Verse:1 Commentary Commentary

Importance of Surah Al-Anbiya'

Sayyidna Abdullah Ibn Mas' ud ؓ has said that four Surah viz Al-Kahf, Maryam, Taha and Al-Anbiya' are among the earlier revelations which I value a lot and keep them close to my heart. (Qurtubi)

اقْتَرَ‌بَ لِلنَّاسِ حِسَابُهُمْ (The reckoning of the people has drawn near - 21:1) It means that the time is near when people will have to give an account of their deeds. Here, the reference is to the Day of Judgment, and its approach is in relation to bygone ages, as the ummah of Sayyidna Muhammad Al-Mustafa صلى الله عليه وسلم is the last of them all. And if the meaning of the word حِسَاب reckoning) is taken in its general sense then reckoning in the grave is also included, which each individual faces immediately after death. It is for this reason that an individual's death is regarded as his Day of Reckoning. مَن مَات فقد قامت قیامتہ for a person who has died his Day of Reckoning has arrived) so the latter explanation makes the verse very clear in that the individual reckoning for everyone is not very far, no matter how long one lives, because death is certain and no one knows when it will befall. The underlying message of this verse is to warn those people, whether believers or non-believers, who are in a state of slumber due to indulgence in worldly affairs, unmindful of the certainty that all this will come to an end one day. In fact it is this disregard of the Day of Judgment which is the root cause of all ills. Verse:2 Commentary مَا يَأْتِيهِم مِّن ذِكْرٍ‌ مِّن رَّ‌بِّهِم مُّحْدَثٍ إِلَّا اسْتَمَعُوهُ وَهُمْ يَلْعَبُونَ ﴿2﴾ لَاهِيَةً قُلُوبُهُمْ (No new message comes to them from their Lord, but they listen to it in a state of playing, their hearts paying no heed. 21:2, 3) This verse describes the state of those who disregard the punishment in the grave and in the Hereafter and do not prepare themselves to counter it with good deeds. The verse further describes their practice of making light of new Qur'anic verses when they are recited before them. They are totally oblivious of the fear of God and the Hereafter. The verse can be explained in two other ways. One, that they keep themselves engaged in their own amusement and take no notice of Qur'anic verses when they are recited before them and two, that they redicule the Qur'anic verses themselves. Verse:3 Commentary أَفَتَأْتُونَ السِّحْرَ‌ وَأَنتُمْ تُبْصِرُ‌ونَ (Would you then go along with sorcery while you have eyes to see? - 21:3) Those people used to discuss among themselves secretly that the claim of the Holy Prophet about his prophethood should not be accepted, because he was an ordinary human being like all others and not an angel. On the other hand not even the most rigid among the unbelievers could deny the supreme charm and eloquence of the Book of Allah nor its power to influence people when it was recited before them. Therefore, in order to turn people away from the Holy Book they started calling it magic and black art. They thought that they could keep people away from Islam by labeling the Qur'an as a book of magic thereby dissuading people from going to the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and listening to Qur'an. Probably they used to discuss this subject secretly among themselves lest the Muslims come to know about their foolish views and unveil their fallacy. Verse:4 Commentary - - - Verse:5 Commentary بَلْ قَالُوا أَضْغَاثُ أَحْلَامٍ (they said, [ The Further Qur'an is ] a mixture of hotch-potch dreams. - 21:5.) Dreams having an element of personal and shaitanic thoughts are called أَضْغَاثُ أَحْلَامٍ. That is why this term (أَضْغَاثُ أَحْلَامٍ ) has been translated as "hotch-potch dreams". What it means is that in the first place the unbelievers called the Qur'an as magic, then they described it as a collection of disturbed dreams, and then they said it was a forgery and fabrication against Allah Ta' ala to call it His words; and finally they said that he صلى الله عليه وسلم was a poet and the Qur'an represented his poetic compositions.

فَلْيَأْتِنَا بِآيَةٍ (So let him bring to us a sign - 21:5) It means that the unbelievers demanded from the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم certain specific miracles to be shown as a proof of his being a real Prophet. In response to this demand, Allah Ta` ala said in this verse that the same demand for miracles was also made by the people in the past from other prophets, and when their request was met, it was of no avail. They did not submit to Allah even after witnessing the miracles of their choice. And Allah has decreed that people who do not submit to Him even after they have seen the miracle of their choice are subjected to His wrath even in this world and are destroyed. Allah, in His Divine Mercy and in view of the honoured position of the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم had granted to his Ummah immunity from the terrible punishment which is the inevitable fate of those people who defy the Will of Allah. It was not, therefore, considered desirable to show them miracles of their choice because if they, like the earlier people, persisted in their unbelief even after seeing those miracles, they too would invite the wrath of Allah Ta` ala. Verse:6 Commentary Then in اَفَھُم یؤمِنُونَ (Will they believe?) there is a hint that there was no likelihood of these people accepting the true faith even after seeing the miracles of their choice. Hence they were not shown the desired miracle. Verse:7 Commentary فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ‌ إِن كُنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ (So, ask the people (having the knowledge) of the message, if you do not know. - 21:7) In this verse, scholars of Injil Evangele) and Torah are referred to as أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ‌ (people of the message), who had accepted the Holy Prophet's prophethood. Therefore, what it actually means is that if you are not aware whether the prophets of the past were angels or ordinary men then you should find out from the scholars of Injil and Torah as they know perfectly well that all prophets were human beings. It is, therefore, quite possible that here the term اَھلَ :(people of the message) refers to all Jews and Christians (even though they have not believed in the Holy prophethood of the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم).

Ruling: Qurtubi has said in his exegesis that this verse has made it clear that ignorant persons who are not acquainted with the rules of Shari'ah must seek knowledge from scholars and then follow them accordingly. Verse:8 Commentary - - - Verse:9 Commentary - - - Verse:10 Commentary The Holy Qur'an is an honour and pride for the Arabs

كِتَابًا فِيهِ ذِكْرُ‌كُمْ (a book having a good name for you - 21:10): The word (Book) is meant for Qur'an and ذکر (name) is used here for honour, excellence and fame. Thus what is meant here is that the revelation of Qur'an in Arabic language is a great honour and everlasting fame for the Arabs and they should value it as such. History has proved that by Allah's Mercy and by the blessings of Qur'an Arabs have dominated the world and ruled over it for a long time. This is also a fact of life that Arabs gained dominance over the world not because of any tribal or linguistic supremacy but because of Qur'an. If there was no Qur'an, probably no one would have known about the Arabs at all.