Ar-Raʿd: 31
{And if there were a Qur’an...}
The apodosis (answer) of the conditional is omitted, just as you might say to your servant: "If I were to stand up to you..." and then leave the answer unstated. The meaning is: "If there were a Qur’an by which the mountains could be moved from their foundations and shaken from their resting places, or by which the earth could be cleaved so that it splits and falls apart into pieces, or by which the dead could be spoken to so that they hear and answer—then this Qur’an, by virtue of being the ultimate in admonition and the finality in warning and intimidation, would have been it."
This is as He said: {If We had sent down this Qur’an upon a mountain, you would have seen it humbled and splitting asunder from the fear of Allah} (Al-Hashr: 21). This supports what I interpreted regarding His saying: {To recite to them that which We have revealed to you} (Ar-Raʿd: 30), in terms of intending to magnify the Qur’an revealed to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).
It is said: The meaning is that even if a Qur’an existed by which mountains were moved, the earth cleaved, and the dead spoken to and awakened, they would still not believe or be alerted, similar to His saying: {And even if We had sent down to them the angels...} (Al-Anʿam: 111).
It is said: Abu Jahl ibn Hisham said to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ): "Move the mountains of Makkah away with your Qur’an so that the land expands for us and we can build gardens and estates, just as you claim was subjected to David (peace be upon him)—for you are not more insignificant to Allah than David. And subject the wind to us so we may ride it and trade in the Levant, returning in a single day, for the long distance is a burden to us, just as it was subjected to Solomon (peace be upon him). Or, resurrect for us two or three of our ancestors, such as Qusay ibn Kilab." Thus, the verse was revealed. The meaning of "cleaving the earth" in this context is traversing it and crossing its distances.
Al-Farra’ says: It is connected to what precedes it. The meaning is: "They disbelieve in the Most Merciful, {even if a Qur’an were such that mountains were moved by it...}," with the intervening text being a parenthetical clause. This is not far from being sound.
It is said: {The earth were cleaved by it} means it was split to create rivers and springs.
{But to Allah belongs the affair entirely}
This carries two meanings:
- To Allah belongs the power over everything; He is capable of the signs they proposed, but His knowledge that manifesting them would be a corruption prevents Him from doing so.
- To Allah belongs the power to compel them to believe. He is capable of compulsion, were it not that He built the matter of religious obligation (taklif) upon free choice. This is supported by His saying: {Have those who believed not despaired that if Allah willed...}—meaning the will of compulsion and force—{He would have guided all of mankind}.
Regarding {Have they not despaired} (afalam yay’as): It is said that "despair" (ya’s) is used here in the sense of "knowing" (‘ilm) because it implies that meaning; for one who despairs of a thing knows it will not happen, just as "hope" (raja’) is used in the sense of "fear," and "forgetting" (nisyan) in the sense of "abandoning" (tark) due to their implication. Suhaym ibn Wathil al-Riyahi said: "I say to them in the mountain pass, as they despair of me: Have you not known that I am the son of Faris Zahdam?"
Evidence for this is that Ali, Ibn Abbas, and a group of the Companions and Successors read it as: {Afalam yatabayyan} (Have they not realized/become clear), which is an explanation of {Afalam yay’as}.
It is said: The scribe wrote it while drowsy, making the letters (the sins) uniform. This and the like are things that cannot be believed regarding the Book of Allah, to which falsehood cannot come from before it or behind it. How could such a thing be hidden until it remained fixed between the covers of the Imam (the Uthmanic codex)? It was in the hands of those eminent figures who were cautious regarding the religion of Allah, guarding it; they would not be negligent of its major or minor points, especially the law to which one refers and the foundation upon which the structure is built. By Allah, this is a fabrication without doubt.
It is permissible that {believed that if He willed} connects to {believed}, meaning: "Have they not despaired of the faith of these disbelievers who believed that if Allah willed, He would have guided all of mankind and guided them?"
{Will strike them for what they have done}
Because of their disbelief and evil deeds, a qari'a (a calamity) will strike them—a disaster that strikes them with the various types of afflictions and misfortunes Allah sends upon them at any time, affecting their persons, children, and wealth.
{Or it will descend}
The calamity will descend {near} to them, so they become terrified, agitated, and its sparks fly toward them, and its evils reach them.
{Until the promise of Allah comes}
Which is their death or the Resurrection.
It is said: The disbelievers of Makkah will continue to be struck by a calamity for what they did to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) in terms of enmity and denial, because the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) would constantly send out raiding parties that would strike around Makkah, snatching from them and taking their livestock. Or, "you, O Muhammad, will descend near their homes with your army," as you descended at Hudaybiyyah, until the promise of Allah comes, which is the conquest of Makkah, for Allah had promised him that.
{And certainly were messengers mocked before you, but I gave respite to those who disbelieved; then I seized them, and how was My punishment!}
