7:3 Al-A'raaf (The Heights)

ثم خاطب اللّه العباد، وألفتهم إلى الكتاب فقال: { اتَّبِعُوا مَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكُمْ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ } أي: الكتاب الذي أريد إنزاله لأجلكم، وهو: { مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ } الذي يريد أن يتم تربيته لكم، فأنزل عليكم هذا الكتاب الذي، إن اتبعتموه، كملت تربيتكم، وتمت عليكم النعمة، وهديتم لأحسن الأعمال والأخلاق ومعاليها { وَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا مِنْ دُونِهِ أَوْلِيَاءَ } أي: تتولونهم، وتتبعون أهواءهم، وتتركون لأجلها الحق. { قَلِيلًا مَا تَذَكَّرُونَ } فلو تذكرتم وعرفتم المصلحة، لما آثرتم الضار على النافع، والعدو على الوليِّ.

قال تعالى مخاطبا للعالم "اتبعوا ما أنزل إليكم من ربكم" أي اقتفوا آثار النبي الأمي الذي جاءكم بكتاب أنزل إليكم من رب كل شيء ومليكه "ولا تتبعوا من دونه أولياء" أي لا تخرجوا عما جاءكم به الرسول إلى غيره فتكونوا قد عدلتم عن حكم الله إلى حكم غيره "قليلا ما تذكرون" كقوله "وما أكثر الناس ولو حرصت بمؤمنين" وقوله "وإن تطع أكثر من في الأرض يضلوك عن سبيل الله" الآية. وقوله "وما يؤمن أكثرهم بالله إلا وهم مشركون".

Which was revealed in Makkah

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

كِتَـبٌ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ

((This is the) Book (the Qur'an) sent down unto you (O Muhammad)), from your Lord,

فَلاَ يَكُن فِى صَدْرِكَ حَرَجٌ مِّنْهُ

(so let not your breast be narrow therefrom,) meaning, having doubt about it according to Mujahid, Qatadah and As-Suddi. It was also said that the meaning here is: `do not hesitate to convey the Qur'an and warn with it,'

فَاصْبِرْ كَمَا صَبَرَ أُوْلُواْ الْعَزْمِ مِنَ الرُّسُلِ

(Therefore be patient as did the Messengers of strong will) 46:35. Allah said here,

لِتُنذِرَ بِهِ

(that you warn thereby) meaning, `We sent down the Qur'an so that you may warn the disbelievers with it,'

وَذِكْرَى لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ

(and a reminder unto the believers). Allah then said to the world,

اتَّبِعُواْ مَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكُم مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ

(Follow what has been sent down unto you from your Lord) meaning, follow and imitate the unlettered Prophet , who brought you a Book that was revealed for you, from the Lord and master of everything.

وَلاَ تَتَّبِعُواْ مِن دُونِهِ أَوْلِيَآءَ

(and follow not any Awliya', besides Him (Allah)) meaning, do not disregard what the Messenger brought you and follow something else, for in this case, you will be deviating from Allah's judgment to the decision of someone else. Allah's statement,

قَلِيلاً مَّا تَذَكَّرُونَ

(Little do you remember!) is similar to,

وَمَآ أَكْثَرُ النَّاسِ وَلَوْ حَرَصْتَ بِمُؤْمِنِينَ

(And most of mankind will not believe even if you desire it eagerly)12:103, and;

وَإِن تُطِعْ أَكْثَرَ مَن فِى الاٌّرْضِ يُضِلُّوكَ عَن سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ

(And if you obey most of those on the earth, they will mislead you far away from Allah's path)6:116, and,

وَمَا يُؤْمِنُ أَكْثَرُهُمْ بِاللَّهِ إِلاَّ وَهُمْ مُّشْرِكُونَ

(And most of them believe not in Allah except that they attribute partners unto Him)12:106.

Say to them Follow what has been revealed to you from your Lord namely the Qur’ān and do not follow do not take beside Him namely God in other words other than Him any patrons obeying them in disobedience of Him exalted be He. Little do you remember read tadhakkarūn or yadhakkarūn ‘little are you or they admonished’; the original tā’ of tatadhakkarūn has been assimilated with the dhāl; a variant reading has tadhkurūn; the mā of qalīlan mā ‘little’ is extra merely emphasising the ‘littleness’.

In the statement فَلَا يَكُن فِي صَدْرِ‌كَ حَرَ‌جٌ appearing in the first verse, the address is to the Holy Prophet . ؓ and he has been told: This Qur'an is the Book of Allah sent down to you. This should not cause any constraint on your heart. The word: حَرَج (haraj) translated here as ` constraint' means that ` you should have no anguish or apprehension in conveying the Qur'an and its injunctions lest people belie it and hurt you.' (As reported from Abu Al-` Aliyah - Mazhari)

The hint given here is that Allah who has sent down this Book on you has also made arrangements that you shall remain protected and that takes care of any anguish on your part. Some commentators have said that ` haraj' or ` constraint on the heart' refers to the constraint experienced by the Holy Prophet ؓ who, because of his affectionate concern for people, felt pain when they would not believe despite having heard the Qur'an and its injunctions. To offset this constraint, the Holy Prophet ﷺ has been told that the duty with which he has been obligated is simply to make the call and convey the message. Once this is done, it is not his responsibility to see who becomes a Muslim and who does not. Therefore, there was no reason for him to be anxious.