Tafsir of Al-Anbiya' 21:45

"Say, I only warn you..."

After clarifying from His side, the Exalted, the extent of the terror of that which the haste-seekers hasten, the extremity of their wretched state when it arrives, rebuking them for their ignorance of this, and their turning away from the remembrance of their Lord who guards them from the calamities of the night and the accidents of the day, along with their other evils—He commanded the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, to say to them: "I only warn you of that which you hasten," which is the Hour, by way of the truthful revelation that declares its certainty and the horror of what it contains of terrors. That is, my role is only to warn you by informing you of it, not by bringing it about, for that would conflict with the creational and legislative wisdom; indeed, faith is based on proof, not on direct vision.

His saying, the Exalted, "But the deaf do not hear the call," is either a continuation of the taught speech, serving as a tailpiece (tadhyil) by way of parenthetical insertion, which he, peace and blessings be upon him, was commanded to say to them as a rebuke, a reprimand, and a formal recording of their complete ignorance and obstinacy; or it is from His side, the Exalted, in the manner of His saying, "Rather, they are turning away from the remembrance of their Lord." It is as if it were said: Tell them that, while they are isolated from hearing.

The definite article (al) in "the deaf" (al-summ) is either for the genus—which includes these people primarily—or for specific reference (al-ahd), where the explicit noun is used in place of the pronoun to formally record their deafness. The denial of hearing is restricted by His saying, "when they are warned," even though the deaf do not hear at all, to illustrate the extreme intensity of their deafness. This is just as choosing the word "call" (al-du'a)—which signifies vocalization and shouting—over "speech" (al-kalam) is for the same purpose, since warning is usually done with loud, repeated voices accompanied by gestures indicating it. If they do not hear that, then their deafness is at a limit the likes of which has not been heard of. It has been said that this is because the context is one of warning—do you not see His saying, "Say, I only warn you by the revelation?"—though this contains a subtlety that is not hidden.

Ibn Amir, Ibn Jubayr from Ibn 'Amr, and Ibn al-Salt from Hafs read tusmi'u (you make hear) with a ta (t), addressing the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, derived from al-isma' (making hear), with "the deaf" and "the call" in the accusative case as objects. This reading supports the possibility that the sentence is from His side, the Exalted. It was also read yusmi'u (he makes hear) with a ya (y) in the third person, attributing the action to him, peace and blessings be upon him, with the two words in the accusative as previously mentioned. Ibn Khalawayh mentioned that it was read as yusammi'u (made to hear) in the passive voice, with "the deaf" in the nominative as the deputy of the subject, and "the call" in the accusative as the object. Ahmad ibn Jubayr al-Antaki, from al-Yazidi from Abu 'Amr, read yusmi'u with a damma on the ya (y) and a kasra on the mim, with "the deaf" in the accusative as the object and "the call" in the nominative as the subject of "makes hear," with the attribution of the action of "making hear" to it being by way of extension (ittisa'), and the second object is omitted; as if it were said: "And the deaf do not hear the call [to] anything."