CHAPTER FIFTEEN

OBJECTIONS OF PAGANS OF MECCA TO ISLAM AND QURANIC REBUTTAL

Muhammad taught, preached and admonished as he delivered the new message. It was clear as it was simple. There is only one
God, Allah. He is All-powerful, the Creator of all, the Everlasting. There is a paradise and there is a hell. Splendid rewards await
those who obey His commands. Terrible punishment awaits those who disregard them. As for the reaction to his message, it was
violently hostile. The reasons for this hostility were as follow:
EXCLUSIVITY OF MONOTHEISM
The uncompromising monotheism of Islam threatened the considerable revenue that was coming to Mecca from Bedouin
pilgrimages to Kabah with its three hundred sixty shrines (one for every day of the lunar year). The Allah Muhammad preached
about was not new to Meccans. Indeed He was the principal deity of a group enshrined in their al-Kabah the leading sanctuary of
Hijaz. The objection was not to Him as such but to this exclusiveness required in worshiping Him. Acceptance of the new
doctrine would eliminate all other deities and thereby alienate the people from their fathers who worshiped many deities. The
Quraysh - particularly, its Umayyad clan – custodian of Kabah and the Zamzam, controllers of the caravan trade, and oligarchic
masters of the city, had special reasons for resistance. The new preaching might jeopardize pilgrimages to the Kabah, next to trade
their main source of income.
The social content of the new message was dynamite to an effete and unjust economic order. In a society driven with class
distinction, the new Prophet was preaching a message intensely democratic, insisting that in the sight of his Lord all men are
equal. Moreover, the once-poor orphan was introducing such economic doctrines as the rightful claim of beggars and the destitute
to a share in the wealth. The Meccan leaders were determined to have none of it because as such this teaching suited neither their
taste nor their privilege.
Additionally Muhammad advocated a concept that would substitute faith for blood as the socia1 bond of community life. If acted
upon the entire family, clan and tribal unity would be undermined and replaced by religious unity. The moral teachings of this
new religion demanded an end to the licentiousness which citizens were disinclined to give up. Then there were political
implications in Muhammad’s teaching; religious success could entail political success, and the new prophet was “a potential new
ruler.” The great merchants of Mecca found nothing in what he offered that they cared to buy.
ATTACKING THE MESSAGE
The opposition at first did not take Muhammad’s preaching seriously but with his increasing success, the silence was followed by
verbal attacks. Abu Lahab and Abu Sufyan, leaders of Quraysh, began to feel the threat which the call of Muhammad presented.
They therefore decided to begin by ridiculing him and belying his prophethood by instigating their poet friends to attack
Muhammad in their poetry. He was possessed by jinn, said some; no he was a falsifying magician claimed other, a soothsayer
asserted still others. In this discouraging debut on the stage of prophethood, Muhammad was sustained and encouraged by his first
convert, his wife Khadijah. The following are the Quranic responses to the criticism of the pagan of Arabia.
QURAN IS NOTHING BUT POETRY
The language of the Quran is so unique that in the view of many orthodox Muslims, the Quran is untranslatable. The rhetoric and
rhythm of the Arabic of the Quran are so characteristic, so powerful, and so highly emotive, that any version whatsoever is bound
to be but a poor copy of the glittering splendor of the original. The verses usually, but not always, represent rhetorical units,
terminated and connected together by a rhyming word. The function of rhyme in the Quran is quite different from the function of
the rhyme in poetry; interposed between leisurely periods there may be sudden outbursts of sharp rhetoric or shapely lyric. There
is a repertory of familiar themes running through the whole Quran; each surah elaborates or adumbrates one or more – often many
– of these. Using the language of music, each surah is a rhapsody composed of whole or fragmentary leitmotivs; the analogy is
reinforced by the subtly varied rhythmical flow of the discourse. It is this inimitable symphony, the very sound of which, move
men to tears and ecstasy. When Arabs heard the majestic melody of the Quran they thought it was spell binding sorcery.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN POETRY AND THE QURAN
The passage below, we have here an allusion to the allegation of Muhammad’s opponents, in his own as well as in later times, that
what he described as divine revelation was in reality an outcome of his own poetic invention. This the Quran refutes by alluding
to the fundamental difference between poetry - especially Arabic poetry - and divine revelation as exemplified by the Quran:
whereas in the former the meaning is often subordinated to the rhythm and the melody of language, in the Quran the exact
opposite is the case, as the choice of words, their sound and their position in the sentence - and, hence, its rhythm and melody -
are always subordinated to the meaning intended.
(26:224-227) And as for the poets - [they, too, are prone to deceive themselves: and so, only] those who are lost in grievous
error would follow them. Are you not aware that they roam confusedly through all the valleys [of words and thoughts],
and that they [so often] say what they do not do [or feel]? [“Roamed through valleys” is used, to describe a confused or
aimless - and often self-contradictory - play with words and thoughts. In this context it is meant to stress the difference between
the precision of the Quran, which is free from all inner contradictions, and the vagueness often inherent in poetry.] [Most of them
are of this kind] save those who have attained to faith, and do righteous deeds, and remember God unceasingly.
(36:69-70) We have not imparted to this [Prophet the gift of] poetry, nor would [poetry] have suited this [message]: it is
but a reminder and a [divine] discourse, clear in itself and clearly showing the truth, to the end that it may warn everyone
who is alive [of heart], and that the word [of God] may bear witness against all who deny the truth. [Or be proved true on
the Day of Judgment] CHALLENGE TO PRODUCE SURAH OF EQUAL MERIT
The style of the Quran is God’s style. It is different - incomparable inimitable. This is basically what constitutes the miraculous
character (ijaz) of the Quran. Of all miracles it is the greatest: if all men and jinn were to collaborate, they could not produce its
like (17:90). The Prophet was authorized to challenge his critics to produce something comparable. The challenge was taken up
by more than one stylist in Arabic literature - with a predictable conclusion. The relevance of Muhammad’s illiteracy to this
argument becomes obvious.
(2:23) And if you doubt any part of what We have bestowed from on high, step by step, upon our servant [Muhammad],
then produce a surah of similar merit, [The message of which the doctrine of God’s oneness and uniqueness is the focal point.
The gradualness of revelation is important in this context as the opponents of the Prophet argued that the Quran could not be of
divine origin because it was being revealed gradually, and not in one piece.] And call upon any other than God to bear witness
for you - if what you say is true! [Then come forward with a surah like it, and call upon your witnesses other than God - namely,
to attest that your hypothetical literary effort could be deemed equal to any part of the Quran. This challenge occurs in two other
places as well 10:37-38 and 11:13, in which latter case the unbelievers are called upon to produce ten chapters of comparable
merit]
(8:31) And whenever Our messages were conveyed to them, they would say, “We have heard [all this] before; if we wanted,
we could certainly compose sayings like these [ourselves]: they are nothing but fables of ancient times!” [The expression
“we could certainly ourselves compose” alludes to the oft-repeated but never fulfilled boast of the pagan Quraysh that they could
produce a poetic message comparable in merit to that of the Quran; an attitude of many unbelievers even today towards revealed
scriptures in general.]
(10:37-39) Now this Quran could not possibly have been devised by anyone save God: nay indeed, it confirms the truth of
whatever there still remains [of earlier revelations] and clearly spells out the revelation [which comes] - let there be no
doubt about it - from the Sustainer of all the worlds. [The above passage has a twofold significance: firstly, the wisdom
inherent in the Quran precludes any possibility of its having been composed by a human being; and, secondly, the Quranic
message is meant to confirm, and give a final formulation to, the eternal truths which have been conveyed to man through a long
succession of prophets: truths which have subsequently been obscured through wrong interpretation, deliberate omissions or
interpolations, or a partial or even total loss of the original texts.] And yet, they [who are bent on denying the truth] assert,
“Muhammad] has invented it!” Say [unto them]: “Produce, then, a surah of similar merit; and [to this end] call to your
aid whomever you can, other than God, if what you say is true!” Nay, but they are bent on giving the lie to everything the
wisdom whereof they do not comprehend, and before its inner meaning has become clear to them. [The knowledge whereof
they do not encompass, while its inner meaning has not yet come to them.] Even thus did those who lived before their time
give the lie to the truth: and behold what happened in the end to those evildoers!
(11:12-14) Is it, then, conceivable [O Prophet] that you could omit any part of what is being revealed unto you [because the
deniers of the truth dislike it]. So they assert, “[Muhammad himself] has invented this [Quran]!” Say [unto them]:
“Produce, then, ten surahs of similar merit, invented [by yourselves], and [to this end] call to your aid whomever you can,
other than God, if what you say is true! [That a divine writ like the Quran could have been invented by a human being.] And if
they [whom you have called to your aid] are not able to help you, [I.e., your poets and wise men do not respond to your call.]
then know that [this Quran] has been bestowed from on high out of God’s wisdom alone, [Only by God’s knowledge] and
that there is no deity save Him. Will you, then, surrender yourselves unto Him?”
ALTER THIS DISCOURSE TO OUR LIKING
(10:15-17) And [thus it is:] whenever Our messages are conveyed unto them in all their clarity, those who do not believe
that they are destined to meet Us [are wont to] say, “Bring us a discourse other than this, or alter this one.” [To suit our
own views as to what is right and what is wrong. This is an oblique reference to the highly subjective criticism of Quranic ethics
and eschatology by many agnostics (both among the contemporaries of the Prophet and in later times), and particularly to their
view that the Quran was composed by Muhammad himself and therefore expresses no more than his personal convictions.] Say
[O Prophet]: “It is not conceivable that I should alter it of my own volition; I only follow what is revealed to me. Behold, I
would dread, were I [thus] to rebel against my Sustainer, the suffering [which would befall me] on that awesome Day [of
Judgment]!” Say: “Had God willed it [otherwise], I would not have conveyed this [divine writ] unto you, nor would He
have brought it to your knowledge. Indeed, a whole lifetime has I dwelt among you before this [revelation came unto me]:
will you not, then, use your reason?” [This argument has a twofold implication. Ever since his early youth, Muhammad had
been renowned for his truthfulness and integrity, so much so that his Meccan compatriots applied to him the epithet Al-Amin (The
Trustworthy). In addition to this, he had never composed a single line of poetry (and this in contrast with a tendency which was
widespread among the Arabs of his time), nor had he been distinguished by particular eloquence. How, then, goes the argument,
can you reconcile your erstwhile conviction - based on the experience of a lifetime - that Muhammad was incapable of uttering a
lie, with your present contention that he himself has composed the Quran and now falsely attributes it to divine revelation? And
how could he who, up to the age of forty, has never displayed any poetic or philosophic gifts and is known to be entirely
unlettered, have composed a work as perfect in its language, as penetrating in its psychological insight and as compelling in its
inner logic as the Quran?] And who could be more wicked than they who attribute their own lying inventions to God or give
the lie to His messages? Verily, those who are lost in sin will never attain to a happy state - [I.e., in the life to come. The
“attributing of one’s own lying inventions to God” would seem to apply specifically to the wanton accusation that Muhammad
himself composed the Quran and then attributed it to God; and the “giving the lie to God’s messages” refers to the attitude of
those who make such an accusation and, consequently, reject the Quran.]
(11:12) Is it, then, conceivable [O Prophet] that you could omit any part of what is being revealed unto you [because the
deniers of the truth dislike it, and] because your heart is distressed at their saying, [The expression “it may well be that” at
the beginning of the above sentence denotes a wrong expectation on the part of the opponents of Muhammad’s message; it is,
therefore, best rendered in the form of a query which implies its own denial - thus: “Is it conceivable that…, etc. As regards the
expectation that the Prophet might omit a part of what was being revealed to him, it has been reported that the pagan Quraysh
demanded of the Prophet, “Bring us a revelation which does not contain a defamation of our deities, so that we could follow you
and believe in you.”]
MONOTHEISM NOT OUR ANCESTRAL TRADITION
(37:167-175) And, indeed, they [who deny the truth] have always been wont to say, “If only we had a tradition [to this
effect] from our forebears, [Ancestral tradition bearing the message of God’s oneness and uniqueness as promulgated by the
Quran.] we would certainly be true servants of God.” And yet, [now that this divine writ has been placed before them,]
they refuse to acknowledge it as true! In time, however, they will come to know [what it was that they had rejected]: for,
long ago has Our word gone forth unto Our servants, the message- bearers, that, verily, they - they indeed - would be
succored, and that, verily, Our hosts - they indeed - would [in the end] be victorious! Hence, you turn aside for a while
from those [who deny the truth], and see them [for what they are]; [As people who are bent on deceiving themselves.] and in
time they [too] will come to see [what they do not see now]. [I.e., they will realize the truth as well as the suffering which its
rejection entails: obviously a reference to the Day of Judgment.]
QURAN A PLAGIARIZED VERSION OF BIBLE
A question of much interest about the Quran is its relationship to previous religious writings, especially to Jewish and Christian
scriptures. Anyone who reads the Quran must immediately recognize the considerable body of common material among these
scriptures. Indeed, the Quran itself acknowledges this similarity by considering itself to be a scripture in the identical tradition of
those of the Jews and Christians. There can be no question, however, of literary dependence, for the Quran does not quote the
Bible directly, and at many points there are differences between the Quranic and the biblical accounts of incidents. Muhammad
was accused of having obtained his revelations from a learned Jew, who recited the Jewish scriptures to him, but the content of
the Quran shows no such close resemblance to anything in the Bible. In order to underline the genuineness and originality of the
Quran’s revelation, the Islamic tradition has always insisted that Muhammad was illiterate and, thus, unable to use previous
scriptures.
The attempt to trace the ideas of the Quran back to a source from earlier times is likely to miss the most important thing about the
religious experience of the Prophet. Although Muhammad lived in an environment that was saturated with knowledge of Christian
and Jewish religious ideas, the Quran is an original religious inspiration with a point of view quite different from that of the
previous scriptures. Biblical figures and stories do have a place in its pages, but the purpose they serve is to buttress a new and
different vision of God, human beings and the world which has a definite integrity of its own. The suggestion, sometimes made
that Muhammad was a mere imitator of those who had gone before is historically inaccurate, as well as offensive to Muslim
religious feelings.
QURAN IMPARTED BY UNNAMED FOREIGNERS
(16:103) And, indeed, full well do We know that they say, “It is but a human being that imparts [all] this to him!”- [I.e., to
Muhammad - thus insinuating that his claim to divine revelation was false.] [Notwithstanding that] the tongue of him to whom
they so maliciously point is wholly outlandish, [Whereas some of the pagan Quraysh regarded the ideas expressed in the Quran
as invented by Muhammad, others thought that they must have been imparted to him by a foreigner - perhaps a Christian - who
lived in Mecca at that time, or whom the Prophet was supposed to have encountered at an earlier period of his life. Various
conjectures have been advanced as to the identity of the person or persons whom the suspicious Meccans might have had in mind
in this connection; but all these conjectures are purely speculative and, therefore, of no historical value whatever. The suspicion of
the pagan Meccans implies no more than the historical fact that those of the Prophet’s opponents who were unwilling to pay him
the compliment of having “invented” the Quran (the profundity of which they were unable to deny) conveniently attributed its
authorship - or at least its inspiration - to a mythical non-Arab teacher of the Prophet.] whereas this is Arabic speech, clear [in
itself] and clearly showing the truth [of its source]. [The fact that no human being - and certainly no non-Arab - could ever
have produced the flawless, exalted Arabic diction in which the Quran is expressed.]
(25:4-6) Moreover, those who are bent on denying the truth are wont to say, “This [Quran] is nothing but a lie, which he
[himself] has devised with the help of other people, [Implying that the Quran, or most of it, is based on Judeo-Christian
teachings allegedly communicated to Muhammad by some unnamed foreigners (16:103 above) or, alternatively, by various Arab
converts to Judaism or Christianity; furthermore, that Muhammad had either deceived himself into believing that the Quran was a
divine revelation, or had deliberately - knowing that it was not so - attributed it to God.] who thereupon have perverted the
truth and brought a falsehood into being.” [This constitutes a Quranic rebuttal of the malicious allegation expressed in the
preceding clause.] And they say, “Fables of ancient times which he has caused to be written down, so that they might be
read out to him at morn and evening!” [Because his contemporaries knew that he was unlettered and could not read and write.]
Say [O Muhammad]: “He who knows all the mysteries of the heavens and the earth has bestowed from on high this
[Quran upon me]! Verily, He is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace!”
QURAN PRODUCT OF EVIL SPIRITS
During the early years of his prophetic mission, some of Muhammad’s Meccan opponents tried to explain the rhetorical beauty
and persuasiveness of the Quran by insinuating that he was a soothsayer in communion with all manner of dark forces and evil
spirits.
(26:210-213) And [this divine writ is such a reminder:] no evil spirits have brought it down: for, neither does it suit their
ends, nor is it in their power [to impart it to man]: verily, [even] from hearing it are they utterly debarred! Hence, [O
man,] do not invoke any other deity side by side with God, lest you find yourself among those who are made to suffer [on
Judgment Day]. (26:221-223) [And] shall I tell you upon whom it is that those evil spirits descend? They descend upon all
sinful self-deceivers who readily lend ear [to every falsehood], and most of whom lie to others as well. [The expression, “a
great or habitual liar”, has here the meaning of one who lies to himself: which stresses the psychological fact that most of such
self-deceivers readily lie to others as well.]
ATTACKING THE MESSENGER
ACCUSING PROPHET OF DELUSIONS
(9:61,64) And among those [enemies of the truth] there are such as malign the Prophet by saying, “He is all ear.” [I.e., he
believes everything that he hears. What the hypocrites and the unbelievers regarded as mere hallucinatory sounds, which
Muhammad interprets them mistakenly as revelations. This would explain the statement that “they malign the Prophet” - namely,
by attributing to him self-deception - and that this saying of theirs amounts to a denial of the truth.] Say: “[Yes,] he is all ear,
[listening] to what is good for you! [I.e., to divine revelation.] He believes in God, and trusts the believers, and is [a
manifestation of God’s] grace towards such of you as have [truly] attained to faith. And as for those who malign God’s
Apostle - grievous suffering awaits them [in the life to come]!” Say: “Go on mocking! Behold, God will bring to light the
very thing that you are dreading!” [Namely, self-knowledge. The accusation of mocking refers to their frivolous allusion to the
Prophet, “He is all ear”.]
MUHAMMAD COMPOSED THE QURAN AND FALSELY ATTRIBUTED TO GOD
(34:43-50) For [thus it is:] whenever Our messages are conveyed unto them in all their clarity, they [who are bent on
denying the truth] say [to one another], “This [Muhammad] is nothing but a man who wants to turn you away from what
your forefathers were wont to worship!” And they say, “This [Quran] is nothing but a falsehood invented [by man]!” And
[finally,] they who are bent on denying the truth speak thus of the truth when it comes to them: “This is clearly nothing
but spellbinding eloquence!” [Or, sorcery or magic - a term frequently used in the sense of spellbinding eloquence] And yet, [O
Muhammad,] never have We vouchsafed them any revelations which they could quote, and neither have We sent unto
them any warner before you. [In support of the blasphemous beliefs and practices inherited from their ancestors.] Thus, too,
gave the lie to the truth [many of] those who lived before them; and although those [earlier people] had not attained to
even a tenth of [the evidence of the truth] which We have vouchsafed unto these [late successors of theirs], yet when they
gave the lie to My apostles, how awesome was My rejection! [And how much worse will fare the deniers of the truth to whom
so explicit and so comprehensive a divine writ as the Quran has been conveyed!] Say: “I counsel you one thing only: Be [ever
conscious of] standing before God, whether you are in the company of others or alone; [The above phrase may be understood
to refer to man’s social behavior - i.e., his actions concerning others - as well as to his inner, personal attitude in all situations
requiring a moral choice.] and then bethink yourselves [that] there is no madness in [this prophet,] your fellow-man: he is
only a warner to you of suffering severe to come.” Say: “No reward have I ever asked of you [out of anything] that is
yours: [No reward other than that he who so wills may find a way unto his Sustainer.] my reward rests with none but God, and
He is witness unto everything!” Say: “Verily, my Sustainer hurls the truth [against all that is false] - He who fully knows
all the things that are beyond the reach of a created being’s perception!” Say: “The truth has now come [to light, and
falsehood is bound to wither away]: for, falsehood cannot bring forth anything new, nor can it bring back [what has
passed away].” [In contrast to the creativeness inherent in every true idea, falsehood - being in itself an illusion - cannot really
create anything or revive any values that may have been alive in the past.] Say: “Were I to go astray, I would but go astray
[due to my own self, and] to the hurt of myself; [The idea expressed by the interpolated words “due to my own self” is implied
in the above, as everything that goes against the spiritual interests of oneself is caused by oneself.] but if I am on the right path,
it is but by virtue of what my Sustainer reveals unto me: for, verily, He is all-hearing, ever-near!”
(41:26) Now those who are bent on denying the truth say [unto one another]: “Do not listen to this Quran, but rather talk
frivolously about it, so that you might gain the upper hand!” [This is an allusion to efforts aimed at discrediting the Quran by
describing it as invented by Muhammad for his own - personal and political - ends, as a series of misunderstood quotations from
earlier scriptures, as the result of hallucinations, and so forth: all of which implies that the opponents of the Quranic message
instinctively feel its force, realizing at the same time that it endangers their self-complacent, materialistic outlook on life and
ought, therefore, to be combated.]
IT IS NOT CONCEIVABLE THAT A PROPHET SHOULD DECEIVE
(3:161-164) And it is not conceivable that a prophet should deceive [I.e., by attributing his own opinions to God, and then
appealing to the believers to place their trust in Him alone. However contrary to reason such deceit may be, it is a common view
among non-believers that the Prophet himself composed the Quran and thereupon falsely attributed it to divine revelation.] - since
he who deceives shall be faced with his deceit on the Day of Resurrection, when every human being shall be repaid in full
for whatever he has done, and none shall be wronged. Is then he [An allusion, in this case, to the Prophet Muhammad as well
as to prophets in general.] who strives after God’s goodly acceptance like unto him who has earned the burden of God’s
condemnation and whose goal is hell? - and how vile a journey’s end! [I.e., by falsely attributing his own views to God or
distorting His messages by arbitrary interpolations and deliberate changes in the wording of a revelation - an accusation often
leveled in the Quran (e.g., 2:79 and 3:78) against the followers of earlier revelations.] They are on [entirely] different levels in
the sight of God; for God sees all that they do. Indeed, God bestowed a favor upon the believers when he raised up in their
midst an apostle from among themselves, to convey His messages unto them, and to cause them to grow in purity, and to
impart unto them the divine writ as well as wisdom - whereas before that they were indeed, most obviously, lost in error.
(11:18) And who could be more wicked than they who attribute their own lying inventions to God? [This is a refutation of
the contention of the unbelievers that the Quran was composed by Muhammad himself (10:17) and thereupon blasphemously
attributed to God.] [On the Day of Judgment, such as] these shall be arraigned before their Sustainer, and those who are
called upon to bear witness [against them] shall say, “It is they who uttered lies about their Sustainer!” [On the Day of
Judgment the prophets will be called upon to testify for or against the people to whom they were sent.]
MUHAMMAD ONLY A MORTAL MAN
(30:47) And indeed, [O Muhammad, even] before you did We send forth apostles - each one unto his own people - and they
brought them all evidence of the truth: and then, [by causing the believers to triumph,] We inflicted Our retribution upon
those who [deliberately] did evil: for We had willed it upon Ourselves to succor the believers.
(50:1-2) Consider this sublime Quran! But nay - they deem it strange that a warner should have come unto them from
their own midst. [This is the earliest Quranic mention - repeated again and again in other places - of people’s deeming it strange
that a purportedly divine message should have been delivered by someone from their own midst, i.e., a mortal like themselves.
Although it is a reference to the negative attitude of the Meccan pagans to Muhammad’s call, its frequent repetition throughout
the Quran has obviously an implication going far beyond that historical reference: it points to the tendency common to many
people, at all stages of human development, to distrust any religious statement that is devoid of all exoticism as it is enunciated by
a person sharing the social and cultural background of those whom he addresses and because the message itself relies exclusively
- as the Quran does - on an appeal to man’s reason and moral sense. Hence, the Quran explicitly mentions people’s objections to a
prophet who eats food like ordinary mortals and goes about in the market-places (25:7 and 25:20).]
MESSAGE IN ITS OWN PEOPLE’S TONGUE
(26:192-195) Now, behold, this [divine writ] has indeed been bestowed from on high by the Sustainer of all the worlds:
trustworthy divine inspiration has alighted with it from on high upon your heart, [O Muhammad] [The expression “the
faithful or trustworthy spirit” is a designation of Gabriel, the Angel of Revelation, who, by virtue of his purely spiritual, functional
nature, is incapable of sinning and cannot therefore, be other than utterly faithful to the trust reposed in him by God (16:50). Since
the term ruh is often used in the Quran in the sense of divine inspiration (see 2:87, and 6:2), it may have this latter meaning in the
above context as well, especially in view of the statement that it had “alighted from on high upon the heart” of the Prophet.] so
that you may be among those who preach in the clear Arabic tongue. [See 14:4 – “never have We sent forth any apostle
otherwise than with a message in his own people’s tongue”. The message of the Quran is, nevertheless, universal has been
stressed in many of its verses (7:158 or 25:1). The other prophets mentioned in the Quran who “preached in the Arabic tongue”
were Ishmael, Hud, Salih and Shuayb, all of them Arabians. In addition, if we bear in mind that Hebrew and Aramaic are but
ancient Arabic dialects, all the Hebrew prophets may be included among “those who preached in the Arabic tongue”.] (26:198-
200) But [even] had We bestowed it from on high upon any of the non-Arabs, and had he recited it unto them [in his own
tongue], they would not have believed in it. [As the Quran points out in many places, most of the Meccan contemporaries of
Muhammad refused in the beginning to believe in his prophethood on the ground that God could not have entrusted a man from
among themselves with His message and this in spite of the fact that the Quran was expressed in the clear Arabic tongue, which
they could fully understand: but (so the argument goes) if the Prophet had been a foreigner, and his message expressed in a non-
Arabic tongue, they would have been even less prepared to accept it - for then they would have had the legitimate excuse that they
were unable to understand it (41:44).] Thus have We caused this [message] to pass [unheeded] through the hearts of those
who are lost in sin: [I.e., not to take root in their hearts but to go into one ear and out of the other. As regards God’s “causing”
this to happen, see 2:7, and 14:4.]
(41:44) Now if We had willed this [divine writ] to be a discourse in a non-Arabic tongue, they [who now reject it] would
surely have said, “Why is it that its messages have not been spelled out clearly? [In a tongue which we can understand. Since
the Prophet was an Arab and lived in an Arabian environment, his message had to be expressed in the Arabic language, which the
people to whom it was addressed in the first instance could understand: see in this connection 13: 37, as well as of 14: 4 - “never
have We sent forth any apostle otherwise than with a message in his own people’s tongue, so that he might make the truth clear
unto them”. Had the message of the Quran been formulated in a language other than Arabic, the opponents of the Prophet would
have been justified in saying, “between us and you is a barrier” (verse 5)]. Why [a message in] a non-Arabic tongue, and [its
bearer] an Arab?” Say: “Unto all who have attained to faith, this [divine writ] is a guidance and a source of health; but as
for those who will not believe - in their ears is deafness, and so it remains obscure to them: they are [like people who are]
being called from too far away. [I.e., they only hear the sound of the words, but cannot understand their meaning.]
WHY QURAN NOT BESTOWED ON PERSON OF EMINENCE?
Walid ibn al Mughirah one of the leading aristocrats of Quraysh once said “It is incomprehensible to me that revelations would
come to Muhammad and not to me while I am the greatest elder and master of Quraysh. Neither do I understand that revelations
would not come to Abu Masud, the elder of Taif and master of tribe of Thaqif.”
(43:30-35) But now that the truth has come to them, they say, “All this is mere spellbinding eloquence” - and, behold, we
deny that there is any truth in it!” And they say, too, “Why was not this Quran bestowed from on high on some great man
of the two cities?” [I.e., Mecca and Taif - implying that if it were really a divine revelation it would have been bestowed on a
person of “great standing”, and not on Muhammad, who had neither wealth nor a position of eminence in his native city.] But is it
they who distribute your Sustainer’s grace? [Nay, as] it is We who distribute their means of livelihood among them in the
life of this world, and raise some of them by degrees above others, to the end that they might avail themselves of one
another’s help - [so, too, it is We who bestow gifts of the spirit upon whomever We will]: and this your Sustainer’s grace is
better than all [the worldly wealth] that they may amass. And were it not that [with the prospect of boundless riches
before them] all people would become one [evil] community, [Since “man has been created weak” (4:28), it is almost a law of
nature that whenever he is exposed to the prospect of great wealth he is liable to lose sight of all spiritual and moral
considerations, and to become utterly selfish, greedy and ruthless.] We might indeed have provided for those who [now] deny
the Most Gracious roofs of silver for their houses, and [silver] stairways whereon to ascend, and [silver] doors for their
houses, and [silver] couches whereon to recline, and gold [beyond count]. Yet all this would have been nothing but a [brief]
enjoyment of life in this world - whereas [happiness in] the life to come awaits the God-conscious with your Sustainer.
MUHAMMAD A MAN BEWITCHED/MAD POET
(7:184) Has it, then, never occurred to them that there is no madness whatever in [this] their fellowman? He is only a plain
warner. [Because he enunciated a message that differed radically from anything to which the Meccans had been accustomed, the
Prophet was considered mad by many of his unbelieving contemporaries. The stress on his being their fellow-man is meant to
emphasize the fact that he is human, and thus to counteract any possible tendency on the part of his followers to invest him with
superhuman qualities.]
(17:45-48) But [thus it is:] whenever you recite the Quran, We place an invisible barrier between you and those who will
not believe in the life to come: for, over their hearts We have laid veils which prevent them from grasping its purport, and
into their ears, deafness. [A reference to the natural law instituted by God, whereby a person who persistently adheres to false
beliefs and refuses to listen to the voice of truth gradually loses the ability to perceive the truth, “so that finally, as it were, a seal
is set upon his heart”. Since it is God who has instituted all laws of nature - which, in their aggregate, are called sunnat Allah (“the
way of God”) - this “sealing” is attributed to Him: but it is obviously a consequence of man’s free choice and not an act of
“predestination”. Similarly, the suffering which, in the life to come, is in store for those who during their life in this world have
willfully remained deaf and blind to the truth, is a natural consequence of their free choice - just as happiness in the life to come is
the natural consequence of man’s endeavor to attain to righteousness and inner illumination. It is in this sense that the Quranic
references to God’s “reward” and “punishment” must be understood] And so, whenever you mention, while reciting the Quran,
your Sustainer as the one and only Divine Being, [lit., “whenever you do mention in the Quran thy Sustainer alone”.] they turn
their backs [upon you] in aversion. We are fully aware of what they are listening for when they listen to you: [I.e., to find
fault with the message of the Quran.] for when they are secluded among themselves. Lo! These wrongdoers say [unto one
another], “If you were to follow [Muhammad, you would follow] only a man bewitched!” See to what they liken you, [O
Prophet, simply] because they have gone astray and are now unable to find a way [to the truth]!
(37:35-39) Whenever they were told, “There is no deity save God,” they would glory in their arrogance and would say,
“Shall we, then, give up our deities at the bidding of a mad poet?” [Thus alleging that the Quran is a product of Muhammad’s
mind. The reference to deities comprises, in this context, everything that man may worship in both the literal and the metaphorical
senses of this word.] Nay, but he [whom you call a mad poet] has brought the truth; and he confirms the truth of [what the
earlier of God’s] message-bearers [have taught]. [This refers to the fundamental teachings, which have always been the same in
every true religion, and not to the many time-bound laws evident in the earlier religious codes.] Behold, you will indeed taste
grievous suffering [in the life to come], although you shall not be requited for aught but what you were wont to do.
SORCERER WITH SPELLBINDING ELOQUENCE
(21:1-4) Closer draws unto men their reckoning: and yet they remain stubbornly heedless [of its approach]. [Lit., “and yet
in their heedlessness they are obstinate”.] When ever there comes unto them any new reminder from their Sustainer, they
but listen to it with playful amusement, their hearts set on passing delights; yet they who are [thus] bent on wrongdoing
conceal their innermost thoughts [when they say to one another], “Is this [Muhammad] anything but a mortal like
yourselves? Will you, then, yield to [his] spellbinding eloquence with your eyes open?” [By rejecting the message of the
Quran on the specious plea that Muhammad is but a human being endowed with spellbinding eloquence, the opponents of the
Quranic doctrine in reality conceal their innermost thoughts: for, their rejection is due not so much to any pertinent criticism of
this doctrine as, rather, to their instinctive, deep-set unwillingness to submit to the moral and spiritual discipline which an
acceptance of the Prophet’s call would entail.] Say: “My Sustainer knows whatever is spoken in heaven and on earth; and He
alone is all-hearing, all-knowing.” (21:34-35) And [remind those who deny you, O Prophet, that] [This relates to the
objection of the unbelievers that Muhammad is but a mortal like yourselves, but then all of God’s apostles were mortal men
(3:144).] never have We granted life everlasting to any mortal before you: [And so We shall not grant it unto you, either;
39:30 – “you are bound to die”.] but do they, perchance, hope that although you must die, they will live forever?” [But if,
then, you should die, will they live forever? - implying an assumption on their part that they would not be called to account on
death and resurrection.] Every human being is bound to taste death; and We test you [all] through the bad and the good
[things of life] by way of trial: and unto Us you all must return. [You shall be brought back for judgment.]
(46:7-8) But whenever Our messages are conveyed to them in all their clarity, they who are bent on denying the truth
speak thus of the truth as soon as it is brought to them: “This is clearly nothing but spellbinding eloquence!” [The truth
referred to here is the message of the Quran.] Or do they say, “He has invented all this”? Say [O Muhammad]: “Had I
invented it, you would not be of the least help to me against God. [Then why should I have invented all this for your sake?] He
is fully aware of that [slander] into which you so recklessly plunge: enough is He as a witness between me and you! And
[withal,] He alone is truly-forgiving, a true dispenser of grace.” [The implication is, “May God forgive you, and grace you
with His guidance”.]
(51:50-55) And so, [O Muhammad, say unto them:] “Flee unto God [from all that is false and evil]! Verily, I am a plain
warner to you from Him! And do not ascribe divinity to aught side by side with God: verily, I am a plain warner to you
from Him!” [But] thus it is: never yet came any apostle to those who lived before their time but they said, “A spel1binder
[or sorcerer.] [is he], or a madman!” Have they, perchance, handed down this [way of thinking] as a legacy unto one
another? Nay, they are people filled with overweening arrogance! Turn, then, away from them, and you shall incur no
blame; yet go on reminding [all who would listen]: for, verily, such a reminder will profit the believers.
TIME WOULD PROVE MUHAMMAD’S TEACHING TO BE FALSE
(52:29-34) Exhort, then, [O Prophet, all men:] for, by your Sustainer’s grace, you are neither a soothsayer nor a madman.
Or do they say, “[He is but] a poet - let us wait what time will do unto him”? [Let us wait for the evil happenings brought
about by time. The phrase obviously denotes the expectation of the Prophet’s detractors that time would prove his teachings to
have been false or, at best, a delusion.] Say you: “Wait, [then,] hopefully; behold, I, too, shall hopefully wait with you!”
[Whereas you are waiting for my message to be proved false, I am awaiting its fulfillment!] Is it their minds that bid them [to
take] this [attitude] - or are they [simply] people filled with overweening arrogance? [The meaning is: Have they any
reasoned objection to the contents of this message - or do they simply reject the truth because their false pride in man’s supposed
self-sufficiency prevents them from accepting the notion of responsibility before a Supreme Being?] Or do they say, “He himself
has composed this [message]”? Nay, but they are not willing to believe! But then, [if they deem it the work of a mere
mortal,] let them produce another discourse like it - if what they say be true!
ENTRAP YOU IN CONTRADICTIONS
(52:40-44) Or is it that [they who reject your message, O Muhammad, fear lest] you ask of them a reward, so that they
would be burdened with debt [if they should listen to you]? Or [do they think] that the hidden reality [of all that exists] is
almost within their grasp, so that [in time] they can write it down? [The identical passage in 68:47] Or do they want to
entrap [you in contradictions]? But they who are bent on denying the truth - it is they who are truly entrapped! [I.e., it is
they who constantly lose themselves in contradictions, whereas the message of the Quran is free thereof (see 4:82).] Have they,
then, any deity other than God? Utterly remote is God, in His limitless glory, from anything to which men may ascribe a
share in His divinity! And yet, if they [who refuse to see the truth] were to see part of the sky falling down, they would
[only] say, “[It is but] a mass of clouds!”
DEMAND FOR MIRACLES
The pagans of Mecca asked Muhammad to perform some miracles with which to prove his prophethood. They challenged him to
do as much as Moses and Jesus had done. They asked, “Why don’t you change Mount Safa and Mount Marwah into gold? Why
don’t you cause the book of which you speak so much to fall down from heaven already written? Why don’t you cause Gabriel to
appear to all of us and speak to us as he spoke to you? Why don’t you cause a water fountain to spring whose water is sweeter
than that of Zamzam, knowing how badly your town needs the additional water supply?” The Meccans did not stop at these
demands and they asked, “Why does not your God inform you of the market prices of the future in order to help you and us in the
trade of tomorrow?”
In an age, charged with supernaturalism, when miracles were accepted as the stock-in-trade of the most ordinary saint,
Muhammad refused to traffic with human weakness and credulity. To the miracle-hungry idolaters seeking signs and portents he
made it very clear that God has not sent me to work wonder; He has sent me to preach to you. From first to last he resisted every
impulse to glamorize his own person. “I never said that Allah’s treasures are in my hand, that I knew the hidden things, or that I
was an angel … I am only a preacher of God’s words, the bringer of God’s message to mankind.”
DEMAND TO PERFORM MIRACLES
(10:20) Now they [who deny the truth] are wont to ask, “Why has no miraculous sign ever been bestowed upon him from
on high by his Sustainer?” [I.e., on Muhammad, in order to prove that he is truly a bearer of God’s message. The pronoun
“they” refers to both categories of deniers of the truth: the atheists or agnostics who do not believe that they are destined to meet
God, as well as those who, while believing in God, “ascribe a share in His divinity” to all manner of imaginary intercessors or
mediators.] Say, then: “God’s alone is the knowledge of that which is beyond the reach of human perception, Wait, then,
[until His will becomes manifest:] verily, I shall wait with you!” [This answer relates not merely to the question as to why God
has not bestowed on Muhammad a miraculous sign of his prophethood, but also to the why of his having been chosen for his
prophetic mission in the first place. See in this Connection 2:105: God singles out for His grace whom He wills and 3:73-74: God
is infinite, all-knowing, singling out for His grace whom He wills.]
(17:89-94) However, most men are unwilling to accept anything but blasphemy – [They are unwilling to accept any idea
which runs counter to their own, blasphemous inclinations.] and so they say: “[O Muhammad,] we shall not believe in you till
you cause a spring to gush forth for us from the earth, [I.e., like Moses (2:60).] or you have a garden of date-palms and
vines and cause rivers to gush forth in their midst in a sudden rush, [This seems to be a derisory allusion to the allegory of
paradise so often mentioned in the Quran.] or you cause the skies to fall down upon us in smithereens, as you has threatened,
[Reference to the warning expressed in 34:9, which was revealed somewhat earlier] or [till] you bring God and the angels face
to face before us, or you have a house [made] of gold, or you ascend to heaven - but nay, we would not [even] believe in
your ascension unless you bring down to us [from heaven] a writing which we [ourselves] could read!” [A reply to this
demand of the unbelievers is found in 6:7, revealed shortly after the present surah. But the allusion to this and the preceding
conditions is not merely historical: it illustrates a widely prevalent, psychologically contradictory attitude of mind - a strange
mixture of prima-facie skepticism and primitive credulity which makes belief in a prophetic message dependent on the prophet’s
performing miracles (6:37 and 109 and 7:203). Since the only miracle granted by God to Muhammad is the Quran itself, he is
bidden, in the next passage, to declare that these demands are irrelevant and, by implication, frivolous.] Say you, [O Prophet:]
“Limitless in His glory is my Sustainer!” [I.e., miracles are in the power of God alone (6:109).] Am I, then, aught but a
mortal man, an apostle?” Yet whenever [God’s] guidance came to them [through a prophet,] nothing has ever kept people
from believing [in him] save this their objection: [It implies a conceptual objection] Would God have sent a [mere] mortal
man as His apostle?”
(25:7-10) Yet they say: What sort of apostle is this [man] who eats food [like all other mortals] and goes about in the
market places? Why has not an angel [visibly] been sent down unto him, to act as a warner together with him?” Or:
“[Why has not] a treasure been granted to him [by God]?” Or: “He should [at least] have a [bountiful] garden, so that he
could eat thereof [without effort]!” [A sarcastic allusion to the gardens of paradise of which, the Quran so often speaks.] And so
these evildoers say [unto one another], “If you were to follow [Muhammad, you would follow] but a man bewitched!” See
to what they liken you, [O Prophet, simply] because they have gone astray and are now unable to find a way to the truth]!
Hallowed is He who, if it be His will, shall give you something better than that [whereof they speak] - gardens through
which running waters flow - and shall assign to you mansions [of bliss in the life to come].
QURANIC RESPONSE TO THE DEMAND TO PERFORM MIRACLES
(1) The appearance of each new prophet had, as a rule, purpose to convey a divinely-inspired ethical message to man, and thus to
establish a criterion of right and wrong or a standard by which to discern the true from the false. It is to the contents of the divine
message propounded to them that all seekers after truth must turn for illumination (7:75 and 13:43). (2) The Quran dwells in many
places (e.g., in 6:109-111 or 13:31) on the futility - moral as well as intellectual - of the demand that the divine origin of a
prophetic message should be proved by tangible, extraneous means: for, a morally valid and intellectually justifiable conviction of
the intrinsic truth of such a message can be gained only through conscious insight accessible to reason (12:108). (3) Conviction
based solely on a miraculous proof would have compromised man’s free will and therefore of no spiritual value. (4) Prophets of
the old were not super humans and performed miracles only by God’s leave. Even prophets who performed miracles (such as
Jesus) were still rejected by those who denied the truth. Jesus asked for no rewards for his miracles and begged the people not to
mention these powers of his. The reason for his dislike of being known as a miracle worker was besides being pestered to give
exhibitions to satisfy curiosity; it diverted attention from his message. (5) Miracles of God are all around us (see the chapter
“origin of universe and life: genesis according to the Quran”). (6) Only one miracle Muhammad claimed, that of the Quran itself
(see chapter 1, “Quran as Muhammad’s standing miracle.”
MIRACLES ARE EXERCISE IN FUTILITY
The Quran makes it clear that even a miracle would not convince those who are “bent on denying the truth.”
(6:7) But even if We had sent down unto you [O Prophet] a writing on paper, and they had touched it with their own hands
- those who are bent on denying the truth would indeed have said, “This is clearly nothing but a deception!”
(13:31) Yet even if [they should listen to] a [divine] discourse by which mountains could be moved, or the earth cleft
asunder, or the dead made to speak - [they who are bent on denying the truth would still refuse to believe in it] Nay, but
God alone has the power to decide what shall be. [No miraculous sign can ever convince those whose hearts God has sealed in
consequence of their breaking their bond with Him.] Have, then, they who have attained to faith not yet come to know that,
had God so willed, He would indeed have guided all mankind aright? [The meaning is that God grants man the freedom to
choose between right and wrong: “He guides unto Himself all who turn unto Him” (verse 27 above) and “are true to their bond
with God” (verse 20); on the other hand, He withholds His guidance from “the iniquitous, who break their bond with God” (2:26-
27).]
(15:14-15) Yet even had We opened to them a gateway to heaven and they had ascended, on and on, up to it, they would
surely have said, “It is only our eyes that are spellbound! Nay, we have been bewitched!” [Lit., we are people bewitched”.
See 6:7 and 10:2. The confusing of revealed truths with illusory “enchantment” or “sorcery” is often pointed out in the Quran as
characteristic of the attitude of people who a priori refuse to accept the idea of revelation and, thus, of prophethood. The above
two verses, implying that not even a direct insight into the wonders of heaven could convince those who are bent on denying the
truth”.]
YOU ARE ONLY A WARNER
(11:12) “Why has not a treasure been bestowed upon him from on high?” - or, “[Why has not] an angel come [visibly] with
him?” [Explaining this verse, Ibn Abbas mentions that some of the pagan chieftains of Mecca said, “O Muhammad, cause the
mountains of Mecca to be turned into gold, if you are truly an apostle of God”, while others exclaimed derisively, “Bring before
us angels who would bear witness to your being a prophet!” - whereupon the above verse was revealed.] [They fail to
understand that] you are only a warner, whereas God has everything in His care; [Regarding the Prophet’s denial of any
ability on his part to perform miracles, see 6:50.]
(13:7) However, they who are bent on denying the truth [refuse to believe and] say. “Why has no miraculous sign ever
been bestowed on him from on high by his Sustainer?” [I.e., to prove that Muhammad is really a prophet inspired by God. The
abandonment of their original, innate faculty to realize the existence of God and their own dependence on His guidance - caused
by their utter immersion in the passing pleasures of this world’s life - makes it impossible for “those who are bent on denying the
truth” to sense the breath of the divine in the message propounded to them by Muhammad: and so they refuse to accept it as true
unless it is supported by an outward miracle.] [But] you are only a warner; and [in God] all people have a guide. [You are
only a warner bound to do no more than deliver the message entrusted to you, while it is God alone who can truly guide men’s
hearts towards faith.] (13:27-29) Say: “Behold, God lets go astray him who wills [to go astray], [Or: God lets go astray
whomever He wills. Regarding the rendering, see 14:4.] just as He guides unto Himself all who turn unto Him - those who
believe, and whose hearts find their rest in the remembrance of God for, verily, in the remembrance of God [men’s] hearts
do find their rest -: [and so it is that] they who attain to faith and do righteous deeds are destined for happiness [in this
world] and the most beauteous of all goals [in the life to come]!”
DEMAND TO SEE ANGELS
(25:21) But those who do not believe that they are destined to meet Us are wont to say, [I.e., expect a meeting with Us: thus
they do not believe in resurrection and consequently, do not expect to be judged by God in after-life.] “Why have no angels been
sent down to us?” – or, “Why do we not see our Sustainer?” Indeed, they are far too proud of themselves, having rebelled
[against God’s truth] with utter disdain!
APPEARANCE OF ANGELS ON THE DAY OF JUDGMENT
(15:6-8) And yet, they [who deny the truth] say: “O you unto whom this reminder has [allegedly] been bestowed from on
high: verily, you are mad! Why do you not bring before us angels, if you are a man of truth?” [6:8-9. The reference of the
unbelievers to the Prophet’s revelation is obviously sarcastic hence interpolation of the word “allegedly”. Although these verses
relate primarily to the pagan contemporaries of the Prophet, they broadly describe the negative attitude of unbelievers of all
times.] [Yet] We never send down angels otherwise than in accordance with the [demands of] truth; [“And not just to satisfy
a frivolous demand of people who refuse to consider a prophetic message on its merits”. It is evident from the next clause - an
actual appearance of the angels to ordinary men would but presage the Day of Judgment (described in 78:39 as the Day of
Ultimate Truth”) and, thus, the doom of the deniers of the truth spoken of here.] and [were the angels to appear now,] lo! they
[who reject this divine writ] would have no further respite! [6:8 - “had We sent down an angel, all would indeed have been
decided”, i.e., the Day of Judgment would have come.]
(17:95) Say: “If angels were walking about on earth as their natural abode, We would indeed have sent down unto them an
angel out of heaven as Our apostle.”
APPEARANCE OF ANGEL WILL ONLY CAUSE CONFUSION
(6:8-10) They are saying, too, “Why has not an angel [visibly] been sent down unto him?” But had We sent down an angel,
all would indeed have been decided, and they would have been allowed no further respite [for repentance]. [I.e., Judgment
Day would have come - for it is only then that the forces described as angels will manifest themselves to man in their true form
and become comprehensible to him. (See 2:210.)] And [even] if We had appointed an angel as Our message-bearer, We
would certainly have made him [appear as] a man - and thus We would only have confused them in the same way as they
are now confusing themselves. [Since it is impossible for man to perceive angels as they really are, the hypothetical angelic
message-bearer would have to assume the shape of a human being - and so their demand for a direct verification of the message
would have remained unfulfilled, and their self-caused confusion unresolved.] And, indeed, [even] before your time have
apostles been derided - but those who scoffed at them were [in the end] overwhelmed by the very thing which they were
wont to deride. [The meaning being that a derisive rejection of spiritual truths inexorably rebounds on the scoffers and has not
only a disastrous effect on their individual lives after death but also - if persisted in by the majority within a community - destroys
the moral basis of their society and, thus, their earthly happiness and sometimes even their physical existence.]
FREEDOM OF CHOICE AND MIRACLES
Even after continuous preaching, people of Mecca rejected Muhammad’s message. Sometimes, he cherished the wish that God
might send a clear sign that the Meccans had no alternative but to accept his message. In the verses below, God had admonished
the Prophet for such thoughts. If this mission had to be performed by means of miracles, could God have not done so? (6:34-36)
And, indeed, [even] before your time have apostles been given the lie, and they endured with patience all those charges of
falsehood, and all the hurt done to them, till succor came unto them from Us: for there is no power that could alter [the
outcome of] God’s promises. And some of the histories of those apostles have already come within your ken. [A reference to
the fact that only a few of the earlier prophets and their histories have been specifically mentioned in the Quran (always in
connection with a particular moral lesson), while the great majority of them are only alluded to in a general manner, in support of
the divine statement that no community or civilization has been left without prophetic guidance.] and if it distress you that those
who deny the truth turn their backs on you - why, then, if you are able to go down deep into the earth or to ascend a
ladder unto heaven [To seek out an opening in the earth or a ladder to heaven] in order to bring them a [yet more convincing]
message, [do so;] but [remember that] had God so willed, He would indeed have gathered them all unto [His] guidance. Do
not, therefore, allow yourself to ignore [God’s ways]. [Or be not, therefore, of the ignorant] Only they who listen [with their
hearts] can respond to a call; and as for the dead [of heart], God [alone] can raise them from the dead, whereupon unto
Him they shall return. [This verse is interpreted in the metaphorical sense and its elliptical meaning can only be brought out by
means of interpolations.]
DENIAL OF ANY CLAIM TO SUPERNATURAL POWERS
(6:50) Say [O Prophet]: “I do not say unto you, ‘God’s treasures are with me’; nor [do I say], ‘I know the things that are
beyond the reach of human perception’; nor do I say unto you, ‘Behold, I am an angel’: I but follow what is revealed to
me.” [This denial on the part of the Prophet of any claim to supernatural powers refers to the demand of the unbelievers that he
should prove his prophetic mission by causing a miraculous sign to be bestowed on him. Beyond this specific reference, however,
the above passage is meant to prevent any deification of the Prophet and to make it clear that he - like all other prophets before
him - was but a mortal human being, a servant whom God had chosen to convey His message to mankind.] Say: “Can the blind
and the seeing be deemed equal? Will you not, then, take thought?” [I.e., Can those who remain blind and deaf to God’s
messages find their way through life equally well as those who have achieved a spiritual vision and guidance through God’s
revelation?]
MIRACLES ARE IN THE POWER OF GOD ALONE
(6:109-111) Now they swear by God with their most solemn oaths that if a miracle were shown to them, they would indeed
believe in this [divine writ]. Say: “Miracles are in the power of God alone.” [The Quranic term ayah denotes not only a
miracle (in the sense of a happening that goes beyond the usual - that is, commonly observable course of nature), but also a sign
or message: and the last-mentioned significance is the one, which is by far the most frequently met with in the Quran. Thus, what
is commonly described as a miracle constitutes, in fact, an unusual message from God, indicating - sometimes in a symbolic
manner - a spiritual truth, which would otherwise have remained hidden from man’s intellect. But even such extraordinary,
miraculous messages cannot be regarded as supernatural: for the so-called laws of nature are only a perceptible manifestation of
God’s way (sunnat Allah) in respect of His creation - and, consequently, everything that exists and happens, or could conceivably
exist or happen, is natural in the innermost sense of this word, irrespective of whether it conforms to the ordinary course of events
or goes beyond it. Now since the extraordinary messages referred to manifest themselves, as a rule, through the instrumentality of
those specially gifted and divinely elected personalities known as prophets, these are sometimes spoken of as “performing
miracles”- a misconception which the Quran removes by the words, “Miracles are in the power of God alone”. (See also 17:59.)]
And for all you know, even if one should be shown to them, they would not believe so long as We keep their hearts and
their eyes turned [away from the truth], even as they did not believe in it in the first instance: and [so] We shall leave them
in their overweening arrogance, blindly stumbling to and fro. [I.e., so long as they remain blind to the truth in consequence of
their unwillingness to acknowledge it - and this in accordance with the law of cause and effect which God has imposed on His
creation (see 2:7).] And even if We were to send down angels unto them, and if the dead were to speak unto them, [About
the fact that there is life after death.] and [even if] We were to assemble before them, face to face, all the things [that can
prove the truth], they would still not believe unless God so willed. But [of this] most of them are entirely unaware.
CONSIDER THIS MESSAGE ON ITS MERITS (rather than miracles)
(20:133) Now they [who are blind to the truth] are wont to say, “If [Muhammad] would but produce for us a miracle from
his Sustainer!” [I.e., in proof of his prophetic mission: see 6:109 and many other instances in which the deniers of the truth are
spoken of as making their belief in the Quranic message dependent on tangible “miracles”.] [But] has there not come unto them
clear evidence [of the truth of this divine writ] in what is [to be found] in the earlier scriptures? [I.e., does not the Quran
express the same fundamental truths as were expressed in the revelations granted to the earlier prophets?” Beyond this, the above
rhetorical question contains an allusion to the predictions of the advent of Muhammad to be found in the earlier scriptures, e.g., in
Deuteronomy xviii, 15 and 18 (discussed in 2:42) or in John xiv, 16, xv, 26 and xvi, 7, where Jesus speaks of the “Comforter”
who is to come after him. (Regarding this latter prediction, see 61:6.)]
PROPHETS OF OLD WERE NOT SUPERHUMAN
(13:38) And, truly, We sent forth apostles before you, and We appointed for them wives and offspring; [I.e., they were
mortals like all other men, and were not endowed with any supernatural qualities. This is a rejoinder to those who refuse to accept
a divine message as true on the grounds of its having been conveyed to mankind by an ordinary mortal, (See 25:7, where the
unbelievers are speaking derisively of Muhammad as an apostle “who eats food like all other mortals and goes about in the
market-places”, and the many references to their incredulous wondering that God should have chosen as His prophet a man from
among themselves. In addition to this, the above verse stresses, by implication, the positive value of man’s natural, physical life -
summarized in the expression “wives and offspring” - and the rejection of exaggerated asceticism and self-mortification as an
allegedly desirable way to God.] and it was not given to any apostle to produce a miracle save at God’s behest. [6:109 –
“Miracles are in the power of God alone”. This is an answer to those who refuse to believe in Muhammad’s message unless a
miraculous sign is bestowed upon him.]
(16:43-47) And [even] before your time, [O Muhammad,] We never sent [as Our apostles] any but [mortal] men, whom We
inspired: [God’s apostles have appeared, at one time or another, within every civilization, and that, consequently, no substantial
human group has ever been left without divine guidance. It also answers the objection frequently raised by unbelievers that
Muhammad could not be Gods message-bearer since he was “a mere mortal man”. (As regards the Quranic doctrine that no
created being, not even a prophet, has ever been endowed with “supernatural” powers or qualities, see 6:50 and 7:188, as well as
the notes relating to those verses; also note on 6:109.)] and if you have not [yet] realized this, ask the followers of [earlier]
revelation, [Because every divine message is meant to remind one of the truth. The people to be asked for enlightenment in this
respect are apparently the Jews and the Christians.] [and they will tell you that their prophets, too, were but mortal men
whom We had endowed] with all evidence of the truth and with books of divine wisdom. [The above sentence is addressed,
parenthetically, to all who question the divine origin of the Quran on the grounds mentioned in verse 43 above.]And upon you
[too] have We bestowed from on high this reminder, so that you might make clear unto mankind all that has ever been
thus bestowed upon them, and that they might take thought. [Implying that moral values are independent of all time-bound
changes and must, therefore, be regarded as permanent.] Can, then, they who devise evil schemes [By “evil schemes” are meant
here systems of God-denying philosophy and of perverted morality.] ever feel sure that God will not cause the earth to
swallow them, [Destroy them utterly.] or that suffering will not befall them without their perceiving whence [it came]? - or
that He will not take them to task [suddenly] in the midst of their comings and goings, [In the midst of their habitual
occupations.] without their being able to elude [Him], or take them to task through slow decay? [A gradual disintegration of
all ethical values, of power, of civic cohesion, of happiness and, finally, of life itself.] And yet, behold, your Sustainer is most
compassionate, a dispenser of grace! [Seeing that He offers you guidance through His prophets, and gives you time to reflect
and mend your ways before you do irreparable harm to yourselves.]
(21:5-8) “Nay,” they say, “[Muhammad propounds] the most involved and confusing of dreams!” [Lit., “confusing medleys
of dreams”.] “Nay, but he has invented [all] this!” - “Nay, but he is [only] a poet!” - [and,] “Let him, then, come unto us
with a miracle, just as those [prophets] of old were sent [with miracles]?” Not one of the communities that We destroyed in
bygone times would ever believe [their prophets]: will these, then, [be more willing to] believe? [The downfall of those
communities of old - frequently referred to in the Quran - was invariably due to the fact that they had been resolved to ignore all
spiritual truths which militated against their own, materialistic concept of life: is it, then (so the Quranic argument goes),
reasonable to expect that the opponents of the Prophet Muhammad, who are similarly motivated, would be more willing to
consider his message on its merits?] For [even] before your time, [O Muhammad,] We never sent [as Our apostles] any but
[mortal] men, whom We inspired - hence, [tell the deniers of the truth,] “If you do not know this, ask the followers of
earlier revelation” -[The followers of the Bible, which in its original, uncorrupted form represented one of Gods “reminders” to
man.] and neither did We endow them with bodies that could dispense with food nor were they immortal. [Neither did We
fashion those apostles with bodies that ate no food, implying a denial of any supernatural quality in the prophets entrusted with
God’s message.]
(25:20) And [even] before you, [O Muhammad,] We never sent as Our message-bearers any but [mortal men] who indeed
ate food [like other human beings] and went about in the market places: for [it is thus that] We cause you [human beings]
to be a means of testing one another. [This elliptic passage undoubtedly alludes to the fact that the appearance of each new
prophet had, as a rule, a twofold purpose: firstly, to convey a divinely-inspired ethical message to man, and thus to establish a
criterion of right and wrong or a standard by which to discern the true from the false al-furqan, as stated in the first verse of this
surah; and, secondly, to be a means of testing men’s moral perceptions and dispositions as manifested in their reactions to the
prophets message - that is, their willingness or unwillingness to accept it on the basis of its intrinsic merit, without demanding or
even expecting any supernatural proof of its divine origin. Indirectly, in its deepest sense, this passage implies that not only a
prophet but every human being is, by virtue of his social existence, a means whereby the moral qualities of his fellow-men are put
to a test: hence, some of the earliest commentators give to the above phrase the connotation of “We caused you human beings to
be a means of testing one another”.] Are you [I.e., you men or, more specifically, you whom the message of the Quran has
reached] able to endure [this test] with patience? For [remember, O man,] thy Sustainer is truly all-seeing!
PROPHETS PERFORMED MIRACLES ONLY BY GOD’S LEAVE
(40:78) And, indeed, [O Muhammad,] We sent forth apostles before your time; some of them We have mentioned to you,
[I.e., in the Quran.] and some of them We have not mentioned to you. And it was not given to any apostle to bring forth a
miracle other than by God’s leave. [See 6:109 - “Miracles are in the power of God alone”. Both passages (6:109 and the present
one) relate to the futile demand of Muhammad’s opponents to be shown a miracle in proof of the divine origin of the Quran - the
implication being that it is not God’s will to convince the deniers of the truth by means of what is commonly regarded as
“miracles”.] Yet when God’s will becomes manifest, [Lit., “when God’s command comes, i.e., whether it be in this world or on
the Day of Judgment.] judgment will [already] have been passed in all justice, and lost will be, then and there, all who tried
to reduce to nothing [whatever they could not understand]. [I.e., in this case, divine revelation as such.]
DENIAL OF ANY CLAIM OF SUPERNATURAL POWERS
(7:188) Say [O Prophet]: “It is not within my power to bring benefit to, or avert harm from, myself, except as God may
please. And if I knew that which is beyond the reach of human perception, abundant good fortune would surely have
fallen to my lot, and no evil would ever have touched me. I am nothing but a warner, and a herald of glad tidings unto
people who will believe.” [See 6:50 below. The repeated insistence in the Quran on the humanness of the Prophet is in tune with
the doctrine that no created being has or could have any share, however small, in any of the Creator’s qualities or powers.]
(7:203) And yet, when you [O Prophet] do not produce any miracle for them, some [people] say, “Why do you not seek to
obtain it [from God]?” [If you are really His apostle (6:37 and 109). Some of the commentators assume that the term ayah -
translated by me as “miracle”- denotes here a verbal “message” which would answer the objections of those who did not believe
in the Prophet. Since, however, the continuous revelation of the Quran was full of such messages, the demand of the unbelievers
must have related to some particular manifestation or “proof” of his divinely-inspired mission: namely, to a concrete miracle
which would establish the truth of his claim in a supposedly “objective” manner. In its wider implication, the above verse relates
to the primitive mentality of all who regard miracles, and not the message itself, as the only valid “proof” of prophethood.] Say:
“I only follow whatever is being revealed to me by my Sustainer: this [revelation] is a means of insight from your
Sustainer, and a guidance and grace unto people who will believe.
DEMANDING CHASTISEMENT
(6:57-58) Say: “Behold, I take my stand on clear evidence from my Sustainer - and [so] it is to Him that you are giving the
lie! Not in my power is that which [in your ignorance] you so hastily demand: judgment rests with none but God. [A
reference to the sarcastic demand of the unbelievers, mentioned in 8:32, that God should chastise them forthwith in proof of the
Prophet’s claim to be His message-bearer.] He shall declare the truth, since it is He who is the best judge between truth and
falsehood.” Say: “If that which you so hastily demand were in my power, everything would indeed have been decided
between me and you. But God knows best as to who is doing wrong.” [You would have been convinced that I am really a
bearer of God’s message - the implication being that a conviction based solely on a “miraculous” proof would have compromised
man’s free will and therefore of no spiritual value.]
(22:47-51) And [so, O Muhammad,] they challenge you to hasten the coming upon them of [God’s] chastisement: [See 6:57,
8:32 and 13:6.] but God never fails to fulfill His promise - and, behold, in thy Sustainer’s sight a day is like a thousand
years of your reckoning. [I.e., what men conceive of as “time” has no meaning with regard to God, because He is timeless,
without beginning and without end, so that in relation to Him, one day and a thousand years are alike. See 70:4, where in the same
sense, a “day” is said to be equal to “fifty thousand years”, or the well-authenticated saying of the Prophet, “God says, ‘I am Time
Absolute’.”] And to how many a community that was immersed in evildoing have I given rein for a while! But then I took
it to task: for with Me is all journeys’ end! Say [O Muhammad]: “O men! I am but a plain warner [sent by God] unto
you!” And [know that] those who attain to faith and do righteous deeds shall be granted forgiveness of sins and a most
excellent sustenance; whereas those who strive against Our messages, seeking to defeat their purpose - they are destined
for the blazing fire.
IGNORE THOSE WHO DEMAND CHASTISEMENT
(37:176-182) Do they, then, [really] wish that Our chastisement be hastened on? [This is an allusion to the sarcastic demand
of the people who refused to regard the Quran as a divine revelation, to be punished forthwith “if this be indeed the truth from
God” (see 8:32).] But then, once it alights upon them, hapless will be the awakening of those who were warned [to no
avail]! [In ancient Arabic usage, the idiomatic phrase “chastisement or “suffering” has alighted in so-and-so’s courtyard” denotes
it’s coming-down upon, or befalling, the person or persons concerned. Similarly, the “morning” is a metonym for “awakening”.]
Hence, turn you aside for a while from them, and see [them for what they are]; and in time they [too] will come to see
[what they do not see now]. Limitless in His glory is thy Sustainer, the Lord of almightiness, [exalted] above anything that
men may devise by way of definition! And peace be upon all His message-bearers! And all praise is due to God alone, the
Sustainer of all the worlds!
WHY HASTEN COMING OF EVIL?
(13:6) And [since, O Prophet, they are bent on denying the truth,] they challenge you to hasten the coming upon them of
evil instead of [hoping for] good [Instead of willingly accepting the guidance offered them by the Prophet, they mockingly
challenge him to bring about the exemplary punishment with which, according to him, God threatens them. See also 6:57-58 and
8:32] - although [they ought to know that] the exemplary punishments [which they now deride] have indeed come to pass
before their time. Now, behold, thy Sustainer is full of forgiveness unto men despite all their evildoing: [10:11] but, behold,
thy Sustainer is [also] truly severe in retribution!
NO CHASTISEMENT WHILE PROPHET IN THE MIDST
(8:32-33) And, lo, they would say, “O God! If this be indeed the truth from Thee, then rain down upon us stones from the
skies, or inflict [some other] grievous suffering on us!” [This sarcastic appeal of the unbelievers - referred to several times in
the Quran - is meant to stress their conviction that the Quran is not a divine revelation. These words were first uttered by Abu
Jahl, the Prophet’s chief opponent at Mecca, who was killed in the battle of Badr.] But God did not choose thus to chastise
them while you [O Prophet] are still among them, [I.e., in Mecca, before the exodus to Medina.] nor would God chastise
them when they [might yet] ask for forgiveness.
DO THEY REALLY WISH OUR CHASTISEMENT BE HASTENED?
(26:201-209) They will not believe in it (the divine writ) till they behold the grievous suffering that will come upon them [on
resurrection,] all of a sudden, without their being aware [of its approach]; and then they will exclaim, “Could we have a
respite?” [Second chance in life] Do they, then, [really] wish that Our chastisement be hastened on? [For this sarcastic
demand of the unbelievers, see 6:57 and 8:32; also verse 187 of the present surah.] But have you ever considered [this]: If We
do allow them to enjoy [this life] for some years, and thereupon that [chastisement] which they were promised befalls them
- of what avail to them will be all their past enjoyments? And withal, never have We destroyed any community unless it
had been warned and reminded: for, never do We wrong [anyone]. [Lit., “unless it had its warners by way of a reminder”: see
6:131, 15:4, and 20:134.]