26:1. Ta\ Seen. Meem.

26:2. These are verses of the clear Book.

26:3. Are you [O Prophet] going to destroy yourself with grief because they do not believe?

1() Groups of letters (al-huroof al-muqatta'ah) appear at the beginning of several soorahs. The most correct scholarly view states that we are required to believe in them as they appear to be, without delving into their meaning, knowledge of which we should leave to Allah. We believe that they were not revealed in vain, and that there is wisdom behind them of which we are not aware.

26:4. If We willed. We could send down to them a sign from heaven, at which their heads would be bowed in submission.

26:5. No fresh revelation comes to them from the Most Gracious, but they turn away from it.

26:6. Thus they denied [the revelation], but soon they will learn the consequences of their ridicule.

26:7. Do they not see the earth, and how much We have caused to grow therein of all kinds of beneficial plants?

26:8. Verily in that is a sign, yet most of them will not believe.

26:9. Verily your Lord is the Almighty, the Most Merciful.

Here the Creator (سبحانه وتعالى) highlights the greatness of the verses of the clear Book which points to all divine instructions and Islamic teachings, so that there will be no doubt or confusion left for the one who studies it, with regard to what He related of stories or ordained of rulings, because it is so clear and points to the most sublime meanings, and because the rulings are connected to the wisdom behind them and the reasons for them. The Messenger of Allah warned the people by means of it, and guided them by means of it to the straight path. Hence the pious slaves of Allah are guided by it and those who are doomed turn away from it. Therefore he was very sad when they did not believe, because he was so keen to do good and was so sincere towards them.

Hence Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) said to him: Are you [O Prophet] going to destroy yourself with griefp that is, ruin yourself and put yourself through so much distress

(‘﴾because they do not believe﴿. In other words: do not do that, and do not let yourself waste away out of regret for them (cf 35: 8), for guidance is in the Hand of Allah, and you have done what you were required to do of conveying the message. There is no sign better than this clear Qur'an that We could send down, for it is sufficient for the one who truly seeks guidance. Hence Allah says:

﴾If We willed, We could send down to them a sign﴿ that is, one of the signs that they demanded (fat which their﴿ namely the disbelievers’

﴾heads would be bowed in submission﴿. But there is no need for that and there is no interest to be served by it, because at that point faith would be of no benefit; rather the faith that is of benefit is belief in the unseen, as Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says elsewhere:

﴾What are they waiting for, but for the angels to come to them, or for your Lord to come, or for some of the signs of your Lord to come? On the day when some of the signs of your Lord come, no good will it do to a soul to believe then, if it did not believe before or earn some good through its faith...﴿ (al-An'am 6: 158)

﴾No fresh revelation comes to them from the Most Gracious﴿ with commands and prohibitions, reminding them of that which will benefit them or harm them,

﴾but they turn away from it﴿ completely. As they turned away from fresh revelation, which would usually have a greater impact, it was more likely that they would turn away from any other exhortation. That is because there was nothing good in them, and exhortation was to no avail in their case. Hence Allah says:

﴾Thus they denied [the revelation]﴿ that is, they denied the truth, and that became second nature to them, never changing ﴾but soon they will learn the consequences of their ridicule﴿ that is, the punishment will befall them and that which they denied will come upon them. For punishment has become inevitable for them.

Allah says, pointing out the type of reflection that may be of benefit:

﴾Do they not see the earth, and how much We have caused to grow therein of all kinds of beneficial plants?﴿ That is, all kinds of beautiful plants that are of benefit to people

﴾Verily in that is a sign﴿ that Allah will revive the dead after their death, as He brings to life the earth after it is dead﴾yet most of them will not believe﴿. This is like the verse in which

﴾But most of humankind will not believe, no matter how eagerly you desire it.﴿ (Yoosufl2:103)

﴾Verily your Lord is the Almighty﴿ Who has subjugated all creatures, and to Whom the upper and lower realms have submitted ﴾the Most Merciful﴿ Whose mercy encompasses all things, and Whose generosity reaches all living beings; the Almighty Who destroyed the doomed with various punishments, the Most Merciful to the blessed, as He saved them from all evils and calamities.

26:10. And [remember] when your Lord called Moosa [saying]: Go to the people who are given to wrongdoing,

26:11. The people of Pharaoh; will they not fear [the punishment of Allah]?

26:12. Moosa said: My Lord, I fear that they will reject me

26:13. and I will feel distressed, and my speech will not be clear; so send for Haroon [to help me].

26:14. Moreover, they have a charge against me, and I am afraid they will kill me.

26:15. Allah said: By no means! Go, both of you, with Our signs; We will be with you, listening.

26:16. Go, both of you, to Pharaoh and say: We are Messengers of the Lord of the worlds,

26:17. [sent with the message]: Let the Children of Israel go with us.

Now Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) returns to the story of Moosa (‘alayhi as-saldm - peace be upon him), which is repeated in the Qur’an in a way that is not done with other stories, because it contains important wisdom and lessons. In this story Allah tells us how Moosa dealt with the wrongdoers and the believers, and how he was the bringer of a great law, the bringer of the Torah, which is the best of the divinely revealed Books after the Qur’an. Allah says to us: remember the virtuous state of Moosa at the time when Allah called him, when He spoke to him directly, and appointed him as His Prophet and Messenger, and said: tf﴾Go to the people who are given to wrongdoing﴿, who behave arrogantly in the land, looking down on its people, and their leader claims to be divine.

﴾The people of Pharaoh﴿, and say to them, gently and kindly: will they not fear Allah Who created them and granted them provision, and give up what they are following of disbelief?

Moosa said apologetically, explaining to his Lord his weaknesses and asking Him for help in bearing this heavy burden: ﴾My Lord, I fear that they will reject me and I will feel distressed, and my speech will not be clear﴿. And he said:

﴾f...My Lord, fill my heart with courage and steadfastness, and make my task easy for me; and remove the impediment from my speech, so that they will understand what I say. And appoint for me a helper from my family, Haroon, my brother.﴿ (Td Hd 20: 25-30)

﴾fso send for Haroon [to help me]﴿. Allah responded to his request and appointed his brother Haroon as a Prophet as He had appointed him.

. .so send him with me as a helper, to reiterate my words...p (al-Qasas 28: 34)- that is, send him with me to help me so that they will believe me.

﴾Moreover, they have a charge against me﴿ that is, with regard to the killing of the Egyptian, ﴾and I am afraid they will kill me﴿.

﴾Allah said: By no means!﴿ that is, they will not be able to kill you, for We will give you both power:

if... so that they will not be able to harm you. By virtue of Our signs, you two and those who follow you will be triumphant.﴿ fal-Qasas 28: 35)

Hence Pharaoh was not able to kill Moosa, even though Moosa opposed him and stood up to him, and regarded his views as foolish and him and his people as misguided.

﴾Go, both of you, with Our signs﴿ that highlight your truthfulness and the soundness of the message you bring ﴾We will be with you, listening﴿, protecting you and caring for you.

﴾Go, both of you, to Pharaoh and say: We are Messengers of the Lord of the worlds﴿ that is. He has sent us to you so that you may believe in Him and in us, and submit to His worship, and proclaim His oneness.

﴾[sent with the message]: Let the Children of Israel go with us﴿ and stop tormenting them; leave them alone so that they may worship their Lord and practise their religion.

26:18. Pharaoh said: Did we not bring you up as a child among us, and did you not spend many years of your life among us?

26:19. Yet you did the deed you did [the crime of killing a man]; at that time, you were a disbeliever.

26:20. Moosa said: I did it then, when I was in a state of ignorance.

26:21. So I fled from you, as I was afraid of you. But [since then] my Lord has granted me wisdom and made me one of the Messengers.

26:22. Is this the favour for which you reproach me, that you have enslaved the Children of Israel?

When they came to Pharaoh and said to him what Allah had instructed them to say, Pharaoh did not believe and he did not relent; rather he began to argue with Moosa.

﴾Pharaoh said: Did we not bring you up as a child among us﴿ that is, have we not been generous towards you, for we raised you from the time you were an infant in your cradle, and that continued for some time.

﴾fand did you not spend many years of your life among us? Yet you did the deed you did﴿ - this refers to Moosa’s killing the Egyptian, when one of his people asked him for help against the one who was his enemy, and:

﴾.. .Moosa struck him with his fist and killed him.. .﴿ (al-Qasas 28:15)

﴾at that time, you were a disbeliever﴿ that is, because you were following the same path as us, a path of disbelief. Thus Pharaoh admitted that he was a disbeliever without realising.

Moosa said: ﴾I did it then, when I was in a state of ignorance﴿ that is, without being a disbeliever; rather that resulted from misguidance and foolishness, but I asked my Lord for forgiveness and He forgave me.

﴾So I fled from you, as I was afraid of you﴿ when you discussed the issue of killing me. So I fled to Madyan and stayed there for severalyears, then I came to you, for ﴾[since then] my Lord has granted me wisdom and made me one of the Messengers﴿.

Pharaoh’s objection to Moosa was the objection of one who is ignorant or is acting in an ignorant manner, because he thought that he could not be a Messenger on the grounds that he had killed someone. But Moosa explained to him that his killing had been a mistake and that he had not intended to kill, and that the grace of Allah Ofc) is not to be withheld from anyone, so why do you want to withhold from me that which Allah bestowed upon me of wisdom and His message? All that is left for you, O Pharaoh, to say is: ﴾Did we not bring you up as a child among us﴿, but when examining the matter it becomes clear that it was not a favour that you did (because it resulted from Pharaoh wanting to slaughter all the male Israelite infants). Therefore Moosa said:

tfls this the favour for which you reproach me, that you have enslaved the Children of Israel?﴿ That is, are you reminding me of this favour because you persecuted the Israelites and enslaved them, but you saved me from your enslavement and persecution, and you regarded that as a favour to me? But once you examine the matter, it will become clear that in fact you wronged these good people, and you persecuted them and subjected them to hard labour, at the time when Allah saved me from your harm, and at the time when you were harming my people. So what is this favour of which you are reminding me?

26:23. Pharaoh said: And what is the kLord of the worlds’?

26:24. Moosa said: The Lord of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them, if you would but be convinced!

26:25. Pharaoh said to those around him: Did you hear [what he said]?

26:26. Moosa said: He is your Lord, and the Lord of your forefathers.

26:27. Pharaoh said: Indeed your Messenger who has been sent to you is surely insane!

26:28. Moosa said: He is Lord of the east and the west and all that is between them, if you would but understand!

26:29. Pharaoh said: If you take any god other than me, I will surely throw you into prison.

26:30. Moosa said: Even if I bring you clear proof?

26:31. Pharaoh said: Bring it then, if you are telling the truth!

﴾Pharaoh said: And what is the ‘Lord of the worlds’?﴿ This was a denial on his part of his Lord, wrongfully and arrogantly, despite the fact that he was certain of the soundness of that to which Moosa was calling him.

﴾Moosa said: The Lord of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them﴿ that is, the One Who created the upper and lower realms, and He controls and cares for them in all ways, and that includes you to whom I am speaking; how can you deny the Creator of all creation, the Originator of the earth and the heavens? ﴾if you would but be convinced!﴿

But Pharaoh said, expressing his amazement to his people: ﴾Did you hear [what he said]?﴿

﴾Moosa said: He is your Lord, and the Lord of your forefathers﴿ whether you find it strange or not, and whether you react with arrogance or submit.

But Pharaoh said, stubbornly rejecting the truth and insulting the one who brought it: ﴾Indeed your Messenger who has been sent to you is surely insane! ﴿ as he is saying something other than that which we follow, and he is differing from us with regard to our path, because what is rational to him and to people of rational thinking who claim that they were not created, or that the heavens and the earth have existed from eternity, without anyone having created them, and that they themselves were created without a creator - according to the view of such people, worshipping a created being that is lacking in all aspects is rational, whereas affirmation of the Lord and Creator of the upper and lower realms. Who bestows blessings both visible and hidden, and calls people to worship Him alone, is insanity. He made this notion appear fair-seeming to his people, and they were foolish and lacking in reason:

﴾Thus he made fools of his people and they obeyed him. They were indeed a rebellious and wicked people.﴿ (az-Zukhruf43: 54)

Moosa said, responding to Pharaoh’s rejection and denial of the Lord of the worlds: ﴾He is Lord of the east and the west and all that is between them﴿, of all creation, ﴾jif you would but understand! ]? I have explained to you in a manner that anyone with the least power of rational thinking would be able to understand. So what is the matter with you, that you ignore what I tell you? In that there is an implicit indication that what you accused Moosa of, namely insanity, is in fact present in you, for you accused the smartest, most rational and most knowledgeable person of being insane, when in fact you are the insane ones, because you denied the Being Whose existence is the most obvious, namely the Creator of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them. If you deny Him, then what do you affirm?If you are not aware of Him, then of what are you aware? If you do not believe in Him and His signs, then in what - after Allah and His signs - do you believe? By Allah, those who are indeed insane, who are more like animals, are more rational than you, and the grazing animals are more guided than you.

When Moosa defeated Pharaoh in argument, and he was not able to present a counter argument, he said, threatening Moosa on the basis of his power: ﴾flf you take any god other than me, I will surely throw you into prison﴿. He claimed - may Allah curse him - that he could misguide Moosa and force him not to take any god other than him. But it was already established that Moosa and those who were with him had a strong understanding of their beliefs and knew what they were doing.

So Moosa said to him: ﴾Even if I bring you clear proof?﴿ That is, clear and obvious signs of the truth of the message I have brought, in the form of extraordinary feats.

Pharaoh said: Bring it then, if you are telling the truth!﴿

26:32. So Moosa threw down his staff, and suddenly it was a serpent, plain for all to see

26:33. And he drew forth his hand, and it appeared shining white to all beholders.

26:34. Pharaoh said to the chiefs around him: Verily this is a learned magician!

26:35. He wants to drive you out of your land with his magic. What then do you advise?

26:36. They said: Let him and his brother wait a while, and send heralds to the cities to gather

26:37. and bring to you all the learned magicians.

﴾So Moosa threw down his staff, and suddenly it was a serpent﴿ - the word used in the original Arabic refers to a male snake ﴾plain for all to see﴿ that is, obvious to everyone, not an illusion or something made to look like a snake.

﴾And he drew forth his hand﴿ from his collar ﴾and it appeared shining white to all beholders﴿ that is, it shone brightly, with no defect in it that the onlookers could see.

﴾Pharaoh said to the chiefs around him﴿, objecting to the truth and the one who had brought it:

﴾Verily this is a learned magician! He wants to drive you out of your land with his magic﴿. He tried to confuse them because he knew that they were lacking in intellect, so he told them that this was like what the magicians did, because it was well known among them that magicians could do some amazing feats that ordinary people were unable to do. He scared them by saying that this was his aim: by means of this magic he wanted to be able to expel them from their land, so that they would strive and try hard to expose the one who wanted to expel them from their homes.

﴾What then do you advise?﴿ That is, what should we do?

﴾They said: Let him and his brother wait a while﴿ that is, delay them sfand send heralds to the cities to gather and bring to you all the learned magicians﴿ that is, send word to all of your cities that are seats of knowledge and places where magic originates, and send people to gather every skilled magician who is knowledgeable about magic.for a magician is to be opposed with magic of the same nature as his magic.

It is by His kindness that Allah showed His slaves the false argument of Pharaoh, who was ignorant and misguided, and led others astray. When he said that what Moosa had brought was magic, Allah decreed that they should bring together all the skilled magicians, then hold a gathering in the presence of a large number of people, so that the truth might prevail and the people of knowledge and those who were highly skilled in magic might affirm the soundness of the message that Moosa had brought, and confirm that the miracles he brought were not magic. Pharaoh did that on the advice of his chiefs; he sent heralds to the cities to gather the magicians, and he strove hard for that purpose.

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26:38. So the magicians were gathered at the appointed time, on a certain day.

26:39. And it was said to the people: Will you also gather,

26:40. So that we may follow the magicians [in their religion], if they are the victors?

26:41. When the magicians came, they said to Pharaoh: Will we have a reward if we are the victors?

26:42. He said: Yes, and then you will surely be among those who are close to me.

26:43. Moosa said to them: Throw whatever you wish to throw.

26:44. So they threw their ropes and sticks, and said: By the might of Pharaoh, it is surely we who will be the victors!

26:45. Then Moosa threw his staff, and thereupon it swallowed up all their deceptions.

26:46. So the magicians fell down in prostration.

26:47. They said: We believe in the Lord of the worlds,

26:48. The Lord of Moosa and Haroon.

26:49. Pharaoh said: How dare you believe him before I give you permission! He must be your master, who taught you magic! But indeed you will soon know the consequences. I will certainly cut off your hands and feet on opposite sides, then I will certainly crucify you all.

26:50. They said: No harm;^{1Ultimately it would do them no harm, as they would be rewarded immensely for bearing it with patience.} it is to our Lord that we will surely return.

26:51. Verily we hope that our Lord will forgive us our sins, as we are the first of the believers.

﴾So the magicians were gathered at the appointed time, on a certain day﴿ that they had agreed upon with Moosa; it was the day of the festival when people were free and were not working.

And it was said to the people: Will you also gather﴿ that is, the call went out to all the people, telling them to gather on that appointed day.

4So that we may follow the magicians [in their religion], if they are the victors?﴿ That is, they said to the people: Gather to watch the magicians defeat Moosa, for they are skilled in their craft, then we will follow them and venerate them, and we will see the virtue of knowledge of magic. If they had been guided to the truth, they would have said: Perhaps we will follow the one who is in the right, and we will know which is the right way to follow. Therefore the contest only served to establish proof against them.

﴾When the magicians earned to Pharaoh, they said to him:

Will we have a reward if we are the victors﴿ over Moosa?

﴾He said: Yes﴿, you will have a reward ﴾and then you will surely be among those who are close to me﴿. He promised them a reward and closeness to him so as to encourage them to do all that they could in opposing the message that Moosa had brought.

When they met at the appointed time, they and Moosa, and the people of Egypt, Moosa exhorted and reminded them, saying:

﴾...Woe to you! Do not fabricate lies against Allah, lest He annihilate you with His punishment. Those who fabricate such lies are surely lost and doomed.(Ta Ha 20: 61)

They disputed and argued, then Pharaoh encouraged them, and they encouraged one another.

sf Moosa said to them: Throw whatever you wish to throw﴿ that is, whatever you think you want to throw, and he did not set any limits, because he was certain that what they had brought for the purpose of opposing the truth was false.

﴾So they threw their ropes and sticks﴿ and they turned into fast-moving snakes, as they bewitched the people’s eyes to see that. c﴾and said: By the might of Pharaoh, it is surely we who will be the victors! p. They sought help by the might of a weak slave who was incapable in all aspects, but he behaved arrogantly and had the imageof a king who had troops; they were deceived by his pomp, and they could not see the reality of the matter. Or it may be that they were swearing by the might of Pharaoh that they would prevail.

SfThen Moosa threw his staff, and thereupon it swallowed up all their deceptions﴿. It swallowed up all that they had thrown of ropes and sticks, because they were fabrications and lies, and all of that is false and that cannot stand up to the truth or resist it.

When the magicians saw this great sign, they were convinced, because they were aware that this was not magic; rather it was one of the signs of Allah and a great miracle that pointed to the sincerity of Moosa and the truthfulness of the message he brought.

﴾So the magicians fell down in prostration﴿ to their Lord,

﴾They said: We believe in the Lord of the worlds, the Lord of Moosa and Haroon﴿. Thus falsehood was defeated in that gathering, and the leaders of falsehood acknowledged its invalidity; the truth became apparent and prevailed until all the onlookers saw it with their own eyes. But Pharaoh insisted on stubbornness and misguidance, getting carried away therein, so he said to the magicians:

﴾How dare you believe him before I give you permission!﴿ - He and his people were astounded by their audacity towards him, and their daring to believe without his permission or instructions.

﴾He must be your master, who taught you magicThis was despite the fact that he was the one who had brought the magicians together, and his chiefs were the ones who had advised him to bring them together from all the cities. Pharaoh and his chiefs already knew that the magicians had never met Moosa or seen him before that, and that they had performed magic that had dazzled the onlookers and filled them with awe. Yet despite that, the chiefs accepted what Pharaoh said, even though they themselves were aware that it was not true. It should come as no surprise that people who think in this manner would not believe in the clear truth and clear signs, becauseif Pharaoh told them that a thing was different from what it really was, they would believe him.

Then Pharaoh threatened the magicians and said: (fl will certainly cut off your hands and feet on opposite sides﴿ that is, the right hand and the left foot, as is done to those who spread mischief in the land, (fthen I will certainly crucify you all﴿ so that you will be disgraced and humiliated.

But the magicians said, when they had tasted the sweetness of faith: (﴾No harm﴿ that is, we do not care what you threaten us with, (fit is to our Lord that we will surely return. Verily we hope that our Lord will forgive us our sins﴿ namely disbelief, magic and so on ﴾fas we are the first of the believers)﴿ that is, the first among these people to believe in Moosa. So Allah made them steadfast and gave them patience.

It may be that Pharaoh carried out his threat against them because he had the power to do so, or it may be that Allah protected them from him.

Then Pharaoh and his people persisted in their disbelief, and Moosa continued to bring clear signs to them; every time a sign came and had a great impact on them, they made promises to Moosa, claiming that if Allah granted them relief, they would believe in him and let the Israelites go with him, but when Allah granted relief, they broke their promise. Then when Moosa despaired of them ever believing and the punishment became due for them, and the time came for Allah to save the Israelites from their captivity and give them power in the land, Allah inspired Moosa:(v-oy

26:52. We inspired Moosa: Travel by night with My slaves; you will surely be pursued.

26:53. So Pharaoh sent heralds to the cities [to mobilise troops],

26:54. saying: These are but a small band,

26:55. and they have enraged us,

26:56. but we are all well-prepared.

26:57. Thus did We cause them to leave their gardens and springs,

26:58. And their treasures and fine dwellings.

26:59. And so it was; and We caused the Children of Israel to inherit such things.

26:60. Then [the Egyptians] caught up with them at sunrise.

﴾Travel by night with My slaves﴿ that is, set out with the Israelites at the beginning of the night, so that they may take their time when leaving

4you will surely be pursued﴿ that is. Pharaoh and his troops will come after you.

And it happened as Allah said: when morning came, and all the Israelites had already departed with Moosa at night, ﴾Pharaoh sent heralds to the cities﴿ to rally his people and urge them to capture the Israelites. He said, encouraging his people:

﴾These﴿ namely the Children of Israel ﴾are but a small band, and they have enraged us﴿, and we want to vent our rage on these slaves who have rebelled against us.

﴾but we are all well-prepared﴿ that is, we have all made preparations against them, and they are enemies of us all, and we have a common interest. So Pharaoh and his troops set out with a huge army aftera general mobilisation; not one of them stayed behind except those who had excuses and were prevented from going out because they were incapacitated.

﴾Thus did We cause them to leave their gardens and springs;) that is, the superb gardens of Egypt, with their gushing springs and crops that filled their land, that were cultivated by city dwellers and desert dwellers alike.

﴾And their treasures and fine dwellings﴿ that would amaze and dazzle the onlookers. They had enjoyed them for a long time and had spent their lives enjoying these pleasures and desires, despite their disbelief, stubbornness, arrogance towards others and immense pride.

﴾And so it was; and We caused the Children of Israel﴿) who they had made their slaves and subjected them to heavy labour ﴾to inherit such things﴿ namely these gardens, springs, crops and fine residences. Glory be to the One Who gives dominion to whomever He will and takes it away from whomever He will; Who raises high whomever He will by virtue of his obedience to Him, and humiliates whomever He will, by virtue of his disobedience towards Him.

﴾Then [the Egyptians] caught up with them at sunrise﴿) that is, the people of Pharaoh pursued the people of Moosa at the time of sunrise, and they chased after them with eagerness, out of rage and anger, and they had the power to do them harm.

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26:61. When the two groups came within sight of one another, the companions of Moosa said: We are sure to be overtaken.

26:62. Moosa said: No indeed! Verily my Lord is with me and He will guide me.

26:63. Then We inspired Moosa: Strike the sea with your staff. So it parted, and every part became like a huge mountain.^{1The waters parted, opening up twelve dry passages by which the Israelites could cross, and where the parting waters gathered, in each part the water was drawn up and became like a huge mountain.}

26:64. We brought the other group closer to that place.

26:65. We saved Moosa and all those who were with him,

26:66. Then We drowned the others.

26:67. Verily in that is a sign, yet most of them will not believe.

26:68. Verily your Lord is the Almighty, the Most Merciful.

﴾When the two groups came within sight of one another﴿ that is, when each group saw the other

﴾the companions of Moosa said﴿, complaining to Moosa and despairing: of We are sure to be overtaken﴿.

﴾Moosa said﴿, reassuring them and telling them of the true promise of his Lord:

﴾No indeed!That is, the matter is not as you say, that you will be overtaken,

﴾Verily my Lord is with me and He will guide me﴿ to that which will save me and you.

﴾Then We inspired Moosa: Strike the sea with your staff﴿ - so he struck it, and ﴾it parted﴿ into twelve pathways,﴾and every part became like a huge mountain﴿. And Moosa and his people entered the sea.

﴾We brought the other group﴿ namely Pharaoh and his people; We brought them closer to that place and caused them to enter the pathway that had been taken by Moosa and his people.

﴾We saved Moosa and all those who were with him﴿ - they all came out, and not one of them was left behind.

﴾Then We drowned the others﴿ and not one of them was spared.

﴾Verily in that is a sign﴿ that is, a great sign of the truthfulness of the message brought by Moosa, and the falseness of the path followed by Pharaoh and his people.

﴾yet most of them will not believe﴿ despite these signs that should lead to faith, because of the corruption in their hearts.

﴾Verily your Lord is the Almighty, the Most Merciful﴿; by His might He destroyed the disbelievers who rejected His Messenger, and by His mercy he saved Moosa and all those who were with him.

26:69. Recount to them the story of Ibraheem,

26:70. When he said to his father and his people: What do you worship?

26:71. They said: We worship idols, and we are constantly devoted to them.

26:72. He said: Do they hear you when you call upon them?

26:73. Or can they benefit you or harm you [in any way]?

26:74. They said: No, but this is what we found our fathers doing.

That is, recount to the people, O Muhammad (ﷺ), the story of Ibraheem. What is meant here is this particular episode in his life, otherwise there are many stories about him, but one of the most important and significant of them is this story that speaks of his message and his call to his people, and how he argued with them and proved to them that what they were following was false.

﴾When he said to his father and his people: What do you worship? They said﴿, bragging about their worship: ﴾We worship idols﴿ that we make and carve with our own hands, ﴾and we are constantly devoted to them﴿ that is, we spend much of our time worshipping them. Ibraheem said to them, explaining why those idols were not deserving of worship:

﴾Do they hear you when you call upon them﴿ and do they respond to your call, relieve you of distress and remove all that harms you?

﴾Or can they benefit you or harm you [in any way]?﴿ They admitted that none of that was the case, for they cannot hear any supplication, or bring any benefit, or cause any harm. Hence when Ibraheem broke the idols, he said:

((...Nay, it was this one, the biggest of them, who did it. So ask them, if they can speak!﴿ (al-Anbiyd’21: 63)

- and they said to him:

﴾...You know full well that these [idols] cannot speak.﴿ (al-Anbiya' 21: 65)

- that is, that is a fact concerning them that is well-established, and there is no room for confusion or doubt.

So they resorted to following their misguided forefathers, and said: ﴾but this is what we found our fathers doing﴿, so we followed them in that; we followed their path and adhered to their customs.

26:75. He said: Then do you see those which you have been worshipping,

26:76. you and your forefathers?

26:77. Verily they are enemies to me, except the Lord of the worlds,

26:78. Who created me, so He guides me,

26:79. And it is He Who feeds me and gives me to drink.

26:80. When I am sick He heals me;

26:81. and He will cause me to die, and then bring me to life again;

26:82. and I hope that He will forgive me my sins on the Day of Judgement.

Ibraheem said to them: You and your fathers are all on the opposing side concerning this matter. ﴾Then do you see those which you have been worshipping, you and your forefathers? Verily they are enemies to me(﴿ so let them do me the least harm, and let them scheme against me, for they are not able to do anything.

﴾except the Lord of the worlds. Who created me, so He guides me﴿, for He is the only One Who bestows blessings upon people and guides them to that which is in their best interests in both spiritual and worldly terms; then he singled out for mention some necessities of life, as he said: ﴾And it is He Who feeds me and gives me to drink. When I am sick He heals me; and He will cause me to die, and then bring me to life again; and I hope that He will forgive me my sins on the Day of Judgement﴿.

For He alone is able to do that, so He alone must be singled out for worship and obedience, and these idols should be shunned that do not create, guide, cause sickness, heal, feed, give to drink, cause death, give life, or benefit their worshippers by relieving their distress or forgiving their sins.

This is definitive evidence and clear proof that neither you nor your fathers can refute. This indicates that you are all misguided and have all forsaken the path of right guidance. Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says elsewhere:

﴾His people argued with him. He said: Are you arguing with me about Allah, when He has guided me? I do not fear any partner you may ascribe to Him, unless my Lord wills [that harm should reach me]. My Lord encompasses all things in His knowledge. Will you not then pay heed?﴿ (al-An am 6: 80)

26:83. My Lord, grant me knowledge and wisdom, and join me with the righteous,

26:84. and grant me an honourable renown among the later nations.

26:85. Make me one of the inheritors of the garden of bliss.

Then Ibraheem called upon his Lord, saying: ﴾My Lord, grant me knowledge and wisdom﴿ that is, a great deal of knowledge, by means of which I may know rulings and what is lawful and what is prohibited, and I may be able to judge between people.

﴾fand join me with the righteous﴿ - this refers to his fellow Prophets and Messengers.

﴾and grant me an honourable renown among the later nations﴿ that is, grant that I may be truly praised until the end of time. And Allah answered his prayer: He granted him knowledge and wisdom by virtue of which he became one of the best of the Messengers, and He joined him with his fellow Messengers, and He made him beloved, accepted, venerated and praised among the followers of all religions, at all times.

﴾Make me one of the inheritors of the garden of bliss﴿ that is, one of the people of paradise, to whom Allah gives it as an inheritance. Allah answered his prayer and raised him in status in the gardens of bliss.

26:86. Forgive my father, for he is one of those who have gone astray.

26:87. And do not disgrace me on the day when [all creatures] are resurrected,

26:88. the day when neither wealth nor sons will be of any avail,

26:89. but only he who comes to Allah with a pure heart [will be saved].

﴾Forgive my father, for he is one of those who have gone astray﴿. This supplication was because of a promise that Ibraheem had made to his father:

will pray to my Lord to forgive you, for indeed He has always been very kind to me.﴿ (Maryam 19: 47)

fcflbraheem’s prayer for his father’s forgiveness was only because of a promise he had made to him. But when it became clear to him thathe was an enemy to Allah, he disavowed him. Verily, Ibraheem was humble in supplication, forbearing.﴿ (at-Tawbah 9:114)

﴾And do not disgrace me on the day when [all creatures] are resurrected﴿ that is, by rebuking me for some sins, or punishing me or exposing me because of them. Rather bless me on that day, on which ﴾neither wealth nor sons will be of any avail, but only he who comes to Allah with a pure heart [will be saved]﴿. For this is what will benefit him before You, and this is what will save him from punishment and make him deserve the great reward.

What is meant by the pure heart is that which is free of polytheism, doubt, love of evil, and persisting in innovation and sin. What is implied by being free of these things is that it possesses the opposite, namely sincerity to Allah alone, knowledge, certain faith, love of good and the inclination towards good; this means that what he wants and loves is in accordance with what Allah loves, and his whims and desires are in accordance with the teachings of Allah’s religion.

26:90. [On that day] paradise will be brought within sight of the righteous.

26:91. And hell will be placed in full view of those who went astray.

26:92. It will be said to them: Where are those whom you used to worship

26:93. besides Allah? Can they help you or even help themselves?

26:94. Then they will be thrown headlong into hell, both they [the false gods] and those who went astray,

26:95. And the followers of Iblees, all together.

Then Allah tells us about the nature of that momentous day, and what will occur on it of reward and punishment:

﴾paradise will be brought within sight of﴿ that is, it will be brought near to ﴾the righteous﴿, those who feared their Lord, complied with His commands, heeded His prohibitions, and feared His wrath and punishment.

﴾And hell will be placed in full view of﴿ that is, it will be brought forth, with all the punishments that have been prepared therein for ﴾those who went astray﴿ that is, those who indulged in acts of disobedience towards Allah, transgressed His sacred limits, and rejected His Messengers and the message of truth that they brought.

﴾It will be said to them: Where are those whom you used to worship besides Allah? Can they help you or even help themselves?﴿ In other words, none of that can happen, and their lies and disgrace will become apparent. Their loss and scandal will become obvious and their regret will become clear, for their efforts will be wasted.

﴾Then they will be thrown headlong into hell, both they [the false gods] and those who went astray﴿ that is, both those that were worshipped and those who worshipped them.

And the followers of Iblees, all together﴿ - this refers to the humans and jinn whom he incited to commit sin and gained power over them because of their ascription of partners to Allah and their lack of faith. Thus they became among his promoters who strove to please him; those followers of Iblees are divided among those who call people to obey him, those who respond to the call, and those who imitate them in their ascription of partners to Allah.

26:96. And they will say, when they are quarrelling therein:

26:97. By Allah, we were clearly misguided

26:98. when we deemed you equal to the Lord of the worlds.

26:99. No one but the evildoers led us astray.

26:100. Now we have no one to intercede for us

26:101. and no caring friend.

26:102. If only we had one more chance, we would be among the believers.

26:103. Verily in that is a sign, yet most of them will not believe.

26:104. Verily your Lord is the Almighty, the Most Merciful.

﴾And they﴿ namely the misguided troops of Iblees ﴾will say﴿0 the idols and images that they worshipped:

﴾By Allah, we were clearly misguided when we deemed you equal to the Lord of the worlds﴿ in terms of worship and love, fear and hope, and we called upon you as we called upon Him. At that time it will become clear to them that they were misguided, and they will acknowledge that Allah is just in punishing them, and that it is appropriate, for they did not regard them as equal to the Lord of the worlds except in terms of worship; they did not regard them as His equals in terms of creation, based on the fact that they will mention ﴾the Lord of the worlds)﴿; they will affirm that Allah is the Lord of all the worlds, including their idols and images.

﴾No one but the evildoers﴿ namely the leaders who called them to the fire ﴾led us astrayp from the path of true guidance and called us to the path of misguidance and rebellion.

(﴾Now﴿﴿ - on that day - ﴾fwe have no one to intercede for us﴿ and save us from Allah’s punishment

(°fand no caring friend﴿ that is, no sincere friend who can help us in any way, as usually happens in this world.

So they will despair of all good and will lose all hope because of what they did, and they will wish to go back to this world so that they might do righteous deeds: ﴾flf only we had one more chance﴿ to go back once more to the previous world, ﴾we would be among the believers﴿ so that we would be safe from the punishment and we would deserve reward. But there is no way that this could happen; they will have been prevented from what they desire and they will have no chance to redeem themselves.

﴾Verily in that﴿ which we have mentioned and described to you *fis a sign﴿ for you t﴾yet most of them will not believe﴿ despite the sending down of these signs.

26:105. The people of Nooh rejected the Messengers.

26:106. When their brother Nooh said to them: Will you not fear Allah?

26:107. Verily I am a faithful Messenger to you,

26:108. So fear Allah, and obey me.

26:109. I do not ask you for any recompense for this; my reward is only with the Lord of the worlds.

26:110. So fear Allah, and obey me.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us the story of how the people of Nooh rejected their Messenger Nooh, and how he responded to them and they responded to him, and the outcome for all of them.

﴾The people of Nooh rejected the Messengers﴿ that is, they rejected all the Messengers. Rejecting Nooh is regarded as being like rejecting all of the Messengers, because they all brought the same message and the same beliefs, so rejecting one of them is like rejecting all that they brought of truth. They rejected him ﴾When their brother﴿ in lineage

﴾Nooh said to them﴿ - Allah sent the Messengers from the same tribe or clan as that to whom He sent them, lest they be reluctant to submit to him, and because they would know his real character, so they would not need to ask and find out about him. Nooh said to them - addressing them in the kindest manner - as was the way of all the Messengers, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon them all: ﴾Will you not fear Allah﴿ and give up what you are persisting in of worshipping idols, and devote your worship to Allah alone?

﴾Verily I am a faithful Messenger to you﴿. The fact that he had been sent as a Messenger to them in particular should have made them accept the message with which he was sent to them and believe in him, and give thanks to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) for bestowing the blessing of this noble Messenger exclusively upon them. The fact that he was faithful and trustworthy implied that he would not fabricate lies against Allah, or add anything to or take anything away from His revelation, and that should have made them believe in what he told them and obey what he instructed them to do.

﴾So fear Allah, and obey me﴿ in what I instruct you to do and forbid you to do. This is what is implied by his being a Messengerto them and by his being faithful and trustworthy. Therefore this sentence opens with the particle fa (translated here as ﴾so﴿), which indicates the reason for that. The reason why they should do that is mentioned, then Nooh stated that there was no impediment to them doing so, as he said:

﴾f| do not ask you for any recompense for this﴿ so I am not imposing any burden on you ef my reward is only with the Lord of the worlds﴿ and I hope thereby to draw close to Him and attain a great reward. All I hope for with regard to you is that I may be able to give you sincere advice, and that you will follow the straight path.

c﴾So fear Allah, and obey me﴿. He repeated these words because he repeated the call to his people. Nooh stayed among them for a long time, as Allah tells us elsewhere:

﴾...and he remained among them for a thousand years less fifty...﴿ (al- Ankaboot 29: 14)

- and:

﴾Nooh said: My Lord, I have been calling my people night and day, but my call has only driven them further away.﴿ (Nooh 71: 5-6)

26:111. They said: Should we believe in you when only the lowest people follow you?

26:112. Nooh said: What knowledge do I have of their doings?^{1The people cast aspersions on the sincerity of Noolfs followers, claiming that they merely sought to improve their social standing and make some other worldly gains by following him, but Nooh rejected this accusation and stated that he only judged them according to what he saw of their outward conduct.}

26:113. Their reckoning^{2That is, Allah will bring them to account for what is really in their hearts.} is only with my Lord, if you could but understand.

26:114. I will not drive away those who believe;

26:115. I am to you but a clear warner.

26:116. They said: If you do not desist, O Nooh, you will surely be stoned.

26:117. He said: My Lord, my people have rejected me.

26:118. So judge decisively between me and them, and save me and the believers who are with me.

26:119. So We saved him and those who were with him, in the fully-laden ark.

26:120. Then after that We drowned the others.

26:121. Verily in that is a sign, yet most of them will not believe.

26:122. Verily your Lord is the Almighty, the Most Merciful.

They said, rejecting his call and basing their objections on a flawed argument: ﴾Should we believe in you when only the lowest people follow you?﴿ That is, how can we follow you when we see that your followers are none but the lowest of people, the riffraff? Thus it is clear that they were too arrogant to accept the truth and they were ignorant of the real facts. If their aim had been to find out the truth, they would have said, if they had any confusion or doubt about hismessage: Prove to us the validity of the message that you have brought by means of valid arguments and proofs.

If they had truly reflected upon the matter, they would have realised that his followers were in fact the best of people, the people of mature thinking and virtuous attitudes, and that the one who is truly low is the one who has lost his mature thinking, so that he thought that it was appropriate to worship stones, and was content to prostrate to them and call upon them, and he refused to submit to the call of the perfect Messengers.

As soon as one of the two opponents begins speaking words of falsehood, it becomes clear that he has nothing but flawed arguments, regardless of the soundness of his opponent’s claim.

When we hear about the people of Nooh, and how they said, rejecting his message: ﴾Should we believe in you when only the lowest people follow you?﴿, basing their argument on a foundation which everyone knows is flawed, we will realise that they were misguided and wrong, even if we did not see the signs of Nooh or hear his great call, which should make us certain that his call was valid and sound.

So Nooh said: ﴾What knowledge do I have of their doings? Their reckoning is only with my Lord, if you could but understand﴿ that is, their deeds and their reckoning are only with Allah; all I have to do is convey the message, and you should not worry about them. If what I have brought is the truth, then submit to it, for each one is responsible for his own deeds.

﴾I will not drive away those who believe﴿ - it seems that they demanded that he should drive them away, out of arrogance and tyranny, before they would believe. But he said: c(l will not drive away those who believe﴿ because they do not deserve to be driven away and humiliated; rather they deserve to be honoured in word and deed. This is like the verse in which Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

When those who believe in Our revelations come to you, say: Peace be upon you. Your Lord has taken it upon Himself to be merciful... ﴿

﴾I am to you but a clear warner'p I am but a warner who conveys the message from Allah, and I am trying my best to give sincere advice to people, but I do not have any control over the matter, for control belongs only to Allah.

Nooh continued to call them by night and by day, in private and in public, but they only increased in aversion, and ﴾They said: If you do not desist, O Nooh﴿ from calling us to Allah alone,

﴾you will surely be stoned﴿ that is, we will kill you in the worst manner, by stoning, as dogs are killed.

May they be doomed; how ugly was this response to one who was sincere and honest, who cared more for them than they cared for themselves!

No wonder, when their wrongdoing reached such an extent and their rejection grew so intense, their Prophet prayed against them with a supplication that included all of them, and he said:

﴾...My Lord, do not leave on earth a single living soul from among the disbelievers.﴿ (Nooh 71: 26)

﴾He said: My Lord, my people have rejected me. So judge decisively between me and them﴿ that is, destroy the transgressors among us. He knew that they were the transgressors and wrongdoers, hence he said: ﴾fand save me and the believers who are with meji.

﴾So We saved him and those who were with him, in the fully-laden ark﴿ that is, the ship that was filled with people and animals.

﴾Then after that﴿ that is, after Nooh and the believers who were with him

﴾We drowned the others that is, all of his people.

﴾Verily in that﴿ that is, in the saving of Nooh and his followers and the destruction of those who disbelieved in him﴾is a sign﴿ that points to the truthfulness of Our Messengers, and the soundness of the message they brought, and the falseness of that in which their enemies, who rejected them, believed.

﴾Verily your Lord is the Almighty﴿ Who subjugated His enemies by His might, so He drowned them in the flood ﴾the Most Merciful﴿ towards His close friends, for He saved Nooh and the believers who were with him.

o__

26:123. The [people of) ‘Ad rejected the Messengers.

26:124. When their brother Hood said to them: Will you not fear Allah?

26:125. Verily I am a faithful Messenger to you,

26:126. So fear Allah, and obey me.

26:127. I do not ask you for any recompense for this; my reward is only with the Lord of the worlds.

26:128. Do you build a landmark on every high place for no sound purpose?^{1Their aim in building those landmarks was to set up stations from which they could harass passing travellers and take their belongings. =}

26:129. And do you construct magnificent works in the hope of living forever?

26:130. And when you strike, do you strike ruthlessly?

26:131. So fear Allah, and obey me.

26:132. And fear Him Who has bestowed upon you what you know:

26:133. He has bestowed upon you livestock and sons.

26:134. And gardens and springs.

26:135. Verily I fear for you the punishment of a momentous day.

26:136. They said: It is the same to us whether you admonish us or not.

26:137. This is only the custom of those who came before us,

26:138. And we are not going to be punished.

26:139. Thus they rejected him, so We destroyed them. Verily in that is a sign, yet most of them will not believe.

26:140. Verily your Lord is the Almighty, the Most Merciful.

﴾The [people of] ‘Ad rejected the Messengers﴿ that is, the tribe called ‘Ad, whose Messenger was Hood, rejected him, and their rejection of him was a rejection of all the other Messengers, because the call is one.

﴾When their brother'﴿ in lineage ﴾Hood said to them﴿, kindly and gently: ﴾Will you not fear Allah﴿ and give up ascribing partners to Him and worshipping gods other than Him?

﴾(Verily I am a faithful Messenger to you﴿ that is, Allah has sent me to you as a mercy to you and out of care for you, and I am trustworthy and honest, as you know. Then he followed that by saying:

﴾So fear Allah, and obey me﴿ that is, fulfil your duty towards Allah which is fearing Him, and fulfil your duty towards me, by obeying me in what I enjoin and forbid you to do. This implies that

= (ash-Shawkani)you should follow me and obey me, and there is nothing to prevent you from believing, for I am not asking you for any payment for conveying the message to you and advising you, such that you would find that payment burdensome, for *fmy reward is only with the Lord of the worlds)﴿ Who had been bestowing great favours, bounty and generosity upon them, especially the care that He bestowed upon His close friends and Prophets.

﴾Do you build a landmark on every high place for no sound purpose?﴿ That is, do you do that in vain, for no benefit that is in your spiritual or worldly interests?

﴾And do you construct magnificent works﴿ namely ponds and reservoirs

﴾in the hope of living forever?﴿ When in fact there is no way anyone can live forever.

﴾And when you strike﴿ people ﴾fdo you strike ruthlessly﴿, taking their wealth? For Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) had given them great strength, and what they should have done was to use their strength in obedience to Allah. But they were arrogant and proud, and they said:

﴾f...Who is more powerful than us?...﴿ (Fussiku 41. 15)

- and they used their strength to disobey Allah and for vain and foolish purposes. Hence their Prophet told them not to do that.

﴾So fear Allah﴿ and give up your ascription of partners to Him and your insolence

﴾and obey me﴿ as you know that I am the Messenger of Allah to you, and I am honest and sincere.

tfAnd fear Him Who has bestowed upon you﴿ that is, given you ﴾what you know﴿ that is. He has given you that which cannot be ignored or denied of livestock,

﴾He has bestowed upon you livestock﴿ namely camels, cattle and sheep﴾and sons﴿ that is, abundant offspring. He has increased your wealth, and increased your children, especially sons, the better of the two genders.

This is a reminder to them of their blessings, then he reminded them of the coming of the punishment of Allah to which they might be exposed, as he said: ﴾Verily I fear for you the punishment of a momentous day﴿ that is, because of my compassion and care for you, I fear that a severe punishment may befall you, and when it comes it cannot be put back, if you persist in your disbelief and transgression.

But they said, stubbornly rejecting the truth and disbelieving in their Prophet: ﴾It is the same to us whether you admonish us or not﴿ that is, it makes no difference to us. This was the utmost arrogance, for people to reach such a state that when it came to the reminders of Allah - that could melt solid mountains and cause the hearts of wise people to crack - it made no difference whether those reminders were there or not, for people whose wrongdoing had reached an extreme degree, who were utterly doomed and there was no hope of them ever being guided. Hence they said:

﴾This is only the custom of those who came before us﴿ that is, this state of affairs and life of ease, and so on, is something that happened to the earlier generations: sometimes they had a life of ease and sometimes they had a life of poverty. This is how life is; it is not a test or a blessing from Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), or a trial for His slaves.

﴾And we are not going to be punished﴿ - this was a denial on their part of the resurrection, or else they were going along with their Prophet by way of ridiculing him by saying: Even if we assume that we will be resurrected, as we were showered with blessings in this world, that will continue to be the case when we are resurrected.

﴾Thus they rejected him﴿ that is, rejection became second nature to them, and they could not be deterred from it, ﴾so We destroyed them﴿.

(fAnd as for ‘Ad, they were destroyed by a furious cold wind which He unleashed against them for seven nights and eight days in succession,so that you would have seen the people lying lifeless as if they were the trunks of fallen palm trees, j? (al-Hdqqah 69. 6-7)

﴾Verily in that is a sign﴿ of the truthfulness of Our Prophet Hood (£$0 and the soundness of the message he brought, and the falseness of the path of polytheism and tyranny followed by his people.

﴾yet most of them will not believe﴿ despite the signs that should lead to faith.

﴾Verily your Lord is the Almighty﴿, Who destroyed by His might the people of Hood, despite their strength and power ﴾the Most Merciful﴿ towards His Prophet Hood, as He saved him and the believers who were with him.

26:141. Thamood rejected the Messengers.

26:142. When their brother Salih said to them: Will you not fear Allah?

26:143. Verily I am a faithful Messenger to you

26:144. So fear Allah, and obey me.

26:145. I do not ask you for any recompense for this; my reward is only with the Lord of the worlds.

26:146. Will you be left secure [from death and punishment] in the midst of what you have here,

26:147. Amidst gardens and springs,

26:148. And cornfields and palm trees laden with ripe fruit,

26:149. Carving out houses in the mountains with great skill?

26:150. So fear Allah, and obey me,

26:151. And do not obey the bidding of the transgressors,

26:152. Those who spread mischief in the land and do no good at all.

26:153. They said: You are but one of those who are bewitched!

26:154. You are but a human being like ourselves. So bring us a sign, if you are telling the truth.

26:155. Ṣalih said: Here is a she-camel; she will have her share of water and you will have your share, each on an appointed day.

26:156. Do not harm her in any way, lest the punishment of a momentous day overtake you.

26:157. But they hamstrung her, then they came to regret it.

26:158. So the punishment overtook them. Verily in that is a sign, yet most of them will not believe.

26:159. Verily your Lord is the Almighty, the Most Merciful.

﴾Thamood﴿ the well-known tribe in the cities of al-Hijr ﴾rejected the Messengers)﴿. They rejected Salih (عليه السلام), who brought the message of the oneness of Allah, to which all the Messengers called people. Therefore their rejection of him was rejection of all the Messengers.

tf﴾When their brother﴿ in lineage ﴾Ṣalih said to them﴿, kindly and gently: ﴾Will you not fear Allah﴿ and give up polytheism and sin?

﴾Verily I am a faithful Messenger to you﴿ from Allah your Lord; He has sent me to you out of kindness and mercy towards you, so accept His mercy and respond to it with submission.

﴾faithful﴿ - you know my honesty and sincerity, which requires you to believe in me and in the message that I have brought.

﴾I do not ask you for any recompense for this﴿ so that you might say: What prevents us from following you is the fact that you want to take our wealth

﴾my reward is only with the Lord of the worlds﴿ that is, I only seek reward from Him.

﴾Will you be left secure [from death and punishment] in the midst of what you have here, amidst gardens and springs, and cornfields and palm trees laden with ripe fruit﴿ that is, do you think that you will be left with these good things and blessings for no purpose, enjoying delights and physical pleasure like animals, and that you would be left with no purpose, with no commands or prohibitions, using these blessings in acts of disobedience towards Allah?

﴾Carving out houses in the mountains with great skill﴿ that is, your smartness and skill have reached such a level that you make houses in solid mountains.

﴾So fear Allah, and obey me, and do not obey the bidding of the transgressors﴿ who overstep the mark,

﴾Those who spread mischief in the land and do no good at all﴿ that is, those whose characteristic and preoccupation is the spreading of mischief in the land by committing sins and calling people to them, spreading mischief and not doing any good at all. This is the most harmful of all attitudes, because it is pure evil.

It is as if there were some people who had already taken a stance and decided to oppose their Prophet, planning against his call and persisting in the way of misguidance. So Salih told the people not to be deceived by them. Perhaps they are the ones of whom Allah said:﴾There were in the city nine men who spread mischief in the land and never did anything good.﴿ (an-Nami 27: 48)

But this prohibition and admonition was to no avail, for they said to Salih: ﴾You are but one of those who are bewitched!﴿. That is, a spell has been put on you, so you are talking nonsense.

﴾You are but a human being like ourselves﴿; what makes you better than us so that you call us to follow you?

﴾So bring us a sign, if you are telling the truths - this was despite the fact that reflecting on him as an individual and the message that he brought were among the greatest of clear signs that would prove that the message he brought was true. But because of their hardheartedness they demanded specific signs, and in most cases the one who demands signs will not benefit from them, because his demand is based on stubbornness, not on seeking guidance.

So Salih said: ﴾Here is a she-camel﴿ that came out of solid, smooth rock (in this regard we are following many commentators, and there is no reason not to do so) - you will all see her.

﴾she will have her share of water and you will have your share, each on an appointed day﴿ that is, she will drink water from the well on one day, and you will drink her milk, then on the next day she will move away, and you can drink from the well.

﴾Do not harm her in any way﴿, by hamstringing or otherwise, ﴾lest the punishment of a momentous day overtake you﴿. The she-camel came out, and remained with them under those circumstances, but they did not believe, and they persisted in their transgression.

﴾But they hamstrung her, then they came to regret it. So the punishment overtook them﴿ - that was the blast that came upon them and destroyed them all.

﴾Verily in that is a sign﴿ of the truthfulness of the message brought by Our Messengers and the falseness of what their opponents said, ﴾yet most of them will not believe. Verily your Lord is the Almighty, the Most Merciful﴿.

26:160. The people of Loot rejected the Messengers.

26:161. When their brother Loot said to them: Will you not fear Allah?

26:162. Verily I am a faithful Messenger to you,

26:163. So fear Allah, and obey me.

26:164. I do not ask you for any recompense for this; my reward is only with the Lord of the worlds.

26:165. Do you approach with lust the males, of all the people?

26:166. And ignore that which your Lord has created for you of your wives? You are indeed people who transgress.

26:167. They said: If you do not desist, O Loot, you will surely be driven away.

26:168. Loot said: I utterly abhor your deeds.

26:169. My Lord, save me and my family from [the consequences of] what they do.

26:170. So We saved him and all his family.

﴾of your wives﴿: some commentators suggest that this is a reference to the vagina, in contrast to anal intercourse, which is prohibited even with one’s wife.

26:171. Except an old woman who stayed behind.

26:172. Then We destroyed the others

26:173. and We let loose upon them a shower [of stones]. And evil was the shower that fell upon those who had been warned [but did not pay heed].

26:174. Verily in that is a sign, yet most of them will not believe.

26:175. Verily your Lord is the Almighty, the Most Merciful.

Loot spoke to his people, and they said the same as others had said before them; they had a similar mentality that was based on disbelief, so their words were similar. In addition to their polytheism, they also committed an unprecedented type of immorality, as they preferred intimacy with men, which was a dirty and abominable action, and they ignored what Allah had created for them of their wives, because of their lust and transgression. Loot kept on telling them not to do that until they said to him:

﴾If you do not desist, O Loot, you will surely be driven away﴿ that is, from the city. When he saw that they were persisting in the sin, he said: ﴾I utterly abhor your deeds﴿ that is, I hate them, I forbid them and I warn against them.

﴾My Lord, save me and my family from [the consequences of] what they do﴿ that is, from the deed and its punishment. Allah answered his prayer, ﴾So We saved him and all his family, except an old woman who stayed behind﴿ that is, she was one of those who remained and was punished; she was his wife.

﴾Then We destroyed the others and We let loose upon them a shower [of stones]﴿ that is, stones of baked clay.

﴾And evil was the shower that fell upon those who had been warned [but did not pay heed] ﴿ for it destroyed every last one of them.

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26:176. The dwellers of the Wood rejected the Messengers.

26:177. When ShiTayb said to them: Will you not fear Allah?

26:178. Verily I am a faithful Messenger to you,

26:179. So fear Allah, and obey me.

26:180. I do not ask you for any recompense for this; my reward is only with the Lord of the worlds.

26:181. Give full measure and do not be among those who defraud others;

26:182. and weigh with accurate scales;

26:183. and do not undermine people’s rights and dues, and do not strive to spread mischief in the land.

26:184. And fear Him Who created you and those who came before you.

26:185. They said: You are but one of those who are bewitched!

26:186. You are but a human being like ourselves. We think you are nothing but a liar.

26:187. Then cause pieces of the sky to fall upon us,r if you are telling the truth.

26:188. Shu'ayb said: My Lord knows best what you do.

26:189. Thus they rejected him, so they were overtaken by the punishment of the day of the overshadowing cloud,^{1This cloud came at a time of intense heat, so the people rushed to seek shade beneath it, then Allah caused many blasts of thunder to come from it, one after another, and the thunderbolts destroyed the evildoers. (at-Tabari; al-Qurtubi)} and that was the punishment of a momentous day.

26:190. Verily in that is a sign, yet most of them will not believe.

26:191. Verily your Lord is the Almighty, the Most Merciful.

The word translated here as (﴾the Wood﴿ refers to gardens in which the branches of the trees are twisted together. The dwellers of the Wood were the people of Madyan, who rejected their Prophet Shu‘ayb, who brought the same message as all the other Messengers.

﴾When Shu'ayb said to them: Will you not fear Allah﴿ and give up that which angers Him and which He hates, namely disbelief and sin?

c: Verily I am a faithful Messenger to you﴿ which dictates that you should fear Allah and obey me. In addition to their polytheism, they used to give short weight and measure, so he said to them:

﴾Give full measure﴿ that is, give the complete amount,

﴾and do not be among those who defraud others﴿ that is, those who detract from people’s wealth and steal it by giving short weight and measure.

﴾and weigh with accurate scales﴿) that is, use scales that give a correct weight.

﴾And fear Him Who created you and those who came before you﴿ that is, the early generations of humankind. As He is the only One Who created you and created those who came before you, without anyone else playing any role in that, so you should worship Him alone and affirm His oneness. Just as He blessed you by bringing you into being and bestowing His blessings upon you, so you should respond by giving thanks to Him.

But they said to him, rejecting him and his message: ﴾ You are but one of those who are bewitched j﴿; you are talking nonsense like one who has been bewitched, and the best way to react is not to blame him.

﴾You are but a human being like ourselves﴿ and there is nothing special about you to make you superior to us, so that you could call us to follow you. This is like what was said by those who came before them and those who came after them, who objected to the Messengers on the basis of their specious arguments that they are still repeating and basing their rejection on. They are agreed on that because they are agreed on disbelief and they have a similar mentality. The Messengers responded to them by saying:

﴾f...Indeed, we are but human beings like yourselves, but Allah bestows His favour upon whomever He wills of His slaves.. (Ibraheem 14: II)

﴾We think you are nothing but a liar﴿ - this was audacity and unfairness on their part, and a false statement that they knew was not right. There was not one of the Messengers who came to his people and called them, arguing with them and they with him, but Allah showed at his hands signs by means of which they could become certain of his sincerity and honesty, especially Shu'ayb (عليه السلام), who was called the “orator of the Prophets’’ because of his eloquent discussion with his people and his arguing with them in the best manner. His people were certain of his sincerity and that the message that hebrought was true, but what they said about thinking that he was a liar was in fact a lie on their part.

﴾Then cause pieces of the sky to fall upon us﴿ that is, pieces of punishment to eradicate us

﴾fif you are telling the truth﴿. This is like what their fellow disbelievers said:

﴾And [remember] when they said: O Allah, if this is indeed the truth from You, then rain down upon us stones from the sky or send us a painful punishment.﴿ (al-Anfal 8: 32)

They demanded some specific signs that would not satisfy the one who demanded them.

﴾Shu‘ayb said: My Lord knows best what you do﴿ that is, with regard to sending down punishment or producing the signs you demand, it is not me who brings them down or produces them. All I am required to do is convey the message to you and advise you, and I have done that. Rather the one who brings them is my Lord, Who knows your deeds and your situation, and He will requite you and bring you to account.

﴾Thus they rejected him﴿ that is, rejection and disbelief became second nature to them in such a way that the signs did not benefit them and nothing could work with them except the coming down of the punishment.

﴾fso they were overtaken by the punishment of the day of the overshadowing cloud﴿ - a cloud overshadowed them and they gathered beneath it, enjoying its shade that was not really shade. Then the punishment burnt them and they remained beneath it, lifeless, having left behind their dwellings and settling in the abode of misery and punishment.

c﴾and that was the punishment of a momentous day﴿. They will have no chance to go back to this world and start anew, and the punishment will not be alleviated even for a short while, and they will be given no respite.

﴾Verily in that is a sign﴿ that points to the truthfulness of Shu^ayb and the soundness of that to which he called people, and of the falseness of his people’s rejection of him.

﴾yet most of them will not believe﴿ despite seeing the signs, because there is nothing good in them.

﴾But most of humankind will not believe, no matter how eagerly you desire it.﴿ (Yoosuf 12: 103)

﴾Verily your Lord is the Almighty﴿ Who subjugates all creatures ﴾the Most Merciful)); mercy is typical of Him and all goodness in this world and the hereafter is the effect of His mercy, from the moment Allah created the universe until it ends. By His might, He destroyed His enemies when they rejected His Messengers, and by His mercy. He saved His close friends and the believers who followed them.

26:192. Verily this [Qur’an] is a revelation from the Lord of the worlds;

26:193. The faithful Spirit has brought it down

26:194. to your heart so that you may be one of the warners,

26:195. in clear Arabic speech.

26:196. Verily it was mentioned in the scriptures of the previous nations

26:197. Is it not a sign for them that the scholars of the Children of Israel recognise it [to be true]?

26:198. If We had sent it down to any of the non-Arabs,

26:199. and he had recited it to them, they still would not have believed in it.

26:200. Thus We let it [disbelief) enter the hearts of the evildoers.

26:201. They will not believe in it until they see the painful punishment.

26:202. It will come upon them suddenly, when they least expect it.

26:203. Then they will say: Can we be granted some respite?

Having mentioned the stories of the Prophets with their nations, how they called them and how the people responded to them, and how Allah destroyed their enemies and they ultimately prevailed, here Allah mentions this noble Messenger and great chosen Prophet (3i|X and what he brought of the Book in which there is guidance for people of intellect.

Verily this [Qur’an] is a revelation from the Lord of the worlds﴿; the One Who sent it down is the Originator of the heavens and the earth, who sustains the entire universe, both the upper and lower realms. As He cared for them by guiding them to that which is in their best interests in worldly terms and their physical well-being. He also cares for them by guiding them to that which leads to well-being in religious terms and in the hereafter. One of the greatest signs of His care for them is the sending down of this noble Book that contains much goodness and abundant blessings. In it there is guidance to what is in people’s best interests in this world and the hereafter, and righteous manners and attitudes, that is not found in any other book.

In the words *(Verily this [Qur’an] is a revelation from the Lord of the worlds﴿ there is an indication of its greatness and great care for this Book, in that it has come down from Allah and not from anyone else, and it is intended to benefit you and guide you.

﴾The faithful Spirit has brought it down﴿ - the faithful Spirit is Jibreel (عليه السلام), who is the best and strongest of the angels. The wordtranslated here as ﴾faithful﴿ refers to one who has been trusted not to add or subtract anything in it.

﴾to your heart﴿, O Muhammad (ﷺ), (fso that you may be one of the warners﴿, guiding people thereby to the path of right guidance and warning against the path of misguidance.

﴾in clear Arabic speech﴿ which is the best of languages, the language of those to whom it was sent and who were the original recipients of the call in clear Arabic language.

Think about how these sublime virtues were combined in this noble Book. For it is the best of books, brought down by the best of the angels, to the best of humankind, to the best part of him - namely his heart - to the best nation brought forth for humankind, in the best, most eloquent and richest of languages, namely clear Arabic speech.

﴾Verily it was mentioned in the scriptures of the previous nations﴿ that is, it was foretold and confirmed in the previous scriptures, and when it was revealed in accordance with what was foretold, that confirmed what was mentioned in the previous Books.

﴾Rather he has brought the truth and confirmed the [message of the earlier] Messengers.﴿ (as-Saffat 37: 37)

﴾Is it not a sign for them﴿ of its soundness, and that it is from Allah ﴾that the scholars of the Children of Israel recognise it [to be true]﴿ - knowledge ended up with them and they were the most knowledgeable of people. With regard to anything about which there is confusion, the matter should be referred to people of experience and knowledge, so that their word may be proof against others, just as the magicians who were highly skilled in the area of magic confirmed that the miracles of Moosa were true and were not magic. After that, no attention is to be paid to the words of the ignorant.

﴾If We had sent it down to any of the non-Arabs﴿ who did not understand Arabic and could not express themselves properly ﴾and he had recited it to them, they still would not have believed in it﴿ for they would have said: We do not understand what he is saying,and we do not know what he is calling us to. So let them praise their Lord that it came to them in the language of the most eloquent of humankind, the most able to express what is meant in the clearest words, and let them hasten to believe in it and respond by submitting and accepting it. But to reject it without any reason to doubt is pure disbelief and stubbornness, and it is something that they inherited from the disbelieving nations. Hence Allah says:

﴾Thus We let it [disbelief] enter the hearts of the evildoers﴿ that is. We instilled rejection and denial in the hearts of the evildoers, as the thread is introduced into the needle, and it became well entrenched and became second nature to them. That was because of their wrongdoing and evil deeds. Hence Allah says:

﴾They will not believe in it until they see the painful punishment﴿ for their disbelief.

It will come upon them suddenly, when they least expect it﴿ that is, it will catch them unawares, when they are not anticipating it and do not realise that it is coming, so that the punishment will be more effective in wreaking vengeance upon them.

﴾Then﴿ at that moment, ﴾they will say: Can we be granted some respite?﴿ That is, they will ask to be given more time, but in fact it will be too late, and the punishment will come upon them that cannot be lifted or reduced for even a short while.

26:204. Do they really seek to hasten Our punishment?

26:205. But consider this: if We grant them a life of ease for years,

26:206. Then there comes to them that which they are warned of,

26:207. All the life of ease that they were granted will be of no avail to them.

﴾Do they really seek to hasten Our punishment﴿ which is the immense and painful punishment that cannot be taken lightly or thought of as insignificant. What has deceived them? Do they have the strength to bear it with patience? Or do they have the strength to ward it off or lift it once it befalls them? Or can they escape Us, and do they think that We are not able to punish them?

﴾But consider this: if We grant them a life of ease for years﴿ that is, what you think, if We do not hasten to send down the punishment upon them, and we give them respite for a number of years, during which they enjoy a life of ease in this world, c﴾Then there comes to them that which they are warned of﴿ of punishment c﴾AII the life of ease﴿ and the pleasures and desires ﴾that they were granted will be of no avail to them﴿.

In other words, what could help them or benefit them, when those pleasures have ceased and vanished, and the consequences of that have come, and the punishment is doubled and the time is long? The point here is to warn against incurring the punishment and becoming deserving of it. The issue is not whether it is to be hastened or delayed, for that is not important (what matters is avoiding punishment in the first place).

26:208. We never destroyed any city without first sending Messengers to warn it

26:209. by way of reminder, for We are never unjust.

26:210. It was not the devils who brought this [Qur’an] down;

26:211. It is not appropriate for them to do that, nor is it within their capability.

26:212. Indeed they are excluded from hearing it [the Qur’an].

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us of His perfect justice in destroying the disbelievers, and that He never sent destruction and punishment upon any city until after He had left them with no excuse, and he had sent warners bringing clear signs and calling them to right guidance, warning them against doom and reminding them of the signs and revelations of Allah, and how He blessed them and how previous nations were destroyed and all these blessings were taken away from them.

﴾by way of reminder﴿ to them, and so as to establish proof against them

﴾for We are never unjust﴿; We do not destroy cities before warning them, or punish them when they are unaware of the warning. This is like the verses in which Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

(°f...Nor do We punish until We have sent a Messenger [to give

- and:

('[Messengers sent as bearers of glad tidings and as warners, so that humankind would have no excuse before Allah, after the [coming of the] Messengers...﴿ (an-Nisd'4: 165)

Having highlighted the perfect and majestic nature of the Qur’an, and declaring it to be above all shortcomings, and having told us that He protected it - at the time of its revelation and after its revelation

- from the devils among the jinn and humankind, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) sayshere: (-﴾It was not the devils who brought this [Qur’an] down; it is not appropriate﴿ that is, befitting ﴾for them to do that, nor is it within their capability﴿ to do so.

﴾Indeed they are excluded from hearing it [the Qur’an]﴿ - they were kept away from it and the shooting stars were prepared for them to protect it, and it was brought down by Jibreel, the strongest of the angels, whom no devil can approach or come anywhere near his territory. This is like the verse in which Allah says:

Verily, it is We Who have sent down the Reminder [the Qur’an], and verily it is We Who will preserve it.﴿ (al-Hijr 15: 9)

26:213. Do not call upon any other god alongside Allah, lest you be among those who will be punished.

26:214. And [O Muhammad] warn your nearest kinsfolk,

26:215. And lower your wing [in humility and gentleness] to the believers who follow you.

26:216. Then if they [your kinsfolk] disobey you, say: I am not accountable for what you do.

Here Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) forbids His Messenger first of all, and his Ummah by implication, as they follow him, to call upon anyone other than Allah, of all created beings, for that incurs eternal punishment because it is ascribing partners to Him.

((...Whoever ascribes partners to Allah, then Allah has forbidden paradise for him, and the fire will be his abode...﴿ (al-Ma'idah 5: 72)

Prohibition of a thing is a command to do its opposite, so the prohibition on ascribing partners to Allah is a command to devote worship to Allah alone, without any partner or associate, out of love, fear, hope and humility, turning towards Him at all times.

Having enjoined him (the Prophet [j||]) to do that by means of which he will attain perfection for himself, Allah now instructs him to guide others to the path that leads to perfection:

﴾And [O Muhammad] warn your nearest kinsfolk﴿ who are the closest of people to you and are the most deserving of your kindness in both spiritual and worldly terms. This does not cancel out the command to warn all people, because if a person is instructed to be kind to all people, then it is said to him: Be kind to your relatives, this is emphasising the importance of kindness to relatives and highlighting the fact that they have a particular right to that.

The Prophet (ﷺ) complied with this divine command, and he called the clans of Quraysh, addressing them in different ways, reminding them and admonishing them. He left no advice or guidance that he was able to offer but he said it; some of them were guided and some turned away.

﴾And lower your wing [in humility and gentleness] to the believers who follow you﴿ by treating them gently, speaking gentle words to them, being friendly and showing love, a good attitude and perfect kindness towards them. And he indeed did that. Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says:

﴾flt is by the mercy of Allah that you deal gently with them. If you had been harsh or hard-hearted, they would have dispersed from around you. So pardon them, and ask for [Allah’s] forgiveness for them; and consult them in matters of importance...﴿ (A! ‘Imran 3: 159)

This attitude on the part of the Prophet (ﷺ) was the most perfect attitude, by means of which great interests may be served and great harm may be warded off, as anyone can see.

So is it befitting for one who believes in Allah and His Messenger (5itX and claims to be following him, to be a burden on the Muslims, ill-mannered, harsh towards them, hard-hearted, rough and foulmouthed, and if he sees any sin or bad manners on their part, he shuns them, resents them and hates them? There is no gentleness in such a person, and no manners or etiquette. Many evils result from the way he deals with people, and many interests are blocked, yet despite that you find him looking down on those who possess attributes like those of the noble Messenger (ﷺ). He accuses them of hypocrisy and compromise, and he thinks of himself as perfect, regarding himself as being of high status and admiring his deeds. Does this result from anything but ignorance and the deceit of the Shaytan who makes his attitude fair-seeming to him? Hence Allah says to His Messenger

(ﷺ)*

﴾Then if they [your kinsfolk] disobey you﴿ with regard to any matter, do not disown them and do not stop dealing with them on the basis of humility and gentleness. Rather what you should disavow is their deeds, so admonish them for that and advise them, and do your utmost to prevent them doing such deeds and urge them to repent.

This is in order to avoid giving the wrong impression to one who may misunderstand and think that the words ﴾And lower your wing [in humility and gentleness] to the believers﴿ implies approving of everything that they do, so long as they are believers. This notion is warded off by this verse. And Allah knows best.

26:217. And put your trust in the Almighty, the Most Merciful,

26:218. Who sees you when you stand up [to pray],

26:219. And sees your movements among those who prostrate [along with you, in the prayer]

26:220. for verily He is the All-Hearing, All-Knowing.

The greatest help to a person in doing what he is commanded to do is relying on his Lord and seeking His help to enable him to do what is enjoined. Hence Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) instructs us to put our trust in Him, as He says:

﴾And put your trust in the Almighty, the Most Merciful﴿ putting one’s trust in Him refers to the reliance of the heart on Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) to bring benefit and ward off harm, whilst trusting in Him and thinking positively of Him, and believing that He will help you to attain what you seek. For He is Almighty, Most Merciful; by His might He is able to bring good and ward off evil from His slave, and by His mercy He does that. Then He points out the importance of seeking divine help and bearing in mind how close Allah is, and attaining the level of ihsan, as He says:

Ihsan is referred to in the well-known hadith in which it was narrated that ‘Umar said:

«We were sitting with the Prophet (ﷺ) when a man came to him whose clothes were intensely white and whose hair was intensely black; no signs of travel could be seen upon him, and none of us knew him. He sat down facing the Prophet (ﷺ), with his knees touching his, and he put his hands on his thighs, and said: O Muhammad, what is Islam? He said: To testify that there is no god except Allah, and that I am the Messenger of Allah; to establish regular prayer; to pay zakah; to fast in Ramadan; and to perform pilgrimage to the House (the Kaaba). He said: You have spoken the truth. We were amazed by him: he asked a question then told him that he had spoken the truth. Then he said: O Muhammad, what is faith? He said: To believe in Allah, His angels. His Messengers, His Books, the Last Day, and the divine decree (al-qadr), both good and bad. He said: You have spoken the truth. We were amazed by him: he asked a question then told him that he had spoken the truth. Then he said: O Muhammad, what is ihsan (right action, goodness, sincerity)? He said: To worship Allah as if you see Him, for even though you cannot see Him, =﴾Who sees you when you stand up [to pray], and sees your movements among those who prostrate [along with you, in the prayer]﴿ that is. He sees you when you perform this great act of worship, namely the prayer, at the time when you stand and move, bowing and prostrating.

Prayer is singled out for mention because of its virtue and honourable status, because the one who bears in mind, as he is praying, the closeness of his Lord will focus with proper humility and will perform the prayer properly and completely, and will do all of the deeds properly, because prayer will become a source of help for him in all his affairs.

﴾for verily He is the All-Hearing﴿ and hears all voices, of all types ﴾All-Knowing﴿ and His knowledge encompasses all things, outward and inward, unseen and visible.

If a person bears in mind that Allah can see him in all circumstances and hear all that he utters, and He knows what is in his heart of worries, resolve and intentions, this will help him to attain the status of ihsan.

26:221. Shall I tell you upon whom the devils descend?

26:222. They descend upon every evil liar,

= He sees you.» This version was narrated by ibn Majah; the hadith was also narrated by Bukhari, Muslim and others.

26:223. Who listens eagerly [to what the devils say], but most of them are liars.

26:224. As for poets, those who are misguided follow them.

26:225. Do you not see that they wander aimlessly from one idle pursuit to another,^{1That is because they follow' no moral and ethical guidelines and do not control what they say, and may switch loyalties easily, praising a person one day and condemning him the next; they may also praise or condemn someone w ho does not deserve that, or speak too highly of themselves.}

26:226. and that they say that which they do not do,

26:227. except those who believe, do righteous deeds, remember Allah much and defend themselves after having been wronged?^{2This refers to responding in verse to poetry composed by the disbelievers against Islam and the Muslims.} And those who do wrong will come to know what fate awaits them.

This is a response to those who rejected the Messenger (ﷺ) and said that a devil came to him, and those who said that he was a poet.

﴾Shall I tell you upon whom the devils descend?﴿ That is, shall I tell you the true fact concerning which there is no doubt or confusion about those upon whom the devils descend? In other words, this is a description of those people upon whom the devils descend.

﴾They descend upon every evil liar﴿ that is, one who speaks much falsehood and fabricates lies.

Sfevil﴿ that is, in his deeds; he commits a lot of sin. This is the one upon whom the devils descend, for his character matches theirs and they are compatible.

﴾Who listens eagerly [to what the devils say]﴿ that is, what they snatch from heaven ﴾but most of them are liars﴿,﴿ that is, most of what they say to him is lies. They may say one thing that is true, and add a hundred lies to it.so that the truth becomes mixed with falsehood, and what is true will vanish because it is so little, and because the one who receives it has no knowledge. This is the description of the people upon whom the devils descend, and this is the description of what the devils inspire them with.

But with regard to Muhammad (ﷺ), his character is very different, because he is truthful, honest, righteous and wise, the one in whom are combined sincerity of the heart, honest speech and deeds that are free of anything unlawful.

The revelation that comes down to him is from Allah, and it is sent down guarded and protected, and it contains great truth concerning which there can be no doubt at all. So - O people of reason - are he and those people equal? Could anyone confuse them except one who is ignorant and cannot distinguish matters or see the difference between different things?

Having declared him innocent of receiving anything from the devils, Allah also declared him to be innocent of being a poet, as He says:

﴾As for poets﴿ that is, shall 1 also tell you about the character and usual description of the poets? For «fthose who are misguided﴿ away from the path of truth, and who follow the path of misguidance and doom, ﴾follow them﴿. So they themselves have gone astray and you will find that they are followed by everyone who has gone astray and is corrupt.

﴾Do you not see that﴿ because of their error and extreme misguidance t﴾they wander aimlessly from one idle pursuit to another﴿ - sometimes they praise people and sometimes they impugn them; sometimes they tell the truth and sometimes they lie; sometimes they compose love poetry and sometimes they lampoon others; sometimes they express joy and sometimes they express sorrow. They are not stable and they switch moods easily.

﴾and that they say that which they do not doja that is, this is how the poets are: their words and deeds do not match. If you hear the poet composing gentle love poems, you will say that he is lovesick, but his heart is devoid of love. If you hear him praising or condemning someone, you will say: He is speaking the truth, but he is lying. Sometimes they boast of deeds that they never did, or they boast about refraining from things from which they never refrained, or they boast of generosity from which they are far removed, or of courage in which they surpass the boldest warriors, when they are the most cowardly of people. This is how they are, so look and see: does what is mentioned above match the character of the Messenger Muhammad (ﷺ), the wise and righteous one, who is followed by everyone who is wise and rightly guided, who adhered to right guidance and kept away from the path of doom, whose deeds did not contradict one another and whose words did not contradict his deeds? He only enjoined good, and he only forbade evil; he never spoke of anything but he told the truth; he never enjoined anything but he was the first to do it; he never forbade anything but he was the first to refrain from it.

Is his character matched by that of the poets, or do they even come close? Or is he different from them in all aspects? Blessings and peace of Allah be upon this most perfect Messenger (ﷺ), forever and ever. He was not a poet, magician, or madman; nothing befits him but utter perfection.

Having described the poets in such terms, Allah made an exception for those among them who believed in Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ), did righteous deeds, remembered Allah much and defended themselves against their polytheist enemies after they wronged them.

In such cases their poetry was counted among their righteous deeds and the effects of their faith, because it contained praise for the believers, defence against the polytheists and disbelievers, striving in defence of the religion of Allah, propagating useful knowledge and encouraging all virtuous characteristics. Hence Allah says:

﴾except those who believe, do righteous deeds, remember Allah much and defend themselves after having been wronged? And those who do wrong will come to know what fate awaits thernj﴿ when they move to the place of standing and reckoning, when there will be no minor or major deed but it will be listed, and there will be no dues but they will be paid in full. Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.

This is the end of the commentary on Sooral ash-Slufara\

All praise and thanks are lor Allah, and may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ). his family, and his Companions abundantly until the Day of Judgement.