Al-Kashshaf on Ibraheem 14:10

Surah Ibraheem 14:10

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ﲟ ﲠ ﲡ ﲢ ﲣ ﲤ ﲥ ﲦ ﲧ ﲨ ﲩ ﲪ ﲫ ﲬ ﲭ ﲮ ﲯ ﲰ ﲱ ﲲ ﲳ ﲴ ﲵ ﲶ ﲷ ﲸ ﲹ ﲺ ﲻ ﲼ ﲽ ﲾ ﲿ ﳀ ﳁ ﳂ

Their messengers said, "Can there be doubt about Allah, Creator of the heavens and earth? He invites you that He may forgive you of your sins, and He delays your death for a specified term." They said, "You are not but men like us who wish to avert us from what our fathers were worshipping. So bring us a clear authority."

{Is there doubt about Allah?} The interrogative hamza is prefixed to the prepositional phrase (the adverbial of place/time) because the discourse is not about the existence of doubt itself, but rather about the object of that doubt—asserting that it is not a matter that admits doubt, due to the clarity of the proofs and their testimony to it.

{He invites you to forgive you of your sins} Meaning: He invites you to faith so that He may forgive you, or He invites you for the sake of forgiveness, similar to saying: "I called him to help me," or "I called him to eat with me." As the poet said: I called upon Miswar for what befell me, And he responded, he responded to my hand, Miswar.

If you ask: What is the meaning of the partitive (min) in His saying: {of your sins}? I say: I have only seen it used this way in the address to the disbelievers, such as His saying: {And fear Him and obey me; He will forgive you of your sins} (Nuh: 3-4), and {O our people, respond to the Caller of Allah and believe in Him; He will forgive you of [your sins]} (al-Ahqaf: 31). Conversely, in the address to the believers, He says: {Shall I guide you to a transaction that will save you from a painful punishment?} (al-Saff: 10) until He says: {He will forgive you your sins} (al-Saff: 12), and other examples that induction will reveal to you. This was to distinguish between the two types of address, and so as not to equate the two groups in the promise. It is also said: It is intended that He forgives them what is between them and Allah, unlike what is between them and the servants regarding injustices and the like.

{And He delays you until a specified term} Until a time that Allah has named and defined its duration. He will allow you to reach it if you believe; otherwise, He will hasten your destruction before that time.

{You are only humans like us} You have no superiority over us, nor do we have any over you, so why are you singled out for prophethood instead of us? If Allah were to send messengers to humans, He would have made them from a superior species, namely the angels.

{With a clear authority} With a manifest proof. Their messengers had indeed come to them with clear signs and arguments; they only intended by "clear authority" a sign they had proposed out of obstinacy and contention.

{Their messengers said to them, "We are only humans like you, but Allah confers favor upon whom He wills of His servants. It is not for us to bring you evidence except by permission of Allah. And upon Allah let the believers rely. And why should we not rely upon Allah while He has guided us to our ways? And we will surely be patient against whatever harm you cause us. And upon Allah let those who rely [truly] rely."}

Tafsir of Ibraheem 14:10

Al-Kashshaf

{And He delays you until a specified term} Until a time that Allah has named and defined its duration. He will allow you to reach it if you believe; otherwise, He will hasten your destruction before that time.

{You are only humans like us} You have no superiority over us, nor do we have any over you, so why are you singled out for prophethood instead of us? If Allah were to send messengers to humans, He would have made them from a superior species, namely the angels.

{With a clear authority} With a manifest proof. Their messengers had indeed come to them with clear signs and arguments; they only intended by "clear authority" a sign they had proposed out of obstinacy and contention.