Tafsir of Surah Al-Mu'minun - Verse 44

Mention of Other Nations Allah says:

ثُمَّ أَنشَأْنَا مِن بَعْدِهِمْ قُرُوناً ءَاخَرِينَ

(Then, after them, We created other generations.) meaning, nations and peoples.

مَّا تَسْبِقُ مِنْ أُمَّةٍ أَجَلَهَا وَمَا يَسْتَـْخِرُونَ

(No nation can advance their term, nor can they delay it.) means, they are taken at the appropriate time, as decreed by Allah in His Book that is preserved with Him, before they were created, nation after nation, century after century, generation after generation, successors after predecessors.

ثُمَّ أَرْسَلْنَا رُسُلَنَا تَتْرَى

(Then We sent Our Messengers in succession.) Ibn `Abbas said, "(This means) following one another in succession." This is like the Ayah:

وَلَقَدْ بَعَثْنَا فِى كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ رَّسُولاً أَنِ اعْبُدُواْ اللَّهَ وَاجْتَنِبُواْ الْطَّـغُوتَ فَمِنْهُم مَّنْ هَدَى اللَّهُ وَمِنْهُمْ مَّنْ حَقَّتْ عَلَيْهِ الضَّلَـلَةُ

(And verily, We have sent among every Ummah a Messenger (proclaiming): "Worship Allah, and avoid Taghut (all false deities)." Then of them were some whom Allah guided and of them were some upon whom the straying was justified) 16:36.

كُلَّ مَا جَآءَ أُمَّةً رَّسُولُهَا كَذَّبُوهُ

(Every time there came to a nation their Messenger, they denied him;) meaning the greater majority of them. This is like the Ayah:

يحَسْرَةً عَلَى الْعِبَادِ مَا يَأْتِيهِمْ مِّن رَّسُولٍ إِلاَّ كَانُواْ بِهِ يَسْتَهْزِءُونَ

(Alas for mankind! There never came a Messenger to them but they used to mock at him.) 36:30

فَأَتْبَعْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ بَعْضاً

(so We made them follow one another,) means, `We destroyed them,' as Allah says:

وَكَمْ أَهْلَكْنَا مِنَ الْقُرُونِ مِن بَعْدِ نُوحٍ

(And how many generations have We destroyed after Nuh!) 17:17

وَجَعَلْنَـهُمْ أَحَادِيثَ

(and We made them as Ahadith) meaning, stories and lessons for mankind, as Allah says elsewhere:

فَجَعَلْنَـهُمْ أَحَادِيثَ وَمَزَّقْنَـهُمْ كُلَّ مُمَزَّقٍ

(so, We made them as tales (in the land), and We dispersed them all totally) 34:19.

Commentary

وَآوَيْنَاهُمَا إِلَىٰ رَبْوَةٍ ذَاتِ قَرَارٍ وَمَعِينٍ (and We gave them shelter on a height, a place of rest and running springs). According to Bayan-ul-Qur’ an, this verse refers to the event that a tyrant was resolute to kill Sayyidna ` Isa and his mother (علیہما السلام) right from his childhood. They escaped from him and, with Allah's grace, found a place on a height where they enjoyed a peaceful life until Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) attained maturity and was entrusted with prophethood. (This commentary is taken from Khulasa-e-tafsir of Ma` ariful-Qur’ an).

After the advent of each prophet, the succeeding generations of his community were always led astray. In order to reform them, prophets were sent to them again and again. In Adam’s generation Noah appeared. In Noah’s generation (the ‘Ad), Hud appeared as a prophet. In Hud’s generation (the Thamud), Salih appeared. But on each occasion those who had accepted the prophet of the past without question, were the very same people who were not at all prepared to accept the prophet of their own times. The reason for this is that the prophet of the past, as a result of a wealth of traditions surrounding him, ultimately becomes a symbol of national pride, or national identity. He assumes the status of a national hero. By accepting him, one’s superiority complex is satisfied. Obviously, who will refuse to accept such a prophet? But, the case of the prophet during his lifetime is just the opposite. He has neither any halo of history around him nor any traditions of greatness to enhance his persona. Accepting him amounts to accepting an invisible reality. This is why those who accepted the prophet of the past have always refused to accept the prophet of their own times. ‘So away with the people who will not believe!’ Those referred to in this injunction are people who could recognize God’s emissary only when, as a result of historical process, he had become their national hero.