Tafsir

They longed for a Warner to come, but when He came, They disbelieved in Him

Allah tells us how Quraysh and the Arabs swore by Allah their most binding oath before the Messenger came to them,لَئِن جَآءَهُمْ نَذِيرٌ لَّيَكُونُنَّ أَهْدَى مِنْ إِحْدَى الاٍّمَمِ(that if a warner came to them, they would be more guided than any of the nations;) i.e., than any of the nations to whom Messengers had been sent. This was the view of Ad-Dahhak and others. This is like the Ayat:أَن تَقُولُواْ إِنَّمَآ أُنزِلَ الْكِتَـبُ عَلَى طَآئِفَتَيْنِ مِن قَبْلِنَا وَإِن كُنَّا عَن دِرَاسَتِهِمْ لَغَـفِلِينَ أَوْ تَقُولُواْ لَوْ أَنَّآ أُنزِلَ عَلَيْنَا الْكِتَـبُ لَكُنَّآ أَهْدَى مِنْهُمْ فَقَدْ جَآءَكُمْ بَيِّنَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ وَهُدًى وَرَحْمَةٌ فَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّن كَذَّبَ بِآيَـتِ اللَّهِ وَصَدَفَ عَنْهَا(Lest you (pagan Arabs) should say: "The Book was sent down only to two sects before us, and for our part, we were in fact unaware of what they studied." Or lest you should say: "If only the Book had been sent down to us, we would surely have been better guided than they." So, now has come unto you a clear proof from your Lord, and a guidance and a mercy.

Who then does more wrong than one who rejects the Ayat of Allah and turns away therefrom) (6:156-157)وَإِن كَانُواْ لَيَقُولُونَ - لَوْ أَنَّ عِندَنَا ذِكْراً مِّنَ الاٌّوَّلِينَلَكُنَّا عِبَادَ اللَّهِ الْمُخْلَصِينَ - فَكَفَرُواْ بِهِ فَسَوْفَ يَعْلَمُونَ(And indeed they (Arab pagans) used to say: "If we had a reminder as had the men of old, We would have indeed been the chosen servants of Allah!" But they disbelieve therein, so they will come to know!) (37:167-170) Allah says:فَلَمَّا جَآءَهُمْ نَذِيرٌ(yet when a warner came to them,) -- meaning, Muhammad ﷺ with the Book revealed to him, i.e., the Clear Qur'an,مَّا زَادَهُمْ إِلاَّ نُفُوراً(it increased in them nothing but flight (from the truth).) means, they only increased in their disbelief.

Then Allah explains this further:اسْتِكْبَاراً فِى الاٌّرْضِ((They took to flight because of their) arrogance in the land) means, they were too arrogant to follow the signs of Allah.وَمَكْرَ السَّيِّىءِ(and their plotting of evil.) means, they plotted to prevent people from following the path of Allah.وَلاَ يَحِيقُ الْمَكْرُ السَّيِّىءُ إِلاَّ بِأَهْلِهِ(But the evil plot encompasses only him who makes it.) means, the evil consequences of that will come back upon them and not on others.فَهَلْ يَنظُرُونَ إِلاَّ سُنَّةَ آلاٌّوَّلِينَ(Then, can they expect anything (else) but the Sunnah (way of dealing) of the peoples of old) meaning, the punishment of Allah for disbelieving in His Messengers and going against His command.وَلَن تَجِدَ لِسُنَّةِ اللَّهِ تَبْدِيلاً(and no turning off will you find in Allah's Sunnah.) means, it does not change or alter, and this is what happens to every disbeliever.وَلَن تَجِدَ لِسُنَّةِ اللَّهِ تَحْوِيلاً(and no turning off will you find in Allah's Sunnah.) means,وَإِذَآ أَرَادَ اللَّهُ بِقَوْمٍ سُوءًا فَلاَ مَرَدَّ لَهُ(But when Allah wills a people's punishment, there can be no turning back of it) (13:11).

This means, no one can remove that from them or ward it off from them. And Allah knows best.

Commentary

The word: لَا يَحِيقُ (la yahiq) in verse 43: وَلَا يَحِيقُ الْمَكْرُ‌ السَّيِّئُ إِلَّا بِأَهْلِهِ (And the evil plot envelops none but its own people ( who make it) carries the sense of: لَا یُحِیطُ (la yuhit: does not surround) or: لَا یُصیبُ (la usib: does not afflict). Thus, it comes to mean that the curse of making an evil plan falls on none but the one who makes it. In other words, a person who wishes evil for others, he himself falls a victim to it.

A doubt may arise at this point. It is commonly seen in this worldly life that someone with an evil plan gets away with it and the loss intended for anyone stands inflicted on him. The answer to this has been given by Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanavi (رح) by saying that the pain or loss inflicted on such a person was a loss limited to this mortal world, while the loss to be the fate of the maker of such evil plan in the Hereafter was not only heavier, but was more lasting too. So, if compared, his worldly loss amounts to nothing.

There is another answer given by some elders who say that there are occasions when the curse of contriving against someone innocent or inflicting injustice on him, more than often, falls on the person causing it, right here in this world as well. Muhammad Ibn Ka` b al-Qurazi said: There are three things the doer of which does not remain safe against its curse and punishment even in this world. These are: (1) Causing harm or pain to some innocent person by engineering evil against him. (2) Inflicting any injustice. (3) Breaking of pledge. (Ibn Kathir) Particularly so, when things like that are done against a person who is helpless or does not have the power to avenge or elects to endure despite having that power. Experience bears out that no one who does things like that has ever remained unaffected by the curse of injustice thus inflicted even in this world. Hence, the outcome will be that the element of restriction (Hasr) visible here appears in terms of a majority rule and not in any absolute sense. Allah knows best.

Alhamdulillah

The Commentary on

Surah Fatir

Ends here