Tafsir

The Virtue of the Qur'an Here

Allah points out the noble status of the Qur'an and urges them to recognize its worth:لَقَدْ أَنزَلْنَآ إِلَيْكُمْ كِتَـباً فِيهِ ذِكْرُكُمْ(Indeed, We have sent down for you a Book in which there is Dhikrukum). Ibn `Abbas said: "Honor for you."أَفَلاَ تَعْقِلُونَ(Will you not then understand) means, will you not understand this blessing, and accept it This is like the Ayah:وَإِنَّهُ لَذِكْرٌ لَّكَ وَلِقَوْمِكَ وَسَوْفَ تُسْـَلُونَ (And verily, this is indeed a Reminder for you and your people, and you will be questioned.) 43:44How the Evildoers were destroyedوَكَمْ قَصَمْنَا مِن قَرْيَةٍ كَانَتْ ظَـلِمَةً(How many a town given to wrongdoing, have We destroyed,) meaning, they were very many.

This is like the Ayah:وَكَمْ أَهْلَكْنَا مِنَ الْقُرُونِ مِن بَعْدِ نُوحٍ(And how many generations have We destroyed after Nuh!) 17:17فَكَأَيِّن مِّن قَرْيَةٍ أَهْلَكْنَـهَا وَهِىَ ظَالِمَةٌ فَهِىَ خَاوِيَةٌ عَلَى عُرُوشِهَا(And many a township did We destroy while they were given to wrongdoing, so that it lie in ruins) 22:45.وَأَنشَأْنَا بَعْدَهَا قَوْماً ءَاخَرِينَ(and raised up after them another people!) means, another nation which came after them.فَلَمَّآ أَحَسُّواْ بَأْسَنَآ(Then, when they sensed Our torment,) when they realized that the torment would undoubtedly come upon them, just as their Prophet had warned them,إِذَا هُمْ مِّنْهَا يَرْكُضُونَ(behold, they (tried to) flee from it.) they tried to run away.لاَ تَرْكُضُواْ وَارْجِعُواْ إِلَى مَآ أُتْرِفْتُمْ فِيهِ وَمَسَـكِنِكُمْ(Flee not, but return to that wherein you lived a luxurious life, and to your homes,) This is a way of ridiculing them.

It will be said to them by way of ridicule: "Do not run away from the coming torment; go back to the delights and luxuries and fine homes in which you were living." Qatadah said, "Mocking them."لَعَلَّكُمْ تُسْأَلُونَ(in order that you may be questioned) about whether you gave thanks for what you had.قَالُواْ يوَيْلَنَآ إِنَّا كُنَّا ظَـلِمِينَ (They cried: "Woe to us! Certainly we have been wrong- doers.") They will confess their sins when it will be of no benefit to them.فَمَا زَالَت تِلْكَ دَعْوَاهُمْ حَتَّى جَعَلْنَـهُمْ حَصِيداً خَـمِدِينَ (And that cry of theirs ceased not, till We made them as a field that is reaped, extinct.) meaning, "they will keep on saying that, admitting their wrong- doing, until We harvest them as it were, and their movements and voices come to a stop."

The Holy Qur'an is an honour and pride for the Arabsكِتَابًا فِيهِ ذِكْرُ‌كُمْ (a book having a good name for you - 21:10): The word (Book) is meant for Qur'an and ذکر (name) is used here for honour, excellence and fame. Thus what is meant here is that the revelation of Qur'an in Arabic language is a great honour and everlasting fame for the Arabs and they should value it as such. History has proved that by Allah's Mercy and by the blessings of Qur'an Arabs have dominated the world and ruled over it for a long time. This is also a fact of life that Arabs gained dominance over the world not because of any tribal or linguistic supremacy but because of Qur'an. If there was no Qur'an, probably no one would have known about the Arabs at all.

لقد أنزلنا إليكم هذا القرآن، فيه عزُّكم وشرفكم في الدنيا والآخرة إن تذكرتم به، أفلا تعقلون ما فَضَّلْتكم به على غيركم؟

يقول تعالى منبها على شرف القرآن ، ومحرضا لهم على معرفة قدره : ( لقد أنزلنا إليكم كتابا فيه ذكركم ) قال ابن عباس : شرفكم .وقال مجاهد : حديثكم . وقال الحسن : دينكم .( وإنه لذكر لك ولقومك وسوف تسألون ) [ الزخرف : 44 ] .