Tafseer Ibn Kathir of ALI 'IMRAN [1]

1. Alif-Lam-Mim. 2. Allah! None has the right to be worshipped but He, the Ever Living, the One Who sustains and protects all that exists. 3. It is He Who has sent down the Book to you with truth, confirming what came before it. And He sent down the Tawrah and the Injil, 4. Aforetime, as a guidance to mankind. And He sent down the criterion. Truly, those who disbelieve in the Ayat of Allah, for them there is a severe torment; and Allah is All-Mighty, All-Able of Retribution. We mentioned the Hadith in the Tafsir of Ayat Al-Kursi ï´¿2:255ï´¾ that mentions that Allah's Greatest Name is contained in these two Ayat,

(Allah! None has the right to be worshipped but He, the Ever Living, the One Who sustains and protects all that exists) and,

(Alif-Lam-Mim. Allah! None has the right to be worshipped but He, the Ever Living, the One Who sustains and protects all that exists.) We also explained the Tafsir of,

(Alif-Lam-Mim) in the beginning of Surat Al-Baqarah, and the meaning of,

(Allah! La ilaha illa Huwa, Al-Hayyul-Qayyum) in the Tafsir of Ayat Al-Kursi. Allah's statement,

(It is He Who has sent down the Book to you with truth, ) means, revealed the Qur'an to you, O Muhammad, in truth, meaning there is no doubt or suspicion that it is revealed from Allah. Verily, Allah revealed the Qur'an with His knowledge, and the angels testify to this fact, Allah is sufficient as a Witness. Allah's statement,

(Confirming what came before it) means, from the previous divinely revealed Books, sent to the servants and Prophets of Allah. These Books testify to the truth of the Qur'an, and the Qur'an also testifies to the truth these Books contained, including the news and glad tidings of Muhammad's prophethood and the revelation of the Glorious Qur'an. Allah said,

(And He sent down the Tawrah) to Musa (Musa) son of `Imran,

(And the Injil), to `Isa, son of Mary,

(Aforetime) meaning, before the Qur'an was revealed,

(As a guidance to mankind) in their time.

(And He sent down the criterion) which is the distinction between misguidance, falsehood and deviation on one hand, and guidance, truth and piety on the other hand. This is because of the indications, signs, plain evidences and clear proofs that it contains, and because of its explanations, clarifications, etc. Allah's statement,

(Truly, those who disbelieve in the Ayat of Allah) means they denied, refused and unjustly rejected them,

(For them there is a severe torment) on the Day of Resurrection,

(And Allah is All-Mighty) meaning, His grandeur is invincible and His sovereignty is infinite,

(All-Able of Retribution.) from those who reject His Ayat and defy His honorable Messengers and great Prophets.