Surah Ash-Shu'ara: (214–220) And Warn Your Closest Relatives

It is important to note that after the Almighty:

1. Exhaustively consoled His Messenger (firstly),
2. Established the proof of his prophethood (secondly),
3. Addressed and refuted the objections of the deniers (thirdly),

He then commanded him regarding the matters related to conveying the Message. Here, there are three main points:

This is commanded because God first warned the Messenger concerning himself if he associated any other deity with God. Then, He commanded him to invite those nearest first, then those further away. This sequence ensures that if the Prophet is strict with himself first, and then with his closest kin, no one can find fault with him. Consequently, his word will be more effective and his speech more impactful.

It is narrated that when this verse was revealed, the Prophet ascended Mount Safa and called out to his closest kin, saying: "O sons of 'Abd al-Muttalib, O sons of Hashim, O sons of 'Abd Manaf, O 'Abbas, uncle of Muhammad, O Safiyyah, aunt of Muhammad! I possess nothing for you from God. Ask me for wealth as much as you wish."

It is also narrated that he gathered the sons of 'Abd al-Muttalib—forty men at the time—over a sheep and a measure of milk. Each man ate the young sheep and drank the milk. After they ate and drank, he said: "O sons of 'Abd al-Muttalib, if I told you that there were cavalry at the foot of this mountain, would you believe me?" They replied, "Yes." He then said, "I am a warner to you before a severe punishment."

Know that when a bird intends to descend for landing, it bends and lowers its wing. When it intends to take flight, it raises its wing. Thus, lowering the wing is used as a metaphor for humility and gentleness.

If someone asks: The followers of the Messenger are the believers, so why did God say, {to those who follow you of the believers}? The answer is: We do not concede that those who follow the Messenger are exclusively the believers, as many of them followed him due to kinship and lineage, not religion.

As for His saying: {But if they disobey you, say, "Indeed, I am free of what you are doing"} (216), its meaning is clear. Al-Jubba'i said this indicates that the Prophet (PBUH) was innocent of their sins. This necessitates that God Almighty is also innocent of their deeds, otherwise, He would contradict the Messenger, just as if He were pleased with those whom God is displeased with. If God is innocent of their deeds, how can He be their doer or will them?

The answer is: God is innocent of the sins in the sense that He did not command them, but rather forbade them. However, regarding the meaning that He does not will them, we do not concede this. The proof is that He knew their occurrence, and what is known to occur is necessarily destined to occur; otherwise, His knowledge would turn into ignorance, which is impossible. What leads to the impossible is impossible. He knew that what is necessarily destined to occur, the non-occurrence of which is not intended. Thus, what we have stated is established.

Reliance (Tawakkul) is defined as entrusting one's affair to the One who controls his affairs and has the power over his benefit and harm.

His saying: {the All-Mighty, the Most Merciful} means relying upon the One who overwhelms your enemies with His Might and grants you victory over them with His Mercy.

Then, He followed His attribute of being Merciful to His Messenger with what seems to be the cause for that mercy: His standing and turning among those who prostrate. There are several interpretations for this:

1. First: It refers to what he used to do in the depths of the night, standing for Tahajjud (night prayer) and observing the conditions of the diligent worshippers to learn their secrets. It is narrated that when the obligation of night vigil was lifted, he walked around his companions' houses that night to see what they were doing, eager to find the acts of obedience among them. He found their houses like the buzzing of bees, hearing their murmuring in the remembrance of God. In this context, "those who prostrate" refers to the worshippers.
2. Second: The meaning is that He sees you when you stand to lead the people in congregational prayer, and your turning among those who prostrate is His management of you among them through your standing, bowing, prostrating, and sitting, as you were their Imam.
3. Third: It means that your state is not hidden from Him whenever you stand and turn with those who prostrate concerning the sufficiency of religious affairs.
4. Fourth: It refers to His gaze falling upon those behind him in the rows, based on the Prophet's saying: "Perfect your bowing and prostration, for by God, I see you from behind me."

Then He said: {Indeed, He is the All-Hearing} (218), meaning what you say, {the All-Knowing} (218), meaning what you intend and do. This indicates that His being All-Hearing is a matter distinct from His knowledge of the audible things; otherwise, the word "All-Knowing" would be redundant. Note that it has also been read as {And We will turn you} (Wa nuqallibuka).

It is important to note that the Rawafid (Shi'a sect) hold that the Prophet's (PBUH) parents were believers. They base this on this verse and a Hadith.

Regarding this verse, they argue that His saying: {You see your turning among those who prostrate} can bear the meanings we mentioned, and it can also mean that God transferred his soul from one prostrator to another, as we (the Rawafid) maintain. Since the verse admits all these interpretations, it must be understood to encompass all of them, as there is no contradiction or preference among them.

As for the Hadith, it is His saying (PBUH): "I was continuously transferred from the loins of the pure to the wombs of the pure." They argue that every disbeliever is impure based on God's saying: {Indeed, the polytheists are unclean} (At-Tawbah: 28). If we argue against the corruption of this view using God's saying: {And [mention] when Abraham said to his father Azar} (Al-An'am: 74), they reply that the word 'father' can sometimes be used for an uncle, as the sons of Jacob said to him: {We will worship your God and the God of your fathers—Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac} (Al-Baqarah: 133), where they called Ishmael a father even though he was their uncle. Also, the Prophet (PBUH) said: "Return to me my father," referring to Al-'Abbas. Another possibility is that Azar was a craftsman of idols, and sometimes the craftsman of something is called its father. God says: {And We gave him Isaac and Jacob, and We made righteous among his descendants David and Solomon... and Jesus} (Al-An'am: 84-85), making Jesus from the progeny of Abraham even though Abraham was his maternal grandfather.

We, however, rely on the explicit statement of God: {to his father Azar}. What they mentioned involves diverting the word from its apparent meaning. As for interpreting {And We will turn you among those who prostrate} to cover all meanings, this is not permissible because we have explained that applying a common term to all its meanings is not permissible. As for the Hadith, it is a solitary report (Ahad) and cannot contradict the Qur'an.

{Shall I inform you upon whom the devils descend?} (221) {They descend upon every wicked liar.} (222) {They cast down the hearing, and most of them are liars.} (223)