelieve in Allah, it is they who are the losers.) means, on the Day of Resurrection, they will be punished for what they did, and will get what they justly deserve for rejecting the truth and following falsehood, for disbelieving in the Messengers of Allah ﷺ even when there was proof that they were telling the truth, and for worshipping false gods with no evidence. Allah will punish them for all that, for He is All-Wise and All-Knowing.

Is it not sufficient for them regarding what they have demanded that We have revealed to you the Book the Qur’ān which is recited to them? — as it constitutes a ongoing sign that will never terminate in contrast to the signs mentioned. Surely in that Book is mercy and a reminder an admonition for a people who believe.

The status of the narrations of the People of the Book quoted by the commentators in their commentaries is also the same. The object of their reproduction in the commentaries is meant to highlight their historical position. They cannot be used for determining what is permitted (halal) and what is not permitted حَرَام (haram).

مَا كُنتَ تَتْلُو مِن قَبْلِهِ مِن كِتَابٍ وَلَا تَخُطُّهُ بِيَمِينِكَ إِذًا لَّارْ‌تَابَ الْمُبْطِلُونَ (And you have never been reciting any book before this, nor have you been writing it with your right hand, had it been so, the people of falsehood would have raised doubts. - 29:48). That is Before the revelation of the Qur'an you could neither read nor write, rather you were unlettered (اُمِّی). If it was not so, and you were literate, then there could have been a possibility of doubt for the infidels to put the blame that you were repeating what you had read in, the earlier books, Torah and Injil, and it was not a new revelation sent down on you by way of prophethood.'

It was a great honour and miracle for the Holy Prophet ﷺ to be unlettered

Allah Ta’ ala had demonstrated so many evident and clear miracles to prove the prophethood of the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، and it was one of those miracles that He made him unlettered. Neither he could read anything nor could he write at all. Forty years of his life were spent in this fashion before the eyes of the people of Makkah. He did not have any acquaintance with the People of the Book wherefrom he could have learnt anything. In fact, there were no People of the Book living in Makkah. Suddenly, at the age of forty years, such a speech started flowing from his mouth that was a miracle not only in its theme and meaning, but also in the pinnacle of its eloquence.

Some scholars have tried to prove that he was unlettered in the beginning, but later Allah Ta’ ala taught him how to read and write. In support of their contention they quote a hadith regarding the incident of Hudaibiyah, which says that when the agreement between the Holy Prophet ﷺ and the infidels of Makkah was being written, it was started by the Muslims with the words, مِن مُحَمَّدِ عبد اللہ وَ رسَوُلِہٖ - (From Muhammad, the slave of Allah and His messenger). On this the disbelievers of Makkah objected that his being the messenger of Allah was the real bone of contention, and if they had accepted him as a messenger of Allah, there would not have been any dispute among them. Therefore, they would not accept the words ` and His messenger' along with his name. Sayyidna Ali ؓ had written this agreement, so, the Holy Prophet ﷺ asked him to erase it, to which he declined out of respect and reverence for him. Then the Holy Prophet ﷺ took the paper in his own hand, and after erasing the words ` His messenger' wrote مِن مُحَمَّدِ بن عَبدَاللہِ (From Muhammad, the son of ` Abdullah).

In this narration, the act of writing has been attributed to the Holy Prophet ﷺ which led some people to think that he knew how to write. But the correct position is that the act of writing was attributed to him in the narration as a colloquial expression. It is a fairly common idiom spoken quite widely that if someone gets something written by an ascribe, the writing is attributed to the former, even though he has not written it himself. The other possibility is that Allah Ta’ ala made him write this bit miraculously on this occasion. Also, by writing just a few words, one cannot be called a literate, but would still remain an unlettered. Furthermore, it would not be an honour for him to be labeled as literate, rather the honour is in him being an unlettered.