Surah Al-An'am, Ayah 35

Comforting the Prophet

Allah comforts the Prophet in his grief over his people's denial and defiance of him,

قَدْ نَعْلَمُ إِنَّهُ لَيَحْزُنُكَ الَّذِى يَقُولُونَ

(We know indeed the grief which their words cause you;) meaning, We know about their denial of you and your sadness and sorrow for them. Allah said in other Ayat,

فَلاَ تَذْهَبْ نَفْسُكَ عَلَيْهِمْ حَسَرَتٍ

(So destroy not yourself in sorrow for them.) 35:8, and

لَعَلَّكَ بَـخِعٌ نَّفْسَكَ أَلاَّ يَكُونُواْ مُؤْمِنِينَ

(It may be that you are going to kill yourself with grief, that they do not become believers.) 26:3, and,

فَلَعَلَّكَ بَـخِعٌ نَّفْسَكَ عَلَى ءَاثَـرِهِمْ إِن لَّمْ يُؤْمِنُواْ بِهَـذَا الْحَدِيثِ أَسَفاً

Commentary

About the statement: فَإِنَّهُمْ لَا يُكَذِّبُونَكَ (it is not you they are belying, rather, it is the signs of Allah they are denying) in the first verse (33), there is a related event, reported in Tafsir Mazhari on the authority of a narration by As-Suddiy, according to which, once Akhnas ibn Shuraiq and Abu Jahl, two chiefs of the Quraysh tribe met together. Akhnas asked Abu Jahl: 0 Abul-Hikam, (In Arabia, Abu Jahl was called Abul-Hikam - 'man of wisdom' - but because of his hostility to Islam, he became known as Abu-Jahl - 'man of ignorance' ), you and me are alone here. There is no third person listening to us. Tell me about Muhammad ibn ` Abdulluh. Tell me what you really think about him. Is he telling the truth or is he not?

A life lived on the assumption that the world belongs to God is a truly God-fearing life, i.e. a life of taqwa, whereas a life in which no such assumption is made is one of sinfulness, being entirely given over to worldly pleasures and trivialities. The latter pleasure-seeking life will last—in terms of eternity—for only a matter of days and, with death, will come to an end, whereas the God-fearing life, regulated by God’s eternal principles, will continue to stand man in good stead both in this world and the next. In the present world man denies these realities but, as soon as the freedom given to him under test conditions ends, he will be compelled to accept them, though acceptance at that time will be of no avail.