Tafsir of Surah Al-Furqan - Verse 4

What the Disbelievers said about the Qur'an

Allah tells us about the foolishness of the disbelievers' ignorant minds, when they said about the Qur'an:

إِنْ هَـذَا إِلاَّ إِفْكٌ

(This is nothing but a lie), meaning an untruth.

افْتَرَاهُ

(that he has invented,) meaning the Prophet .

وَأَعَانَهُ عَلَيْهِ قَوْمٌ ءَاخَرُونَ

(and others have helped him in it.) means, he asked other people to help him compile it. So Allah said:

فَقَدْ جَآءُوا ظُلْماً وَزُوراً

(In fact, they have produced an unjust wrong and a lie.) meaning, they are the ones who are telling a lie, and they know that it is false, for their own souls know that what they are claiming is not true.

وَقَالُواْ أَسَـطِيرُ الاٌّوَّلِينَ اكْتَتَبَهَا

(And they say: "Tales of the ancients which he has written down...") meaning, the ancients wrote them down, and he has copied it.

فَهِىَ تُمْلَى عَلَيْهِ

(and they are dictated to him) means, they are read or recited to him.

بُكْرَةً وَأَصِيلاً

(morning and afternoon. ) at the beginning and end of the day. Because this idea is so foolish and is so patently false, everyone knows that it is not true. It is known through Mutawatir reports and is a common fact that Muhammad ﷺ the Messenger of Allah never learned to read or write, either at the beginning or the end of his life. He grew up among them for approximately forty years, from the time he was born until the time when his mission began. They knew all about him, and about his honest and sound character and how he would never lie or do anything immoral or bad. They even used to call him Al-Amin (the Trustworthy One) from a young age, until his mission began, because they saw how truthful and honest he was. When Allah honored him with that which He honored him, they declared their enmity towards him and came up with all these accusations which any reasonable person would know he was innocent of. They were not sure what to accuse him of. Sometimes they said that he was a sorcerer, at other times they would say he was a poet, or crazy, or a liar. So Allah said:

انْظُرْ كَيْفَ ضَرَبُواْ لَكَ الاٌّمْثَالَ فَضَلُّواْ فَلاَ يَسْتَطِيعْونَ سَبِيلاً

(See what examples they have put forward for you. So they have gone astray, and never can they find a way.) (17:48) In response to their stubbornness, Allah says here:

قُلْ أَنزَلَهُ الَّذِى يَعْلَمُ السِّرَّ فِى السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ

(Say: "It has been sent down by Him Who knows the secret of the heavens and the earth".) meaning, He has revealed the Qur'an which includes true information about the earlier and later generations, information which concurs with the realities of the past and future.

الَّذِى يَعْلَمُ السِّرَّ

(Who knows the secret) means, Allah is the One Who knows the unseen in the heavens and on the earth; He knows their secrets just as He knows what is visible therein.

إِنَّهُ كَانَ غَفُوراً رَّحِيماً

(Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.) This is an invitation to them to repent and turn back to Allah, telling them that His mercy is vast and His patience is immense. Whoever repents to Him, He accepts his repentance. Despite all their lies, immorality, falsehood, disbelief and stubbornness, and saying what they said about the Messenger and the Qur'an, He still invites them to repent and give up their sin, and to come to Islam and true guidance. This is like the Ayat:

لَّقَدْ كَفَرَ الَّذِينَ قَالُواْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ ثَـلِثُ ثَلَـثَةٍ وَمَا مِنْ إِلَـهٍ إِلاَّ إِلَـهٌ وَحِدٌ وَإِن لَّمْ يَنتَهُواْ عَمَّا يَقُولُونَ لَيَمَسَّنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ مِنْهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ - أَفَلاَ يَتُوبُونَ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَيَسْتَغْفِرُونَهُ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ

(Surely, disbelievers are those who said: "Allah is the third of the three." But there is no god but One God. And if they cease not from what they say, verily, a painful torment will befall on the disbelievers among them. Will they not turn with repentance to Allah and ask His forgiveness For Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.) (5:73-74)

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ فَتَنُواْ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَـتِ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَتُوبُواْ فَلَهُمْ عَذَابُ جَهَنَّمَ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابُ الْحَرِيقِ

(Verily, those who put into trial the believing men and believing women, and then do not turn in repentance, then they will have the torment of Hell, and they will have the punishment of the burning Fire.) (85:10) Al-Hasan Al-Basri said: "Look at this kindness and generosity! They killed His friends and He is calling them to repentance and mercy."

Special Wisdom in every creation

فَقَدَّرَ‌هُ تَقْدِيرً‌ا (And designed it in a perfect measure - 25:2): Here تَقْدِير‌ (designing in a perfect measure) is mentioned after تخلِیق (Creation). تخلِیق means to create something from nothing that is to bring in something without any pre-existing substance whatsoever. And (designed in a perfect measure) means that, whatever has been created, its components, appearance, properties and signs are made to suit the purpose of its creation. The form of the sky, its constituents and its shape are in conformity to that purpose for which Allah Ta’ ala has created it. Similarly, the stars and planets possess those qualities for which they are created. Whatever we see on the earth is absolutely perfect in its form, shape and construction to suit the purpose and requirement of its creation. For instance, earth is not made in such a liquid form, that anything put on it is drowned, nor is it made too hard like steel or concrete to be dug. It is made in the solid form and given a Hardness that it could be dug to take out underground water or to place foundations for the buildings. Water is given the liquid form which again is full of Divine Wisdom and helps meet the multifarious needs of the creatures spread all over the earth. Water does not reach on its own at all the places where it is needed. Man has to put in some skill and labour to take it to places where it is required. On the other hand air is a compulsory gift which reaches every place without any labour or an active role from human beings. Even if someone wants to avoid it, he has to exert extra labour. It is not the place to describe Divine creations and their characteristics as it needs volumes for the purpose. Each and every creation of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ ala is perfect in its purpose and has its own peculiar properties and traits. Imam Ghazzali has written a book on the subject by the name الحکمۃ فی مخلوقات اللہ تعالیٰ .

These verses define the sacred and exalted position of the Holy Qur’ an and by addressing the person on whom the book is revealed as عَبدَہ (His slave) in the very beginning of the Surah, his honoured position is highlighted. There cannot be a greater honour for any one than to be called by Allah Ta’ ala as 'His own'..

Those who denied the truth used to denigrate the Quran as a false testament, but in fact the target of their allegation was the Prophet Muhammad. The Prophet appeared to them as an ordinary man. They were unable to understand how an ordinary man could be the possessor of an extraordinary Book. The Quran touches upon various topics of a historical, psychological and social nature, etc., but no factual error has ever been pointed out in it. This proves that the Quran was authored by a Being who is aware of the secrets of the universe to the fullest extent. Had it not been so, the Quran also would have been full of mistakes—as are found in other man-made books. This fact in itself is the greatest argument in favour of the Quran being a Book of God. Those who make baseless statements against the Quran, are indulging in undue bravado. Such people will definitely be seized upon by God. However, if they come back to the right path, it is not God’s way to take revenge after their repentance. God looks at the individual’s present and not his past.