Tafsir of Al-An'am 6:89

This is a reference to the aforementioned eighteen prophets and those conjoined with them—peace be upon them—considering their being characterized by what was mentioned of guidance and other magnificent attributes. The Imam confined the reference to those prophets mentioned. From Ibn Bashir, it is narrated: "I heard a man ask al-Hasan about 'those,' and he replied: 'Those who are mentioned at the beginning of the verse.'" This is the subject (mubtada'), and its predicate (khabar) is His saying, Exalted is He:

(Those whom We have given the Book), meaning its genus. The intent behind "giving" it is the complete imparting of the truths contained therein, and the enabling of one to grasp both its major and minor points. This is broader than simply the act of revelation initially, for among those mentioned are some upon whom no specific book was revealed.

(And wisdom), meaning the adjudication of matters between people with truth, or wisdom (hikmah), which is the knowledge of the realities of things.

(And prophethood), which some interpreted as the messenger-ship (risalah), arguing that those mentioned here are messengers. However, in the Muhakamat by our master Ahmad bin Haydar al-Safawi, it is stated that David, peace be upon him, was not a messenger, even though he was given a book; I have not found a textual proof for this. Some have also held that Joseph, son of Jacob, peace be upon them, was not a messenger, and that the "Joseph" in the saying of the Almighty, "And Joseph had already come to you before with clear proofs," is not Joseph son of Jacob, but rather Joseph son of Ephraim son of Joseph son of Jacob; this is strange, and even stranger is the claim that he was a messenger to the Jinn. Al-Shihab said: "It may be said that the broader term was mentioned in the noble arrangement because some who are included in the generality of their fathers and descendants were not messengers."

(But if they disbelieve in it), meaning in these three, or in the prophethood which encompasses the others, (these), meaning the people of Mecca, as is narrated from Ibn Abbas—may Allah be pleased with both of them—and Qatadah, along with the indication of the context as has been said. It has also been said that the intent are the disbelievers who rejected his prophethood—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—absolutely. Regardless, their disbelief in the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and in the Quran revealed to him necessitates their disbelief in all that confirms it. The prepositional phrase is placed before the agent for the reason mentioned more than once.

(Then We have entrusted it), meaning We have commanded the safeguarding of it, granted success in believing in it, and empowered the upholding of its rights, (to a people), magnificent ones, (who are not disbelievers in it) at any time, but are rather constant in their belief in it. The intent behind them is—as narrated by Ibn Jarir and others from Ibn Abbas, and 'Abd bin Humayd from Sa'id bin al-Musayyab—the people of Medina from the Ansar. Others said: the Companions of the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—absolutely. Others said: every believer from the children of Adam—peace be upon him. Others said: the Persians. For each of these groups is granted success in believing in the prophets and the books revealed to them, and they act upon what is in them of the foundations of the laws and those of their branches that remain in our law.

From Qatadah, it is said that they are the prophets—peace and blessings be upon them—mentioned. Based on this, "entrusting" would mean a command that is broader than just executing its laws (as is their duty regarding their own book) and includes the belief in its validity (as is their duty regarding other books which the Quran has illuminated and distinguished). Al-Zajjaj chose this interpretation, and al-Zamakhshari preferred it for two reasons: First, the verse that follows is a reference to the prophets mentioned—peace be upon them—so if those entrusted are not them, a separation by something unrelated would be necessitated. Second, it is ordered with the particle fa (then/so) to what preceded it, which necessitates this. Some have considered this unlikely, for the apparent meaning is that the one who affirms prophethood and the one who denies it are distinct from the one who is given it.

Ibn Humayd and others narrated from Abu Raja' al-'Utaridi that they are the angels; the "entrusting" in this case is the command to reveal them, safeguard them, and believe in their validity. The Imam considered this unlikely, as the word "people" (qawm) is rarely applied to anyone other than humans. Regardless, the tanwin on "a people" (qawman) is for exaltation, as we indicated. It is the object of "We have entrusted," and the phrase "in it" is attached to what it follows, being placed before the direct object for the reason already mentioned, and because it contains a lengthiness that might lead, if placed at the end, to the impairment of the rhythm of the noble arrangement or to a separation between the adjective and the noun it modifies. The ba (in) following it is a connector for "disbelievers," placed there to preserve the endings of the verses, and the one after it is for the emphasis of negation.

The answer to the conditional is omitted, indicated by the sentence "Then We have entrusted it," etc. That is: If these people disbelieve in it, there is no consideration for them at all; for We have granted success in believing in it to a people who are constant in their belief in it and in acting upon what is in it. Thus, their belief provides a sufficiency against the belief of these disbelievers. From this, it is understood that the most likely interpretation, as the Shaykh al-Islam said, is to interpret the "people" as one of the groups other than the prophets and angels—peace and blessings be upon them—since through their belief in the Quran and their acting upon its laws, the sufficiency against the belief of the disbelievers and the acting upon their laws is realized; this is not the case with the belief of the prophets and angels—peace be upon them.