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Ayah
Word by Word
وَمَا
And not
كَانَ
was
ٱلنَّاسُ
the mankind
إِلَّآ
but
أُمَّةٗ
a community
وَٰحِدَةٗ
one
فَٱخۡتَلَفُواْۚ
then they differed
وَلَوۡلَا
And had (it) not been
كَلِمَةٞ
a word
سَبَقَتۡ
(that) preceded
مِن
from
رَّبِّكَ
your Lord
لَقُضِيَ
surely, it (would) have been judged
بَيۡنَهُمۡ
between them
فِيمَا
concerning what
فِيهِ
[therein]
يَخۡتَلِفُونَ
they differ
وَمَا
And not
كَانَ
was
ٱلنَّاسُ
the mankind
إِلَّآ
but
أُمَّةٗ
a community
وَٰحِدَةٗ
one
فَٱخۡتَلَفُواْۚ
then they differed
وَلَوۡلَا
And had (it) not been
كَلِمَةٞ
a word
سَبَقَتۡ
(that) preceded
مِن
from
رَّبِّكَ
your Lord
لَقُضِيَ
surely, it (would) have been judged
بَيۡنَهُمۡ
between them
فِيمَا
concerning what
فِيهِ
[therein]
يَخۡتَلِفُونَ
they differ
Translation
Mankind was but one nation, but differed (later). Had it not been for a word that went forth before from thy Lord, their differences would have been settled between them.
Tafsir
Mankind was but one community, following one religion, that is submission [to the One God], from the time of Adam to the time of Noah; but it is also said [that this was the case] from the time of Abraham to that of 'Amr ibn Luhayy; then they differed, some of them remaining firmly [upon belief in One God], while others disbelieved. And had it not been for a word that had already preceded from your Lord, [to the effect] that requital would be deferred until the Day of Resurrection, it would have been decided between them, that is, [between] mankind, in this life, regarding that over which they differed, in religion, by the disbelievers being punished.
"What do the Idolators believe about Their Gods
Allah says;
وَيَعۡبُدُونَ مِن دُونِ اللّهِ مَا لَا يَضُرُّهُمۡ وَلَا يَنفَعُهُمۡ وَيَقُولُونَ هَـوُلاء شُفَعَاوُنَا عِندَ اللّهِ
And they worship besides Allah things that harm them not, nor profit them, and they say:""These are our intercessors with Allah.""
Allah reproaches the idolators that worshipped others beside Allah, thinking that those gods would intercede for them before Allah. Allah states that these gods do not harm or benefit. They don't have any authority over anything, nor do they own anything. These gods can never do what the idolators had claimed about them.
That is why Allah said:
قُلۡ أَتُنَبِّيُونَ اللّهَ بِمَا لَا يَعۡلَمُ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَلَا فِي الَارۡضِ
Say:`Do you inform Allah of that which He knows not in the heavens and on the earth!'
Ibn Jarir said:
""This means, `Are you telling Allah about what may not happen in the heavens and earth.'
Allah then announced that His Glorious Self is far above their Shirk and Kufr by saying:
سُبۡحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى عَمَّا يُشۡرِكُونَ
Glorified and Exalted is He above all that which they associate as partners (with Him)!
Shirk is New
Allah tells;
وَمَا كَانَ النَّاسُ إِلاَّ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً فَاخۡتَلَفُواۡ وَلَوۡلَا كَلِمَةٌ سَبَقَتۡ مِن رَّبِّكَ لَقُضِيَ بَيۡنَهُمۡ فِيمَا فِيهِ يَخۡتَلِفُونَ
Mankind were but one community, then they differed (later); and had not it been for a Word that went forth before from your Lord, it would have been settled between them regarding what they differed.
Allah then tells us that Shirk was new among mankind. It was not in existence in the beginning. He tells us that people were believers in one religion and that religion was Islam.
Ibn Abbas said:
""There were ten centuries between Adam and Nuh. They were all on Islam. Then differences among people took place. They worshipped idols and rivals. So Allah sent extensive evidence and irrefutable proof with His Messengers.""
لِّيَهۡلِكَ مَنۡ هَلَكَ عَن بَيِّنَةٍ وَيَحۡيَى مَنۡ حَىَّ عَن بَيِّنَةٍ
So that those who were to be destroyed (for rejecting the faith) might be destroyed after a clear evidence, and those who were to live might live after a clear evidence. (8:42)
Allah's statement:
وَلَوۡلَا كَلِمَةٌ سَبَقَتۡ مِن رَّبِّكَ
And had not it been for a Word that went forth before from your Lord...
means that if Allah had not decreed He would not punish anyone until the evidence is established against them. And also that if He had not given creatures a respite until a defined term had passed, He would have judged among them in what they disputed. Then He would have caused the believers to be happy and delighted and the disbelievers to be miserable and wretched."
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