Tafsir of Ibraheem 14:8-9

Surah Ibrahim (14:8-9)

[8] And Moses said, "If you disbelieve—you and all those on earth—then indeed, Allah is Self-Sufficient, Praiseworthy."

[9] Has there not reached you the news of those before you—the people of Noah, 'Ad, Thamud, and those after them? None knows them except Allah. When their messengers came to them with clear proofs, they put their hands into their mouths and said, "Indeed, we reject what you have been sent with, and indeed, we are in grave doubt concerning that to which you invite us."

Regarding verse 8:

When Moses (peace be upon him) clarified that engaging in gratitude leads to an increase in blessings in this world and the Hereafter, while ingratitude leads to severe punishment and calamities in both realms, he then stated that the benefits of gratitude and the harms of ingratitude only affect the grateful person or the ungrateful person. The object of worship and thanks (Allah) is exalted above being benefited by gratitude or harmed by ingratitude.

Therefore, Allah Almighty said: {If you disbelieve—you and all those on earth—then indeed, Allah is Self-Sufficient, Praiseworthy.}

The purpose here is to clarify that Allah commanded these acts of obedience for the benefit of the worshipper, not for any benefit accruing to the Object of worship.

This is indicated by His statement: {indeed, Allah is Self-Sufficient (Ghaniyy)}.

• Interpretation of Ghaniyy (Self-Sufficient): He is Wajib al-Wujud (Necessary Existent) by His very essence and by all His attributes and considerations. If He were not Wajib al-Wujud by His essence, the preference of His existence over non-existence would require an external determiner, meaning He would not be Self-Sufficient, which contradicts the premise. Thus, being Self-Sufficient necessitates that He is Wajib al-Wujud in His essence.
• If He is Wajib al-Wujud in His essence, then He is also Wajib al-Wujud regarding all His perfections. If His essence were insufficient to realize that perfection, He would require an external cause to attain it, meaning He would not be Self-Sufficient, which is a contradiction. Thus, His essence is sufficient for all His perfections.
• If this is the case, He is inherently Praiseworthy (Hamid) by His essence, as Hamid means one who deserves praise.

This proof establishes that His being Self-Sufficient and Praiseworthy means that the gratitude of the thankful does not increase Him, nor does the ingratitude of the disbelievers diminish Him. This is the meaning behind: {If you disbelieve—you and all those on earth—then indeed, Allah is Self-Sufficient, Praiseworthy.} These meanings are among the subtle secrets.

Regarding the scope of disbelief:

Whether the statement {If you disbelieve—you and all those on earth} refers to disbelief opposing faith (Iman) or ingratitude opposing thanks (Shukr), the meaning remains the same: Allah is Self-Sufficient regarding the perfection of His attributes and all aspects of His Majesty and Glory.

Regarding verse 9:

{Has there not reached you the news of those before you—the people of Noah, 'Ad, Thamud, and those after them?}

Abu Muslim al-Isfahani suggested this might be an address from Moses to his people, intended to warn them by citing the destruction of previous nations. Alternatively, it could be a divine address delivered through Moses to remind his people of the earlier generations, with the goal of drawing lessons from the past. Both interpretations achieve the objective of deriving admonition. However, the majority opinion holds that this is the beginning of a discourse addressed to the community of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

The Mentioned Nations:

Allah mentioned three groups: the people of Noah, 'Ad, and Thamud.

{and those after them? None knows them except Allah.}

Al-Kashshaf mentions two possibilities regarding this phrase:

1. It is an inserted clause (i'tirad) consisting of a subject and predicate.
2. The phrase {and those after them} is coordinated with the people of Noah, 'Ad, and Thamud.

Regarding the statement {None knows them except Allah}, there are two views:

• View 1: It means Allah alone knows the precise reality (kuhn) and measure of their numbers and lifespan, as the Quran only mentions them generally, not their specific quantities or durations.
• View 2: It refers to nations whose news has not reached us at all; they worshipped messengers unknown to us, and only Allah knows them. Those holding this view criticize genealogists who trace lineages back to Adam. Ibn Mas'ud, upon reciting this verse, would say, "The genealogists have lied," implying that Allah negated knowledge of these generations from mankind. Ibn Abbas stated that between 'Adnan and Isma'il, there were thirty forefathers unknown to people. This is supported by verses like: {And how many generations We destroyed between them} (Al-Furqan: 38) and {Of them are those We have related to you, and of them are those We have not related to you} (Fatir: 27). The Prophet (PBUH) reportedly did not trace his lineage beyond Ma'add ibn 'Adnan ibn Adad, saying: "Learn what you need of your genealogies to maintain kinship, and learn what you need of the stars to guide your way." Al-Qadi suggests that if this second view is correct, determining the exact number of years from Adam until now becomes impossible, as achieving that would imply knowledge of the lineages as well.

Which view is stronger?

The second view is closer to the apparent meaning, because {None knows them except Allah} negates knowledge of their very beings (dhawat). If their beings were known, and only the duration of their lives or the nature of their attributes was unknown, negating knowledge of their beings would not be appropriate. Since the apparent meaning suggests negating knowledge of their beings, the second view is preferable.

The Response of the Deniers:

Allah then recounts the response of these nations when their messengers brought clear signs and miracles:

{they put their hands into their mouths}

There are two main interpretations of this action:

1. The hand and mouth refer to the literal, known physical organs.
2. They refer metaphorically to something other than these two limbs.

If the literal interpretation (1) is taken, there are three possibilities regarding the pronoun reference:

• Possibility A: Pronouns refer to the disbelievers.
  • Sub-view 1: They bit their hands out of intense rage and vexation at seeing the messengers and hearing their words. This is supported by the verse: {gnawing on their fingertips in rage} (Al 'Imran: 119) and is narrated from Ibn Abbas and Ibn Mas'ud, and preferred by Al-Qadi.
  • Sub-view 2: They laughed mockingly at the messengers' words, placing their hands over their mouths as people do when overwhelmed by laughter.
  • Sub-view 3: They pointed their hands toward their mouths, signaling to the messengers to stop speaking and be silent about the message. This is narrated from Al-Kalbi.
  • Sub-view 4: They pointed their hands toward their own tongues and what they had spoken—their declaration of disbelief—as if to say, "This is our final answer; we have nothing else to offer you," thereby showing despair of their conversion. This is supported by the following phrase: {they put their hands into their mouths and said, "Indeed, we reject what you have been sent with."}

• Possibility B: Pronouns refer to the messengers.
  • Sub-view 1: The disbelievers seized the messengers' hands and placed them over their mouths to silence them and cut off their speech.
  • Sub-view 2: The messengers, realizing the futility of their efforts, fell silent and placed their own hands over their mouths, signaling that they would not return to that speech, especially when fearing the people.

• Possibility C: The pronoun 'their hands' refers to the disbelievers, and 'their mouths' refers to the messengers.
  • Sub-view 1: When the disbelievers heard the prophets' admonition, they pointed their hands toward the prophets' mouths in denial and rejection of their words.
  • Sub-view 2: The disbelievers placed their hands over the prophets' mouths to prevent them from speaking.

If the metaphorical interpretation (2) is taken (hand/mouth are figurative):

• View 1 (Abu Muslim al-Isfahani): The 'hands' refer to the arguments (hujaj) brought by the messengers, as establishing proof is a great favor (ni'mah), and favor is sometimes called a 'hand' (e.g., "So-and-so has a favor upon me"). The 'hand' can also refer to the contract or pledge (like in the verse about the pledge of allegiance: {The hand of Allah is over their hands} [Al-Fath: 10]). Thus, the proofs and covenants brought by the prophets are rightly called 'hands' (plural aydi). Since advice and covenants emerge from the mouth, when they are rejected, they are returned to their source (the mouth). This is analogous to: {when you receive it with your tongues and utter with your mouths what you have no knowledge of} (An-Nur: 15). Just as acceptance is receiving with the mouths from the mouths, rejection is returning it to the mouths.
• View 2 (Reported by Muhammad ibn Jarir from some scholars): It means they remained silent in response. The Arabs say, "He returned his hand to his mouth" when someone refrains from answering. However, Ibn Jarir refuted this, arguing that they did answer with explicit rejection: {Indeed, we reject what you have been sent with.}
• View 3: The 'hands' refer to Allah's favors upon them, both manifest and hidden. By rejecting the prophets, they effectively rejected the removal and nullification of these favors. Thus, {they put their hands into their mouths} means they rejected Allah's favors upon themselves through the words issuing from their mouths. The preposition fi (in/into) can sometimes substitute for bi (by/with), as prepositions are sometimes interchangeable.

The Second Type of Response:

The second thing Allah recounts is their statement: {Indeed, we reject what you have been sent with.}

Meaning: We reject what you claim Allah sent you with, because they did not affirm His sending them in the first place.

The first stage was their silence and attempt to silence the prophets. The second stage was their explicit declaration of disbelief in that mission.

The Third Type of Response:

{and indeed, we are in grave doubt concerning that to which you invite us.}

Al-Kashshaf notes that there is a variant reading where the nun of tad'una is assimilated (idgham). Murib means causing suspicion or doubt; Riybah is the restlessness of the soul that finds no tranquility in the matter.

Addressing the apparent contradiction:

If they already declared themselves disbelievers in the second stage, why did they then mention being doubtful/skeptical about the truth of their claim?

Answer: It is as if they said: "Either we are outright disbelievers in your message, or, if we abandon that certainty, we are at least doubtful and skeptical about the validity of your prophethood. In either case, there is no path to acknowledging your prophethood." (And Allah knows best.)

[10] Their messengers said, "Is there doubt concerning Allah, Creator of the heavens and the earth? He invites you that He may forgive you of your sins and postpone you until a specified term." They said, "You are not but human beings like us, who wish to turn us away from what our fathers were worshipping. Then bring us a clear authority [proof]."