ﱁ ﱂ ﱃ ﱄ ﱅ ﱆ ﱇ ﱈ ﱉ ﱊ ﱋ ﱌ ﱍ ﱎ ﱏ ﱐ ﱑ ﱒ ﱓ ﱔ ﱕ ﱖ ﱗ ﱘ ﱙ ﱚ ﱛ ﱜ ﱝ ﱞ ﱟ ﱠ ﱡ ﱢ
And those who associate others with Allah say, "If Allah had willed, we would not have worshipped anything other than Him, neither we nor our fathers, nor would we have forbidden anything through other than Him." Thus did those do before them. So is there upon the messengers except [the duty of] clear notification?
Tafsir
Verse range: 16:35
"And those who associated partners [with Allah] said..."
This is part of the list detailing the various types of their disbelief and obstinacy: their associating partners with Allah, their denial of His Oneness after the proofs were established, their denial of the Resurrection, their mocking demand for it to be hastened, their rejection of the Messenger, their dissension, and their arrogance in refusing to accept the truth.
It means: They associated partners with Allah and forbade what Allah had permitted—such as the Baḥīrah, the Sāʾibah, and others—then they attributed their actions to Allah, saying, "If He had willed, we would not have done so." This is the very doctrine of the Mujbirah (determinists).
"Likewise did those before them"
Meaning: They associated partners and forbade the lawful things of Allah. When they were alerted to the ugliness of their actions, they blamed their Lord for them.
"Are the messengers charged with anything but the clear conveyance?"
Except to convey the truth, and [to clarify] that Allah does not will polytheism and disobedience, through explanation and proof. They [the messengers] expose the falsehood and ugliness of polytheism, and [clarify] that Allah is free from the actions of His servants. Indeed, the servants perform these actions by their own intent, will, and choice. Allah, the Exalted, encourages them toward the good, grants them success in it, warns them against the evil, and threatens them with consequences for it.
"And We certainly sent into every nation a messenger, [saying], 'Worship Allah and avoid Ṭāghūt [false deities].' And among them were those whom Allah guided, and among them were those upon whom error was [justly] decreed. So travel through the earth and observe how was the end of the deniers."
