22:43 Al-Hajj (The Pilgrimage)

وإن يكذبك قومك- أيها الرسول- فقد سبقهم في تكذيب رسلهم قوم نوح، وعاد، وثمود، وقوم إبراهيم، وقوم لوط، وأصحاب "مدين" الذين كذبوا شعيبًا، وكذَّب فرعون وقومه موسى، فلم أعاجل هذه الأمم بالعقوبة، بل أمهلتها، ثم أخذتُ كلا منهم بالعذاب، فكيف كان إنكاري عليهم كفرهم وتكذيبهم، وتبديل ما كان بهم مِن نعمة بالعذاب والهلاك؟

تفسير الآيات من 42 و44 :ـيقول تعالى لنبيه محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم: وإن يكذبك هؤلاء المشركون فلست بأول رسول كذب، وليسوا بأول أمة كذبت رسولها { فَقَدْ كَذَّبَتْ قَبْلَهُمْ قَوْمُ نُوحٍ وَعَادٌ وَثَمُودُ* وَقَوْمُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَقَوْمُ لُوطٍ* وَأَصْحَابُ مَدْيَنَ } أي: قوم شعيب.{ وَكُذِّبَ مُوسَى فَأَمْلَيْتُ لِلْكَافِرِينَ } المكذبين، فلم أعاجلهم بالعقوبة، بل أمهلتهم، حتى استمروا في طغيانهم يعمهون، وفي كفرهم وشرهم يزدادون، { ثُمَّ أَخَذْتُهُمْ } بالعذاب أخذ عزيز مقتدر { فَكَيْفَ كَانَ نَكِيرِ } أي: إنكاري عليهم كفرهم، وتكذيبهم كيف حاله، كان أشد العقوبات، وأفظع المثلات، فمنهم من أغرقه، ومنهم من أخذته الصيحة، ومنهم من أهلك بالريح العقيم، ومنهم من خسف به الأرض، ومنهم من أرسل عليه عذاب يوم الظلة، فليعتبر بهم هؤلاء المكذبون، أن يصيبهم ما أصابهم، فإنهم ليسوا خيرا منهم، ولا كتب لهم براءة في الكتب المنزلة من الله، وكم من المعذبين المهلكين أمثال هؤلاء كثير

يقول تعالى مسليا لنبيه محمد في تكذيب من خالفه من قومه " وإن يكذبوك فقد كذبت قبلهم قوم نوح- إلى أن قال - وكذب موسى " أي مع ما جاء به من الآيات البينات والدلائل الواضحات.

as well as the people of Abraham and the people of Lot

Qur’ anic prophecy about the Rightly Guided Caliphs ( خُلفأے راشدین ) and its fulfillment

الَّذِينَ إِن مَّكَّنَّاهُمْ فِي الْأَرْ‌ضِ (Those who, when We give them power in the land - 22:41) In this verse the word (those) refers to those people who have been mentioned in the preceding verse: الَّذِينَ أُخْرِ‌جُوا مِن دِيَارِ‌هِم بِغَيْرِ‌ حَقٍّ (Those are the ones who were expelled from their homes without any just reason - 22:40). Referring to such people the verse says that if they are placed in authority in this world, they will use it to promote good deeds, will set up prayers, pay the obligatory charity, enjoin people to do good and abstain from evil deeds. It has already been mentioned that these verses were revealed soon after Hijrah, at a time when the Muslims did not exercise dominion anywhere on earth, which means that Allah Ta’ ala had already made it known that when, at a future date, they would come to power and establish their government, they would serve the Faith in the manner described in this verse. Sayyidna ` Uthmane ؓ said referring to this verse, ثنَا قَبلَ بَلَاء that this verse praises those people before they actually perform the praise-worthy deeds. In due course Allah Ta’ ala's prophecy was fulfilled in that the four Rightly Guided Caliphs and the Muhajirin (emigrants) from Makkah were indeed those whom the Qur'an described by the words الَّذِينَ أُخْرِ‌جُوا (those who were expelled - 22:40) and when they established their government and held sway over vast territories, they used their power and authority in setting up prayers, strengthening the system of Zakah, enjoining good and forbidding evil deeds. Many scholars are of the view that this verse is a clear evidence of the fact that accession to power of the four Caliphs (خُلفَاے راشدین) is a direct fulfillment of Allah's Prophesy, and the system of caliphate which was set up by them was in accordance with His will. (Ruh ul-Ma’ ani)

Having discussed the factual aspect of the circumstances leading up to the revelation of this verse it must, at the same time, be emphasized that where the Qur'an uses general words and phrases, their purpose is not restricted to a particular situation, but is universally applicable to all similar situations. Following this reasoning, Dahhak says that this verse contains an injunction for all those whom Allah Ta’ ala grants power and authority to do all those things which the Four Caliphs did when they controlled the rule. (Qurtubi)