Tafseer Ibn Kathir of ATH THUUR [29]

29. Therefore, remind. By the grace of Allah, you are neither a Kahin nor a madman. 30. Or do they say: ”A poet! We await for him some calamity by time!'' 31. Say: ”Wait! I am with you among those who wait!'' 32. Or do their minds command them this or are they people transgressing all bounds 33. Or do they say: ”He has forged it'' Nay! They believe not! 34. Let them then produce a recitation like unto it if they are truthful. Allah the Exalted commands His Messenger to convey His Message to His servants and remind them of His revelation that has been sent down to him. Next, Allah refutes the false accusations that the liars and sinners accused the Prophet of,

(Therefore, remind. By the grace of Allah, you are neither a Kahin nor a madman.) Allah says, `by the grace of Allah, you, O Muhammad, are not a Kahin, as the ignorant Quraysh idolators claim.' A Kahin is the soothsayer who receives information from the Jinns that the Jinns are able to eavesdrop on news from heaven,

(nor a madman) whom Shaytan has possessed with insanity. Allah the Exalted said, while chastising the pagans for uttering false statements about the Prophet ,

(Or do they say: ”A poet! We await for him some calamity by time!'') They said, `We await a disaster to strike him, for example, death. We will be patient with him until death comes to him and we, thus, get rid of his bother and from his Message.' Allah the Exalted said,

(Say: ”Wait! I am with you among those who wait!'') `wait and I too will wait with you, and you will come to know to whom the good end and triumph shall be granted in this life and the Hereafter.' Muhammad bin Ishaq reported that `Abdullah bin Abi Najih said that Mujahid said that Ibn `Abbas said, ”When the Quraysh gathered in the Dar An-Nadwah (their meeting place) to discuss the matter of the Prophet, one of them said, `Jail him in chains. Then we will wait and in time, a calamity will strike him; he will die just as the poets before him died, such as Zuhayr and An-Nabighah, for he is a poet just like them.' Allah the Exalted said in response to their statement,

(Or do they say: ”A poet! We await for him some calamity by time!'')'' Allah the Exalted said,

(Or do their minds command them this), `do their minds command them to tell these lies against you (O Muhammad), even though they know in their hearts that they are untrue and false,'

(or are they people transgressing all bounds) `surely, they are misguided, stubborn and unjust people, and this is why they say what they say about you (O Muhammad). ' Allah the Exalted said,

(Or do they say: ”He has forged it'') They said, `he has forged this Qur'an and brought it from his own.' Allah the Exalted responded to them,

(Nay! They believe not!), meaning, their disbelief drives them to utter these statements,

(Let them then produce a recitation like unto it if they are truthful.) meaning, if they are truthful in their statement that Muhammad has forged this Qur'an and brought it of his own, then let them produce something similar to what he has brought forth, as in this Qur'an! And even if they combine their strength to that of the people of the earth, Jinns and mankind alike, they will never produce something like the Qur'an, or ten Surahs like it, or even one Surah!