Yunus: 16

Ayah

Word by Word

قُل

Say

لَّوۡ

شَآءَ

(had) willed

ٱللَّهُ

Allah

مَا

not

تَلَوۡتُهُۥ

I (would) have recited it

عَلَيۡكُمۡ

to you

وَلَآ

and not

أَدۡرَىٰكُم

He (would) have made it known to you

بِهِۦۖ

He (would) have made it known to you

فَقَدۡ

Verily

لَبِثۡتُ

I have stayed

فِيكُمۡ

among you

عُمُرٗا

a lifetime

مِّن

before it

قَبۡلِهِۦٓۚ

before it

أَفَلَا

Then will not

تَعۡقِلُونَ

you use reason

Translation

Say: "If Allah had so willed, I should not have rehearsed it to you, nor would He have made it known to you. A whole life-time before this have I tarried amongst you: will ye not then understand?"

Tafsir

"Obstinance of the Chiefs of the Quraysh

Allah tells;

وَإِذَا تُتۡلَى عَلَيۡهِمۡ ايَاتُنَا بَيِّنَاتٍ قَالَ الَّذِينَ لَا يَرۡجُونَ لِقَاءنَا ايۡتِ بِقُرۡانٍ غَيۡرِ هَـذَا أَوۡ بَدِّلۡهُ

And when Our clear Ayat are recited unto them, those who hope not for their meeting with Us, say:""Bring us a Qur'an other than this, or change it.""

Allah tells us about the obstinance of the disbelievers of the Quraysh, who were opposed to the message and denied Allah. When the Messenger read to them from the Book of Allah and His clear evidence they said to him:""Bring a Qur'an other than this."" They wanted the Prophet to take back this Book and bring them another book of a different style or change it to a different form. So Allah said to His Prophet:

قُلۡ مَا يَكُونُ لِي أَنۡ أُبَدِّلَهُ مِن تِلۡقَاء نَفۡسِي

Say:""It is not for me to change it on my own accord;

This means that it is not up to me to do such a thing. I am but a servant who receives commands. I am a Messenger conveying from Allah.

إِنۡ أَتَّبِعُ إِلاَّ مَا يُوحَى إِلَيَّ إِنِّي أَخَافُ إِنۡ عَصَيۡتُ رَبِّي عَذَابَ يَوۡمٍ عَظِيمٍ

I only follow that which is revealed unto me. Verily, I fear the torment of the Great Day (the Day of Resurrection) if I were to disobey my Lord.

The Evidence of the Truthfulness of the Qur'an

Muhammad (peace be upon him) then argued with supporting evidence to the truthfulness of what he had brought them:

Allah tells;

قُل لَّوۡ شَاء اللّهُ مَا تَلَوۡتُهُ عَلَيۡكُمۡ وَلَا أَدۡرَاكُم بِهِ

Say:""If Allah had so willed, I should not have recited it to you nor would He have made it known to you...""

This indicates that he brought this only with the permission and will of Allah for him to do so. The proof of this was that he had not fabricated it himself and that they were incapable of refuting it, and that they should be fully aware of his truthfulness and honesty since he grew up among them, until Allah sent the Message to him.

The Prophet was never criticized for anything or held in contempt. So he said,

فَقَدۡ لَبِثۡتُ فِيكُمۡ عُمُرًا مِّن قَبۡلِهِ أَفَلَ تَعۡقِلُونَ

Verily, I have stayed among you a lifetime before this. Have you then no sense!

Which meant ""don't you have brains with which you may distinguish the truth from falsehood!""

When Heraclius, the Roman king, asked Abu Sufyan and those who were in his company about the Prophet,

he said:""Have you ever accused him of telling lies before his claim?""

Abu Sufyan replied:""No.""

Abu Sufyan was then the head of the disbelievers and the leader of the idolators, but he still admitted the truth. This is a clear and irrefutable testimony since it came from the enemy.

Heraclius then said:""I wondered how a person who does not tell a lie about others could ever tell a lie about Allah.""

Jafar bin Abu Talib said to An-Najashi, the king of Ethiopia:""Allah has sent to us a Messenger that we know his truthfulness, ancestral lineage, and honesty. He stayed among us before the Prophethood for forty years.

Allah says;

فَمَنۡ أَظۡلَمُ مِمَّنِ افۡتَرَى عَلَى اللّهِ كَذِبًا أَوۡ كَذَّبَ بِأيَاتِهِ إِنَّهُ لَا يُفۡلِحُ الۡمُجۡرِمُونَ

So who does more wrong than he who forges a lie against Allah or denies His Ayat! Surely, the criminals will never be successful!

Allah says that no one is more wrong, unjust and arrogant than he who invented a lie against Allah, forged claims about Allah, or claimed that Allah has sent a message to him but his claim was not true.

No one is more of a criminal or has committed greater wrong than such a person. Liars cannot be confused with Prophets. Anyone who claims such a thing, whether lying or telling the truth, will necessarily be supported by Allah with proofs and signs of his falsehood or truthfulness. The difference between Muhammad and Musaylamah the liar, was clearer to those who met both of them than the difference between forenoon and midnight when it is extremely dark. Those who are clear-sighted can distinguish via signs and proofs between the truthfulness of Muhammad and the falsehood of Musaylamah the liar!

Sajah and Al-Aswad Al-`Ansi. Abdullah bin Salam said:

""When Allah's Messenger arrived at Al-Madinah, people were scared away and I was one of them. But when I ﷺ him, I realized that his face could never be the face of a liar.

The first thing I heard from him was his statement:

يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ أَفۡشُوا السَّلَامَ وَأَطۡعِمُوا الطَّعَامَ وَصِلُوا الاۡاَرۡحَامَ وَصَلُّوا بِاللَّيۡلِ وَالنَّاسُ نِيَامُ تَدۡخُلُوا الۡجَنَّةَ بِسَلَام

O people, spread the greetings of peace, feed others, be dutiful to your relatives and offer prayers in the night when others are asleep so that you will enter Paradise in peace.""

When Dimam bin Tha`labah came to Allah's Messenger and asked him in the presence of his people -- Banu Sa`d bin Bakr:

""Who raised this heaven?""

He replied, (Allah).

He asked:""And who erected these mountains?""

He replied, (Allah).

He asked:""Who spread out this earth?""

He replied, (Allah).

Then he asked:""I ask you in the name of the One, Who raised the heavens, erected the mountains, and spread out this earth, has Allah sent you as a Messenger to all mankind""

He said,

اَللَّهُمَّ نَعَم

(By Allah, Yes)!

Then Dimam asked him about Salah, Zakah, Hajj and fasting. With every question he swore by Allah and with every response the Prophet swore also.

Dimam then said:""You indeed are telling the truth. By the One Who sent you with the truth I will not increase or decrease from what you have told me.""

This man was content with the few responses of the Prophet. He was convinced of the Prophet's truthfulness by the signs that he ﷺ and witnessed.

It was narrated that;

Amr bin Al-`As went to Musaylamah. Amr was not a Muslim at that time and he was a friend of Musaylamah. Musaylamah said:""Woe unto you `Amr. What was revealed unto your friend -- meaning Allah's Messenger -- during this period""

Amr replied:""I heard his companions reading a short but great Surah.""

He asked, ""And what was that""

He recited:

وَالۡعَصۡرِ

إِنَّ الاِنسَـنَ لَفِى خُسۡرٍ

By Al-`Asr (the time). Verily, man is in loss. (103:1-2) until the end of the Surah.

Musaylamah thought for a while and then said:""Something similar to that was also revealed to me.""

Amr asked:""And what is it?""

He then recited:""O Wabr, O Wabr! You are only two ears and a breast. The rest of you is hollow.' What do you think, Amr?""

Amr then said:""By Allah, you know that I know that you are a liar.""

This was a statement made by an idolator in judgment of Musaylamah. He knew Muhammad and his truthfulness. He also knew Musaylamah and his tendency toward falsehood and lying. People who think and have insight know even better.

Allah said:

وَمَنۡ أَظۡلَمُ مِمَّنِ افۡتَرَى عَلَى اللَّهِ كَذِباً أَوۡ قَالَ أُوۡحِى إِلَىَّ وَلَمۡ يُوحَ إِلَيۡهِ شَىۡءٌ وَمَن قَالَ سَأُنزِلُ مِثۡلَ مَأ أَنَزلَ اللَّهُ

And who does more aggression and wrong than he who invents a lie against Allah or rejects His Ayat. (6:21)

So who does more wrong than he who forges a lie against Allah or denies His Ayat Surely, the criminals will never be successful!

No one is more unjust than he who belies the truth which the Messengers have brought supported with evidence and proof."