ﲛ ﲜ ﲝ ﲞ ﲟ ﲠ ﲡ ﲢ ﲣ ﲤ ﲥ ﲦ ﲧ ﲨ ﲩ ﲪ ﲫ ﲬ
O children of Adam, if there come to you messengers from among you relating to you My verses, then whoever fears Allah and reforms - there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve.
Tafsir
Verse range: 7:35
This is an address to all of mankind, and the significance of the attention given to the matter contained within it is not hidden. Ibn Jarir recorded from Abu Yasar al-Sulami that he said: "Allah, Blessed and Exalted, placed Adam and his descendants in His palm and said: {O children of Adam, if there come to you...} until He reached {then fear Me}." Then He dispersed them.
Some of the researchers have held the view that this is a recounting of what took place with every people. It has been said that the intent by "children of Adam" is the nation of our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), but this is contrary to the apparent meaning and is rendered unlikely by the gathering of messengers in His saying, Exalted is He: {if there come to you messengers from among you}.
"From among you" means from your own kind; the prepositional phrase is connected to an omitted element that functions as an adjective for "messengers." As for "ma" in "imma" (if), it is the conditional in, to which ma has been joined to emphasize the meaning of the condition; it is added for emphasis only. It is also said that it provides the meaning of generality as well; thus the meaning of imma taf’alanna (if you do) is: if the action should occur from you in any way whatsoever.
The verb following this construction must be attached to the emphatic nun (nun al-tawkid), and it should not be omitted—according to the view of al-Mubarrad, al-Zajjaj, and those who followed them—except out of poetic necessity. From that is the saying: If you see me having [a patch of] hair, for the events have worn it away.
This has been refuted by the fact that the frequent hearing of the omission makes the claim of "necessity" unlikely. The reason for this necessity, according to some, is the fear of the status of the conditional verb descending to the level of the in particle. It is also said that the emphatic nun does not enter a purely future-tense verb unless there has first entered upon the beginning of the verb that which indicates emphasis, such as an oath particle or the added ma, so that it may serve as a prelude for the entry of the emphasis. According to this view, the matter of sequence is the opposite of what was previously mentioned.
The use of in (if) serves as a notification that the sending of messengers is a permissible matter, not a mandatory one. This is the view held by the People of the Sunnah. The Mu'tazila, however, said that it is mandatory upon Allah, Exalted is He, because, in their claim, it is incumbent upon Him to do what is most beneficial.
His saying, Exalted is He: {relating to you My verses} is an adjective for "messengers." It is also permissible that it be in the position of a state (hal) of them, or of the pronoun in the prepositional phrase; meaning: they present My rulings and legislations to you, inform you of them, and clarify them for you.
His saying, Exalted is He: {So whoever fears Allah and reforms, there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve} is the response to the condition. "Whoever" (man) is either conditional or relative. "Among you" (minkum) is implied in the structure of the speech so that the response may be linked to the condition. The meaning is: "Whoever among you fears Allah regarding the rejection [of the truth] and reforms his deeds, then there is no fear..." and so on. The singular and plural pronouns are used to observe both the wording of man and its meaning.
