61:5 And
mention, when Moses said to his people, ‘O my people, why do you hurt me though
you know well that I am the Messenger of Allah to you?’ When they deviated,
Allah made their hearts deviate. And Allah does not guide the disobedient
people.
61:6 And
mention, when Jesus, son of Maryam, said, ‘O Children of Israel, surely I am
the Messenger of Allah to you, confirming what came before me of the Torah, and
giving good news of a Messenger who shall come after me, whose name shall be
Ahmad.’ Then, when he brought them the clear proofs, they said, ‘This is
manifest magic.’
61:7 And
who is more unjust than one who fabricates against Allah a lie while he is
being invited to Islam? And Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people.
61:8 They
want to extinguish the light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah will perfect
His light even though the disbelievers hate it.
61:9 It is
He who has sent His Messenger with the guidance and the religion of truth, that
He shall make it prevail over all religion, even though the disbelievers hate
it.
Relationship
with the Previous Part
The first part
of Surah As-Saff urges the believers to fight firmly for the sake of Allah in
ranks. Then, the second part refers to the story of Messenger Moses and his
people, the Children of Israel, who refused to obey their Messenger Moses when
he commanded them to fight against their enemy. The implied meaning is a
warning to the believers lest they should act as the Children of Israel did
with their Messenger Moses.
This part also
refers to the story of Messenger Jesus, who brought clear miracles to the
Children of Israel and gave them good news of the coming of a Messenger whose
name would be Ahmad. However, the Children of Israel disobeyed Messenger Jesus.
Moreover, this
part of Surah As-Saff strongly condemns those who refuse to accept the message
of Islam that Messenger Muhammad brought to guide people to what brings them
happiness in this world and the Hereafter. They also fabricate lies against
Allah by claiming that the miracles of the Messengers of Allah were magic,
which is a sheer lie. Their goal is only to extinguish the religion of Allah,
but Allah will make His religion prevail over all other religions, even though
the disbelievers hate this.
Tafsir
61:5 And
mention, when Moses said to his people, ‘O my people, why do you hurt me though
you know well that I am the Messenger of Allah to you?’ When they deviated,
Allah made their hearts deviate. And Allah does not guide the disobedient
people.
Allah, Exalted
be He, warns the believers lest they should be like the Children of Israel, who
disobeyed the commands of their Messenger Moses [peace be upon him].
‘O my
people, why do you hurt me though you know well that I am the Messenger of
Allah to you?’
O noble
Messenger Muhammad, mention to your people the story of Messenger Moses and his
people. Messenger Moses said to the Children of Israel, ‘O my people, why do
you hurt me by disobeying my commands, which Allah has commanded you to follow?
Why do you hurt me by insulting and abusing me, though you are certain that I
am the Messenger of Allah to you? You have seen the miracles that Allah has
given me, which necessitate that you should acknowledge and accept my message.’
This implies an
instruction to the believers that they should not abuse or hurt their Messenger
Muhammad [peace be upon him], as the Children of Israel did with Messenger
Moses [peace be upon him]. Moreover, it implies consolation to Messenger
Muhammad concerning the abuse he suffered at the hands of the disbelievers and
a command to him to be patient.
‘When they
deviated, Allah made their hearts deviate. And Allah does not guide the
disobedient people.’
When the Children
of Israel deviated from the right path, refused to follow the path of guidance,
and hurt their Messenger Moses, Allah made their hearts deviate. Their hearts
were filled with doubts and perplexity, which was a fitting punishment for
their evil deeds. Allah does not guide to the right path the disobedient people
who disobey His commands and the commands of His Messengers.
61:6 And
mention, when Jesus, son of Maryam, said, ‘O Children of Israel, surely I am
the Messenger of Allah to you, confirming what came before me of the Torah, and
giving good news of a Messenger who shall come after me, whose name shall be
Ahmad.’ Then, when he brought them the clear proofs, they said, ‘This is
manifest magic.’
O noble
Messenger Muhammad, mention to your people the story of Messenger Jesus and his
people, that they may learn lessons from it. Messenger Jesus said to his
people, ‘O Children of Israel, I am the Messenger of Allah to you. Allah has
sent me to bring you out of the darkness of worshipping other gods besides Allah
to the light of faith and belief in the Oneness of Allah. Allah has given me
the Gospel, and I confirm the Torah that Allah gave to Messenger Moses, whom
Allah sent before me. Thus, you should believe in the message that Allah sent
me to convey. I have not brought a new message; rather, my message confirms
what came before it. O Children of Israel, Allah sent me to give you the good
news of a Messenger who shall come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad.’
‘Surely I
am the Messenger of Allah to you.’
This statement
confirms that Allah sent Messenger Jesus as His Messenger and that he is not
the son of Allah, as the deviated people claim.
‘And
giving good news of a Messenger who shall come after me, whose name shall be
Ahmad.’
Messenger Jesus
gave the good news of the coming of Messenger Muhammad and stated that his name
was Ahmad, which is one of the names of Messenger Muhammad. Ahmad is a noun
that means someone who praises Allah abundantly. It may also refer to someone
whom people praise greatly because of his praiseworthy characteristics.
The fact that
Messenger Jesus gave the good news of the coming of Messenger Muhammad is
conclusively confirmed in the Quran, even if some copies of the Gospel do not
mention this fact because they underwent distortion by scholars of the People
of the Scripture.
‘Then,
when he brought them the clear proofs, they said, “This is manifest magic.”’
This part of the
Ayah refers to the attitude of the Children of Israel toward the Messengers of
Allah.
When Muhammad,
the Messenger of Allah, brought the disbelievers clear proofs confirming his
truthfulness, they said, ‘This is nothing but manifest magic.’ Their attitude
is a clear sign of their stubbornness and denial.
In sum, the
Children of Israel disbelieved in their Messenger Jesus, and they also
disbelieved in Messenger Muhammad, though they knew that Allah had sent him as
His Messenger, as stated in their Scripture.
61:7 And
who is more unjust than one who fabricates against Allah a lie while he is
being invited to Islam? And Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people.
The
interrogation in the Ayah is for criticism and denunciation. Fabrication means
inventing false information to deceive people.
No one is more
unjust than a person who fabricates a lie against Allah and His religion while
being invited to believe in Islam and follow the path of guidance.
And Allah does
not guide the wrongdoing people.
Allah does not
guide the wrongdoers to the right path because they favor the path of
misguidance over the path leading to happiness in this world and the Hereafter.
61:8 They
want to extinguish the light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah will perfect
His light even though the disbelievers hate it.
Those who say
that Messenger Muhammad is a magician want to extinguish the light of Allah,
namely Islam, with their mouths by claiming that what Messenger Muhammad
brought is nothing but magic. However, Allah will perfect His light and make
His religion prevail over all other religions, even though the disbelievers hate
it.
Indeed, Allah is
able, and nothing can stand before His perfect will. No matter how much the
disbelievers try to end Islam, and no matter how much they hate it, Allah will
make Islam prevail over all other religions.
Extinguishing
the light of Allah refers to their attempts to end Islam through false
statements and by trying to distort and eliminate its sublime teachings.
The Ayah implies
sarcasm and ridicule against the disbelievers, as it likens their unsuccessful
attempts to someone who tries to extinguish the light of the sun with a puff of
air from the mouth, which is impossible.
61:9 It is
He who has sent His Messenger with the guidance and the religion of truth, that
He shall make it prevail over all religion, even though the disbelievers hate
it.
This Ayah
confirms that the religion of Allah will prevail over all other religions.
Islam is the true religion of Allah.
Allah, Exalted
be He, has sent His Messenger Muhammad with the guidance, namely the Quran, and
the religion of truth, Islam. Allah shall make Islam prevail over all
religions, even though the disbelievers hate it.
Indeed, Allah
has fulfilled His promise, as He has made Islam prevail over all religions
through its clear proofs demonstrating that Islam is the religion of truth.
The Learned
Lessons from Surah As-Saff Ayah 5–9
·
Violation of the commands
of the Prophets and Messengers is punishable. When Messenger Muhammad commanded
the believers to fight for the sake of Allah, some were reluctant. Thus, Allah
commanded him to remind them of the attitude of the people of Messenger Moses
and Messenger Jesus, who refused to obey their Messengers and were punished.
This shows that disobedience to the Messengers of Allah is punishable.
·
Allah, Exalted be He,
wants good for His slaves and does not mislead anyone without a valid reason.
He does not mislead those who follow the right path, but only the wrongdoers
and the disobedient. When the Children of Israel deviated, Allah made their
hearts deviate.
·
Allah, Exalted be He, gave
Messenger Jesus the Gospel, which complemented the Torah revealed to Messenger
Moses. Messenger Jesus did not bring anything that contradicted the Torah,
which gave good news of his coming. Likewise, Messenger Jesus gave good news of
the coming of Messenger Muhammad. This is logical, as all divine messages
complete one another, since they originate from the same source and aim at one
goal: inviting people to worship Allah alone and to believe in the Messengers,
the angels, the divine scriptures, and the Hereafter.
·
Messenger Muhammad was
named Ahmad in the Quran. Ahmad means someone who praises Allah greatly. All
the Prophets praise Allah, and Messenger Muhammad is the most praising among
them.
·
Messenger Jesus and
Messenger Muhammad brought clear proofs confirming their truthfulness.
·
Disbelief in Messenger
Jesus and Messenger Muhammad after witnessing their proofs is remarkable and
indicates stubbornness and arrogance on the part of the disbelievers.
·
Allah, Exalted be He,
shall make His religion, Islam, prevail over all other religions, even though
the disbelievers hate it.
·
Allah, Exalted be He, sent
Messenger Muhammad with the Quran and Islam, the religion of truth, in order to
make them prevail over all religions.
