Surah Saba, Ayah 47

I do not ask for any Reward for conveying the Message

Allah commands His Messenger to say to the idolators:

مَا سَأَلْتُكُم مِّن أَجْرٍ فَهُوَ لَكُمْ

(Whatever wage I might have asked of you is yours.) meaning, `I do not want anything for conveying the Message of Allah to you, advising you and telling you to worship Allah.'

إِنْ أَجْرِىَ إِلاَّ عَلَى اللَّهِ

My wage is from Allah only, means, rather I will seek the reward for that with Allah.

وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَىْءٍ شَهِيدٍ

and He is a Witness over all things. means, He knows all things, and He knows everything about me and the manner in which I am conveying the Message to you, and He knows all about you.

قُلْ إِنَّ رَبِّى يَقْذِفُ بِالْحَقِّ عَلَّـمُ الْغُيُوبِ

(Say: "Verily, my Lord sends down the truth, the All-Knower of the Unseen.") This is like the Ayah:

يُلْقِى الرُّوحَ مِنْ أَمْرِهِ عَلَى مَن يَشَآءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ

(He sends the Revelation by His command to any of His servants He wills) (40:15). meaning, He sends the angel to whomsoever He wills of His servants among the people on earth, and He is the All-Knower of the Unseen; nothing whatsoever is hidden from Him in the heavens or on earth.

قُلْ جَآءَ الْحَقُّ وَمَا يُبْدِىءُ الْبَـطِلُ وَمَا يُعِيدُ

(Say: "The truth has come, and the falsehood can neither create anything nor resurrect.") means, truth and the great Law have come from Allah, and falsehood has gone and has perished and vanished. This is like the Ayah:

بَلْ نَقْذِفُ بِالْحَقِّ عَلَى الْبَـطِلِ فَيَدْمَغُهُ فَإِذَا هُوَ زَاهِقٌ

(Nay, We fling the truth against the falsehood, so it destroys it, and behold, it is vanished) (21:18). When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ entered Al-Masjid Al-Haram on the day of the conquest of Makkah, and found those idols standing around the Ka`bah, he started to hit the idols with his bow, reciting,

وَقُلْ جَآءَ الْحَقُّ وَزَهَقَ الْبَـطِلُ إِنَّ الْبَـطِلَ كَانَ زَهُوقًا

(And say: "The truth has come and the falsehood has vanished. Surely, the falsehood is ever bound to vanish.") (17:81), and:

قُلْ جَآءَ الْحَقُّ وَمَا يُبْدِىءُ الْبَـطِلُ وَمَا يُعِيدُ

(Say: "The truth has come, and the falsehood can neither create anything nor resurrect.") This was recorded by Al-Bukhari, Muslim, At-Tirmidhi and An-Nasa'i.

قُلْ إِن ضَلَلْتُ فَإِنَّمَآ أَضِلُّ عَلَى نَفْسِى وَإِنِ اهْتَدَيْتُ فَبِمَا يُوحِى إِلَىَّ رَبِّى

(Say: "If (even) I go astray, I shall stray only to my own loss. But if I remain guided, it is because of the Revelation of my Lord to me...") means, all good comes from Allah, and in what Allah sends down of revelation and clear truth there is guidance and wisdom. So whoever goes astray, does so by himself, as `Abdullah bin Mas`ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said when he was asked about some issue. He said, "I will say what I think, and if it is correct, then it is from Allah, and if it is wrong, then it is from me and from the Shaytan, and Allah and His Messenger have nothing to do with it."

إِنَّهُ سَمِيعٌ قَرِيبٌ

Truly, He is All-Hearer, Ever Near. means, He hears all the words of His servants, and He is always near to respond to them when they call on Him. An-Nasa0 0 recorded the Hadith of Abu Mu0sa0 which also appears in the Two Sلahل0hلs:

«إِنَّكُمْ لَاتَدْعُونَ أَصَمَّ وَلَا غَائِبًا، إِنَّمَا تَدْعُونَ سَمِيعًا قَرِيبًا مُجِيبًا»

(You are not calling upon one who is deaf or absent; you are calling upon One Who is All-Hearer, Ever Near and Responsive.)

Call to the disbelievers of Makkah

In verse 46: إِنَّمَا أَعِظُكُم بِوَاحِدَةٍ (I advise you for one thing only), in order to negate any excuse for the people of Makkah, they have been shown a shortcut to ascertain truth. For this, they had to do just one thing: Stand for Allah, in pairs and singles. 'Standing for Allah' does not mean standing in the physical sense, something like standing up from the posture of sitting or lying. Instead of that, it means having the resolve to show full care and concern for the assignment in sight. Then, by adding: لِلہ (lil-lah: For Allah) with the word: قِیَام (qiyam: To stand), the purpose is to make it clear that one should start looking for' truth with a mind cleansed of previous thoughts and beliefs for the good pleasure of Allah alone, so that previous thoughts and deeds do not obstruct one's way to an acceptance of the truth. And then, the expression 'in pairs and singles' is not intended to point out a particular number. The sense is that there are two ways of pondering over something: (1) To think it out alone and in private. (2) To consult friends and elders, discuss it with them and then arrive at some conclusion. It is being said here that, 'out of these two methods, you can go by the one you like.'

The contemporaries of the Prophet rejected his call of Truth, but this rejection was purely due to stubbornness and prejudice. Had they thought over the matter, either individually or collectively, with open minds, they would have discovered that their Prophet was not a madman. His earlier life would have testified to his seriousness. His sympathetic way would have shown that whenever he spoke, his words showed the deepest concern. His style of discourse, replete as it was with wisdom would have been sufficient evidence of its veracity. His working without demanding remuneration shows that he had undertaken this task only for God’s pleasure and not as a personal concern. Viewing him dispassionately, people would have come to know that his restlessness was not out of madness but because of the danger which he was required to warn against. But they were never serious about the call to accept the truth, and that being so, the above-mentioned facts, albeit so obviously true, did not impress them.