46:7 Al-Ahqaf (The Dunes)

أي: وإذا تتلى على المكذبين { آيَاتُنَا بَيِّنَاتٍ } بحيث تكون على وجه لا يمترى بها ولا يشك في وقوعها وحقها لم تفدهم خيرا بل قامت عليهم بذلك الحجة، ويقولون من إفكهم وافترائهم { لِلْحَقِّ لَمَّا جَاءَهُمْ هَذَا سِحْرٌ مُبِينٌ } أي: ظاهر لا شك فيه وهذا من باب قلب الحقائق الذي لا يروج إلا على ضعفاء العقول، وإلا فبين الحق الذي جاء به الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم وبين السحر من المنافاة والمخالفة أعظم مما بين السماء والأرض، وكيف يقاس الحق -الذي علا وارتفع ارتفاعا على الأفلاك وفاق بضوئه ونوره نور الشمس وقامت الأدلة الأفقية والنفسية عليه، وأقرت به وأذعنت أولو البصائر والعقول الرزينة- بالباطل الذي هو السحر الذي لا يصدر إلا من ضال ظالم خبيث النفس خبيث العمل؟! فهو مناسب له وموافق لحاله وهل هذا إلا من البهرجة؟

يقول عز وجل مخبرا عن المشركين في كفرهم وعنادهم أنهم إذا تتلى عليهم آيات الله بينات أي في حال بيانها ووضوحها وجلائها يقولون هذا سحر مبين أي سحر واضح وقد كذبوا وافتروا وضلوا وكفروا.

Refuting Claims of the Idolators about the Qur'an and the Messenger

Concerning the disbelief and rebellion of the idolators, Allah says that when the clear Ayat of Allah are recited to them they say;

هَـذَا سِحْرٌ مُّبِينٌ

(This is plain magic!) meaning, simple magic. In this statement of theirs, they have lied, invented a falsehood, went astray and disbelieved.

أَمْ يَقُولُونَ افْتَرَاهُ

(Or they say: "He has fabricated it." ) They are referring to Muhammad . Allah responds saying,

قُلْ إِنِ افْتَرَيْتُهُ فَلاَ تَمْلِكُونَ لِى مِنَ اللَّهِ شَيْئاً

(Say: "If I have fabricated it, you have no power to support me against Allah...") which means, `if I lie against Allah and falsely claim that He sent me when He actually had not, then He would punish me with a severe punishment. No one on the earth -- you or anyone else -- would then be able to protect me from Him.' It is similar to Allah's saying,

قُلْ إِنِّى لَن يُجِيرَنِى مِنَ اللَّهِ أَحَدٌ وَلَنْ أَجِدَ مِن دُونِهِ مُلْتَحَداً إِلاَّ بَلاَغاً مِّنَ اللَّهِ وَرِسَـلَـتِهِ

(Say: "None can protect me from Allah, nor would I find a refuge except in Him. (My duty) is only to convey from Allah and (deliver) His Messages. ") (72:22-23) Allah says,

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

(And if he made up a false saying concerning Us, We surely would have seized him by the right hand. Then we would have cut off his life artery. And none of you could withhold Us from (punishing) him.) (69:44-47) Thus, Allah says here,

قُلْ إِنِ افْتَرَيْتُهُ فَلاَ تَمْلِكُونَ لِى مِنَ اللَّهِ شَيْئاً هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا تُفِيضُونَ فِيهِ كَفَى بِهِ شَهِيداً بَيْنِى وَبَيْنَكُمْ

(Say: "If I have fabricated it, still you have no power to support me against Allah. He knows best of what you say among yourselves concerning it (i.e. this Qur'an)! Sufficient is He as a witness between me and you!...") This is a severe threat, intimidation and warning for them. Allah then says,

وَهُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ

(And He is the Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.) This is an encouragement for them to repent and turn to Allah. It means, `despite all of this, if you turn back and repent, Allah will accept your repentance, pardon you, forgive you, and have mercy upon on.' This is similar to Allah's saying in Surat Al-Furqan,

وَقَالُواْ أَسَـطِيرُ الاٌّوَّلِينَ اكْتَتَبَهَا فَهِىَ تُمْلَى عَلَيْهِ بُكْرَةً وَأَصِيلاً - قُلْ أَنزَلَهُ الَّذِى يَعْلَمُ السِّرَّ فِى السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ إِنَّهُ كَانَ غَفُوراً رَّحِيماً

(And they say: "(This Book is) legends of the ancients that he has written down, and they are dictated to him morning and afternoon." Say: "It has been sent down by the One Who knows every secret within the heavens and the earth. Truly, He is ever Forgiving and Merciful.") (25:5-6) Allah then says,

قُلْ مَا كُنتُ بِدْعاً مِّنَ الرُّسُلِ

(Say: "I am not a new thing among the Messengers...") which means, `I am not the first Messenger who ever came to the world. Rather, Messengers came before me. Therefore, I am not an unprecedented incident that should cause you all to reject me and doubt my being sent to you. Indeed, Allah has sent before me all of the Prophets to various nations.' Allah then says,

وَمَآ أَدْرِى مَا يُفْعَلُ بِى وَلاَ بِكُمْ

(nor do I know what will be done with me or with you.) `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported from Ibn `Abbas that he said, "It (this Ayah) was followed in revelation by,

لِّيَغْفِرَ لَكَ اللَّهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِن ذَنبِكَ وَمَا تَأَخَّرَ

(That Allah may forgive for you your sins of the past and future). Similarly, `Ikrimah, Al-Hasan, and Qatadah all said that this Ayah was abrogated by the Ayah;

لِّيَغْفِرَ لَكَ اللَّهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِن ذَنبِكَ وَمَا تَأَخَّرَ

(That Allah may forgive for you your sins of the past and future). They said that when the latter Ayah was revealed, one of the Muslims said to Allah's Messenger , "Allah has declared what He will do for you. But what will He do for us" Then Allah revealed;

لِّيُدْخِلَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَـتِ جَنَّـتٍ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا الاٌّنْهَـرُ

(That He may admit the believing men and the believing women to Gardens under which rivers flow). This is what they said. That which has been confirmed in the Sahih is that the believers said, "May you enjoy that, O Allah's Messenger! But what do we get" So Allah revealed this Ayah. Imam Ahmad recorded that Kharijah bin Zayd bin Thabit, reported that Umm Al-`Ala' -- a woman from the Ansar who had given her pledge of loyalty to Allah's Messenger -- said, "When the Ansar drew lots regarding taking in the Muhajirun to dwell with them, our lot was to have `Uthman bin Maz`un. Later, `Uthman fell sick in our house, so we nursed him until he died, and we wrapped him in his garments (for burial). Allah's Messenger then came in, and I said, `O Abu As-Sa'ib! May Allah have mercy on you. I bear witness that Allah has indeed honored you.' Allah's Messenger asked,

«وَمَا يُدْرِيكِ أَنَّ اللهَ تَعَالَى أَكْرَمَه»

(How do you know that Allah has honored him) I said, `I do not know -- may my father and mother both be ransoms for you!' Allah's Messenger then said,

«أَمَّا هُوَ فَقَدْ جَاءَهُ الْيَقِينُ مِنْ رَبِّهِ،وَإِنِّي لَأَرْجُو لَهُ الْخَيْرَ. وَاللهِ مَا أَدْرِي وَأَنَا رَسُولُ اللهِ مَا يُفْعَلُ بِي»

(As for him, certainty (death) has reached him from his Lord, and I surely wish well for him. But by Allah, even though I am Allah's Messenger, I do not know what will happen to me (after death).) I then said, `Never will I claim a person to be pious after this.' This incident caused me some distress, and I went to sleep thereafter. I saw in my dream that `Uthman owned a running water spring. I went to Allah's Messenger and told him about that. Allah's Messenger said,

«ذَاكِ عَمَلُه»

(That was his (good) deeds.)" Al-Bukhari recorded this Hadith but Muslim did not. In one of the narrations, Allah's Messenger said,

«مَا أَدْرِي وَأَنَا رَسُولُ اللهِ مَا يُفْعَلُ بِه»

(Even though I am Allah's Messenger, I do not know what will happen to him.) This and similar texts indicate that it is not allowed to declare that a specific person will enter Jannah except for those who were distinctly indicated by Allah or his Messenger . Examples of those are the Ten, Ibn Sallam, Al-Ghumaysa', Bilal, Suraqah, `Abdullah bin `Amr bin Haram (Jabir's father), the Seventy Recitors (of Qur'an) who were assassinated near the Well of Ma`unah, Zayd bin Harithah, Ja`far, Ibn Rawahah, and other similar individuals, may Allah be pleased with them. Allah then says,

إِنْ أَتَّبِعُ إِلاَّ مَا يُوحَى إِلَىَّ

(I only follow that which is revealed to me, ) which means, `I only follow what Allah has revealed to me of the revelation.'

وَمَآ أَنَاْ إِلاَّ نَذِيرٌ مُّبِينٌ

(and I am but a plain warner.) meaning, `my warnings are obvious to every person with sound intellect and reason.' And Allah knows best.

And when Our signs the Qur’ān are recited to them namely to the people of Mecca being clear signs manifest signs bayyinātin is a circumstantial qualifier those who disbelieve from among them say of the truth that is the Qur’ān when it comes to them ‘This is plain sorcery!’ clear and evident sorcery.

Commentary

قُلْ أَرَ‌أَيْتُم مَّا تَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِ اللَّـهِ (Say, "Tell me about those whom you invoke instead of Allah,...46:4) In these verses, the claim of the polytheists about the existence of some other gods has been refuted by demanding a proof to substantiate this claim, because no claim can be accepted, neither rationally nor according to the religious principles, unless it is proved by concrete evidences to support it. Then dealing with all possible types of arguments, it has been proved that they do not have any evidence or proof in their favor, and that their insisting on such a baseless claim is nothing but deviation from the truth. The arguments have been classified by these verses in three types. One is a rational argument. Verse 4 negates any argument of this type in their favor by saying, أَرُ‌ونِي مَاذَا خَلَقُوا مِنَ الْأَرْ‌ضِ أَمْ لَهُمْ شِرْ‌كٌ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ "Show me what they have created of the earth; Or have they a share in (the creation of the heavens?" (46:4)

The second type of argument is that which refers to and relies on the statement of an authority. It is obvious that, in any matter concerning Allah, no one can be an authority except Allah Himself, and His statements can be proved either by the divine books, like Torah, Injil or Qur'an, or by the sayings of the prophets sent by Him. Negation of the first type of authority in their case is established by saying, ائْتُونِي بِكِتَابٍ مِّن قَبْلِ هَـٰذَا "Bring to me a book (revealed) before this one, (46:4) " meaning that if you have any proof of this type, then bring the book revealed before the Qur'an which allows idol-worship. And the second type of argument (that may be based on the saying of a prophet) has been negated by saying, أَوْ أَثَارَ‌ةٍ مِّنْ عِلْمٍ "or a trace of knowledge," (46:4) meaning thereby that if you cannot bring any revealed book to prove the validity of idol-worship, then at least put forward any authentic saying of any prophet which proves your contention. And if you can do neither, then your words and deeds are totally misguided.

The original word used in the text is 'atharah' which is an infinitive in the sense of 'reporting' and has been explained by ` Ikrimah and Muqatil to mean a dictum of a prophet.

The explanation given above is taken from the Tafsir of Qurtubi, and this is the explanation accepted by most exegetes. There are some other views in the interpretation of this verse, but they are neither well-established, nor in full harmony with the textual structure. Therefore, they are not adopted by the majority of the exegetes. (Allah knows best)