Tafsir of Hud 11:120

Surah Hud (11:120) - And all that We relate to you...

It is known that after Allah (Exalted is He) mentioned numerous narratives in this Surah, He mentioned two types of benefit in this verse:

This benefit is to strengthen the heart (تثبيت الفؤاد) in carrying out the Prophetic mission and in enduring harm.

When a person is afflicted by a trial or tribulation, the burden becomes lighter if they see others sharing a similar fate. As the saying goes: "When affliction is widespread, it is lessened."

When the Messenger hears these stories and learns that the situation of all the Prophets (peace and blessings of Allah be upon them) and their followers was like this, it becomes easier for him to bear the harm from his people, enabling him to be patient.

This relates to His saying: {And this has come to you the truth, and a reminder and a warning for the believers} (11:120).

There are several interpretations regarding the phrase {in this} (في هذه):

1. In this Surah.
2. In this verse.
3. In this worldly life (This interpretation is distant and unsuitable for this context).

It must be noted that singling out this Surah for containing the Truth does not necessitate that other Surahs are different in this regard. It is possible that the Truth mentioned in this Surah is more complete than what is mentioned in other Surahs. Even if it contained nothing more than His saying: {So stand firm as you have been commanded} (Hud: 112), the statement would still hold true as we have mentioned.

Furthermore, Allah (Exalted is He) clarified that three things have come in this Surah: the Truth (الحق), the Admonition (الموعظة), and the Reminder (الذكرى).

• As for the Truth (الحق): It refers to the proofs demonstrating Tawhid (Oneness of God), Justice, and Prophethood.
• As for the Reminder (الذكرى): It refers to guidance toward lasting righteous deeds.
• As for the Admonition (الموعظة): It refers to deterrence from the world and describing its state as ugly in the Hereafter, and reminding of the happiness and misery that await there. This is because the soul originated from that realm, but due to its preoccupation with the love of the body in this world, it forgot the conditions of that realm. Therefore, the Divine discourse reminds it of those conditions, which is why the term Dhikr (Reminder) is correctly applied to it.

There is another wondrous subtlety here: Divine gnoses (Ma'arif) require both a recipient (قَابِل) and a cause (مُوجِب).

• The recipient is the heart. The heart cannot benefit from hearing the proofs unless it has achieved the full capacity to accept those Divine gnoses and the Holy Manifestations.
• For this reason, Allah (Exalted is He) preceded the mention of rectifying the heart—which is strengthening the heart (تثبيت الفؤاد)—with the mention of the cause. After mentioning the soundness of the recipient's state, He followed it up by mentioning the cause, which is the arrival of this Surah containing the Truth, the Admonition, and the Reminder. This sequence is of the utmost nobility and majesty.