Tafsir of An-Nahl 16:103

"And We certainly know that they say,"—that is, they say other than what has been relayed from them regarding the outrageous statement: "It is only a human being who teaches him." The pronoun refers to the Quran, and this is supported by the context of the verb "revealed." They claim that a human being teaches the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, the Quran. This is asserted decisively, despite the obvious fact of the revelation of the Holy Spirit (Gabriel) unto him, peace and blessings be upon him. The sentence is emphasized to realize the threat it contains. The use of the present tense denotes the continuity of their knowledge, in accordance with the renewed continuity of its object; for they persist in uttering that monstrous statement.

In al-Bahr, it is said that the meaning relates to the past, meaning "We knew." Regarding who this human being was: it is said to be Jabr the Roman, a servant of Amir ibn al-Hadrami; he had read the Torah and the Gospel, and the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, would sit with him when the people of Mecca harmed him, so they said what they said. This is also narrated from al-Suddi. Others say it was a servant of Huwaytib ibn Abd al-Uzza named Aish or Ya'ish, who read scriptures and became a Muslim of excellent faith. Al-Farra and al-Zajjaj said it was Abu Fukiha, a servant of a woman in Mecca, said to be named Yasar; Muqatil and Ibn Jubayr stated he was Jewish, though Ibn Jubayr did not mention his religion.

Adam ibn Abi Iyas, al-Bayhaqi, and others narrated from Abdullah ibn Muslim al-Hadrami that he said: "We had two Christian slaves from 'Ayn al-Tamr, one called Yasar and the other Jabr, and they were swordsmiths in Mecca. They used to read the Gospel. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, would pass by them while they were reading and would stop to listen. The polytheists said: 'He is only learning from them.'" In some accounts, it is said that one of them was asked: "Are you teaching Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him?" He replied: "No, rather he teaches me."

Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, said there was a foreign Roman youth in Mecca belonging to some of the Quraysh named Bal'am, and the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, would teach him Islam. The Quraysh then said: "This man teaches Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, from the perspective of the foreigners." Ibn Jarir and Ibn al-Mundhir narrated from al-Dahhak that it was Salman al-Farisi, may Allah be pleased with him. This is weakened by the fact that the verse is Meccan while Salman embraced Islam in Medina, and because presenting this as a prophecy of an unseen matter does not suit the context. The narrative that he became a Muslim in Mecca and was purchased and freed by Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, is considered weak and unreliable.

I have been informed by someone I trust that a Christian told him: "Your Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, would be visited in the Cave of Hira by a Christian and a Jew who taught him." I have not found this from any of the polytheists; it is a sheer lie with no origin, and a pure fabrication with no basis. They only mention a specific name of whom they claim teaches him—despite it being more illustrative of the obviousness of their lies—to indicate that their error is not merely in attributing the learning to a specific person, but to any human being whatsoever, despite the fact that he, peace and blessings be upon him, is the treasure trove of the sciences of the first and the last.

"The tongue of the one they incline towards is foreign." Lisan (tongue/language) is a well-known metaphor for speech. Ilhad (inclination/deviation) means to lean; one says lahada or alhada when deviating from the intended path. Hence, lahd (the side-niche of a grave) is so named because it is a hole inclined away from its center, and the mulhid (heretic) is so named because he inclines his creed away from all religions. A'jami means unclear. Abu al-Fath al-Mawsili said that the root 'A-J-M in the speech of the Arabs signifies ambiguity, concealment, and the opposite of clarity and explanation.

The meaning of "the one" (referring to the human) according to those who hold that the claimants to this teaching were many, is the gender. The object of "they incline" is omitted—that is, the speech of the one towards whom they deviate—meaning they attribute the teaching to one whose language is not clear and whose intended meaning is not evident.

"And this [Quran] is a clear Arabic tongue." It possesses clarity and eloquence, as is implied by its description as "clear" after being described as "Arabic." According to Ibn 'Atiyyah, there is an ellipsis of a genitive; that is, "the diction of a tongue" or "the utterance of a tongue." The two sentences are independent statements according to al-Zamakhshari, meant to invalidate their slander. Abu Hayyan suggested they might be states of the subject of "they say," adding that this is more powerful in its rejection—as if to say: "They say this, while their knowledge of the foreignness of this human and the Arabic nature of this Quran should have prevented them from such a statement."

The invalidation, as stated by al-Baydawi, may take two forms: First, that which he hears from that human is foreign speech, which neither he nor you understand, whereas the Quran is Arabic and you understand it with the slightest reflection; how then could he have acquired it from him? Second, even if we assume he took the meaning by listening to his speech, he could not have taken the diction, for that is foreign and this is Arabic. The Quran is miraculous in its meaning just as it is miraculous in its diction. Moreover, the vast sciences in the Quran could not be learned except by accompanying a master superior in those sciences for a long time; how then could all this be learned from a common street youth, hearing some transmitted items in foreign words, the meanings of which he likely did not even know?

In sum, the grip on such fragile myths during their slander is strong evidence of the perfection of their incapacity. They have attempted to gather day and night and to make the star Suhail and the sun equal. So leave them to claim the morning is night; are those who look blinded from the light?