Commentary:
People are in four categories:
I. Believers: Those who both believe and their acts are righteous.
II. Pagans: Those who are neither believers nor their acts are decent.
III. The evil- doers: Those who are believers but their acts are not righteous and decent.
IV. The hypocrites: Those who are not believers but their apparent acts are decent.
The Arabic term/ t ou ouba/ is either an infinitive, or it is the feminine gender of/ 'at yab/ which means 'the best'. We have not got any example specific to this meaning in the verse to include all the utmost good ones. Perhaps, we have it in a quotation that/ t ou ouba/ is a tree which has its roots in the house of the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) and that of Ali (a.s.) , and its branches cast their shadow over the faithful(1) , in which case this serves as an allegory that all the good have their origin in pledge of and are somehow connected to the celestial leaders.
When some short- sighted persons criticized the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) as to " Why you kiss Fatimah Zahra (a.s.) so much " He (p.b.u.h.) said: "When I was taken to Paradise at the night of Mi'raj, I ate from the fruit of the 'T ou ouba tree' out of which
(1) Bihar, vol. 8, p. 117, 120
Fatimah (a.s.) has been originated and appeared, and whenever I desire the scent of Paradise, I smell my daughter, Fatimah"(1)
The success of the unbelievers and those who are distanced from good acts is not profound. As Had rat Ali (a.s.) says: "There is no good in pleasures which are ensued by the Fire of Hell"(2)
Explanations:
1. The sweet worldly life as well as the happy ending of the life in Hereafter will only be procured with faith and decent righteous behaviour.
2. Success in this world makes sense and is of value when coupled with happy ending of the life Hereafter. How happy they are and what a good happy ending awaits them. The verse says:
" Those who believe and do righteous deeds; joy is for them, and a goodly (final) return. "
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(1) Bihar, vol. 8, p. 188
(2) Bihar, vol. 41, p. 104
(30) كَذلِكَ أَرْسَلْناكَ في أُمَّةٍ قَدْ خَلَتْ مِنْ قَبْلِها أُمَمٌ لِتَتْلُوَا عَلَيْهِمُ الَّذي أَوْحَيْنا إِلَيْكَ وَ هُمْ يَكْفُرُونَ بِالرَّحْمنِ قُلْ هُوَ رَبِّي لا إِلهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ عَلَيْهِ تَوَكَّلْتُ وَ إِلَيْهِ مَتابِ
30. " Thus did We send you among a nation before whom (other) nations have (come and) passed away, in order that you might recite to them whatever We have revealed to you, whereas they reject the Beneficent (Allah) . Say: 'He is my Lord, there is no god but He; on Him only I rely, and unto Him is my return. "
Commentary:
We have already discussed about the Divine blessings which are conferred upon the people who are believers and the righteous and the rewards they deserve.
Now, Allah (s.w.t.) deals with the blessing of the prophetic mission bestowed on the highly- esteemed Prophet of Islam (p.b.u.h.) , implying that as We provided the believers and the righteous with the blessings of reward, We designated your Ummat with the utmost blessing of your celestial prophetic mission. Some commentators have argued that this signifies that: As We commissioned prophets for previous nations, We thus also sent you for the nation of Islam. Your nation is not the first one. Before this nation, there have also been other nations and tribes as well. The verse says:
" Thus did We send you among a nation before whom (other) nations have (come and) passed away, ..."
The main purpose and objective of your heavenly mission is to read to them the Qur'an, which is Our revelation revealed to you, so as to enable them to engage in meditation about its
instructive contents and topics and learn admonitions and draw lessons from them.
However, the tribe of Quraysh are blasphemous about 'Rah man' (the Beneficent) and say that they know 'Allah', but they do not know Rah man (The Beneficent) . The Prophet (p.b.u.h.) was commanded to tell them that 'Rah man' (The Beneficent) is his Lord, the One Whom they deny and ignore, and Who is unique and peerless. The Beneficent is his Creator and his administrator to whom he has left all his affairs to administer, and he has made allegiance to His obedience and submit to His verdict. And his return is towards Him and his repentance involves Him alone. The verse continues saying:
"... in order that you might recite to them whatever We have revealed to you, whereas they reject the Beneficent (Allah) . Say: 'He is my Lord, there is no god but He; on Him only I rely, and unto Him is my return. "
Explanations:
1- The prophetic mission of the blissful Prophet (p.b.u.h.) has occurred among the nation of Arabs, yet other verses of the Qur'an are explicit in declaring that he is the prophet of all nations. "And We have not sent you but to all mankind " (Sura Saba, No. 43, verse 82)
2- The prophetic mission of the godly prophets is a Divine tradition and it is based on His grace and His blessings. And the duty which is incumbent on the prophets is conveying the Divine revelations and ordinances to the people.
3- Reasons and rationale for our faith in Allah and the issues involved are: His Lordship (my Lord) , His Unitarianism (there is no god but He) , His provision of asylum for all (I rely only on Him) , and our return is to Him ( unto Him is my return) .
(31) وَ لَوْ أَنَّ قُرْآناً سُيِّرَتْ بِهِ الْجِبالُ أَوْ قُطِّعَتْ بِهِ الْأَرْضُ أَوْ كُلِّمَ بِهِ الْمَوْتى بَلْ لِلَّهِ الْأَمْرُ جَميعاً أَ فَلَمْ يَيْأَسِ الَّذينَ آمَنُوا أَنْ لَوْ يَشاءُ اللَّهُ لَهَدَى النَّاسَ جَميعاً وَ لا يَزالُ الَّذينَ كَفَرُوا تُصيبُهُمْ بِما صَنَعُوا قارِعَةٌ أَوْ تَحُلُّ قَريباً مِنْ دارِهِمْ حَتَّى يَأْتِيَ وَعْدُ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يُخْلِفُ الْميعادَ
31. " And if there were a Qur'an by which the mountains were moved or the earth were cloven asunder with it, or the dead were made to speak thereby, (still they would not believe) . But the affair is Allah's altogether. Have not those who believe yet known that if Allah had willed He would certainly have guided all the people ? And (as for) those who disbelieve, there will not cause to afflict them because of what they do a calamity, or it will alight close to their habitation, until Allah's promise comes.
Verily Allah will not fail the tryst. "
The Occasion of the Revelation:
Some great commentators have claimed that this holy verse has been revealed in response to a group of pagans of Mecca who were sitting next to the door of Ka'bah and had sent after the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) who hoping to lead them, came to them. They said that if he wanted them to follow him, he should remove back the mountains of Mecca by his Qur'an so that the tight and limited land there would become vast. They told the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) that he considered himself no less in rank than Dawoud for whose sake Allah had conquered the mountains; or he should conquer wind for them as it was over dominated by Sulayman; or he should enliven his grandfather
'Qasiy' (the grandfather of Quraysh) because Jesus (a.s.) used to make the dead alive, and he was no less than him.
At this time, the verse was revealed implying that what they said was because of their obstinacy and not for embracing the Faith.
Commentary:
As was already mentioned in the discussion of the occasion of revelation, this verse was revealed in response to the pagans' pretexts which were raised owing to their obstinacy and not for the sake of embracing the faith. They asked for performing extemporarily miracles from the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) . Allah says:
" And if there were a Qur'an by which the mountains were moved or the earth were cloven asunder with it, or the dead were made to speak thereby, (still they would not believe) . But the affair is Allah's altogether. ..."
However, all of these are at His disposal and thus He does whatever He deems fit.
Nevertheless, you are not seeking the truth and if you were, you could be content with the signs which have already been exposed to you by the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) .
Then, the Qur'an adds:
"... Have not those who believe yet known that if Allah had willed He would certainly have guided all the people ..."
But, He will never do so, because such a compulsory faith lacks any value and is devoid of all kinds of spirituality and development which man needs.
Then the verse implies that the pagans are always at the stake and mercy of the invasion from pounding calamities for their deeds, which are damaging and devastating to them in the
form of the fights of the Islamic warriors. The verse continues saying:
"... And (as for) those who disbelieve, there will not cause to afflict them because of what they do a calamity, ..."
And in case that such disasters are not inflicted upon them within their houses, they enter near their houses so as to provide lessons for them and be shaken in order to return to Allah. The verse says:
"... or it will alight close to their habitation, ..."
And such warnings will continue ever more till the ultimate decree of Allah will be issued.
Such an order might concern and be an allusion to death or reference to the Day of Judgment, or, as some claim, it may be a hint to the 'Conquest of Mecca' which devastated the last bastion of the enemies. The verse adds:
"... until Allah's promise comes. ..."
Anyway, Allah's promise is decisive and He will never break His promise or deviate from its conditions. The verse concludes:
"... Verily Allah will not fail the tryst. ..."
Explanations:
1- This holy verse explains the utmost climax of the hostility and obstinacy of the pagans, just like verse 111 of Sura Al- 'An'am which says: "And even if We sent down the angels to them, and the dead spoke to them and We mustered all things before them, (even then) they would not believe, "
2- The Qur'an is a Book which has shaken what has been firmer than mountains and has enlivened those who have been deadlier than the mortally dead. It has
provided life for the dead mind and souls and the stone- hearted ignorant Arab people, and if there were a Book to be able to move mountains, and rise the dead, it is this same Qur'an.
3- One may conclude from remarks made by Imam Kazim (a.s.) that there are clues and secrets in the Qur'an by which one can conquer nature.
Incidentally, do not expect all to accept the Faith as hostility and obstinacy are both inherent incurable diseases of human societies. If one is seeking after the Truth, one miracle is more than enough for him to accept the Faith. But, if someone is obstinate, he may ignore even the most explicit miracle.
4- Miracles are under Allah's control and not to be incited on proposals and whims of obstinate people. In the meantime, Allah's Will is toward voluntary guidance of man, and it is not based on their compulsion and toward forceful scrutiny.
5- Pagans must expect strikes from Allah on their country and on their borders and the Divine warnings sometimes come to us directly and are directed toward us and sometimes they come indirectly and are directed to others and the regions in our neighboring. " And (as for) those who disbelieve, there will not cause to afflict them because of what they do a calamity, " The pagan people are always in the course of devastating and pounding catastrophes and extensive accidents because of their paganism and their heinous deeds, namely wars, famine, massacre, entanglement, etc., so that they may witness the punishment of their evil and viscous deeds and be therefore warned against them.
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