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Ayah
Word by Word
إِن
If
نَّشَأۡ
We will
نُنَزِّلۡ
We can send down
عَلَيۡهِم
to them
مِّنَ
from
ٱلسَّمَآءِ
the sky
ءَايَةٗ
a Sign
فَظَلَّتۡ
so would bend
أَعۡنَٰقُهُمۡ
their necks
لَهَا
to it
خَٰضِعِينَ
(in) humility
إِن
If
نَّشَأۡ
We will
نُنَزِّلۡ
We can send down
عَلَيۡهِم
to them
مِّنَ
from
ٱلسَّمَآءِ
the sky
ءَايَةٗ
a Sign
فَظَلَّتۡ
so would bend
أَعۡنَٰقُهُمۡ
their necks
لَهَا
to it
خَٰضِعِينَ
(in) humility
Translation
If We willed, We could send down to them from the sky a sign for which their necks would remain humbled.1
Footnotes
1 - i.e., they would be compelled to believe.
Tafsir
If We will We will send down to them a sign from the sky before which their necks will remain (fa-zallat, [although grammatically in the past tense] is being used in the sense of the imperfect tense) bowed in humility, and they will believe (since 'necks' are described as 'bowed in humility', [a status] which in fact refers to those who possess them, the adjectival form [khaadi'oon, 'bowed in humility'] used therein is the one [normally] used for rational beings).
Tafsir of Surah Ash-Shuara
The Qur'an and the Disbelievers turning away; They could be compelled to believe if Allah so willed
Allah says:
طسم
Ta Sin Mim.
At the beginning of the explanation of Surah Al-Baqarah we discussed the letters which appear at the beginning of some Surahs.
Allah's saying:
تِلْكَ ايَاتُ الْكِتَابِ الْمُبِينِ
These are the Ayat of the Book Mubin.
means, these are the verses of the Clear Qur'an, i.e. the clear and unambiguous Book which distinguishes between truth and falsehood, misguidance and guidance
لَعَلَّكَ بَاخِعٌ نَّفْسَكَ
It may be that you are going Bakhi` yourself,
means, destroy yourself -- because of your keenness that they should be guided and your grief for them.
أَلاَّ يَكُونُوا مُوْمِنِينَ
that they do not become believers.
Here Allah is consoling His Messenger for the lack of faith of those among the disbelievers who do not believe in him.
This is like the Ayat:
فَلَ تَذْهَبْ نَفْسُكَ عَلَيْهِمْ حَسَرَتٍ
So destroy not yourself in sorrow for them. (35:8)
فَلَعَلَّكَ بَـخِعٌ نَّفْسَكَ عَلَى ءَاثَـرِهِمْ إِن لَّمْ يُوْمِنُواْ بِهَـذَا الْحَدِيثِ أَسَفاً
Perhaps, you would Bakhi` yourself, over their footsteps, because they believe not in this narration. (18:6)
Mujahid, Ikrimah, Qatadah, Atiyyah, Ad-Dahhak, Al-Hasan and others said that:
لَعَلَّكَ بَاخِعٌ نَّفْسَكَ
(It may be that you are going Bakhi` yourself),
means, `kill yourself.'
Then Allah says:
إِن نَّشَأْ نُنَزِّلْ عَلَيْهِم مِّن السَّمَاء ايَةً فَظَلَّتْ أَعْنَاقُهُمْ لَهَا خَاضِعِينَ
If We will, We could send down to them from the heaven a sign, to which they would bend their necks in humility.
meaning, `if We so willed, We could send down a sign that would force them to believe, but We will not do that because We do not want anyone to believe except by choice.'
Allah says:
وَلَوْ شَأءَ رَبُّكَ لامَنَ مَن فِى الاٌّرْضِ كُلُّهُمْ جَمِيعًا أَفَأَنتَ تُكْرِهُ النَّاسَ حَتَّى يَكُونُواْ مُوْمِنِينَ
And had your Lord willed, those on earth would have believed, all of them together. So, will you then compel mankind, until they become believers. (10:99)
وَلَوْ شَأءَ رَبُّكَ لَجَعَلَ النَّاسَ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً
And if your Lord had so willed, He could surely, have made mankind one Ummah... (11:118)
But Allah's will has acted, His decree has come to pass, and His proof has been conveyed to mankind by mission of Messengers and the revelation of Books to them.
Then Allah says:
وَمَا يَأْتِيهِم مِّن ذِكْرٍ مِّنَ الرَّحْمَنِ مُحْدَثٍ إِلاَّ كَانُوا عَنْهُ مُعْرِضِينَ
And never comes there unto them a Reminder as a recent revelation from the Most Gracious, but they turn away therefrom.
meaning, every time a Scripture comes from heaven to them, most of the people turn away from it.
As Allah says:
وَمَأ أَكْثَرُ النَّاسِ وَلَوْ حَرَصْتَ بِمُوْمِنِينَ
And most of mankind will not believe even if you desire it eagerly. (12:103)
يحَسْرَةً عَلَى الْعِبَادِ مَا يَأْتِيهِمْ مِّن رَّسُولٍ إِلاَّ كَانُواْ بِهِ يَسْتَهْزِءُونَ
Alas for mankind! There never came a Messenger to them but they used to mock at him. (36:30)
ثُمَّ أَرْسَلْنَا رُسُلَنَا تَتْرَى كُلَّ مَا جَأءَ أُمَّةً رَّسُولُهَا كَذَّبُوهُ
Then We sent Our Messengers in succession. Every time there came to a nation their Messenger, they denied him... (23:44)
Allah says here:
فَقَدْ كَذَّبُوا فَسَيَأْتِيهِمْ أَنبَاء مَا كَانُوا بِهِ يَسْتَهْزِيُون
So, they have indeed denied, then the news of what they mocked at will come to them.
meaning, they denied the truth that came to them, so they will come to know the news of the consequences of this denial after a while.
وَسَيَعْلَمْ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُواْ أَىَّ مُنقَلَبٍ يَنقَلِبُونَ
And those who do wrong will come to know by what overturning they will be overturned. (26:227)
Then Allah tells those who dared to oppose His Messenger and disbelieve in His Book, that He is the Subduer, the Almighty, the All-Powerful, Who created the earth and caused every good kind of crop, fruit and animal to grow therein.
أَوَلَمْ يَرَوْا إِلَى الاَْرْضِ كَمْ أَنبَتْنَا فِيهَا مِن كُلِّ زَوْجٍ كَرِيمٍ
Do they not observe the earth -- how much of every good kind We cause to grow therein!
Sufyan Ath-Thawri narrated from a man from Ash-Sha`bi that people are a product of the earth. So whoever enters Paradise is good and noble, and whoever enters Hell is base and vile.
إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَايَةً
Verily, in this is an Ayah,
meaning an evidence of the power of the Creator of all things.
وَمَا كَانَ أَكْثَرُهُم مُّوْمِنِينَ
yet most of them are not believers.
He spread out the earth and raised the canopy of the heavens, yet despite that the majority of people do not believe, rather they deny Him, His Messengers, and His Books, and they go against His commands doing the things He had prohibited.
His saying
وَإِنَّ رَبَّكَ لَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ
And verily your Lord, He is truly the All-Mighty,
means, the One Who has power over all things, to subdue and control them,
الرَّحِيمُ
the Most Merciful.
means, towards His creation, for He does not hasten to punish the one who sins, but He gives him time to repent, and if he does not, then He seizes him with a mighty punishment.
Abu Al-Aliyah, Qatadah, Ar-Rabi` bin Anas and Ibn Ishaq said:
He is Almighty in His punishment of those who went against His commands and worshipped others besides Him.
Sa`id bin Jubayr said:
He is Most Merciful towards those who repent to Him and turn to Him.
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