Surah Al-Hajj, Ayah 53

How the Shaytan threw some Falsehood into the Words of the Messengers, and how Allah abolished

At this point many of the scholars of Tafsir mentioned the story of the Gharaniq and how many of those who had migrated to Ethiopia came back when they thought that the idolators of the Quraysh had become Muslims, but these reports all come through Mursal chains of narration and I do not think that any of them may be regarded as Sahih. And Allah knows best. Al-Bukhari said, "Ibn `Abbas said,

فِى أُمْنِيَّتِهِ

(in his recitation (of the revelation).) "When he spoke, the Shaytan threw (some falsehood) into his speech, but Allah abolished that which the Shaytan threw in."

ثُمَّ يُحْكِمُ اللَّهُ ءَايَـتِهِ

Commentary

مِن رَّ‌سُولٍ وَلَا نَبِيٍّ (any messenger and any prophet - 22:52) This shows that the words Rasul رَّ‌سُولٍ and Nabi carry different meanings, though there is no consensus as to the precise nature of the difference. For our purpose it is enough to understand that Nabi نَبِيٍّ is a person whom Allah Ta’ ala designates with a mission to reform his people and who receives revelations from Him. He may receive a Scripture and a code of laws or he may be commanded to convey the message of an earlier Book and code of laws. Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) and ` Isa' (علیہ السلام) belong to the first category, whereas Sayyidna Harun (علیہ السلام) ، who was directed to propagate the teachings of Torah and the Mosaic Laws, falls in the second category. On the other hand a Rasul رَّ‌سُولٍ is a person who receives from Allah Ta’ ala a Scripture and a code of laws. Thus every رَّ‌سُولٍ Rasul is necessarily a Nabi also, but every Nabi is not a Rasul. These distinctions are applicable to human beings only. That an angel who carries wahy from Allah Ta’ ala is also named as Rasul does not contradict this position. This subject has already been discussed in detail in Surah Maryam in the beginning of this volume.

The real matter is that man is going to enter a world where it is only believers and pious people who will have eternal comfort and not those who arrogantly ignore the Truth. The real purpose of the Islamic call is to warn people of this coming Day. The sole duty of the giver of the call is to warn people. All other matters relate to God alone, for it is He alone who is at the helm of affairs.