33. That is, if Allah had really intended to convey His message to us, He would not have chosen a prophet and sent an angel only to him, but to each one of us individually with the guidance, or He should have sent a deputation of angels to appear before the people with the message. The same objection has been stated in Surah Al-Anaam thus: When a revelation comes before them, they say: We will not believe in it unless we are given the like of what has been given to the Messengers of Allah. Allah knows best whom to entrust with His mission and how it should be enforced. (verse 124).
34. That is, Allah Himself should appear before us and make the appeal.
35. Another translation could be: They have formed a very high opinion of their own selves.
36. This very theme has been expressed in much greater detail in (Al-Anaam, Ayat 8); (Surah Al-Hijr, Ayats 7-8 and 51-64); and in (Surah BaniIsrail, Ayats 90-95.
37. For explanation, see (Surah Ibrahim, Ayat 18 and E.Ns 25, 26) thereof.
38. In contrast to the miserable plight of the disbelievers on the Day of Resurrection, the believers will be protected from the hardships of that Day. They will be treated with honor and will have a blissful place for midday rest. According to a tradition, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: I declare on oath by Allah, in Whose hand is my life, that the long, horrible Day of Resurrection will be made very short and light for a believer, as short and light as the time taken in offering an obligatory Prayer. (Musnad Ahmad).
39. That is, on that Day all other kingdoms, which deluded man in the world, will come to an end, and there will be only the Kingdom of Allah, Who is the real Sovereign of the universe. In (Surah Momin, Ayat 16), the same thing has been stated thus: On that Day when all the people will stand exposed, and nothing of them will be hidden from Allah, it will be asked: Whose is the Sovereignty today? The response from every side will be: Of Allah, the Almighty. According to a tradition, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Allah will take the heavens in one hand and the earth in the other, and will declare: I am the Sovereign: I am the Ruler. Where are the other rulers of the earth? Where are those tyrants? Where are the arrogant people? (Musnad Ahmad, Bukhari, Muslim, and Abu Daud, with slight variations).
40. Satan has proved very treacherous to man. It may also be a part of the disbelievers’ lament, or it may be a remark by Allah, in which case the meaning will be: And Satan is indeed the one who always deceives man.
41. The Arabic word mahjur is capable of several meanings. As such, the sentence may mean: these people did not regard the Quran as worthy of their consideration: they neither accepted it nor followed it. Or they considered it to be nonsense or the delirium of insanity. Or they made it the target of their ridicule and mockery.
42. That is, it is not a new thing that the disbelievers have become your enemies, for it has always been so with all the former Prophets and Messengers. See also (Surah Al- Anaam, Ayats 112-113). This is inevitable because it is Our Law that the criminals will always oppose the truth. You should, therefore, pursue your mission with full confidence and determination without expecting any immediate results.
43. Guidance does not only imply bestowing of the knowledge of the truth, but it also means giving the right guidance at the right time to guide the Islamic movement on the right lines and to defeat the strategy and scheme of the enemies of Islam. Help means all kinds of moral, spiritual and material help to the followers of the truth in their conflict against falsehood. Thus, Allah is All Sufficient for the righteous people and they need no other support provided they have full faith in Allah and fight falsehood with all their energies and strength.
This meant to encourage the Prophet (peace be upon him), otherwise the previous assertion would have been very discouraging without this. It meant to say: Even if the unbelievers have become your enemies, you should continue your mission, for We shall guide you in every stage and situation and help you against them. We shall defeat all the schemes of your enemies and help you in every way in your conflict with falsehood. We shall provide you with material means also, but you should trust in Us and exert your utmost against falsehood.
44. As the disbelievers of Makkah considered this objection to be very strong, they repeated it over and over again. The Quran also has cited it with its answer at several places. For instance, see (E.Ns 101-106 of Surah An-Naml) and (E.N. 119 of Surah Bani Israil). Their question implied: Had the Quran been really the Word of Allah, it would have been sent as a complete book all at once; for Allah has the knowledge of everything and every human affair. Thus it is obvious that nothing is being sent down from above; but this man himself fabricates all its themes or gets these from other people or other books.
45. So that by it We may strengthen your heart and imbue it with courage. The words are comprehensive. This concise sentence contains the following explanation why the Quran was revealed piecemeal by degrees:
(1) So that the Prophet (peace be upon him) may commit it to memory perfectly and recite it to his people, who are illiterate, rather than present it in a written form.
(2) So that its teachings and messages may be impressed deeply on the minds.
(3) So that the way of life it teaches, may be followed with complete conviction, which would not be possible if all the commandments and the whole system of life had been sent down all at once.
(4) So that the hearts of the Prophet and his followers may be imbued with courage during the conflict between the truth and falsehood. This required that the divine guidance and messages of encouragement should be revealed as and when needed according to the practical situation. Obviously, this could not have been possible if these had been sent down all at once. This also showed that Allah had not left His Messenger alone amidst persecution to counter all sorts of resistance and opposition after appointing him to the mission, but He Himself was watching the struggle with concern and guiding His Prophet through every difficulty by direct communion in every critical situation.
46. This is yet another point of wisdom of sending down the Quran by degrees. Allah did not intend to produce a book on guidance and spread its teachings through the agency of His Prophet (peace be upon him). Had it been so the disbelievers would have been justified in their objection as to why the Quran had not been sent down as a complete book all at once. The real object of the revelation of the Quran was that Allah intended to start a movement of faith, piety and righteousness to combat disbelief, ignorance and sin, and He had raised a Prophet to lead and guide the movement. Then, on the one hand, Allah had taken it upon Himself to send necessary instructions and guidance to the leader and his followers as and when needed, and on the other, He had also taken the responsibility to answer the objections and remove the doubts of opponents and give the right interpretation of things which they misunderstood. Thus the Quran was the collection of the different discourses that were being revealed by Allah; it was not merely meant to be a code of laws or of moral principles, but a Book, which was being sent down piecemeal to guide the movement in all its stages to suit its requirements on different occasions.
47. That is, they will be driven towards Hell upon their faces because of their perversion and their perverted thinking.