Surah Al-Isra, Ayah 74

How the Prophet would have been punished if He had given in at all to the Disbelievers' Demands that He change some of the Revelation

Allah tells us how He supported His Prophet and protected him and kept him safe from the evil plots of the wicked transgressors. Allah is the One Who took care of him and helped him, and would not leave him to any of His creation. He is the One Who is His Helper, Supporter and Protector, the One Who is to help him achieve victory and make His religion prevail over those who resist him and oppose him and fight him in the east and in the west. May Allah send peace and blessings upon him until the Day of Judgement.

Commentary

Out of the verses appearing above, the first three relate to a particular event. To determine it precisely, Tafsir Mazhari carries some relevant reports. The event which is closer and more supportive in terms of the indicators set in the Qur'an is what has been reported by Ibn Abi Hatim as based on a narrative of Sayyidna Jubayr ibn Nufayr. According to this report, some chiefs of the Quraysh of Makkah came to the Holy Prophet ﷺ and said: 'If you have been really sent to us, you should remove these poor and broken down people from around you, for sitting with such people is a matter of insult for us. If you do that, we too will become your companions and friends.' When they said this, the Holy Prophet ﷺ somewhat leaned towards the idea that he might do someth-ing like that as suggested by them in the hope that they may, perhaps, become Muslims. Thereupon, this verse was revealed.

In this world all human groups have their leaders. Similarly, in the Hereafter all groups will be rated along with their respective leaders—good people with their good leaders and evil people with their evil leaders. Subsequently, everyone will be given a full record of his deeds in the world he left behind. The record of good people will be placed in their right hands while the record of bad people will be placed in their left hands. This will serve as a tangible sign that the first group is God’s favoured group and the second is the disfavoured group. The division between bad and good in the Hereafter will be on the basis of who lead his life in this world like a deaf and blind man and who lead his life in this world like one possessed of sight. Since God does not converse with man directly in this world, His messages have to be learned through the silent signs of this universe and through the words of God’s messengers. Those who apprehend this indirect communication of the divine message will be regarded as possessing sight in this world. And those who do not understand this ‘indirect language’ and wait for the day when God Himself will appear and speak, are the ones who are blind in the eyes of God. Ultimately, the direct words of God will be of no avail to them. They will remain as far from the reality of truth at that time as they are today.