اَفَلَمْ Then, do not یَدَّبَّرُوا they ponder الْقَوْلَ the Word اَمْ or جَآءَهُمْ has come to them مَّا what لَمْ not یَاْتِ (had) come اٰبَآءَهُمُ (to) their forefathers الْاَوَّلِیْنَؗ (to) their forefathers اَمْ Or لَمْ (do) not یَعْرِفُوْا they recognize رَسُوْلَهُمْ their Messenger فَهُمْ so they لَهٗ (are) rejecting him مُنْكِرُوْنَؗ (are) rejecting him اَمْ Or یَقُوْلُوْنَ they say بِهٖ In him جِنَّةٌ ؕ (is) madness بَلْ Nay جَآءَهُمْ he brought them بِالْحَقِّ the truth وَ اَكْثَرُهُمْ but most of them لِلْحَقِّ to the truth كٰرِهُوْنَ (are) averse وَ لَوِ But if اتَّبَعَ (had) followed الْحَقُّ the truth اَهْوَآءَهُمْ their desires لَفَسَدَتِ surely (would) have been corrupted السَّمٰوٰتُ the heavens وَ الْاَرْضُ and the earth وَ مَنْ and whoever فِیْهِنَّ ؕ (is) therein بَلْ Nay اَتَیْنٰهُمْ We have brought them بِذِكْرِهِمْ their reminder فَهُمْ but they عَنْ from ذِكْرِهِمْ their reminder مُّعْرِضُوْنَؕ (are) turning away
(23:68) Did they never ponder over this Word64 (of God)? Or has he (to wit, the Messenger) brought something the like of which did not come to their forefathers65 of yore?
(23:69) Or is it that they were unaware of their Messenger and were therefore repelled by him for he was a stranger to them?66
(23:70) Or do they say that there is madness in him?67 Nay, he has brought them the Truth and it is the Truth that most of them disdain.
(23:71) Were the Truth to follow their desires, the order of the heavens and the earth and those who dwell in them would have been ruined.68 Nay, the fact is that We have brought to them their own remembrance; and yet it is from their own remembrance that they are turning away.69
64. A question is posed here: did the unbelievers reject the Prophet’ s Message because they failed to comprehend it? Obviously, that was not the case. For, the Qur’an is far from being a jigsaw puzzle that defies comprehension. Nor has it been revealed in a language alien to the unbelievers. Nor are the contents of the Qur’an beyond human comprehension. The thrust of the statement then is that the unbelievers fully understood the Message, in fact they understood it even in its complete detail. Their rejection, therefore, is both deliberate and well-considered, and not the result of any deficiency in their understanding.
65. Another possible reason for their rejection of the Qur’anic Message could be that it expounded something absolutely novel, something altogether unheard of. Obviously, this was not true either. The Prophet (peace be on him) taught that God had raised many earlier Prophets who brought their Scriptures, called people to monotheism, warned them that they would be held to account in the ' e Life to Come, and expounded well-known principles of morality.
None of these teachings was being ex pounded for the first time in human history. The neighboring lands — Iraq, Syria and Egypt — had witnessed the advent of a host of successive Prophets each of whom had expounded substantially the same teachings. Hence, the Arabs were not unfamiliar with the contents of the Prophet’s teachings. Apart from the Prophets sent to neighboring countries, Arabia, itself, had had its share of Prophets. Abraham and Ishmael had come to Arabia. Hud, Salih and Shu‘ayb were also raised there. The names of these Prophets were known to virtually everyone. The unbelievers of Arabia even acknowledged them as those who had been raised by God. They also recognized that these Prophets were not polytheists. On the contrary, they called people to serve the One True God. In sum their rejection of the Message of the Prophet (peace be on him) did not arise from their unfamiliarity with what he expounded. (For further details see al-Furqan 25, n. 84; al-Sajdah 32, n. 5; al-Saba’ 34, n. 35.) 4
66. Another question is also posed: did the unbelievers reject the Massage of Islam because it was expounded someone who was a total stranger to them, by one who had suddenly appeared from nowhere and who asked them to believe in his teachings and follow him? Once again, this could not be the reason for their rejection. For the bearer of this Message was a member of their own community. The nobility of his lineage was not unknown to them. They were also thoroughly familiar with his distinguished personal character for they had known him as a child, and had witnessed him grow to youth before their very eyes. They subsequently also witnessed his youth enter the precincts of manhood. All of them were well aware that he was truthful and veracious, that he was absolutely trustworthy, that he possessed an unblemished character. Thanks to these qualities, his compatriots called him al-amin (the trustworthy one). Even his worst enemies conceded that he had never lied. He was a model of chastity and purity, known to be honorable and virtuous. They knew him to be forbearing, truth-loving and peacefully disposed, one who had always kept aloof from all manner of feuds and squabbles. They also knew that he was a straightforward person, and that his dealings with others were transparent. They also knew that he honored his word and was faithful to his commitments. They knew that he was neither disposed to engage in wrong-doing nor supported others in their wrong-doing.
They knew that his door was open for everyone in distress, for everyone who required help, for everyone who was in need, and that he greeted such people with the utmost compassion, tenderness and sympathy.
They also knew that never before had he declared himself to be a Prophet, had not even uttered a word that would suggest that he was preparing the ground to make such a claim. Moreover, ever since the day he declared himself to be a Prophet, he had consistently preached one and the same Message. Not once did he deviate. Not once did he modify his claim or change the content of his Message. Nor could one detect any evolution in his claims, an evolution that could lend him to be suspected of proceeding gradually towards self-exaltation an evolution whose start was marked, as is the case. with imposters, by first making a modest claim, and then proceeding to make ever taller claims after having consolidated his position. Not only that, his life also bore witness to the fact that he not only practiced all that he preached to others, but he rather practiced it before he preached it.
It was also quite evident that there was no contradiction between his word and deed. Nor was there any trace of hypocrisy in his conduct. Nor did he have a different set of weights and measures for himself and for others.
It was thus difficult for the Makkan unbelievers to say of someone who was so well known, so tried and tested among his fellow-beings, that he was crafty, and having won over peoples’ hearts with his captivating words, then threw away the mask he had been wearing only to reveal his true colors.
Essentially his detractors were unable to accuse him of playing tricks with them in order to promote his covert evil designs. (For further elaboration see Towards Understanding the Qur’an, vol. II, al-An‘am 6, n. 21, pp. 226-7; vol. IV, Yunus 10, n. 21, pp. 19-21; and vol. V, Bani Isra’il 17, n. 105, pp. 71-2.)
67. Another possible reason for the unbelievers rejecting the Prophet’s teaching is mentioned here in the form of a query: did they reject his teaching because they believed that he was mad? Again, quite obviously this was not the reason for their intransigence. For regardless of whatever they might have said publicly about the Prophet, they recognized in their heart of hearts that he was sharp-witted, wise and sagacious. For, after all, the difference between sanity and insanity is quite obvious and hence there was no question of their being confused on this issue. It is only those who are brazenly obstinate who could say that he who brought them the Qur’an was insane. Could anyone who knew anything about the life of the Prophet (peace be on him) believe that it was the life of someone who was mentally deranged? For strange indeed is that insanity, or for that matter the fits of epilepsy mentioned with such gusto by Orientalists, which leads to a work like the Qur’an! What kind of insanity is it that enabled the Prophet to successfully lead a movement that changed not only the destiny of his own land but also of the whole world?
68. This pithy sentence embodies a statement of great significance, and we should make every effort to understand it. It is customary for foolish people to become angry with those who tell them the truth. Such people wish to hear whatever best suits their interests rather than what is true and what accords with the facts. Such men tend to forget that the truth remains the truth regardless of whether people like it or not. Even if all people combine to negate a fact or change a truth into a falsehood, they will fail to do so.
When such is the case, how can facts and truths be so altered as to make them conform to the wishes of an individual? Alternatively, how can facts constantly conform to a myriad of mutually conflicting wishes? Foolish people fail to appreciate that if there is any discordance between their wishful thinking and reality, then it is their wishful thinking that is to blame rather than reality.
In denying reality, such people cause no harm to it per se, instead they only harm themselves.
This immense system of the universe is based on well-established realities and inalterable laws. Living in the framework of such a universe, it is imperative that man strive to bring his thoughts, wishes and conduct in conformity with reality. He should constantly apply himself, with the help of rational argument, experience and observation, to what reality indeed is. It is only the puerile who, at both mental and practical levels, adamantly cling to their preconceptions, wishes and biases and who attempt to show those realities as conforming to their preconceived ideas. Once they embark on this course, they turn a blind eye to every piece of argument, howsoever weighty and reasonable it might be.
69. The word dhikr used here has three possible meanings, each of which seems to be correct in the present context:
(1) Dhikr, in the first place, might be regarded as a synonym about human nature. Taken in this sense, the present verse would mean that the Qur’an is not speaking about some other world that is unrelated to them. On the contrary, the Qur’an is concerned with expounding the reality of man’s being, with explaining his nature and his urges. The Qur’an does so in order to remind man of the lesson that he is ever disposed. to forget, a lesson that he is averse to learning. Such an escapist attitude is not an escape from matters unrelated to man. It is rather man’s escape from the truth about himself.
(2) The word dhikr may also be taken to mean admonition and good counsel. In this case the verse in question would mean that the Message of the Qur’an constitutes an admonition which is in their own best interests. Hence, if they flee from it, it would amount to fleeing from something that is conducive to their own good.
(3) Dhikr may also be used in the sense of honor. If this sense is accepted, the verse means that if the unbelievers accept the Message that has been brought to them, they will be endowed with honor. On the contrary, if they turn away from it, it will amount to denying themselves a golden opportunity for their own growth and exaltation.