Tafseer Ibn Kathir of AL ANBIYAA' [105]

105. And indeed We have written in Az-Zabur after Adh-Dhikr that My righteous servants shall inherit the land. 106. Verily, in this there is a plain Message for people who worship Allah. 107. And We have sent you (O Muhammad ) not but as a mercy for the `Alamin. Allah tells us of His decree for His righteous servants who are the blessed in this world and in the Hereafter, those who will inherit the earth in this world and in the Hereafter. As Allah says:

(Verily, the earth is Allah's. He gives it as a heritage to whom He wills of His servants; and the (blessed) end is for those who have Taqwa.) ï´¿7:128ï´¾

(Verily, We will indeed make victorious Our Messengers and those who believe in this world's life and on the Day when the witnesses will stand forth.) ï´¿40:51ï´¾

(Allah has promised those among you who believe and do righteous good deeds, that He will certainly grant them succession in the land, as He granted it to those before them, and that He will grant them the authority to practise their religion which He has chosen for them) ï´¿24:55ï´¾. Allah tells us that this is recorded in the Books of Divine Laws and Decrees, and that it will inevitably come to pass. Allah says:

(And indeed We have written in Az-Zabur after Adh-Dhikr) Al-A`mash said: ”I asked Sa`id bin Jubayr about the Ayah:

(And indeed We have written in Az-Zabur after Adh-Dhikr). He said: `Az-Zabur means the Tawrah, the Injil and the Qur'an.''' Mujahid said, ”Az-Zabur means the Book.'' Ibn `Abbas, Ash-Sha`bi, Al-Hasan, Qatadah and others said, ”Az-Zabur is that which was revealed to Dawud, and Adh-Dhikr is the Tawrah.'' Mujahid said: ”Az-Zabur means the Books which came after Adh-Dhikr, and Adh-Dhikr is the Mother of the Book (Umm Al-Kitab) which is with Allah.'' This was also the view of Zayd bin Aslam: ”It is the First Book.'' Ath-Thawri said: ”It is Al-Lawh Al-Mahfuz.''

(that My righteous servants shall inherit the land.) Mujahid said, narrating from Ibn `Abbas, ”This means, the land of Paradise.'' This was also the view of Abu `Aliyah, Mujahid, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Ash-Sha`bi, Qatadah, As-Suddi, Abu Salih, Ar-Rabi` bin Anas and Ath-Thawri (may Allah have mercy on them).

(Verily, in this (the Qur'an) there is a plain Message for people who worship Allah.) means, `in this Qur'an which We have revealed to Our servant Muhammad , there is a plain Message which is beneficial and is sufficient for a people who worship Allah.' This refers to those who worship Allah in the manner which He has prescribed and which He loves and is pleased with, and they would rather obey Allah than follow the Shaytan or their own desires.  

(And We have sent you not but as a mercy for the `Alamin.) Here Allah tells us that He has made Muhammad a mercy to the `Alamin, i.e., He sent him as a mercy for all of them ï´¿peoplesï´¾, so whoever accepts this mercy and gives thanks for this blessing, will be happy in this world and in the Hereafter. But whoever rejects it and denies it, will lose out in this world and in the Hereafter, as Allah says:

(Have you not seen those who have changed the blessings of Allah into disbelief, and caused their people to dwell in the house of destruction Hell, in which they will burn, -- and what an evil place to settle in!) ï´¿14:28-29ï´¾ And Allah says, describing the Qur'an:

(Say: ”It is for those who believe, a guide and a healing. And as for those who disbelieve, there is heaviness in their ears, and it is blindness for them. They are those who are called from a place far away.'') ﴿41:44﴾ Muslim reports in his Sahih: Ibn Abi `Umar told us, Marwan Al-Fazari told us, from Yazid bin Kisan, from Ibn Abi Hazim that Abu Hurayrah said that it was said, ”O Messenger of Allah, pray against the idolators.'' He said:

(I was not sent as a curse, rather I was sent as a mercy.) This was recorded by Muslim. Imam Ahmad recorded that `Amr bin Abi Qurrah Al-Kindi said: ”Hudhayfah was in Al-Mada'in and he was mentioning things that the Messenger of Allah had said. Hudhayfah came to Salman and Salman said: `O Hudhayfah, the Messenger of Allah ﴿would sometimes be angry and would speak accordingly, and would sometimes be pleased and would speak accordingly. I know that the Messenger of Allah ﴾ addressed us and said:

(Any man of my Ummah whom I have insulted or cursed when I was angry -- for I am a man from among the sons of Adam, and I get angry just as you do. But Allah has sent me as a Mercy to the Worlds, so I will make that ï´¿my angerï´¾ into blessings for him on the Day of Resurrection.'') This was also recorded by Abu Dawud from Ahmad bin Yunus from Za'idah. It may be asked: what kind of mercy do those who disbelieve in him get The answer is what Abu Ja`far bin Jarir recorded from Ibn `Abbas concerning the Ayah:

(And We have sent you not but as a mercy for the `Alamin. ) He said, ”Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, mercy will be decreed for him in this world and in the Hereafter; whoever does not believe in Allah and His Messenger, will be protected from that which happened to the nations of earthquakes and stoning.''