ﱁ ﱂ ﱃ ﱄ ﱅ ﱆ ﱇ ﱈ ﱉ ﱊ ﱋ ﱌ ﱍ ﱎ ﱏ ﱐ ﱑ
And when those who disbelieve see you, [O Muhammad], they take you not except in ridicule, [saying], "Is this the one who insults your gods?" And they are, at the mention of the Most Merciful, disbelievers.
Tafsir
Verse range: 21:36
"And when those who disbelieve see you, they take you not except in mockery..."
Mentioning (al-dhikr) can be for good or for its opposite. When the context indicates one of the two, the term is used absolutely without qualification. It is like saying to a man: "I heard so-and-so mentioning you." If the one mentioning is a friend, it is praise; if he is an enemy, it is disparagement.
From this is the Almighty’s saying: "We heard a youth mentioning them" (21:60), and His saying: "Is this the one who mentions your gods?" The meaning is that they are devoted to mentioning their gods with their aspirations, and with what they should not be mentioned with, such as being intercessors and witnesses. It grieves them that anyone should mention them otherwise.
As for the mention of Allah and what He should be mentioned with—namely, Oneness—they are disbelievers in it; they do not believe in it at all. Therefore, they are more deserving of being taken as a mockery by you, for you are in the right and they are in the wrong.
It has been said that the meaning of "at the mention of the Most Merciful" is their saying: "We do not know the Most Merciful except as Musaylimah," and their saying: "And what is the Most Merciful? Should we prostrate to what you order us?" (25:60). It has also been said that "at the mention of the Most Merciful" refers to what has been revealed to you of the Qur’an.
The clause is in the position of a state (hal), meaning: they take you as a mockery while they are in a state that is the root of mockery and ridicule, which is disbelief in Allah.
"Man was created of haste. I will show you My signs, so do not be impatient. And they say, 'When is this promise, if you should be truthful?'"
