The Light of the Holy Qur'an Interpretation of Sura Yusuf
Commentary : Verse 16
(16) قُلْ لَوْ شاءَ اللَّهُ ما تَلَوْتُهُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَ لا أَدْراكُمْ بِهِ فَقَدْ لَبِثْتُ فيكُمْ عُمُراً مِنْ قَبْلِهِ أَ فَلا تَعْقِلُونَ
- " Say: 'Had Allah so willed, I would not have recited it to you, nor would He have taught it to you. Indeed I have lived amongst you a lifetime before it. Have you then no sense '"
Commentary :
In this verse the Qur'an brings a reason for the Divine order by commanding the Prophet to say that his ideas do not have the slightest role in this Holy Book, and had Allah wanted, he would not have read the Qur'an to them and they would not have been made aware of it. The verse says:
" Say: 'Had Allah so willed, I would not have recited it to you, nor would He have taught it to you. ..."
I have lived among you a long time before this. It provides reason for what I claim, for you have never heard me saying such things before. If the verses had come from me, you should have heard me saying them during the past forty years as they would have been at the tip of my tongue, or at least parts of it might have been heard by someone in the past. How can you not notice such an obvious matter The verse continues saying:
"... Indeed I have lived amongst you a lifetime before it. Have you then no sense ?'"
Commentar : Verse 17
(17) فَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّنِ افْتَرى عَلَى اللَّهِ كَذِباً أَوْ كَذَّبَ بِآياتِهِ إِنَّهُ لا يُفْلِحُ الْمُجْرِمُونَ
- "Who is then more unjust than he who forges a lie against Allah, or belies His Signs Verily the guilty ones will never prosper. "
Commentary :
In order to emphasize the point, the Prophet(p.b.u.h.) adds that, being well aware that the worst kind of evil is that someone falsely attributes a lie to Allah, how could he then commit such a sin on the earth The verse says:
"Who is then more unjust than he who forges a lie against Allah, or belies His Signs ..."
And he who denies the Divine verses, his action is also the most cruel and unjust of all actions. If the unbelievers are unaware of the scope and volume of the severity and greatness of the sin of forging a lie to the Divine verses, the Prophet, on the contrary, is not so unaware. At any event, this action of theirs is a grave offence and those who perpetrate it will never be saved. The verse says:
"... Verily the guilty ones will never prosper. "
Commentary : Verse 18
(18) وَ يَعْبُدُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ ما لا يَضُرُّهُمْ وَ لا يَنْفَعُهُمْ وَ يَقُولُونَ هؤُلاءِ شُفَعاؤُنا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ قُلْ أَ تُنَبِّئُونَ اللَّهَ بِما لا يَعْلَمُ فِي السَّماواتِ وَ لا فِي الْأَرْضِ سُبْحانَهُ وَ تَعالى عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ
- " And they worship, besides Allah, what can neither hurt them nor profit them, and they say: 'These are our intercessors with Allah. ' Say:
'Will you inform Allah of what He knows not either in the heavens or in the earth ' Glory be to Him! High be He exalted above what they associate(with Him). "
Commentary :
The issue of monotheism is also continued in this verse by negating the claim that these idols are associated with divinity, and it has been proved as groundless by offering clear reasons. They used to worship icons and idols which neither did any harm to them nor any good. They were neither feared by the idol worshippers nor did the idols provide them with any profit so that they were worshipped for gaining benefit thereof. The verse says:
" And they worship, besides Allah, what can neither hurt them nor profit them, ..."
The Qur'an deals with the groundless and unfounded claims of the idol worshippers when it implies that they claim that these idols serve as mediators between them and Allah which was one of the motives for worshipping them. The verse says:
"... and they say: 'These are our intercessors with Allah. ' ..."
The Qur'an, in response to such a way of thinking, tells the Prophet(p.b.u.h.) to ask them a question, as follows:
"... Say: 'Will you inform Allah of what He knows not either in the heavens or in the earth ' ..."
Allusion is here made to the fact that if the Almighty had such mediators who would protect them, and wherever on the earth or in the skies they might have existed, He would have been well aware of their existence.
At the end of the verse it stresses emphatically on the fact that Allah is pure and superior to those partners whom they envisage for Him. The verse says:
"... Glory be to Him! High be He exalted above what they associate(with Him). "
Commentary : Verse 19
(19) وَ ما كانَ النَّاسُ إِلاَّ أُمَّةً واحِدَةً فَاخْتَلَفُوا وَ لَوْ لا كَلِمَةٌ سَبَقَتْ مِنْ رَبِّكَ لَقُضِيَ بَيْنَهُمْ فيما فيهِ يَخْتَلِفُونَ
- " And mankind were only one community, then they differed, and had not a Word already gone forth from your Lord, their differences would have been judged between them. "
Commentary :
This verse refers to the monotheistic nature of all human beings, alluding in part to the previous verse in connection with negating unbelief and idol worshipping. It implies that in the beginning, all human beings were of a single nation, and, with no exception, all were monotheists. The verse says:
" And mankind were only one community, ..."
This monotheistic nature, that was untouched at the beginning, because of shortsightedness and some satanic attitudes, underwent changes. With the passage of time, some went astray from the monotheistic path and became the adherents of polytheism. Thus the human society spitted into two groups: Monotheists and Polytheists. The verse continues saying:
"... then they differed, ..."
Therefore, polytheism is in fact a deviation from what is innate in human nature, and its roots lie in some baseless ideas and conjectures.
One might raise the issue at this point as to why the Almighty does not hasten to eradicate the origin of such differences by the speedy punishment of the polytheists ?
The Qur'an immediately gives an answer to this question implying that if Allah's command in regard to the absence of their speedy punishment had not been already issued, arbitration would have been administered and their differences would have been judged, then all of them would meet their painful fate. The verse says:
"... and had not a Word already gone forth from your Lord, their differences would have been judged between them. "
Commentary : Verse 20
(20) وَ يَقُولُونَ لَوْ لا أُنْزِلَ عَلَيْهِ آيَةٌ مِنْ رَبِّهِ فَقُلْ إِنَّمَا الْغَيْبُ لِلَّهِ فَانْتَظِرُوا إِنِّي مَعَكُمْ مِنَ الْمُنْتَظِرينَ
- " And they say: 'Why is not a Sign sent down to him from his Lord ' Say then: ' Verily the Unseen is only for Allah(to know). Wait you then, verily I, also with you, will be of those who wait'. "
Commentary :
Once again, the Qur'an deals with the pretexts of the polytheists for evading belief and faith in Islam. It indicates that the disbelievers complain about a miracle not being sent down from Allah to the Prophet(p.b.u.h.) . The verse in this regard says:
" And they say: 'Why is not a Sign sent down to him from his Lord ? ..."
They meant, of course, that any time they demanded a miracle they desired, the Prophet(p.b.u.h.) should have acted immediately and accordingly (1) to fulfill their demands. It was forthwith revealed to the Prophet(p.b.u.h.) that the invisible world and supernatural affairs,(miracles relating to the invisible and metaphysical world), belong to Allah alone. The verse says:
"... Say then:' Verily the Unseen is only for Allah(to know). ..."
(1) Some commentators state that Allah is aware of the world of Unseen and whatever stands in the way of divine miracles to be sent down is itself invisible, none is aware but Allah.
Therefore the Prophet(p.b.u.h.) should tell them he could not perform miracles according to their wishes, which they would later deny and which would not convince them to become believers. In the final analysis, they refrained from believing regardless of the pretext.
At the end of the verse, from his tongue, the Qur'an, in a threatening tone implies that if they did not stop being obstinate, they should expect divine punishment whilst, on the other hand, the Prophet(p.b.u.h.) should expect victory. The verse says:
"... Wait you then, verily I, also with you, will be of those who wait'. ..."