Chapter :6 Section: The Disbelievers Admit to the Prophet's Nobility of Lineage

Back to Chapter: 6 Previous Next

The disbelievers did all of this although they admitted to the Prophet's virtue, honorable lineage, respectable ancestry and purity of household and upbringing, may Allah, His angels, and the believers send blessings upon him. The disbelievers used to call the Prophet , before he received revelation, `Al-Amin' -- the Truthful. The leader of the Quraysh disbelievers, Abu Sufyan, had to admit to this fact when Heraclius, emperor of Rome, asked him, "How honorable is his (the Prophet's) ancestral lineage among you'' Abu Sufyan answered, "His ancestry is highly regarded among us.'' Heraclius asked, "Do you find that he lied, before he started his mission'' Abu Sufyan replied, "No.'' The emperor of Rome relied on the honor and purity of the Prophet to recognize the truth of his prophethood and what he came with. Imam Ahmad recorded that Wathilah bin Al-Asqa` said that the Messenger of Allah said,

«إِنَّ اللهَ اصْطَفَى مِنْ وَلَدِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ إِسْمَاعِيلَ، وَاصْطَفَى مِنْ بَنِي إِسْمَاعِيلَ بَنِي كِنَانَةَ وَاصْطَفَى مِنْ بَنِي كِنَانَةَ قُرَيْشًا وَاصْطَفَى مِنْنُقرَيْشٍ بَنِي هَاشِمٍ وَاصْطَفَانِي مِنْ بَنِي هَاشِم»

(Verily, Allah has chosen Isma`il from the offspring of Ibrahim, Bani Kinanah from the offspring of Isma`il, Quraysh from Bani Kinanah, Bani Hashim from Quraysh and, He has chosen me from Bani Hashim.) Muslim recorded this Hadith. Al-Bukhari recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah said,

«بُعِثْتُ مِنْ خَيْرِ قُرُونِ بَنِي آدَمَ قَرْنًا فَقَرْنًا، حَتَّى بُعِثْتُ مِنَ الْقَرْنِ الَّذِي كُنْتُ فِيه»

(I was chosen from a succession of the best generations of the Children of Adam, until the generation I was sent in.) Allah's said,

﴿سَيُصِيبُ الَّذِينَ أَجْرَمُواْ صَغَارٌ عِندَ اللَّهِ وَعَذَابٌ شَدِيدٌ﴾

(Humiliation and disgrace from Allah and a severe torment will overtake the criminals...) This is a stern threat and sure promise from Allah for those who arrogantly refrain from obeying His Messengers and adhering to what they came with. On the Day of Resurrection, they will suffer humiliation and eternal disgrace before Allah, because they were arrogant in the worldly life. This is why it is befitting that they earn disgrace on the Day of Resurrection. Allah said in another Ayah,

﴿إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ عَنْ عِبَادَتِى سَيَدْخُلُونَ جَهَنَّمَ دَخِرِينَ﴾

(Verily, those who scorn My worship, they will surely enter Hell in humiliation!) ﴿40:60﴾ disgrace and dishonor. Allah said next,

﴿وَعَذَابٌ شَدِيدٌ بِمَا كَانُواْ يَمْكُرُونَ﴾

(and a severe torment for that which they used to plot.) Since plotting usually takes place in secret and involves treachery and deceit, the disbelievers were recompensed with severe torment from Allah on the Day of Resurrection, as a just reckoning,

﴿وَلاَ يَظْلِمُ رَبُّكَ أَحَدًا﴾

(And your Lord treats no one with injustice) ﴿18:49﴾ Allah said in another Ayah,

﴿يَوْمَ تُبْلَى السَّرَآئِرُ ﴾

(The Day when all the secrets will be examined. ) ﴿86:9﴾ Meaning, the secrets, hidden thoughts and intentions will be exposed. In the Two Sahihs, it is recorded that the Messenger of Allah said,

«يُنْصَبُ لِكُلِّ غَادِرٍ لِوَاءٌ عِنْدَ اسْتِهِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ، فَيُقَالُ: هَذِهِ غَدْرَةُ فُلَانِ بْنِ فُلَانِ بْنِ فُلَان»

(A banner will be raised for every deceitful person from his anus on the Day of Resurrection, and it will say; `This is the treacherous plot of so-and-so, son of so-and-so, son of so-and-so.,) The wisdom in this is that since a plot occurs in secret, and people are usually unaware of it, then on the Day of Resurrection the plot itself will become public news testifying to the actions of those who committed it.

﴿فَمَن يُرِدِ اللَّهُ أَن يَهْدِيَهُ يَشْرَحْ صَدْرَهُ لِلإِسْلَـمِ وَمَن يُرِدْ أَن يُضِلَّهُ يَجْعَلْ صَدْرَهُ ضَيِّقاً حَرَجاً كَأَنَّمَا يَصَّعَّدُ فِى السَّمَآءِ كَذَلِكَ يَجْعَلُ اللَّهُ الرِّجْسَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ ﴾

(125. And whomsoever Allah wills to guide, He opens his breast to Islam; and whomsoever He wills to send astray, He makes his breast closed and constricted, as if he is climbing up to the sky. Thus Allah puts the wrath on those who believe not.) Allah said,

﴿فَمَن يُرِدِ اللَّهُ أَن يَهْدِيَهُ يَشْرَحْ صَدْرَهُ لِلإِسْلَـمِ﴾

(And whomsoever Allah wills to guide, He opens his breast to Islam;) He makes Islam easy for him and strengthens his resolve to embrace it, and these are good signs. Allah said in other Ayat,

﴿أَفَمَن شَرَحَ اللَّهُ صَدْرَهُ لِلإِسْلَـمِ فَهُوَ عَلَى نُورٍ مِّن رَّبِّهِ﴾

(Is he whose breast Allah has opened to Islam, so that he is in light from His Lord (as he who is a non-Muslim)) ﴿39:22﴾ and,

﴿وَلَـكِنَّ اللَّهَ حَبَّبَ إِلَيْكُمُ الايمَـنَ وَزَيَّنَهُ فِى قُلُوبِكُمْ وَكَرَّهَ إِلَيْكُمُ الْكُفْرَ وَالْفُسُوقَ وَالْعِصْيَانَ أُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الرَشِدُونَ﴾

(But Allah has endeared the faith to you and has beautified it in your hearts, and has made disbelief, wickedness and disobedience hated by you. Such are they who are the rightly guided.) ﴿49:7﴾ Ibn `Abbas commented on Allah's statement,

﴿فَمَن يُرِدِ اللَّهُ أَن يَهْدِيَهُ يَشْرَحْ صَدْرَهُ لِلإِسْلَـمِ﴾

(And whomsoever Allah wills to guide, He opens his breast to Islam;), "Allah says that He will open his heart to Tawhid and faith in Him.'' This is the same as was reported from Abu Malik and several others, and it is sound. Allah's statement,

﴿وَمَن يُرِدْ أَن يُضِلَّهُ يَجْعَلْ صَدْرَهُ ضَيِّقاً حَرَجاً﴾

(and whomsoever He wills to send astray, He makes his breast closed and constricted,) refers to inability to accept guidance, thus being deprived of beneficial faith.

﴿كَأَنَّمَا يَصَّعَّدُ فِى السَّمَآءِ﴾

(. ..as if he is climbing up to the sky.) because of the heaviness of faith on him. Sa`id bin Jubayr commented that in this case, "(Islam) finds every path in his heart impassable.'' Al-Hakam bin Aban said that `Ikrimah narrated from Ibn `Abbas that he commented on:

﴿كَأَنَّمَا يَصَّعَّدُ فِى السَّمَآءِ﴾

(...as if he is climbing up to the sky), "Just as the Son of Adam cannot climb up to the sky, Tawhid and faith will not be able to enter his heart, until Allah decides to allow it into his heart.'' Imam Abu Ja`far bin Jarir commented: "This is a parable that Allah has given for the heart of the disbeliever, which is completely impassable and closed to faith. Allah says, the example of the disbeliever's inability to accept faith in his heart and that it is too small to accommodate it, is the example of his inability to climb up to the sky, which is beyond his capability and power.'' He also commented on Allah's statement,

﴿كَذَلِكَ يَجْعَلُ اللَّهُ الرِّجْسَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ﴾

(Thus Allah puts the Rijs (wrath) on those who believe not.) "Allah says that just as He makes the heart of whomever He decides to misguide, closed and constricted, He also appoints Shaytan for him and for his likes, those who refused to believe in Allah and His Messenger. Consequently, Shaytan lures and hinders them from the path of Allah.'' `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn `Abbas said that, Rijs, refers to Shaytan, while Mujahid said that it refers to all that does not contain goodness. `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam said that, Rijs, means, `torment'.

﴿وَهَـذَا صِرَطُ رَبِّكَ مُسْتَقِيماً قَدْ فَصَّلْنَا الآيَـتِ لِقَوْمٍ يَذَّكَّرُونَ - لَهُمْ دَارُ السَّلَـمِ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ وَهُوَ وَلِيُّهُم بِمَا كَانُواْ يَعْمَلُونَ ﴾

(126. And this is the path of your Lord leading straight. We have detailed Our Ayat for a people who take heed.) (127. For them will be the abode of peace with their Lord. And He will be their Wali because of what they used to do.) After Allah mentioned the way of those who were themselves led to stray from His path and who hindered others from it, He emphasized the honor of the guidance and religion of truth that He sent His Messenger with. Allah said next,

﴿وَهَـذَا صِرَطُ رَبِّكَ مُسْتَقِيماً﴾

(And this is the path of your Lord leading straight.) that is, Islam, that We have legislated for you, O Muhammad, by revealing this Qur'an to you, is Allah's straight path.

﴿قَدْ فَصَّلْنَا الآيَـتِ﴾

(We have detailed Our Ayat...) We have explained the Ayat and made them clear and plain,

﴿لِقَوْمٍ يَعْلَمُونَ﴾

(for a people who take heed) those who have sound comprehension and understand what Allah and His Messenger convey to them,

﴿لَهُمْ دَارُ السَّلَـمِ﴾

(For them will be the abode of peace) Paradise,

﴿عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ﴾

(with their Lord.) on the Day of Resurrection. Allah described Paradise as `the abode of peace', because its residents are safe due to their access to the straight path, which conforms to the way of the Prophets. And just as their way was not wicked, they earned the abode of peace ﴿which is free from all wickedness﴾.

﴿وَهُوَ وَلِيُّهُم﴾

(And He will be their Wali) Protector, Supporter and Helper,

﴿بِمَا كَانُواْ يَعْمَلُونَ﴾

(because of what they used to do,) As reward for their good deeds, Allah has favored them and been generous with them, and awarded them Paradise.

﴿وَيَوْمَ يَحْشُرُهُمْ جَمِيعًا يَـمَعْشَرَ الْجِنِّ قَدِ اسْتَكْثَرْتُم مِّنَ الإِنْسِ وَقَالَ أَوْلِيَآؤُهُم مِّنَ الإِنْسِ رَبَّنَا اسْتَمْتَعَ بَعْضُنَا بِبَعْضٍ وَبَلَغْنَآ أَجَلَنَا الَّذِى أَجَّلْتَ لَنَا قَالَ النَّارُ مَثْوَاكُمْ خَـلِدِينَ فِيهَآ إِلاَّ مَا شَآءَ اللَّهُ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ حَكِيمٌ عَلِيمٌ ﴾

(128. And on the Day when He will gather them together (and say): "O you assembly of Jinn! Many did you mislead of men," and their friends among the people will say: "Our Lord! We benefited one from the other, but now we have reached our appointed term which You did appoint for us. " He will say: "The Fire be your dwelling place, you will dwell therein forever, except as Allah may will. Certainly your Lord is All-Wise, All-Knowing.") Allah says, `Mention, O Muhammad, in what you convey and warn,' that,

﴿وَيَوْمَ يَحْشُرُهُمْ جَمِيعاً﴾

(on the Day when He will gather them (all) together.) gather the Jinns and their loyal supporters from mankind who used to worship them in this life, seek refuge with them, obey them and inspire each other with adorned, deceitful speech. Allah will proclaim then,

﴿يَـمَعْشَرَ الْجِنِّ قَدِ اسْتَكْثَرْتُم مِّنَ الإِنْسِ﴾

(O you assembly of Jinn! Many did you mislead of men,) So the Ayah;

﴿قَدِ اسْتَكْثَرْتُم مِّنَ الإِنْسِ﴾

(Many did you mislead of men) refers to their misguiding and leading them astray. Allah also said;

﴿أَلَمْ أَعْهَدْ إِلَيْكُمْ يبَنِى ءَادَمَ أَن لاَّ تَعْبُدُواْ الشَّيطَـنَ إِنَّهُ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ مُّبِينٌ - وَأَنِ اعْبُدُونِى هَـذَا صِرَطٌ مُّسْتَقِيمٌ - وَلَقَدْ أَضَلَّ مِنْكُمْ جِبِلاًّ كَثِيراً أَفَلَمْ تَكُونُواْ تَعْقِلُونَ ﴾

(Did I not command you, O Children of Adam, that you should not worship Shaytan. Verily, he is a plain enemy to you. And that you should worship Me. That is the straight path. And indeed he (Shaytan) did lead astray a great multitude of you. Did you not, then, understand) ﴿36:60-62﴾, and

﴿وَقَالَ أَوْلِيَآؤُهُم مِّنَ الإِنْسِ رَبَّنَا اسْتَمْتَعَ بَعْضُنَا بِبَعْضٍ﴾

(and their friends among the people will say: "Our Lord! We benefited one from the other...'') The friends of the Jinns among humanity will give this answer to Allah, after Allah chastises them for being misguided by the Jinns. Al-Hasan commented, "They benefited from each other when the Jinns merely commanded and mankind obeyed.'' Ibn Jurayj said, "During the time of Jahiliyyah, a man would reach a land and proclaim, `I seek refuge with the master (Jinn) of this valley,' and this is how they benefited from each other. They used this as an excuse for them on the Day of Resurrection.'' Therefore, the Jinns benefit from humans since humans revere the Jinns by invoking them for help. The Jinns would then proclaim, "We became the masters of both mankind and the Jinns.''

﴿وَبَلَغْنَآ أَجَلَنَا الَّذِى أَجَّلْتَ لَنَا﴾

(but now we have reached our appointed term which You did appoint for us.) meaning, death, according to As-Suddi.

﴿قَالَ النَّارُ مَثْوَاكُمْ﴾

(He (Allah) will say: "The Fire be your dwelling place...'') where you will reside and live, you and your friends,

﴿خَـلِدِينَ فِيهَآ﴾

(you will dwell therein forever. ) and will never depart except what Allah may will.

﴿وَكَذَلِكَ نُوَلِّى بَعْضَ الظَّـلِمِينَ بَعْضاً بِمَا كَانُواْ يَكْسِبُونَ ﴾

(129. And thus We do make the wrongdoers supporters of one another, because of that which they used to earn.)


Back to Chapter: 6 Previous Next