Tafsir of Al-Anbiya' 21:107

"And We have not sent you"—with what has been mentioned and the likes thereof regarding laws, rulings, and other matters that are the foundation for the felicity of the two abodes—"except as a mercy to the worlds."

[This is an] exception from the most general of causes; meaning, We did not send you with what has been mentioned for any reason except that you might show mercy to the worlds by your being sent. Or, it is from the most general of states; meaning, We did not send you in any state whatsoever except as being a mercy, or as one possessing mercy, or as one showing mercy through the explanation of that with which you were sent.

The apparent meaning is that "the worlds" encompasses the disbelievers. The justification for this is that he, peace and blessings be upon him, was sent with that which is the cause for the felicity of the two abodes and the welfare of both realms; however, the disbeliever missed out on the benefit of this for himself, turning away due to the corruption of his own disposition. This does not detract from the fact that he—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—was sent as a mercy in relation to him as well, just as it does not detract from the fact that, for example, fresh water is beneficial even if a lazy person fails to benefit from it due to his laziness. This is manifest, contrary to those who argue against it.

Does "the worlds" include the angels, peace be upon them? There is a difference of opinion based on the disagreement regarding the generality of his mission, peace and blessings be upon him, to them. If we say it is general—as was deemed most correct by the Shafi'i scholars Al-Barizi, Taqi al-Din al-Subki, and Jalal al-Mahalli in Khasa'is; by the Hanbalis Ibn Taymiyyah, Ibn Hamid, and Ibn Muflih in Al-Furu'; and by the Maliki scholar Abd al-Haq—then we say it encompasses them here, and that he, peace and blessings be upon him, was sent as a mercy to them because he came with that which contains their obligations of commands and prohibitions, even if we do not know what those are. There is no doubt that in a legally responsible being’s fulfillment of what he is commanded with, there is benefit and felicity for him.

If we say it is not general—as was asserted by Al-Halimi, Al-Bayhaqi, and Jalal al-Mahalli in his commentary on Jam' al-Jawami', and Zayn al-Din al-'Iraqi in his notes on Ibn al-Salah from the Shafi'is; and by Mahmud ibn Hamza in his book Al-'Aja'ib wal-Ghara'ib from the Hanafis; and indeed, Al-Burhan al-Nasafi and Fakhr al-Razi even reported a consensus on this in their respective exegeses—then, even if it is not conceded, we say it does not include them here and that the intent is those other than them. It has been said: they are included here in the generality even if we do not say he was sent to them, because they were informed, through his being sent, of a multitude of great secrets deposited in his Book, which contains the foundation of what was and what will be, in expression and indication. What felicity is greater than being adorned with the ornament of knowledge? And their being—peace be upon them—not ignorant of anything is a view no Muslim scholar has held. It is also said: because he revealed their merit upon his noble tongue.

Some have said: mercy in regard to the disbelievers is their being secured by his mission—peace and blessings be upon him—from being swallowed by the earth, being transformed, being pelted with stones, and total annihilation. This was recorded by Al-Tabarani, Al-Bayhaqi, and a group from Ibn Abbas. It is mentioned that for the angels, peace be upon them, it is the security from that which Harut and Marut were afflicted with. The author of Al-Shifa mentions that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said to Gabriel, peace be upon him: "Did any of this mercy reach you?" He said: "Yes, I used to fear the outcome, then I felt secure because of Allah’s praise for me in the Quran: 'Possessor of power, secure with the Lord of the Throne.'" If this hadith is authentic, it necessitates that "the worlds" includes the angels, peace be upon them, although Jalal al-Suyuti mentioned in Tazyin al-Ara'ik that he found no chain of narration for it.

It is also said: the intent of "the worlds" is the entirety of creation, for "the world" (al-'alam) is everything other than Allah and His attributes—may His majesty be glorified—and the plural form for rational beings is used, prioritizing the noble over the other. His being—peace and blessings be upon him—a mercy to all is in consideration of him being the medium of divine effusion upon all possibilities according to their capacity; hence, his light, peace and blessings be upon him, was the first of all created things. In the report: "The first thing Allah created, O Jabir, was the light of your Prophet." And it came: "Allah is the Giver, and I am the Distributor." The Sufis—may their secrets be sanctified—have discourse in this chapter that transcends this.

In Miftah al-Sa'adah, Ibn al-Qayyim says: "If not for the prophethoods, there would have been no beneficial knowledge in the world at all, nor righteous deeds, nor welfare in livelihood, nor stability for a kingdom. People would have been at the level of beasts, predatory wild animals, and savage dogs that prey upon one another. Every good in the world is from the traces of prophethood, and every evil that has occurred or will occur is because of the hiddenness of the traces of prophethood and their decay. The world is a body whose soul is prophethood; there is no standing for a body without its soul. Therefore, when the sun of prophethood is eclipsed from the world and no traces of it remain on earth, its heavens will split, its stars will scatter, its sun will be folded, its moon will be eclipsed, its mountains will be leveled, its earth will be shaken, and all who are upon it will perish. Thus, there is no standing for the world except through the traces of prophethood."

If this is accepted, one knows from it—by way of his being the most complete of prophets and what he brought being more sublime than what they brought, peace be upon them, even if there is no difference in the fundamentals—the reason he, peace and blessings be upon him, was sent as a mercy to the worlds. However, this is not free from debate.

Some have claimed that "the worlds" here is specific to the believers, but this is nothing. One of the scholars has a long discourse on this noble verse, in which he negates and affirms, forbids and permits, but I see no basis for it other than a lack of acquaintance with the truth that is worthy of being followed. Once you take the matter into your own hands after becoming acquainted with it, it becomes easy for you to refute it, and his frivolity and seriousness will not alarm you. What I have chosen is that he, peace and blessings be upon him, was sent as a mercy to every single individual of the worlds—their angels, their humans, and their jinn. There is no difference in this between the believer and the disbeliever among humans and jinn. The mercy varies, and some of the worlds possess the superior portion of it. Whatever is seen as not being from mercy is either mercy according to precise consideration, or it is not the intended object of the primary intent, like all the evils that occur in the world, based on what has been established in its place: that evil is not inherently part of Allah’s decree.

Among what is manifest in the generality of the worlds including the disbelievers is what Muslim recorded from Abu Hurairah, who said: "It was said, 'O Messenger of Allah, pray against the polytheists!' He said: 'I was not sent as one who curses; I was only sent as a mercy.'" Perhaps this supports the accusative case of "mercy" (rahmatan) in the verse as a state (hal), as in his saying, peace and blessings be upon him, which Al-Bayhaqi recorded in Al-Dala'il from Abu Hurairah: "I am but a gifted mercy." The possibility of causality does not spoil what the Ash'aris went towards regarding the non-causality of His actions—may He be glorified and exalted—for the Maturidis, as well as the Hanbalis, went to the contrary and refuted it with that which cannot be surpassed. Furthermore, there is nothing to prevent one from saying regarding it what is said regarding all that appears to be causality, and the existence of an obstacle here is purely a delusion, so ponder it.

Finally, it is not hidden that the connection of "to the worlds" to "mercy" is the apparent meaning. Ibn Atiyyah said: it is possible that it connects to "We have sent you." In Al-Bahr, it is not permitted, according to the popular view, for the prepositional phrase following "except" (illa) to connect to the verb before it, unless the operator is empty for it, like: "I did not pass except by Zayd."