Tafsir of Surah At-Tur - Verse 34

Absolving the Prophet of the False Accusations the Idolators made against Him

Allah the Exalted commands His Messenger to convey His Message to His servants and remind them of His revelation that has been sent down to him. Next, Allah refutes the false accusations that the liars and sinners accused the Prophet of,

فَذَكِّرْ فَمَآ أَنتَ بِنِعْمَةِ رَبِّكَ بِكَـهِنٍ وَلاَ مَجْنُونٍ

(Therefore, remind. By the grace of Allah, you are neither a Kahin nor a madman.) Allah says, `by the grace of Allah, you, O Muhammad, are not a Kahin, as the ignorant Quraysh idolators claim.' A Kahin is the soothsayer who receives information from the Jinns that the Jinns are able to eavesdrop on news from heaven,

وَلاَ مَجْنُونٍ

(nor a madman) whom Shaytan has possessed with insanity. Allah the Exalted said, while chastising the pagans for uttering false statements about the Prophet ,

أَمْ يَقُولُونَ شَاعِرٌ نَّتَرَبَّصُ بِهِ رَيْبَ الْمَنُونِ

(Or do they say: "A poet! We await for him some calamity by time!") They said, `We await a disaster to strike him, for example, death. We will be patient with him until death comes to him and we, thus, get rid of his bother and from his Message.' Allah the Exalted said,

قُلْ تَرَبَّصُواْ فَإِنِّى مَعَكُمْ مِّنَ الْمُتَرَبِّصِينَ

(Say: "Wait! I am with you among those who wait!") `wait and I too will wait with you, and you will come to know to whom the good end and triumph shall be granted in this life and the Hereafter.' Muhammad bin Ishaq reported that `Abdullah bin Abi Najih said that Mujahid said that Ibn `Abbas said, "When the Quraysh gathered in the Dar An-Nadwah (their meeting place) to discuss the matter of the Prophet, one of them said, `Jail him in chains. Then we will wait and in time, a calamity will strike him; he will die just as the poets before him died, such as Zuhayr and An-Nabighah, for he is a poet just like them.' Allah the Exalted said in response to their statement,

أَمْ يَقُولُونَ شَاعِرٌ نَّتَرَبَّصُ بِهِ رَيْبَ الْمَنُونِ

(Or do they say: "A poet! We await for him some calamity by time!")" Allah the Exalted said,

أَمْ تَأْمُرُهُمْ أَحْلَـمُهُمْ بِهَـذَآ

(Or do their minds command them this), `do their minds command them to tell these lies against you (O Muhammad), even though they know in their hearts that they are untrue and false,'

أَمْ هُمْ قَوْمٌ طَاغُونَ

(or are they people transgressing all bounds) `surely, they are misguided, stubborn and unjust people, and this is why they say what they say about you (O Muhammad). ' Allah the Exalted said,

أَمْ يَقُولُونَ تَقَوَّلَهُ

(Or do they say: "He has forged it") They said, `he has forged this Qur'an and brought it from his own.' Allah the Exalted responded to them,

بَل لاَّ يُؤْمِنُونَ

(Nay! They believe not!), meaning, their disbelief drives them to utter these statements,

فَلْيَأْتُواْ بِحَدِيثٍ مِّثْلِهِ إِن كَانُواْ صَـدِقِينَ

(Let them then produce a recitation like unto it if they are truthful.) meaning, if they are truthful in their statement that Muhammad ﷺ has forged this Qur'an and brought it of his own, then let them produce something similar to what he has brought forth, as in this Qur'an! And even if they combine their strength to that of the people of the earth, Jinns and mankind alike, they will never produce something like the Qur'an, or ten Surahs like it, or even one Surah!

The Believing Children of the Righteous will benefit from their relationship with their Believing Parents in Paradise

وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَاتَّبَعَتْهُمْ ذُرِّ‌يَّتُهُم بِإِيمَانٍ أَلْحَقْنَا بِهِمْ ذُرِّ‌يَّتَهُمْ (And those who believed and their children followed them in belief, We will join their children with them,... 52:21) Sayyidna Ibn 'Abbas ؓ reports from the Holy Prophet ﷺ who said:

"Verily, Allah elevates the ranks of the believers' children to the rank of their parents, even though the latter do not deserve the same rank as their parents deserve, so that the eyes of the parents are comforted." (Hakim, al-Baihaqi in his Sunan, al-Bazzar, Abu Nu'aim in al-Hilyah, ibn-Jarir and ibn-Abi Haim as quoted by Mazhari [ Tr.])

It is recorded in Tabarani that Said Ibn Jubair (رح) reports "Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ said, [ and I think he reports this from the Holy Prophet ﷺ :

"When a person enters Paradise, he will inquire about his parents, and wife and children [ as to where they are ]. He will be told that they have not attained your grade. [ Therefore, their place is elsewhere in Paradise ]. The person will say: '0 Lord! I had worked not only for myself, but for all of them.' Allah will command that they all be kept together with him in the same rank of Paradise." (Ibn Kathir)

Hafiz Ibn-Kathir, having quoted all these Traditions, says that it is certainly Allah's grace and favour that He grants the children this blessing because of the righteous deeds of their parents. He also grants His favour to parents on account of their children's praying Allah for them. Imam Ahmad (رح) has recorded that Sayyidna Abu Hurairah ؓ has reported the following statement of the Holy Prophet ﷺ .

"Verily, Allah shall elevate the grade of a righteous servant in Paradise, who will ask: '0 Lord! How did I earn this?' Allah will reply: 'Through your son's invoking Me to forgive you." (ibn-Kathir says that this Tradition has an authentic chain of transmitters, but was not recorded in Sahihain this way. However there is a corroborating narration (shahid) for it in Muslim on the authority of Abu Hurairah ؓ . [ Tr.])

وَمَا أَلَتْنَاهُم مِّنْ عَمَلِهِم مِّن شَيْءٍ (...and will not curtail (the reward of) any of their deeds at all...52:21) The past perfect verb alatna is the first person plural of alata which literally means to decrease, to reduce or to diminish (Qurtubi). The verse means that for upgrading the children of the believers who died in the state of true faith, no part of the reward of their parents will be diminished for them to make up for the children's deeds. In fact, this equalization will take place as a result of Allah's grace.

Allah's Fairness to Sinners

كُلُّ امْرِ‌ئٍ بِمَا كَسَبَ رَ‌هِينٌ (Every person will be pledged for what he earned.) After Allah mentioned His favour of elevating the children to the ranks of their parents, even though the deeds of the former did not qualify them, He affirmed His fairness in that, He does not punish anyone for the sins of others. Therefore, every person will be responsible for his actions. No sins committed by others shall ever be added to one's load, even if committed by his parents or children. (Ibn Kathir)

When a man has no argument against the call of Truth, and yet he does not want to accept it, he starts denigrating the personality of the preacher of Truth. He makes the character of the preacher rather than his statements the target of his attacks. It was becuse of this recalcitrant attitude that the addressees of the Prophet started calling him a ‘poet’ and a ‘mad person’. They could not counter his call for Truth by reasoning. So, they started casting aspersions upon him. But the prophet conveys what he receives from God. And the discourse of one who repeats what he receives from God’s message is so distinctly different from that of others that it is not possible for anybody to equal it. This is the greatest proof of the fact that his discourse is Divine in origin.