Tafsir of Surah Al-Hajj - Verse 53

How the Shaytan threw some Falsehood into the Words of the Messengers, and how Allah abolished

At this point many of the scholars of Tafsir mentioned the story of the Gharaniq and how many of those who had migrated to Ethiopia came back when they thought that the idolators of the Quraysh had become Muslims, but these reports all come through Mursal chains of narration and I do not think that any of them may be regarded as Sahih. And Allah knows best. Al-Bukhari said, "Ibn `Abbas said,

فِى أُمْنِيَّتِهِ

(in his recitation (of the revelation).) "When he spoke, the Shaytan threw (some falsehood) into his speech, but Allah abolished that which the Shaytan threw in."

ثُمَّ يُحْكِمُ اللَّهُ ءَايَـتِهِ

(Then Allah establishes His revelations.) `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn `Abbas said,

إِذَا تَمَنَّى أَلْقَى الشَّيْطَـنُ فِى أُمْنِيَّتِهِ

(when he did recite (the revelation), Shaytan threw (some falsehood) in it) "When he spoke, the Shaytan threw (some falsehood) into his speech." Mujahid said:

إِذَا تُمْنَى

(when he did recite) "When he spoke." It was said that it refers to his recitation, whereas,

إِلاَّ أَمَانِىَّ

(but they trust upon Amani) means they speak but they do not write. Al-Baghawi and the majority of the scholars of Tafsir said:

تَمَنَّى

(he did recite) "Reciting the Book of Allah."

أَلْقَى الشَّيْطَـنُ فِى أُمْنِيَّتِهِ

(Shaytan threw (some falsehood) in it) "In his recitation." Ad-Dahhak said:

إِذَا تُمْنَى

(when he did recite) "When he recited." Ibn Jarir said, "This comment is more akin to interpretation."

فَيَنسَخُ اللَّهُ مَا يُلْقِى الشَّيْطَـنُ

(But Yansakh Allah that which Shaytan throws in.) The meaning of the word Naskh in Arabic is to remove or lift away. `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn `Abbas said, "This means, Allah cancels out that which the Shaytan throws in."

وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ

(And Allah is All-Knower,) means, He knows all matters and events that will happen, and nothing whatsoever is hidden from Him.

حَكِيمٌ

(All-Wise.) means, in His decree, creation and command, He has perfect wisdom and absolute proof, hence He says:

لِّيَجْعَلَ مَا يُلْقِى الشَّيْطَـنُ فِتْنَةً لِّلَّذِينَ فِى قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٌ

(That He (Allah) may make what is thrown in by Shaytan a trial for those in whose hearts is a disease) meaning, doubt, Shirk, disbelief and hypocrisy. Ibn Jurayj said:

الَّذِينَ فِى قُلُوبِهِمْ مَّرَضٌ

(those in whose hearts is a disease) "The hypocrites, and

وَالْقَاسِيَةِ قُلُوبُهُمْ

(and whose hearts are hardened.) means the idolators."

وَإِنَّ الظَّـلِمِينَ لَفِى شِقَاقٍ بَعِيدٍ

(And certainly, the wrongdoers are in an opposition far-off.) means, far away in misguidance, resistance and stubbornness, i.e., far from the truth and the correct way.

وَلِيَعْلَمَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ الْعِلْمَ أَنَّهُ الْحَقُّ مِن رَّبِّكَ فَيُؤْمِنُواْ بِهِ

(And that those who have been given knowledge may know that it is the truth from your Lord, so that they may believe therein,) means, `so that those who have been given beneficial knowledge with which they may differentiate between truth and falsehood, those who believe in Allah and His Messenger, may know that what We have revealed to you is the truth from your Lord, Who has revealed it by His knowledge and under His protection, and He will guard it from being mixed with anything else.' Indeed, it is the Wise Book which,

لاَّ يَأْتِيهِ الْبَـطِلُ مِن بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَلاَ مِنْ خَلْفِهِ تَنزِيلٌ مِّنْ حَكِيمٍ حَمِيدٍ

(Falsehood cannot come to it from before it or behind it, (it is) sent down by the All-Wise, Worthy of all praise (Allah).) 41:42

فَيُؤْمِنُواْ بِهِ

(so that they may believe therein,) means, that they may believe that it is true and act upon it.

فَتُخْبِتَ لَهُ قُلُوبُهُمْ

(and their hearts may submit to it with humility.) means, that their hearts may humble themselves and accept it.

وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَهَادِ الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ إِلَى صِرَطٍ مُّسْتَقِيمٍ

(And verily, Allah is the Guide of those who believe, to the straight path.) means, in this world and in the Hereafter. In this world, He guides them to the truth and helps them to follow it and to resist and avoid falsehood; in the Hereafter, He will guide them to the straight path which leads to the degrees of Paradise, and He will save them from the painful torment and the dismal levels of Hell.

Commentary

مِن رَّ‌سُولٍ وَلَا نَبِيٍّ (any messenger and any prophet - 22:52) This shows that the words Rasul رَّ‌سُولٍ and Nabi carry different meanings, though there is no consensus as to the precise nature of the difference. For our purpose it is enough to understand that Nabi نَبِيٍّ is a person whom Allah Ta’ ala designates with a mission to reform his people and who receives revelations from Him. He may receive a Scripture and a code of laws or he may be commanded to convey the message of an earlier Book and code of laws. Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) and ` Isa' (علیہ السلام) belong to the first category, whereas Sayyidna Harun (علیہ السلام) ، who was directed to propagate the teachings of Torah and the Mosaic Laws, falls in the second category. On the other hand a Rasul رَّ‌سُولٍ is a person who receives from Allah Ta’ ala a Scripture and a code of laws. Thus every رَّ‌سُولٍ Rasul is necessarily a Nabi also, but every Nabi is not a Rasul. These distinctions are applicable to human beings only. That an angel who carries wahy from Allah Ta’ ala is also named as Rasul does not contradict this position. This subject has already been discussed in detail in Surah Maryam in the beginning of this volume.

أَلْقَى الشَّيْطَانُ فِي أُمْنِيَّتِهِ (The Shaitan cast (doubts) about what he recited - 22:52) In this verse the word تَمَنَّىٰ has been used as a synonym for قَرَأَ thus أُمْنِيَّتِهِ would mean قِرَأت (recitation). This verse explains that the disputes raised by the disbelievers in regard to Allah's message is not something new as similar doubts were raised by earlier people as well when their prophets presented to them the message of Truth, and the Shaitan cast doubts about it in the hearts of disbelievers. This explanation of the verse is quite clear and straight-forward, and has been adopted by many commentators including Abu Hayyan in his Bahr-ul-Muhit. However, some books of traditions have reported here an incident which is not proved by authentic sources. The incident is known as حَدِیث الٖغرانیق (hadith-ulgharaniq). Some scholars have held that it is invented by some heretics and enemies of Islam. But even those who believe this tradition to be worthwhile have taken pains to remove the doubts, which the words raise about the categorical and undisputed laws of Qur'an and Sunnah. The plain and simple meaning of the verse has been explained above and the alleged incident in no way affects this meaning. Making this incident as a part and parcel of the commentary on this verse, thereby creating unnecessary doubts, and then attempting to answer those doubts is an exercise in futility and absolutely undesirable وَاللہُ سبحانَہُ و تعالیٰ اَعلَم .

It invariably happens that when one proclaims the divine Truth, whether he is a prophet or not, his opponents bring up various types of irrelevant points with a view to casting doubt on the truth of the message. Such points are always baseless. However, when they are raised, the preacher finds the opportunity to clarify his message and make it more cogent and well-established. This enhances the faith of sincere believers. Thereafter, their bonds with God become still stronger. But for those who are devoid of sincere understanding, these baseless objections become a source of trial for them. They are misled by them and move away from the Truth. ‘God will surely guide the faithful to a straight path’ means that those who are really sincere in their faith are not affected by false propaganda. They are never misled by the magic of false words. Their faith gives them deep insight into things, so that they are not carried away by outward appearances.