Tafsir of Surah Ash-Shura - Verse 14

The Religion of the Messengers is One

Allah says to this Ummah:

شَرَعَ لَكُم مِّنَ الِدِينِ مَا وَصَّى بِهِ نُوحاً وَالَّذِى أَوْحَيْنَآ إِلَيْكَ

(He (Allah) has ordained for you the same religion which He ordained for Nuh, and that which We have revealed to you,) Allah mentions the first Messenger who was sent after Adam, that is, Nuh, peace be upon them, and the last of them is Muhammad . Then He mentions those who came in between them who were the Messengers of strong will, namely Ibrahim, Musa and `Isa bin Maryam. This Ayah mentions all five, just as they are also mentioned in the Ayah in Surat Al-Ahzab, where Allah says:

وَإِذْ أَخَذْنَا مِنَ النَّبِيِّيْنَ مِيثَاقَهُمْ وَمِنْكَ وَمِن نُّوحٍ وَإِبْرَهِيمَ وَمُوسَى وَعِيسَى ابْنِ مَرْيَمَ

(And (remember) when We took from the Prophets their covenant, and from you, and from Nuh, Ibrahim, Musa, and `Isa son of Maryam.) (33:7). The Message which all the Messengers brought was to worship Allah Alone, with no partner or associate, as Allah says:

وَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَا مِن قَبْلِكَ مِن رَّسُولٍ إِلاَّ نُوحِى إِلَيْهِ أَنَّهُ لا إِلَـهَ إِلاَّ أَنَاْ فَاعْبُدُونِ

(And We did not send any Messenger before you but We revealed to him (saying): None has the right to be worshipped but I, so worship Me.) (21:25). And according to a Hadith (the Prophet said):

«نَحْنُ مَعْشَرَ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ أَوْلَادُ عَلَّاتٍ، دِينُنَا وَاحِد»

(We Prophets are brothers and our religion is one.) In other words, the common bond between them is that Allah Alone is to be worshipped, with no partner or associate, even though their laws and ways may differ, as Allah says.

لِكُلٍّ جَعَلْنَا مِنكُمْ شِرْعَةً وَمِنْهَـجاً

(To each among you, We have prescribed a law and a clear way) (5:48). Allah says here:

أَنْ أَقِيمُواْ الدِّينَ وَلاَ تَتَفَرَّقُواْ فِيهِ

(saying you should establish religion and make no divisions in it.) meaning, Allah enjoined all the Prophets (peace and blessings of Allah be upon them all) to be as one and He forbade them to differ and be divided. t

كَبُرَ عَلَى الْمُشْرِكِينَ مَا تَدْعُوهُمْ إِلَيْهِ

(Intolerable for the idolators is that to which you call them.) means, `it is too much for them to bear, and they hate that to which you call them, O Muhammad, i.e., Tawhid.'

اللَّهُ يَجْتَبِى إِلَيْهِ مَن يَشَآءُ وَيَهْدِى إِلَيْهِ مَن يُنِيبُ

(Allah chooses for Himself whom He wills, and guides unto Himself who turns to Him in repentance.) means, He is the One Who decrees guidance for those who deserve it, and decrees misguidance for those who prefer it to the right path. Allah says here;

وَمَا تَفَرَّقُواْاللَّهِ إِلاَّ مَنبَعْدِ مَا جَآءَهُمُ الْعِلْمُ

(And they divided not till after knowledge had come to them,) means, their opposition to the truth arose after it had come to them and proof had been established against them. Nothing made them resist in this manner except their transgression and stubbornness.

وَلَوْلاَ كَلِمَةٌ سَبَقَتْ مِن رَّبِّكَ إِلَى أَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى

(And had it not been for a Word that went forth before from your Lord for an appointed term,) means, were it not for the fact that Allah had already decreed that He would delay the reckoning of His servants until the Day of Resurrection, the punishment would have been hastened for them in this world.

وَإِنَّ الَّذِينَ أُورِثُواْ الْكِتَـبَ مِن بَعْدِهِمْ

(And verily, those who were made to inherit the Scripture after them,) means, the later generation which came after the earlier generation which had rejected the truth.

لَفِى شَكٍّ مِّنْهُ مُرِيبٍ

(are in grave doubt concerning it. ) means, they do not have any firm conviction in matters of religion; they merely imitate their forefathers, without any evidence or proof. So they are very confused and doubtful.

وَمَا تَفَرَّ‌قُوا إِلَّا مِن بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَهُمُ الْعِلْمُ (And they were not divided, in jealousy with each other, but after knowledge had come to them - 42:14). Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ has explained that the pronoun ` they' in this sentence refers to the Quraysh of Makkah, and thus he has taken the verse to mean that the aversion of the infidels of Quraysh to the straight path was in itself a matter of utter ignorance, but on top of it they did so even after knowledge had been imparted by Allah. Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ has held the coming of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ who was the source of all Divine knowledge, to be the imparting of knowledge by Allah. Some scholars, however, have referred the pronoun ` they' towards the past ummahs, and held the meaning to be that the people of the bygone ummahs created dissension in the true faith of their respective prophets, and adopted separate ways despite their having received the knowledge of the straight path from then prophets (علیہم السلام) .

Be that as it may, the pagans of Makkah and the infidels of the early ages, both demanded that their prophets should also follow the misguidance they themselves had adopted. Therefore the Holy Prophet ﷺ has been addressed in the following verse as follows:

To differ after being given knowledge means that, even after receiving the call for Truth, man ignores it or opposes it. Through the Prophet Muhammad, God Almighty revealed religion (din) in its pure form. This meant that all those who were desirous of God should have joined it. But, they were not prepared to join the Prophet. By remaining attached to the previous prophets, they enjoyed the position of the pious ones among the people. They thought that this was enough for them, while the fact is that when the call of the True Religion is raised it becomes compulsory on the part of all the people to demolish their biases and prejudices and join the True Religion. Those who do not do so are guilty in the eyes of God, irrespective of their being ostensibly religious. When the call of True religion is given, some people reject it out of jealousy or a false sense of pride (bagh’i), while others stay away from it because of their doubts. This is the case of such people as have attained an elevated status in society. Acceptance of Truth by them would involve stepping down from their high positions. As they are not prepared to lower themselves, they set about belittling the call for Truth in order to justify their stand. The common people are generally beset by doubt and hesitation. The call of the preacher of Truth appears to them weighty on the basis of argument, but at the same time they find it difficult to ignore the great ones whose imagined greatness is already impressed on their minds. This dual pressure becomes a hindrance to their reaching a final decision. The first group ignores the Truth under the influence of a false sense of pride, while the second group does not accept it under the influence of doubt. In effect, both groups thus deprive themselves of the Truth.