Some Suggestions of the Disbelievers
Messenger Muhammad suffered from the abuse of the disbelievers of Mecca when he invited them to worship Allah alone, and commanded them not worship the false gods. They abused and oppressed him and his companions. Their stubbornness led them to ask him to do things that are beyond human’s ability.
(They say, ‘We shall not believe in you until you make a spring gush forth from the ground for us.’
Or you have a garden of palm trees and grapes, and make rivers abundantly gush forth therein.
Or you cause the heaven to fall on us in pieces as you have claimed, or bring Allah and the angels before us, face to face.
Or you have a house made of gold, or you ascend to the heaven. And we shall not believe in your ascension unless you bring us a book that we may read. Say, ‘Glory be to my Lord! I am nothing but a human, a Messenger.’)
[Quran Surah al-Isra:90-93]
Relationship with the Previous Part
The previous part mentioned that the Quran is inimitable, which proves that Messenger Muhammad was truthful. However, being a truthful messenger and being supported with inimitable evidence does not mean that he should bring many unique proofs. That is because such a thing will open the unclosable door, and whenever a messenger brings a proof, his opponents will ask him to bring another one. The result will be that the stubbornness of the obstinate people will never end, e.g. after the disbelievers definitely knew that the Quran is inimitable, they asked Messenger Muhammad for other impossible things.
The disbelievers made the suggestions mentioned in the following ayat in a meeting that they had with Messenger Muhammad.
A group of the leaders of Quraysh met at the Kaaba, and asked Messenger Muhammad to come. When he came, they said, ‘O Muhammad! We have called you so that we may have justifiable reasons about you. Indeed, no man of the Arab have done what you have done with your people. Verily, you have insulted our ancestors, criticized the religion, found fault with the intellects, and abused the gods. If you seek wealth by doing so, we would collect money from our wealth and give it to you so that you would be the richest man among us. If you seek nobility and rank, we would make you our master, if you seek kingdom, we would make you our king.’
Messenger Muhammad said, ‘I do not want anything of what you have offered. Allah has sent me as a Messenger to you, revealed the Quran to me and commanded me to give good news to the believers and warn the disbelievers. I have conveyed the message to you, and advised you. If you accept my message, you will have your share in this world and the Hereafter. And if you reject it, I will be patient until Allah decides the matter between us.’
They said, ‘O Muhammad! If you are truthful about what you have brought, ask your Lord, who sent you, to move this mountain that makes our land narrow, so that it becomes wide, make rivers gush forth our land, and bring back our forefather so that we will ask them about your affairs, whether it is truthful or false. Ask your Lord to send an angel with you to confirm your truthfulness, and ask Him to grant you gardens, palaces, or gold and silver treasures that help you in your life.’
Messenger Muhammad said, ‘I have not been sent to do these things.’
They said, ‘Cause the heaven to fall on us in pieces as you have claimed.’ One of disbelievers said, ‘I will never believe in you until you have a ladder so that you will ascend to the heaven while we see you.’
Messenger Muhammad left them sad as he felt that they were so far from following the right path.
Tafisr
They say, ‘We shall not believe in you until you make a spring gush forth from the ground for us.’[90]
The disbelievers, who denied resurrection on the Day of Judgment, said, ‘O Muhammad! We shall not believe in the message you have brought and follow Islam, until you make a spring gush forth the ground of Mecca for us.’
The disbelievers of Mecca lived in al-Hejaz area in the Arabian Peninsula, and it was dry.
(Or you have a garden of palm trees and grapes, and make rivers abundantly gush forth therein.)[91]
Another suggestion of the disbelievers was that they said to Messenger Muhammad, ‘… or we shall not believe in the message you have brought until you have your own garden that has many palm trees and grapes, and make rivers abundantly gush forth therein.’
They specifically mentioned palm trees and grapes as they regarded these plants to be the most important plants as well as these plants were abundant in their area.
(Or you cause the heaven to fall on us in pieces as you have claimed, or bring Allah and the angels before us, face to face.) [92]
The disbelievers also said to Messenger Muhammad, ‘… or you cause the heaven to fall on us in pieces as you have claimed. You have claimed that on the Day of Judgment, the heaven will split and fall down in pieces. Or you bring Allah and the angels before us, so that we see them with our own eyes. Then, they will testify that you are the Messenger of Allah.’
(Or you have a house made of gold, or you ascend to the heaven. And we shall not believe in your ascension unless you bring us a book that we may read. Say, ‘Glory be to my Lord! I am nothing but a human, a Messenger.’)[93]
The disbelievers also suggested the following suggestion to Messenger Muhammad: ‘… or you have a house made of gold, or you ascend to the heaven. And we shall not believe in your ascension to the heaven unless you bring a book that we may read and that states that you are truthful.’
The ayah is concluded with commanding Messenger Muhammad to say to the disbelievers something that would make them speechless and stop their meaningless suggestions.
(Say, Glory be to my Lord! I am nothing but a human, a Messenger.’)
O Messenger! Tell the disbelievers, who have rejected to follow the message of guidance, Islam, ‘Glory be to my Lord! I am only a human being just as the other messengers of Allah. My duty is to convey the message of my Lord, Allah.’
Learned Lessons
• Weak-minded people think that Allah will do what they suggest to please their meaningless suggestions, just as the leaders in this world do what their followers want them to do in order to gain their allegiance and loyally and achieve their goals.
• The suggestions of the disbelievers of Mecca were challenging. However, they were not made to reach to the truth and believe in the Oneness of Allah. If the disbelievers truly wanted to know the truth, the Quran would suffice them as it contains all needed facts and proofs.
• Allah commanded Muhammad to tell the disbelievers, who suggested impossible things, that he was just a human being like them and a Messenger of Allah. Allah sent Messenger Muhammad to invite people to believe in the Oneness of Allah and convey the message of Islam.
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