In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
A summary of the Tafsir of al-Tabari.
Abridged by Dr. 'Aqil ibn Salim al-Shammari.
Surah Saba'.
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
"I only advise you of one thing."
“Say (unto them, O Muhammad): I exhort you unto one thing only: that ye awake, for Allah's sake, by twos and singly, and then reflect: There is no madness in your comrade. He is naught else than a warner unto you in face of a terrific doom.” (34:46)
“Say (unto them, O Muhammad): I exhort you unto one thing only: that ye awake, for Allah's sake, by twos and singly, and then reflect: There is no madness in your comrade. He is naught else than a warner unto you in face of a terrific doom.” (34:46)
“Say (unto them, O Muhammad): I exhort you unto one thing only: that ye awake, for Allah's sake, by twos and singly, and then reflect: There is no madness in your comrade. He is naught else than a warner unto you in face of a terrific doom.” (34:46)
Say, O Muhammad, to these polytheists of your people:
"I only advise you, O people, of one thing."
And that is obedience to Allah.
That one thing which I advise you with
Is that you stand for the sake of Allah with sincerity and abandon your desires.
Let one of you stand with another,
And let them engage in a sincere discussion:
"Have you perceived any madness in Muhammad?"
Then let each one of you reflect alone,
And consider whether he is truly afflicted with that.
Muhammad is nothing but a warner to you, warning you of the punishment for your disbelief in Allah,
Before the torment of Hell reaches you.
“Say: Whatever reward I might have asked of you is yours. My reward is the affair of Allah only. He is Witness over all things.” (34:47)
"My reward is only from Allah."
“Say: Whatever reward I might have asked of you is yours. My reward is the affair of Allah only. He is Witness over all things.” (34:47)
Say, O Muhammad, to your people:
"I do not ask of you any payment for warning you of the punishment of Allah,
Or for my sincere advice to you."
My reward for calling you to faith in Allah and to act in obedience to Him
Is only from Allah.
And Allah, regarding the truth of what I say to you,
Is a Witness who testifies for me,
And over all other things as well.
“Say: Lo! my Lord hurleth the truth. (He is) the Knower of Things Hidden.” (34:48)
Say, O Muhammad, to the polytheists of your people:
"My Lord sends down revelation from the heaven,
And casts it upon His Prophet, Muhammad, peace be upon him."
He knows what is hidden from sight.
“Say: The Truth hath come, and falsehood showeth not its face and will not return.” (34:49)
Say to them, O Muhammad: "The Qur'an and the revelation of Allah have come."
And falsehood cannot originate any creation,
For falsehood is Iblis,
Nor can it restore it to life after its destruction.
“Say: If I err, I err only to my own loss, and if I am rightly guided it is because of that which my Lord hath revealed unto me. Lo! He is Hearer, Nigh.” (34:50)
“Say: If I err, I err only to my own loss, and if I am rightly guided it is because of that which my Lord hath revealed unto me. Lo! He is Hearer, Nigh.” (34:50)
Indeed, He is All-Hearing, Ever-Near.
Say, O Muhammad, to your people:
"If I go astray from guidance,
Then my straying is only to the detriment of my own soul."
"And if I remain steadfast upon the truth,
It is by the revelation of Allah which He reveals to me."
Indeed, my Lord is All-Hearing of what I say to you and is its Guardian.
And He is the One who will reward me for my truthfulness in that.
And that is not far from Him.
It is not difficult for Him to hear what I say to you, what you say,
Or what others say.
Rather, He is near to every speaker, hearing everything that is uttered.
If you could but see, O Muhammad, these polytheists of your people,
When you witness them in their terror upon seeing the punishment of Allah,
There will be no way for them to escape by themselves,
Nor will they be able to elude Us by fleeing.
Allah will seize them with His punishment from a place that is near,
Because wherever they are, they are near to Allah and cannot be far from Him.
And they will say when they witness the punishment:
"We believe in Allah."
But how can they attain it?
Where is the opportunity for repentance and return, now that it has become distant from them?
They have become like one trying to reach something from a far-off place.
This is because they will say that on the Day of Resurrection,
Whereas accepted repentance was only possible in the worldly life.
The worldly life has passed, and it has become distant from the Hereafter.
They had previously disbelieved in what they are now asking their Lord for when the punishment descends upon them.
That is faith in Allah and in Muhammad.
Today, they cast stones at the unseen regarding Muhammad from a distant place,
Some saying he is a sorcerer,
Others saying he is a poet, and so on.
Just as was done with their predecessors.
“And a gulf is set between them and that which they desire, as was done for people of their kind of old. Lo! they were in hopeless doubt.” (34:54)
A barrier will be placed between these polytheists and what they desire at that time of faith.
We have done to these polytheists
Just as We did to their predecessors among the disbelieving nations before them, due to their disbelief in Allah.
They were, in the worldly life, in doubt regarding the descent of the punishment,
A doubt that causes the one who holds it to be in a state of confusion.