Tafseer Ibn Kathir of AL AN'AAM [50]

50. Say: ”I don't tell you that with me are the treasures of Allah, nor (that) I know the Unseen; nor do I tell you that I am an angel. I but follow what is revealed to me.'' Say: ”Are the blind and the one who sees equal Will you not then consider'' 51. And warn therewith those who fear that they will be gathered before their Lord, when there will be neither a protector nor an intercessor for them besides Him, so that they may have Taqwa. 52. And turn not away those who invoke their Lord, morning and evening seeking His Face. You are accountable for them in nothing, and they are accountable for you in nothing, that you may turn them away, and thus become of the wrongdoers. 53. Thus We have tried some of them with others, that they might say: ”Is it these (poor believers) that Allah has favored from amongst us'' Does not Allah know best those who are grateful 54. When those who believe in Our Ayat come to you, say: ”Salamun `Alaykum'' (peace be on you); your Lord has written mercy for Himself, so that, if any of you does evil in ignorance, and thereafter repents and does righteous good deeds, then surely, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. Allah said to His Messenger ,

(Say: ”I don't tell you that with me are the treasures of Allah.'') meaning, I do not own Allah's treasures or have any power over them,

(nor (that) I know the Unseen,) and I do not say that I know the Unseen, because its knowledge is with Allah and I only know what He conveys of it to me.

(nor I tell you that I am an angel.) meaning, I do not claim that I am an angel. I am only a human to whom Allah sends revelation, and He honored me with this duty and favored me with it.

(I but follow what is revealed to me.) and I never disobey the revelation in the least.

(Say: ”Are the blind and the one who sees equal'') meaning, `Is the one who is guided, following the truth, equal to the one misled'

(Will you not then consider) In another Ayah, Allah said;

(Shall he then who knows that what has been revealed to you from your Lord is the truth, be like him who is blind But it is only the men of understanding that pay heed.) ï´¿13:19ï´¾ Allah's statement,

(And warn therewith those who fear that they will be gathered before their Lord, when there will be neither a protector nor an intercessor for them besides Him,) means, warn with this Qur'an, O Muhammad ,

(Those who live in awe for fear of their Lord) ï´¿23:57ï´¾, who,

(Fear their Lord, and dread the terrible reckoning.) ï´¿13:21ï´¾,

(those who fear that they will be gathered before their Lord,) on the Day of Resurrection,

(when there will be neither a protector nor an intercessor for them besides Him, ) for on that Day, they will have no relative or intercessor who can prevent His torment if He decides to punish them with it,

(so that they may have Taqwa.) Therefore, warn of the Day when there will be no judge except Allah,

(so that they may have Taqwa.) and thus work good deeds in this life, so that their good deeds may save them on the Day of Resurrection from Allah's torment, and so that He will grant them multiple rewards.   Allah said,

(And turn not away those who invoke their Lord, morning and evening seeking His Face.) meaning, do not turn away those who have these qualities, instead make them your companions and associates. In another Ayah, Allah said;

(And keep yourself patiently with those who call on their Lord morning and evening, seeking His Face, and let not your eyes overlook them, desiring the pomp and glitter of the life of the world; and obey not him whose heart We have made heedless of Our remembrance, one who follows his own lusts and whose affair (deeds) has been lost.)ï´¿18:28ï´¾ Allah's statement,

(invoke their Lord...) refers to those who worship Him and supplicate to Him,

(morning and evening.) referring to the obligatory prayers, according to Sa`id bin Al-Musayyib, Mujahid, Al-Hasan and Qatadah. In another Ayah, Allah said;

(And your Lord said, ”Invoke Me, I will respond (to your invocation).'') ﴿40:60﴾, I will accept your supplication. Allah said next,

(seeking His Face.) meaning, they seek Allah's Most Generous Face, by sincerity for Him in the acts of worship and obedience they perform. Allah said;

(You are accountable for them in nothing, and they are accountable for you in nothing,) This is similar to the answer Nuh gave to his people when they said,

(Shall we believe in you, when the meekest (of the people) follow you'') ï´¿26:111ï´¾. Nuh answered them,

(And what knowledge have I of what they used to do Their account is only with my Lord, if you could (but) know.) ï´¿26:112-113ï´¾, meaning, their reckoning is for Allah not me, just as my reckoning is not up to them. Allah said here,

(that you may turn them away, and thus become of the wrongdoers.) meaning, you will be unjust if you turn them away. Allah's statement,

(Thus We have tried some of them with others) means, We tested, tried and checked them with each other,

(That they might say: ”Is it these (poor believers) that Allah has favored from amongst us'') This is because at first, most of those who followed the Messenger of Allah were the weak among the people, men, women, slaves, and only a few chiefs or noted men followed him. Nuh, was also addressed by his people

(Nor do we see any follow you but the meekest among us and they (too) followed you without thinking.) ﴿11:27﴾ KHeraclius, emperor of Rome, asked Abu Sufyan, ”Do the noblemen or the weak among people follow him (Muhammad )'' Abu Sufyan replied, ”Rather the weak among them.'' Heraclius commented, ”Such is the case with followers of the Messengers.'' The idolators of Quraysh used to mock the weak among them who believed in the Prophet and they even tortured some of them. They used to say, ”Are these the ones whom Allah favored above us,'' meaning, Allah would not guide these people, instead of us, to all that is good, if indeed what they embraced is good. Allah mentioned similar statements in the Qur'an from the disbelievers,

(Had it been a good thing, they (weak and poor) would not have preceded us to it!) ï´¿46:11ï´¾, and,

(And when Our clear verses are recited to them, those who disbelieve say to those who believe: ”Which of the two groups is best in position and station.'') ﴿19:73﴾ Allah said in reply,

(And how many a generation (past nations) have We destroyed before them, who were better in wealth, goods and outward appearance) ï´¿19:74ï´¾. Here, Allah answered the disbelievers when they said,

(”Is it these (poor believers) that Allah has favored from amongst us'' Does not Allah know best those who are grateful) Meaning is not Allah more knowledgeable of those who thank and appreciate Him in statement, action and heart Thus Allah directs these believers to the ways of peace, transfers them from darkness to light by His leave, and guides them to the straight path. In another Ayah, Allah said;

(As for those who strive hard for Us (Our cause), We will surely guide them to Our paths (i.e. Allah's religion). And verily, Allah is with the doers of good'') ï´¿29:69ï´¾. An authentic Hadith states,

(Allah does not look at your shapes or colors, but He looks at your heart and actions.) Allah's statement,

(When those who believe in Our Ayat come to you, say: ”Salamun `Alaykum'' (peace be on you);) means, honor them by returning the Salam and give them the good news of Allah's exclusive, encompassing mercy for them. So Allah said;

(your Lord has written Mercy for Himself,) meaning, He has obliged His Most Honored Self to grant mercy, as a favor, out of His compassion and beneficence,

(So that, if any of you does evil in ignorance...) as every person who disobeys Allah does it in ignorance,

(and thereafter repents and does righteous good deeds,) by repenting from the sins that he committed, intending not to repeat the sin in the future, but to perform righteous deeds,

(then surely, He is Oft-Forgiving Most Merciful.) Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah said,

(When Allah finished with the creation, He wrote in a Book that He has with Him above the Throne, `My mercy prevails over My anger'.) This Hadith was also recorded in the The Two Sahihs.