Al-Hijr: (10-13) And verily, We have sent...

When the people behaved improperly in etiquette, addressing him with foolishness and saying, "You are surely mad," Allah Almighty mentioned that this was the custom of these ignorant people toward all the Prophets. You have an example in patience regarding their foolishness and ignorance in all the Prophets, peace be upon them. This is the context of the verse, and it contains several issues:

Issue 1: Omission in the Verse

There is an omission in the verse; the meaning is: "And verily, We have sent messengers before you," but the mention of the messengers was omitted because the act of sending implies their presence.

The phrase {فِي شِيَعِ الْأَوَّلِينَ} (among the sects/parties of the ancients) means among the nations of the ancients and their followers. Al-Farrā’ said: Al-Shiya‘ (sects/parties) are the followers; the singular is shī‘ah. The shī‘ah of a man are his followers. Al-Shiya‘ also means the nation, named so because some imitate and resemble others. We have discussed this word when interpreting {أَوْ يُلْبِسَكُمْ شِيَعًا} (or confuse you into sects) (Al-An‘ām: 65).

Al-Farrā’ said that {فِي شِيَعِ الْأَوَّلِينَ} is an iḍāfah (genitive construction) of the adjective to the described noun, like {حَقَّ الْيَقِينِ} (the absolute truth) (Al-Hāqqah: 51), {بِجَانِبِ الْغَرْبِيِّ} (at the Western side) (Al-Qaṣaṣ: 44), and {وَذَلِكَ دِينُ الْقَيِّمَةِ} (and that is the upright religion) (Al-Bayyinah: 5).

As for {وَمَا يَأْتِيهِمْ مِنْ رَسُولٍ إِلَّا كَانُوا بِهِ} (and no messenger came to them except that they mocked him), it means that the custom of these ignorant people toward all Prophets and Messengers was to mock them, just as they did to you. This mention serves as a consolation for the Prophet (PBUH).

Know that the reasons driving these ignorant people to this wicked custom are several:

1. They find the commitment to obedience, worship, and abstaining from forbidden pleasures burdensome.
2. The Messenger calls them to abandon the wicked religions and false doctrines they are accustomed to, which is very difficult for their nature.
3. The Messenger is followed and served, and the people are obligated to obey and serve him, which is also extremely arduous.
4. The Prophet (PBUH) might be poor, lacking helpers, supporters, wealth, or prestige. The affluent and leaders find it difficult to serve someone of this description.
5. The abandonment (or dereliction) of Allah concerning them, casting the incentives for disbelief and ignorance into their hearts. This is the primary cause.

For these reasons and similar ones, the ignorant and misguided engage in these ugly acts and reprehensible deeds toward the greatest of the Prophets, peace be upon them.

Issue 2: The Meaning of {كَذَلِكَ نَسْلُكُهُ فِي قُلُوبِ الْمُجْرِمِينَ}

Regarding Allah’s saying: {كَذَلِكَ نَسْلُكُهُ فِي قُلُوبِ الْمُجْرِمِينَ} (Thus do We let it enter the hearts of the criminals), there are two sub-issues:

Salk means inserting something into something else, like threading a needle or thrusting a spear into a pierced object. It is said that in {مَا سَلَكَكُمْ فِي سَقَر} (What has caused you to enter Saqar?) (Al-Muddaththir: 42), it means "inserted you into Hell." Abū ‘Ubaydah and Abū ‘Ubayd stated that salaktuhu and aslaktuhu have the same meaning.

Our scholars used this verse as evidence that Allah creates falsehood in the hearts of the disbelievers. They argued that {كَذَلِكَ نَسْلُكُهُ} means: "Thus do We insert falsehood and misguidance into the hearts of the criminals."

The Mu‘tazilah argued: Falsehood and disbelief were not mentioned before this phrase, so the pronoun cannot refer back to them. They might argue that since Allah said, {وَمَا يَأْتِيهِمْ مِنْ رَسُولٍ إِلَّا كَانُوا بِهِ يَسْتَهْزِئُونَ} (and no messenger came to them except that they mocked him), the word {يَسْتَهْزِئُونَ} (they mock) indicates mockery, so the pronoun in {كَذَلِكَ نَسْلُكُهُ} refers to mockery. Mockery of the Prophets is disbelief and misguidance, thus confirming our position.

We say that what is meant by {كَذَلِكَ نَسْلُكُهُ فِي قُلُوبِ الْمُجْرِمِينَ} is that "Thus do We insert disbelief, misguidance, and mockery of Allah’s Prophets and Messengers into the hearts of the criminals."

If the pronoun refers to mockery, then the pronoun in {لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ} (they do not believe in it) must also refer to mockery, as the two pronouns follow each other closely, necessitating that they refer to the same thing. This would imply that they do not believe in that mockery, which leads to a contradiction, because a disbeliever must believe in their disbelief. The one who does not believe in their disbelief is the Muslim who knows the falsehood of disbelief and thus does not affirm it.

Furthermore, if Allah were the one inserting disbelief into the heart of the disbeliever and creating it therein, then no one would be more excused than these disbelievers, and it would be impossible to blame them in this life or punish them in the Hereafter for it. Thus, this interpretation is invalid.

The correct interpretation is that the pronoun in {كَذَلِكَ نَسْلُكُهُ} refers back to the Reminder (al-Dhikr), which is the Qur'an. Allah said before this verse: {إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذِّكْرَ} (Indeed, it is We who sent down the Reminder). And He said after it: {كَذَلِكَ نَسْلُكُهُ} (Thus do We insert it), meaning: "Thus do We insert the Qur'an into the hearts of the criminals." This insertion means that Allah makes them hear the Qur'an, creates in their hearts the retention of the Qur'an, and creates within them knowledge of its meanings. It is then explained that due to their ignorance and persistence, they do not believe in it despite these conditions, out of obstinacy and ignorance. This warrants severe blame upon them.

Two points support this interpretation:

1. The pronoun in {لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ} unanimously refers to the Qur'an. Therefore, the pronoun in {كَذَلِكَ نَسْلُكُهُ} must also refer to it, as they are consecutive pronouns that must refer to the same antecedent.
2. The phrase {كَذَلِكَ} (Thus) means: "Just as We did such and such, We do this insertion." This implies a comparison to another action of Allah mentioned previously. No action of Allah was mentioned prior to this verse except {إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذِّكْرَ}. Therefore, this must be connected to and similar to that, meaning the pronoun in {نَسْلُكُهُ} refers to the Reminder (the Qur'an). This completes the argument of the Mu‘tazilah.

It is not permissible for the pronoun in {نَسْلُكُهُ} to refer to the Reminder. This is supported by several points:

Point 1: The use of the first-person plural {نَسْلُكُهُ} (We insert it) implies the utmost glorification and majesty. Such glorification is appropriate only when the action performed has a complete and powerful effect, overwhelming any objector or defender. If an action is performed but has no effect whatsoever, the objector becomes dominant. Therefore, using a term implying ultimate majesty in this context would be inappropriate. Here, Allah inserted the hearing of the Qur'an, its memorization, and its teaching into the heart of the disbeliever so that he might believe, yet he did not heed it or believe. Allah's action becomes like wasted effort, and the disbeliever and Satan appear as the dominant repellers. Thus, the use of the plural form implying majesty in {نَسْلُكُهُ} is unsuitable for this situation, invalidating their interpretation.

Point 2: If their interpretation were correct, the verse should have been: "Thus do We insert it into the hearts of the criminals, and they do not believe in it." The absence of the conjunction wāw (and) indicates that {لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ} is an explanation (tafsīr) of {نَسْلُكُهُ فِي قُلُوبِ الْمُجْرِمِينَ}. This is only sound if the meaning is that "We insert disbelief and misguidance into their hearts."

Point 3: The verse {إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذِّكْرَ} (Al-Hijr: 9) is distant, whereas {يَسْتَهْزِئُونَ} (they mock) is close. The rule is that a pronoun refers to the nearest antecedent.

Regarding their claim that if the pronoun in {نَسْلُكُهُ} refers to mockery, then the pronoun in {لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ} must also refer to it, leading to a contradiction:

We reply with several points:

First Reply: The rule dictates that the pronoun refers to the nearest antecedent. There is no barrier to applying this rule to the first pronoun (referring to mockery), but there is a barrier to applying it to the second pronoun (referring to the Reminder). Therefore, we say the first pronoun refers to mockery, and the second pronoun refers to the Reminder. Differentiating consecutive pronouns to refer to different things is not uncommon in the Qur'an. Did not Al-Jubbā’ī, Al-Ka‘bī, and Al-Qāḍī say regarding Allah’s saying: {هُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ مِنْ نَفْسٍ وَاحِدَةٍ وَجَعَلَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا لِيَسْكُنَ إِلَيْهَا فَلَمَّا تَغَشَّاهَا حَمَلَتْ حَمْلًا خَفِيفًا فَمَرَّتْ بِهِ فَلَمَّا أَثْقَلَتْ دَعَوَا اللَّهَ رَبَّهُمَا لَئِنْ آتَيْتَنَا صَالِحًا لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الشَّاكِرِينَ * فَلَمَّا آتَاهُمَا صَالِحًا جَعَلَا لَهُ شُرَكَاءَ فِيمَا آتَاهُمَا فَتَعَالَى اللَّهُ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ} (Al-A‘rāf: 189-190)? They said all the pronouns from the beginning until {جَعَلَا لَهُ شُرَكَاءَ} refer to Adam and Eve, but the pronouns in {جَعَلَا لَهُ شُرَكَاءَ فِيمَا آتَاهُمَا فَتَعَالَى اللَّهُ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ} refer to others (i.e., their offspring). This is what they agreed upon in their exegeses. If this is established, it becomes clear that consecutive pronouns do not necessarily refer to one thing; rather, the matter depends on the evidence. Thus, it is the same here, and Allah knows best.

Second Reply: Some of our colleagues among the linguists said that {لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ} is an explanation of the implied meaning in {نَسْلُكُهُ}. The meaning is: "Thus do We insert into the hearts of the criminals that they should not believe in it," meaning: "We make it so that they do not believe in it in their hearts."

Third Reply: We have demonstrated with overwhelming rational proofs that the occurrence of faith and disbelief cannot originate from the servant. This is because everyone intends faith, truth, knowledge, and reality; no one intends to acquire disbelief, ignorance, and falsehood. Since everyone intends only faith and truth, yet disbelief and falsehood occur instead, we know that the occurrence of that disbelief is not from him.

If they argue: "That disbelief occurred because he thought it was faith," we reply: In that case, he only consented to acquiring that ignorance due to a prior ignorance. The discussion then shifts to that preceding ignorance. If that was due to another ignorance, it leads to an infinite regress, which is impossible. Otherwise, all ignorances must terminate in a first, prior ignorance that occurred in his heart not by his acquisition, but by Allah’s creation. This is precisely what we stated: the meaning of {كَذَلِكَ نَسْلُكُهُ فِي قُلُوبِ الْمُجْرِمِينَ * لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ} is: "We make it so that they do not believe in it in their hearts," meaning Allah creates disbelief and misguidance within them.

Furthermore, the early commentators, such as Ibn ‘Abbās and his students, unanimously interpreted this verse to mean that Allah creates disbelief and misguidance within them. The interpretation mentioned by the Mu‘tazilah is an innovative interpretation that none of the predecessors held, so it is rejected. Al-Qāḍī narrated from ‘Ikrimah that the meaning is: "Thus do We insert hardness/callousness into the hearts of the criminals." Al-Qāḍī then said that callousness only occurs from the disbeliever by persisting in his disbelief and obstinacy, so it cannot be attributed to Allah. We say to Al-Qāḍī: This is tantamount to stubborn denial, because the disbeliever finds in himself a strong aversion to accepting the Messenger's word and a great repulsion from him, to the extent that whenever he sees him, his complexion changes, his face turns pale, his limbs may tremble, and he cannot turn his attention or listen to his speech. The occurrence of these states in his heart is an involuntary matter that he cannot repel from himself. How then can it be said that it occurred by his action and choice?

If they argue: "He can abandon these states and return to submission, acceptance, and consent," we say this is pure sophistry. If you mean that despite this intense aversion in the heart and great repulsion in the soul, he can return to submission, acceptance, obedience, and satisfaction—this is argumentative. If you mean that upon the removal of these psychological states, he can return to acceptance and submission—this is true. However, he cannot remove these incentives and deterrents from the heart. If man were the agent for producing these incentives and deterrents, it would require prior incentives for producing them, leading to an infinite chain, which is impossible. If Allah is the agent for them, then it is correct that Allah is the one who inserts these incentives and deterrents into the hearts, which is exactly what we have stated. And Allah knows best.

The Saying of Allah: {وَقَدْ خَلَتْ سُنَّةُ الْأَوَّلِينَ}

Regarding Allah’s saying: {وَقَدْ خَلَتْ سُنَّةُ الْأَوَّلِينَ} (And verily, the way of the ancients has passed), there are two opinions:

1. It is a threat to the disbelievers of Mecca, meaning: The way of Allah has passed concerning the destruction of those who denied the Messengers in past generations.
2. This is the opinion of Al-Zajjāj: The way of Allah has passed concerning the ancients in that He inserted disbelief and misguidance into their hearts. This is more fitting with the apparent meaning of the text.

{وَلَوْ فَتَحْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ بَابًا مِنَ السَّمَاءِ فَظَلُّوا فِيهِ يَعْرُجُونَ * لَقَالُوا إِنَّمَا سُكِّرَتْ أَبْصَارُنَا بَلْ نَحْنُ قَوْمٌ مَسْحُورُونَ}