Tafsir of Surah Al-Ahzab - Verse 45

The Attributes of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ

Imam Ahmad recorded that `Ata' bin Yasar said that he met `Abdullah bin `Amr bin Al-`As, may Allah be pleased with him, and said to him:

"Tell me about the description of the Messenger of Allah in the Tawrah." He said, "Yes, by Allah, he was described in the Tawrah with some of the qualities with which he was described in the Qur'an: `O Prophet! Verily, We have sent you as witness, and a bearer of glad tidings, and a warner, a saviour to the illiterate. You are My servant and My Messenger and I have called you Al-Mutawakkil (reliant). You are not harsh or severe, or noisy in the marketplaces. You do not repay evil with evil, but you overlook and forgive. Allah will not take your soul until you make straight those who have deviated and they say La ilaha illallah, words with which blind eyes, deaf ears and sealed hearts will be opened'." It was also recorded by Al-Bukhari in the Books of Business and At-Tafsir. Wahb bin Munabbih said: "Allah revealed to one of the Prophets of the Children of Israel whose name was Sha`ya' (Isaiah); `Stand up among your people the Children of Israel and I shall cause your tongue to utter (words of) revelation. I shall send an unlettered (Prophet) from among the illiterate (people). He will not be harsh or severe, or noisy in the marketplaces. If he were to pass by a lamp, it would not be extinguished, because of his tranquillity. If he were to walk on reeds no sound would be heard from under his feet. I will send him as a bearer of glad tidings and as a warner, who will never utter immoral speech. Through him I will open blind eyes, deaf ears and sealed hearts. I will guide him to do every good deed and I will bestow upon him every noble characteristic. I will make tranquillity his garment, righteousness his banner, piety his conscience, wisdom his speech, truthfulness and loyalty his nature, tolerance and goodness his character, truth his way, justice his conduct, guidance his leader, Islam his nation. Ahmad is his name and through him I will guide people after they have gone astray, teach them after they have been ignorant, raise their status after they were nothing, make them known after they were unknown, increase the number (of followers of the truth) after they have been few, make them rich after they have been poor, and bring them togther after they have been divided. Through him I will bring together different nations and hearts, and reconcile opposing desires. Through him I will save great numbers of people from their doom. I will make his Ummah the best of peoples ever raised up for mankind; they will enjoin good and forbid evil, sincerely believing in Me Alone and accepting as truth all that My Messengers have brought. I shall inspire them to glorify, praise and magnify Me Alone in their places of worship and in their gatherings, when they lie down and when they return home. They will pray to Me standing and sitting. They will fight for the sake of Allah in ranks and armies. They will go forth from their homes by the thousand, seeking My pleasure, washing their faces and limbs, girding their loins. Their sacrifice will be their blood and their holy Book will be in their hearts. They will be like monks by night and like lions by day. Among the members of his family and his offspring I will make those who are foremost (in faith) and believers in the truth and martyrs and righteous people. His Ummah after him will lead people with truth and establish justice therewith. I will give strength to those who support them and help those who pray for them, and I will inflict defeat upon those who oppose them or transgress against them or seek to take something from their hands. I will make them the heirs of their Prophet, calling people to their Lord, enjoining what is good, forbidding what is evil, establishing regular prayer, paying the Zakah and fulfilling their promises. Through them I will complete the goodness which I started with the first of them. This is My bounty which I bestow upon whomsoever I will, and I am the Possessor of great bounty."'

شَاهِداً

(as witness) means, a witness to Allah's Oneness, for there is no God except He, and a witness against mankind for their deeds on the Day of Resurrection.

وَجِئْنَا بِكَ عَلَى هَـؤُلاءِ شَهِيداً

(and We bring you as a witness against these people) (4:41). This is like the Ayah:

لِّتَكُونُواْ شُهَدَآءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ وَيَكُونَ الرَّسُولُ عَلَيْكُمْ شَهِيدًا

(that you be witnesses over mankind and the Messenger be a witness over you) (2:143).

وَمُبَشِّراً وَنَذِيراً

(and a bearer of glad tidings, and a warner.) means, a bearer of glad tidings to the believers of a great reward, and a warner to the disbelievers of a great punishment.

وَدَاعِياً إِلَى اللَّهِ بِإِذْنِهِ

(And as one who invites to Allah by His leave,) means, `you call mankind to worship their Lord because He has commanded you to do so. '

وَسِرَاجاً مُّنِيراً

(and as a lamp spreading light.) means, `the Message that you bring is as clear as the sun shining brightly, and no one can deny it except those who are stubborn.'

وَلاَ تُطِعِ الْكَـفِرِينَ وَالْمُنَـفِقِينَ وَدَعْ أَذَاهُمْ

(And obey not the disbelievers and the hypocrites, and harm them not.) means, `do not obey them and do not pay attention to what they say.'

وَدَعْ أَذَاهُمْ

(and harm them not.) means, `overlook and ignore them, for their matter rests entirely with Allah and He is sufficient for them (to deal with them).' Allah says:

وَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ وَكَفَى بِاللَّهِ وَكِيلاً

(And put your trust in Allah, and sufficient is Allah as a Trustee.)

Special Attributes of the Holy Prophet ﷺ

يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ إِنَّا أَرْ‌سَلْنَاكَ شَاهِدًا وَمُبَشِّرً‌ا وَنَذِيرً‌ا ﴿45﴾ وَدَاعِيًا إِلَى اللَّـهِ بِإِذْنِهِ وَسِرَ‌اجًا مُّنِيرً‌ا ﴿46﴾

O prophet, We have sent you as a witness and a bearer of good news and a warner and as one who calls (people) towards Allah with His permission, and as a luminous lamp. (33:45-46)

The text here reverts to the special perfect attributes of the Holy Prophet ﷺ . Five attributes have been mentioned here - 'Shahid', 'mubashshir', "nadhir', da` i ila Allah'. 'siraj munir'. 'Shahid' (a witness) means that the Holy Prophet ﷺ will be a witness of the ummah on the Day of Judgment according to a hadith narrated by Sayyidna Abu Said al-Khudri ؓ and reported by Bukhari, Nasa` i and Tirmidhi. It is mentioned in some parts of that Hadith that on the Day of Judgment when Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) will be presented before Allah, he will be asked whether he had conveyed Allah's Message to his Ummah. He will reply that he did. Then his Ummah will be presented and they will deny having received any message of Allah. Then Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) will be asked whether he has any witness to his claim of having conveyed the message of truth, and he will reply that Muhammad and his Ummah are witnesses. Some narrations have it that he will present the Ummah of Muhammad ﷺ as witness and this Ummah will give evidence in his favour. At this, the Ummah of Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) will argue 'How can they, who were not even born at that time, give evidence in our case?'

Now the Ummah of Muhammad ﷺ will be asked to substantiate their evidence and they will answer that no doubt they were not born at that time but they were told about it by their Holy Prophet ﷺ in whom they believe and trust. At this time the Holy Prophet ﷺ will be asked to give testimony regarding the veracity of his Ummah's statement.

Briefly, the Holy Prophet ﷺ through his testimony, will confirm and verify the statement of his Ummah that, of course, he had given them that news.

Another general meaning of being a witness for the Ummah may be that the Holy Prophet ﷺ will give evidence about the good and bad deeds of all the individuals of his Ummah. And this evidence would be on the basis that the deeds of the Ummah are presented before the Holy Prophet ﷺ every morning and evening daily; some narrations state that the deeds are presented once a week. The Holy Prophet ﷺ thus recognizes each and every individual of his Ummah by their deeds and as such he will be made witness for the Ummah on the Doomsday. (Ibn al-Mubarak from Sa'id Ibn al- Musayyab, Mazhari)

'Mubashshshir' means bearer of good news, and as such the Holy Prophet ﷺ is the announcer of the good news of Paradise for the righteous people of his Ummah.

'Nadhir' means the one who warns; thus the Holy Prophet ﷺ also puts the fear of Allah's punishment in the hearts of his Ummah in case they violate or disobey the injunctions of Shari'ah.

The witness (shahid), the bearer of good news (mubashshir), the warner, (nadhir) and the giver of the call for the Truth (da‘i) all represent different aspects of the same reality. It is the Prophet’s mission to make people aware of the realities of life and inform them about heaven and hell. This is an action related to the call of the Prophet and on this basis only, will the Prophet give evidence in the Court of the Hereafter as to which of his addressees accepted the message of Truth, and which did not. The Prophet’s mission is also the mission of the followers of Islam. While treading this path, one has to face trouble from the people in getting support; while some give timely support, they later desert, uttering falsehoods. Under these circumstances, it was Trust in God alone which kept the Prophet (or his follower-missionaries) firmly on the true path of their missionary work. To be tolerant of whatever is negative in the people, to ignore it and under all circumstances to keep one’s eyes fixed on God: these are the real assets of one who performs work.