وَ لَوْ And if یُعَجِّلُ hastens اللّٰهُ (by) Allah لِلنَّاسِ for the mankind الشَّرَّ the evil اسْتِعْجَالَهُمْ (as) He hastens for them بِالْخَیْرِ the good لَقُضِیَ surely, would have been decreed اِلَیْهِمْ for them اَجَلُهُمْ ؕ their term فَنَذَرُ But We leave الَّذِیْنَ those who لَا (do) not یَرْجُوْنَ expect لِقَآءَنَا the meeting with Us فِیْ in طُغْیَانِهِمْ their transgression یَعْمَهُوْنَ wandering blindly وَ اِذَا And when مَسَّ touches الْاِنْسَانَ the man الضُّرُّ the affliction دَعَانَا he calls Us لِجَنْۢبِهٖۤ (lying) on his side اَوْ or قَاعِدًا sitting اَوْ or قَآىِٕمًا ۚ standing فَلَمَّا But when كَشَفْنَا We remove عَنْهُ from him ضُرَّهٗ his affliction مَرَّ he passes on كَاَنْ as if he لَّمْ (had) not یَدْعُنَاۤ called Us اِلٰی for ضُرٍّ (the) affliction مَّسَّهٗ ؕ (that) touched him كَذٰلِكَ Thus زُیِّنَ (it) is made fair seeming لِلْمُسْرِفِیْنَ to the extravagant مَا what كَانُوْا they used (to) یَعْمَلُوْنَ do وَ لَقَدْ And verily اَهْلَكْنَا We destroyed الْقُرُوْنَ the generations مِنْ before you قَبْلِكُمْ before you لَمَّا when ظَلَمُوْا ۙ they wronged وَ جَآءَتْهُمْ and came to them رُسُلُهُمْ their Messengers بِالْبَیِّنٰتِ with clear proofs وَ مَا but not كَانُوْا they were لِیُؤْمِنُوْا ؕ to believe كَذٰلِكَ Thus نَجْزِی We recompense الْقَوْمَ the people الْمُجْرِمِیْنَ (who are) criminals ثُمَّ Then جَعَلْنٰكُمْ We made you خَلٰٓىِٕفَ successors فِی in الْاَرْضِ the earth مِنْۢ after them بَعْدِهِمْ after them لِنَنْظُرَ so that We may see كَیْفَ how تَعْمَلُوْنَ you do 10. Yunus Page 210 وَ اِذَا And when تُتْلٰی are recited عَلَیْهِمْ to them اٰیَاتُنَا Our Verses بَیِّنٰتٍ ۙ (as) clear proofs قَالَ said الَّذِیْنَ those who لَا (do) not یَرْجُوْنَ hope لِقَآءَنَا (for the) meeting (with) Us ائْتِ Bring us بِقُرْاٰنٍ a Quran غَیْرِ other (than) هٰذَاۤ this اَوْ or بَدِّلْهُ ؕ change it قُلْ Say مَا Not یَكُوْنُ (it) is لِیْۤ for me اَنْ that اُبَدِّلَهٗ I change it مِنْ of تِلْقَآئِ my own accord نَفْسِیْ ۚ my own accord اِنْ Not اَتَّبِعُ I follow اِلَّا except مَا what یُوْحٰۤی is revealed اِلَیَّ ۚ to me اِنِّیْۤ Indeed, I اَخَافُ [I] fear اِنْ if عَصَیْتُ I were to disobey رَبِّیْ my Lord عَذَابَ (the) punishment یَوْمٍ (of) a Day عَظِیْمٍ Great قُلْ Say لَّوْ If شَآءَ (had) willed اللّٰهُ Allah مَا not تَلَوْتُهٗ I (would) have recited it عَلَیْكُمْ to you وَ لَاۤ and not اَدْرٰىكُمْ He (would) have made it known to you بِهٖ ۖؗ He (would) have made it known to you فَقَدْ Verily لَبِثْتُ I have stayed فِیْكُمْ among you عُمُرًا a lifetime مِّنْ before it قَبْلِهٖ ؕ before it اَفَلَا Then will not تَعْقِلُوْنَ you use reason فَمَنْ So who اَظْلَمُ (is) more wrong مِمَّنِ than he who افْتَرٰی invents عَلَی against اللّٰهِ Allah كَذِبًا a lie اَوْ or كَذَّبَ denies بِاٰیٰتِهٖ ؕ His Signs اِنَّهٗ Indeed لَا not یُفْلِحُ will succeed الْمُجْرِمُوْنَ the criminals وَ یَعْبُدُوْنَ And they worship مِنْ from دُوْنِ other than اللّٰهِ Allah مَا that (which) لَا (does) not یَضُرُّهُمْ harm them وَ لَا and not یَنْفَعُهُمْ benefit them وَ یَقُوْلُوْنَ and they say هٰۤؤُلَآءِ These شُفَعَآؤُنَا (are) our intercessors عِنْدَ with اللّٰهِ ؕ Allah قُلْ Say اَتُنَبِّـُٔوْنَ Do you inform اللّٰهَ Allah بِمَا of what لَا not یَعْلَمُ he knows فِی in السَّمٰوٰتِ the heavens وَ لَا and not فِی in الْاَرْضِ ؕ the earth سُبْحٰنَهٗ Glorified is He وَ تَعٰلٰی and Exalted عَمَّا above what یُشْرِكُوْنَ they associate (with Him) وَ مَا And not كَانَ was النَّاسُ the mankind اِلَّاۤ but اُمَّةً a community وَّاحِدَةً one فَاخْتَلَفُوْا ؕ then they differed وَ لَوْ لَا And had (it) not been كَلِمَةٌ a word سَبَقَتْ (that) preceded مِنْ from رَّبِّكَ your Lord لَقُضِیَ surely, it (would) have been judged بَیْنَهُمْ between them فِیْمَا concerning what فِیْهِ [therein] یَخْتَلِفُوْنَ they differ وَ یَقُوْلُوْنَ And they say لَوْ لَاۤ Why not اُنْزِلَ is sent down عَلَیْهِ to him اٰیَةٌ a Sign مِّنْ from رَّبِّهٖ ۚ his Lord فَقُلْ So say اِنَّمَا Only الْغَیْبُ the unseen لِلّٰهِ (is) for Allah فَانْتَظِرُوْا ۚ so wait اِنِّیْ indeed I am مَعَكُمْ with you مِّنَ among الْمُنْتَظِرِیْنَ۠ the ones who wait
(10:11) Were Allah15 to hasten to bring upon men (the consequence of) evil in the way men hasten in seeking the wealth of this world, their term would have long since expired. (But that is not Our way.) So We leave alone those who do not expect to meet Us that they may blindly stumble in their transgression.
(10:12) And (such is man that) when an affliction befalls him, he cries out to Us, reclining and sitting and standing. But no sooner than We have removed his affliction, he passes on as though he had never cried out to Us to remove his affliction. Thus it is that the misdeeds of the transgressors are made fair-seeming to them.
(10:13) Surely We destroyed the nations (which had risen to heights of glory in their times) before you16 when they indulged in wrong-doing17 and refused to believe even when their Messengers brought clear signs to them. Thus do We recompense the people who are guilty.
(10:14) Now We have appointed you as their successors in the earth to see how you act.18
(10:15) And whenever Our clear revelations are recited to them, those who do not expect to meet Us say: 'Bring us a Qur'an other than this one, or at least make changes in it.19 Tell them (O Muhammad): 'It is not for me to change it of my accord. I only follow what is revealed to me. Were I to disobey my Lord, I fear the chastisement of an Awesome Day.20
(10:16) Tell them: 'Had Allah so willed, I would not have recited the Qur'an to you, nor would Allah have informed you of it. I have spent a lifetime among you before this. Do you, then, not use your reason?21
(10:17) Who, then, is a greater wrong-doer than he who forges a lie against Allah or rejects His signs as false?22 Surely the guilty shall not prosper.23
(10:18) They worship, beside Allah, those who can neither harm nor profit them, saying; 'These are our intercessors with Allah.' Tell them (O Muhammad): 'Do you inform Allah of something regarding whose existence in the heavens or on the earth He has no knowledge?24 Holy is He and He is exalted far above what they associate with Him in His divinity'.
(10:19) Once all men were but a single community; then they disagreed (and formulated different beliefs and rites).25 Had it not been that your Lord had already so ordained, a decisive judgement would have been made regarding their disagreements.26
(10:20) They say: 'Why was a sign not sent down upon the prophet from His Lord?27 Tell (such people): 'The realm of the Unseen belongs to Allah. Wait, then; I shall wait along with you.28
15. These introductory remarks are followed. by a discourse which comprises the admonition and explanation of certain important points. For a fuller appreciation of the discourse, it is better to take note first of the following points about its background.
First, that the prolonged and acute famine which had virtually destroyed the people of Makka had ended just a little before the revelation of these verses. The famine was so severe that even the most arrogant leaders of the Quraysh had been humbled. As a result, idol-worship had declined and people turned increasingly, with prayer and sincere supplication, to the One True God. The famine was so acute that at one stage Abu Sufyan had approached the Prophet (peace ‘be on him) with a request to implore God to deliver them from the calamity. However, no sooner had the famine ended and heavy rains brought about a rich harvest and prosperity than the Makkans reverted to their old evil habits, to their rebellion against God, to their hostile machinations against Islam. Those who had turned to God for a short while once again became engrossed in their former apathy and wickedness. (See also al-Nahl 16: 113; al-Mu’minun 23: 75-7; and al-Dukhan 44: 10-16. See also al-Bukhari, Abwab al-Istisqa’, Bab idha istashfa‘a al-Mushrikin bi al-Muslimin ‘ind al-Qaht — Ed.) Second, whenever the Prophet (peace be on him) warned the Makkans of God’s punishment as a consequence of their rejecting the truth, they retorted by asking: why had God’s punishment not befallen them there and then? Why was it being delayed? In response, the Qur’an states that when it comes to punishing human beings God does not resort to the same haste which He resorts to when He wants to show mercy. The Makkans had seen that God had quickly halted the famine when they had prayed for its removal. They thought that if they were considered by God to be an evil people, He would have afflicted them with a calamitous punishment as soon as they had asked for it, or as soon as they engaged in rebellion against God. But that is not God’s way. No matter how rebellious a people become, God grants them ample time to make amends. He also warns them over and over again and grants them a long respite. It is only when leniency has run its full course that His law of retribution comes into action. In sharp contrast to this is the attitude of men of low mettle. This is amply reflected in the ways of the rebellious ones among the Quraysh. When they encountered a disaster, they remembered God and bewailed and bemoaned of the same to Him. As soon as hard times were over, however, they forgot everything about God. It is precisely this kind of behavior by different nations which invites God’s punishment.
16. In Arabic, the word garn, which occurs in the above verse, usually denotes ‘the people of a given age’. However, the word in its several usages in the Qur’an, connotes a ‘nation’ which, wielded in its heyday, whether fully or partially, the reins of world leadership. When it is said that a certain nation was _ ‘destroyed’ this does not necessarily mean its total annihilation. When any such nation suffers the loss of its ascendancy and leadership, when its culture and civilization become extinct, when its identity is effaced, in fact, when such a nation disintegrates and its component parts become assimilated into other nations, then it is fair to. say that it has suffered destruction.
17. The expression zulm (wrong-doing, injustice) in the above verse has not been used in the limited sense in which it is generally used. Instead, here the word embraces the whole range of sins which consists of man exceeding the limits of service and obedience to God. (For further explanation see Towards Understanding the Qur’ an, vol. I, al-Baqarah, 2, n. 49, p. 64 — Ed.)
18. One should not lose sight of the fact that the immediate addressees of the present discourse were the people of Arabia. Here they are told that all previous nations were granted the opportunity to show their potential to do good. Instead, they took to wrong-doing and rebellion and rejected the message of the Prophets who had been raised solely to guide them. Thus they failed in the test to which they were put by God and were accordingly removed from the scene of history. Now the turn of the Arabs has come and they have also been granted the opportunity to prove their worth. They have also been put to the same test to which the previous nations had been put and in which they had failed. If the people of Arabia want to avoid meeting a similarly tragic fate, they would be well advised to avail themselves of the opportunity granted them, to learn the lessons from the history of the previous nations, and to avoid the mistakes which led to the undoing of many in the past.
19. This statement of the unbelievers was based, first of all, on the misconception that the Qur’an, which the Prophet (peace be on him) presented to them as the ‘Word of God’, was in fact a product of his own mind which he had ascribed to God merely to invest it with authority. Moreover, they wanted to impress upon the Prophet (peace be on him) that the contents of his message were of little practical, worldly use. The emphasis on the unity of God, on the Life to Come and on the moral principles which people were asked to follow — all these were of no practical consequence to them. They virtually told the Prophet (peace be on him), that if he wanted to lead them he should come forth with something that would be of benefit to them and ameliorate their worldly life. And if this was not possible, then he should at least show some flexibility in his attitude which would enable them to strike a compromise with him by effecting mutual accommodation between the Makkan unbelievers and the Prophet (peace be on him) himself.
In other words, the Makkans felt that the Prophet’s doctrine of God’s unity should not totally exclude their polytheism; that his conception of devotion to God should be such as to allow them some scope for their worldliness and self-indulgence; that the call to believe in the Hereafter should be such that it might still be possible for them to behave in the world as they pleased and yet entertain the hope of somehow attaining salvation in the Next World.
Likewise, the absolute and categorical nature of moral principles enunciated by the Prophet (peace be on him) was also unpalatable to them. They wanted moral principles to be propounded in a manner that would provide concessions to their predilections and biases, to their customs and usages, to their personal and national interests, and to the lusts and desires that they wished to satisfy: In effect, they suggested a compromise according to which one sphere of life should be earmarked as ‘religious’, and in this sphere men should render to God what rightfully belongs to Him. Beyond this sphere, however, it should be left to people’s discretion to run their worldly affairs as they pleased. It seemed altogether outrageous to them that the doctrines of the unity of God and accountability in the Hereafter should embrace the whole gamut of human life, and that man should be asked to subject himself entirely to the Law of God.
20. This is the Prophet’s response to what has been said above (see n. 19 above). It is made clear that the Prophet (peace be on him) was not the author of the Qur’an; and that since it had only been revealed to him, he had no authority therefore to make any alteration in it whatsoever. It is also made clear that the question was not one that could be the subject of any bargain. The unbelievers should either accept the faith propounded by the Prophet (peace be on him) in toto or reject it in toto.
21. This is indeed a very weighty argument in refutation of the unbelievers’ allegation that the Prophet (peace be on him) had himself authored the Qur’an and subsequently ascribed it to God. So far as other arguments are concerned, they might be considered as somewhat remote. But the argument based on the life and character of the Prophet (peace be on him) was particularly weighty since the Makkans were thoroughly familiar with the whole of his life. Before his designation as a Prophet, he had spent a full forty years in their midst. He was born in their city. They had observed his childhood, and then his youth, and it was in their city that he had reached his middle age. He had also had a variety of dealings with them. He had had social interaction, business transactions, matrimonial ties, and relationships of every conceivable nature with his people so that no aspect of his life was hidden from their view. Could there be a more powerful testimony to the truth of his claim to prophethood than his blameless life and character? Two things about the life of the Prophet (peace be on him) were especially clear and were quite well known to all Makkans. First, that during the forty years of his life before his designation as a Prophet, he had received no instruction from, or even enjoyed the company of learned people which could have served as the source of the ideas which began to flow, as would a stream, from his lips as soon as he claimed, at the age of forty, that he had been designated as a Prophet. Before that he was never seen to have been concerned with the problems, or to have discussed the subjects, or to have expressed the ideas which frequently recur in the Qur’an. In fact, none of his closest friends and relatives had foreseen in his pre-Prophetic life any signs indicative of the great message which he suddenly started to preach at the age of forty. These pieces of evidence, taken together, provide incontrovertible evidence that the Qur’an is not a product of the Prophet’s mind; that it had come to the Prophet (peace be on him) from without. For no human being can produce something for which traces of growth and evolution are not found in the earlier period of his life.
This explains the fact that when some of the craftier Makkan unbelievers realized the sheer absurdity of their allegation that the Prophet (peace be on him) was the author of the Qur'an, they chose to propagate that there must be some other person who had taught the Prophet (peace be on him) the Qur’an. Such a statement, however, was even more preposterous since they failed to convincingly point out who that other person was who was the true source of the Qur’an. Even leaving aside Makka, the fact is that there was not a single person throughout the length and breadth of Arabia who possessed the competence needed for the authorship of the Qur’an. Had such an extraordinary person existed, how could he have remained hidden from the sight of others? Second, the pre-Prophetic life of Muhammad (peace be on him) clearly shows him to be a man of exceptionally high-moral character for there was not the least trace of any evil — whether lies, deceit, vile cunning or trickery. On the contrary, all those who came into contact with the Prophet (peace be on him) were impressed by him as a person of flawless character, as one utterly truthful and trustworthy.
An illustration in point is the incident related in connection with the re-building of the Ka‘bah five years before his designation as a Prophet. There was a serious dispute between the various families of the Quraysh on the question as to who should have the privilege of placing the Black Stone in its place in the edifice of the Ka‘bah. In order to reach an amicable accord, they resolved that they would abide by the ruling given by the first person who entered the Ka‘bah the following day. The next day people saw it was the Prophet (peace be on him) who was the first to enter. They exclaimed: ‘Here is a trustworthy man (amin). We agree [to follow his ruling]. He is Muhammad.’ (Ibn Sa‘d, al-Tabaqat, vol. 1, p. 146 — Ed.) Thus, before designating Muhammad (peace be on him) as a Prophet, God had the whole body of the Quraysh testify to his trustworthiness. No room was” left, therefore, for suspecting that he who had never resorted to lying or deceit throughout his life would suddenly resort to fabricating a gigantic lie; that he would first compose something, then deny that it was his work, and would. then ascribe it to od. ° In view of the above, God directs the Prophet (peace be on him) to ask the unbelievers to use their brains before levelling such a stupid allegation against him. For the Prophet (peace be on him) was after all no stranger to them; he had spent virtually a whole lifetime in their midst. In view of the well-known and uniformly high level of his conduct and character, how could it even be conceived that he would falsely ascribe the Qur’an to God if God had not actually revealed it to him. (For further elaboration see al-Qasas 28, n. 109.)
22. If the verses of the Qur’an were in fact not from God but had been composed by the Prophet (peace be on him) who then claimed them to be from God, the Prophet would be guilty of the worst kind of wrong. But if, on the contrary, the Qur’an was the word of God, those who rejected it as false must be regarded as the worst kind of wrong-doers.
23. The Qur’anic term falah (prosperity, success) used in the above verse has been understood by some to signify such things as longevity, worldly prosperity and other worldly attainments. Under this false impression, they tend to believe that if a claimant to prophethood attains material prosperity and longevity or if his message is spread around, then he ought to be considered a genuine Prophet because he has indeed attained ‘prosperity’. Had he been an impostor, it is argued, he would soon. have been assassinated, or would have starved to death, and, in any case, his message would not have spread around.
Such an absurd line of argument can only be pursued by those who are altogether ignorant of the concept of falah (prosperity) as envisaged in the Qur’an, who are unaware of God’s law of respite regarding evil-doers, and: who are altogether unappreciative of the special meaning in which the term has been employed in the present context.
In order to fully understand what is meant by saying that ‘the guilty shall not prosper’, a number of things ought to become in mind. In the first place, the Qur’anic statement that ‘the guilty shall not prosper’ is not made with a view to providing a yardstick that might be applied by people so as to determine the truth or falsity of the claimants of prophethood. The verse does not seek to stress that all those who ‘prosper’ after claiming to be a Prophet are truly Prophets, and that those who do not prosper after making such a claim are not so. The point of emphasis here is altogether different. Here the Prophet (peace be on him) is being made to say that since he knows fully that those guilty of inventing lies against Allah could not prosper, he would not dare make any claim to prophethood if such a claim was false.
On the other hand, the Prophet (peace be on him) also knew that the unbelievers were guilty of rejecting the true signs of God and of declaring a true Prophet of God to be an impostor. In view of that monstrous guilt, it was quite apparent to the Prophet (peace be on him) that they would not pidsper.
Moreover, the Qur’anic term, falah (prosperity, success) has not been used in the limited sense of worldly success. Rather, it denotes that enduring success which admits of no failure regardless of whether one is able to achieve success in the present phase of one’s existence or not. It is quite possible that someone who calls people to falsehood might enjoy life and flourish in a worldly sense, and he might even be able to attain a substantial following for his message. But this is not true prosperity or success; rather it constitutes total loss and failure.
Contrarily, it is also possible that someone who calls people to the truth might be exposed to much persecution and be overwhelmed by pain and suffering. It is possible that even before he is able to create any significant following, he is continually subjected to persecution and torture. In the Qur’anic view, such an apparently tragic end constitutes the very zenith of such a person’s success rather than his failure. / Moreover, it should be remembered that it has been amply elucidated in the Qur’an that God does not punish evil-doers instantly; that He rather grants them a fair opportunity to mend their ways. Not only that, if the evil-doers misuse the respite granted by God to perpetrate further wrongs, they are sometimes granted an even further respite.
In fact, at times a variety of worldly favors are bestowed upon such evil-doers in order that the potential for wickedness inherent in them might be fully exposed by their actions, proving that they do indeed deserve a very severe punishment. Hence, if an impostor continues to enjoy periods of respite and if worldly favors are lavished upon him this should not in any way give rise to the notion that he is on the right path. In the same way as God grants respite to other evil-doers, He also grants respite to impostors. There are no grounds whatsoever for believing that the respite granted to other evil-doers would not be granted to those impostors who lay false claim to prophethood. We may well call to mind that Satan himself has been granted a respite until Doomsday. It has never been indicated that although Satan is granted a free hand to misguide human beings, as soon as he throws up an impostor claiming prophethood such a venture is instantly nipped in the bud.
In order to refute the view expressed above it is possible that someone may refer to the following verse of the Qur’an: Now if he [i.e. Muhammad] would have made up, ascribed some sayings to Us, We would indeed have seized him by the right hand, and then indeed would have cut his life-vein (al-Haqqah 69: 44-6).
Even a little reflection makes it obvious that the verse in question does not contradict the view we have expressed, above. For, what the present verse says relates to a principle which God follows in dealing, with true Prophets. Were any such Prophet to falsely claim something to be a revelation from God, he would instantly be seized by God’s wrath. To argue to the contrary that all those who are not seized by God’s wrath are necessarily genuine Prophets is simply a logical fallacy devoid of any justification. For the threat of instant Divine wrath embodied in this verse is applicable only to true Prophets, and not to impostors who, like other evil-doers, are granted a respite.
This can be well understood if we bear in mind the disciplinary rules laid down by different governments for their officials. It is obvious that those rules are not enforced in respect of ordinary citizens. Were the latter to lay any false claim to being a government official, he would be subjected to the normal rules of the criminal code relating to the conviction of those who are guilty of fraud rather than to the disciplinary rules meant for government officials. Under this analogy, an impostor who claims to be a Prophet, would be dealt with by God along with other evil-doers who commit evil, and who, as we know, are not necessarily punished immediately.
In any case, as we have pointed out earlier, the verses quoted above were not revealed so as to provide the criterion to judge the truth of anyone who lays claim to prophethood. This verse should not be considered to mean that if a celestial hand stretches forth to cut off the life-vein of a claimant to prophethood, such a person is an impostor; and if that does not happen, he is a genuine Prophet. Such a weird criterion would have been needed only if no other means were available to judge the genuineness of a claimant to prophethood. Bui as things stand, a Prophet is known by his character, by his work, and by the contents of his message.
24. To say that something is not known to God amounts to saying that it does not exist. For, quite obviously, all that exists is known to God. The above verse thus subtly points out the non-existence of any intercessors on behalf of unbelievers insofar as God does not know that there exist any in the heavens, or on the earth who would intercede on behalf of the unbelievers. That being so, who are those intercessors about whose existence and whose power of intercession with God the unbelievers wanted to inform the Prophet (peace be on him)?
25. For further elaboration see Towards Understanding the Qur’an, vol. I, al-Baqarah 2, n. 230, pp. 165-6, and ibid., vol. II, al-An‘am 6,n. 24, pp. 228-9 Ed.
26. The fact is that God has willfully kept reality beyond the ken of man’s sense-perception. This was done so as to test whether man, by making proper use of his reason, conscience and intuition, is able to find the right way. As a logical corollary of this, God allows those who decide to follow any other way rather than the right one to do so. Had this not been the case, the reality could have been instantly unmasked and that would have put an end to all disagreements relating to the issue.
This statement has been made in order to remove a major misconception. Many people feel disconcerted today, as they felt disconcerted at the time when the Qur’an was revealed, by the fact that there are found different religions in the world and that the followers of each of these are convinced that their religion alone is the true one. People have been puzzled as to how to determine which religion is the right one and which is not.
In this regard, the Qur’anic view which is being articulated here is that multiplicity of religions does not constitute the original state of things, that it is a relatively later development in human history. Initially, all mankind professed a single religion, and that religion was the true one. Later on, people began to disagree regarding the truth and this gave rise to different religions and creeds. Now it is not likely that God would dramatically appear before them and reveal the reality to them directly during the present phase of their worldly existence. For, the very purpose of the present life is to test people.
And this test consists of finding out who discovers the reality — even though it is beyond the reach of the senses — with the help of his reason and common sense.
27. The word ‘sign’ in the verse refers to the proof which supports a person’s claim that he is a true Prophet and that his teaching is truly from God.
In this connection it ought to be remembered that the demand of the unbelievers that the Prophet (peace be on him) should bring forth some sign to support his claim to be a Prophet was not made with sincerity. Their position was not that of a group of sincere people who were otherwise keen to accept the truth as soon as it became apparent to them, and who were ready to mold their own conduct, habits and social life according to its requirements, and all that they were waiting for was some sign, some proof, that would create in them a genuine conviction. The fact, on the contrary, was that the unbelievers’ demand for miraculous signs was merely a pretext which they proffered in order to rationalize their disbelief. For they were sure to reject every sign, regardless of what that sign was, as unconvincing. Since they were hardened unbelievers, they were not prepared at all to accept such unseen truths as the unity of God and the Hereafter which would have led them to give up their unrestrained freedom to live as they pleased, and would have subjected their lives to a set of moral restrictions.
28. The Prophet’s statement conveys the idea that he had faithfully presented to them whatever God had revealed to him. As for the things which had not been revealed to the Prophet (peace be on him) they constitute ghayb (the realm of the unseen). Now, it is only, God and none else who can decide whether to reveal any part of the ghayb (‘the unseen’) or not. Hence, if some people’s believing was contingent upon their observing the signs which God had not revealed, then they might as well keep waiting indefinitely for those signs. The Prophet (peace be on him) would also wait and see whether God would yield to their adamant demands for miraculous signs or not.