Surah Ya seen 36:14
ﱊ ﱋ ﱌ ﱍ ﱎ ﱏ ﱐ ﱑ ﱒ ﱓ ﱔ
When We sent to them two but they denied them, so We strengthened them with a third, and they said, "Indeed, we are messengers to you."
Tafsir of Ya seen 36:14
Tafsir
Mafatih al-Ghayb
Verse range: 36:14
Surah Ya-Sin: (14) When We sent to them...
When We sent to them two messengers, there was profound wisdom in it. They were sent by Jesus (peace be upon him) with God's permission. Therefore, it was incumbent upon them to report the matter to Jesus and bring what God commanded. God knows everything and does not need a witness testifying before Him. As for Jesus, he was a human, so God commanded him to send two so that their testimony before Jesus would be a complete proof against their people.
And His saying: {So We strengthened them with a third} (Ya-Sin: 14). This means We reinforced them. It is also read as fa'azzaznā bi-thālith (with a shadda on the zāy), from 'azza meaning to overcome, as if to say: We overcame and overpowered them with a third. The first reading is more apparent and famous.
The object pronoun was omitted (i.e., He did not say fa'azzaznāhumā - "We strengthened them both") for a subtle reason: the objective of sending them was the victory of the Truth, not their personal victory. All of them strengthen the firm religion with clear proof. In this verse, there are several issues:
Issue 1: The Prophet (PBUH) sent his messengers to the peripheries, while Jesus (PBUH) sufficed with sending two.
We say: The Prophet (PBUH) was sent to establish the secondary rulings (furū') which are subordinate to the fundamental principles (uṣūl). Therefore, one messenger sufficed because the report of a single trustworthy person is accepted concerning secondary matters. As for these two, they were sent concerning the fundamental principles (uṣūl), and God gave them a miracle that yields certainty. Otherwise, sending two, or even three, would not have sufficed.
Issue 2: God Almighty said to Moses (peace be upon him): **{We will strengthen your arm with your brother}** (Al-Qasas: 35), mentioning the object there, but not here, even though the objective there was also the support of the Truth.
We say: Moses (peace be upon him) was superior to Aaron, and Aaron was sent with him at Moses' request when he said: {So send with me [Aaron]} (Al-Qasas: 34). Thus, Aaron was sent to confirm what Moses said and to carry out what Moses commanded him. As for these two messengers, each one was independent and spoke the Truth. Therefore, the objective there was to strengthen Moses and send someone to comfort him, which was Aaron. As for here, the objective was to strengthen the Truth itself. Thus, the difference becomes clear.
**{They said, "You are not but human beings like us, and the Most Merciful has not sent down anything. You are only telling lies."}** (Ya-Sin: 15)