Tafsir of Surah Al-Anbiya' - Verse 37

How the Idolators mocked the Prophet Allah tells His Prophet ...

وَإِذَا رَآكَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ

(And when those who disbelieved see you,) meaning, the disbelievers of the Quraysh, such as Abu Jahl and his like.

إِن يَتَّخِذُونَكَ إِلاَّ هُزُواً

(they take you not except for mockery) means, they make fun of you and insult you, saying,

أَهَـذَا الَّذِى يَذْكُرُ آلِهَتَكُمْ

("Is this the one who talks about your gods") meaning, is this the one who insults your gods and ridicules your intelligence Allah says:

وَهُمْ بِذِكْرِ الرَّحْمَـنِ هُمْ كَـفِرُونَ

(While they disbelieve at the mention of the Most Gracious.) meaning, they disbelieve in Allah and yet they mock the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. As Allah says:

وَإِذَا رَأَوْكَ إِن يَتَّخِذُونَكَ إِلاَّ هُزُواً أَهَـذَا الَّذِى بَعَثَ اللَّهُ رَسُولاً - إِن كَادَ لَيُضِلُّنَا عَنْ ءَالِهَتِنَا لَوْلاَ أَن صَبْرَنَا عَلَيْهَا وَسَوْفَ يَعْلَمُونَ حِينَ يَرَوْنَ الْعَذَابَ مَنْ أَضَلُّ سَبِيلاً

(And when they see you, they treat you only in mockery (saying): "Is this the one whom Allah has sent as a Messenger He would have nearly misled us from our gods, had it not been that we were patient and constant in their worship!" And they will know, when they see the torment, who it is that is most astray from the path!) 25:41-42

خُلِقَ الإنْسَانُ مِنْ عَجَلٍ

(Man is created of haste.) This is like the Ayah:

وَكَانَ الإِنْسَـنُ عَجُولاً

(and man is ever hasty) 17:11, in all matters. The reason why the haste of man is mentioned here is that when mention is made of those who mock the Messenger , (the believers) will want to avenge them swiftly, and that so should happen sooner. Allah says,

خُلِقَ الإنْسَانُ مِنْ عَجَلٍ

(Man is created of haste.) because He delays (the punishment) until a time when, once He seizes him, He will never let him go. He delays it, then He hastens it; He waits, then He does not delay any longer. So He says:

سَأُوْرِيكُمْ ءَايَـتِى

(I will show you My Ayat) meaning, My vengeance, ruling and power over those who disobey Me.

فَلاَ تَسْتَعْجِلُونِ

(So ask Me not to hasten (them).)

Haste is undesirable

خُلِقَ الْإِنسَانُ مِنْ عَجَلٍ (Man is made of haste. - 21:37). عَجَل ('ajal) means haste or hurry. The word is used in situations when one desires things to happen before their time, and this trait is bad by its very nature. In another place also the word is used to denote human weakness. For instance وَكَانَ الْإِنسَانُ عَجُولًا i.e. Man is prone to haste - 17:11, meaning that he is very impatient. When Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) went to the mount Tur in a hurry leaving his people behind, he was censured by Allah Ta` ala.

Prophets (علیہم السلام) and the devout people who try to excel each other in the performance of righteous deeds have been commended and their zeal to do good deeds does not constitute haste and hurry because they do not try to do these deeds before their time. In fact they do the deeds on time, but try to excel each other in quantity and quality.

Here خُلِقَ الْإِنسَانُ مِنْ عَجَلٍ (Man is made of haste - 21:37) means that haste and hurry is one of the many weaknesses which are inherent in human nature. When a man is identified by some intrinsic trait of his character, me Arabs used to say that he is 'made of that trait. For instance a short tempered man would be called a 'man made of anger'.

سَأُرِ‌يكُمْ آيَاتِي فَلَا تَسْتَعْجِلُونِ (I shall show you my signs -.21:37) Here the word آیات (signs) refers to those miracles and events which bear evidence to the honesty of the Holy Prophet ﷺ and the truth of his message. (Qurtubi)

These miracles also occurred during the battle of Badr (غزوہ بدر) when the Muslims who were considered weak and worthy of contempt gained a great victory over their enemies.

The people of Arabia, although believers in the life hereafter, denied that concept of the Hereafter, as described by the Prophet Muhammad. They were proud to be followers of a religion which guaranteed their success. When the Prophet contradicted this firm belief of theirs, they became incensed. Making a show of fearlessness, they said, ‘Show us the retribution of God with which you are threatening us.’ God says that their haste was entirely due to the fact that they were still in the process of being tested, and as such, were distanced from God’s retribution. But when this period of respite ended and they were overwhelmed by God’s punishment, it would dawn on them that they had committed a huge blunder in not taking the Prophet’s words seriously.