Tafsir of Al-An'am 6:33

"We know indeed that..."

The particle qad in "We know indeed" (qad na‘lamu) carries the meaning of "often" (rubbama), which is used to denote the frequency and abundance of an action, as in the poet’s saying:

A man of trust, wine does not destroy his wealth, But his generosity may often destroy his wealth.

The pronoun in "it" (innahu) is the pronoun of state (ḍamīr al-sha’n).

"Grieves you" (li-yaḥzunaka): It is recited with both the fatḥah and the ḍammah on the yā’.

"What they say": This refers to their saying, "A sorcerer, a liar."

"They do not deny you" (lā yukadhdhibūnaka): It is recited with both the tashdīd (doubling) and the takhfīf (lightening). Kadhdhaba means to claim someone is a liar, while akdhaba means to find someone to be a liar.

The meaning is that their denial of you is a matter that returns to Allah, for you are His Messenger, confirmed by miracles. In reality, they do not deny you; rather, they deny Allah by rejecting His signs. Therefore, do not grieve for your own sake even if they deny you while you are truthful. Let what is more important occupy you: your reverence for the rejection of Allah’s signs and the belittling of His Book.

Similar to this is the saying of a master to his servant when someone insults him: "They have not insulted you; they have only insulted me." In this same vein is the Almighty’s saying: "Indeed, those who pledge allegiance to you are actually pledging allegiance to Allah" (Al-Fath: 10).

It is also said: They do not deny you in their hearts, but they reject with their tongues.

It is also said: They do not deny you because, in their view, you are the truthful one, marked by truthfulness, but they reject the signs of Allah.

From Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him): The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was called "The Trustworthy" (al-Amīn), so they knew he would not lie about anything, yet they would reject [the truth]. Abu Jahl used to say: "We do not call you a liar, for you are truthful to us, but we deny what you have brought us."

It is narrated that Al-Akhnas ibn Shariq said to Abu Jahl: "O Abu al-Hakam, tell me about Muhammad: is he truthful or a liar? For there is no one here with us but us." He replied: "By Allah, Muhammad is truthful and has never lied, but if the Banu Qusay take the banner, the water-provision, the guardianship of the Kaaba, and the Prophethood, what will be left for the rest of the Quraysh?" Then this verse was revealed.

His saying: "But the wrongdoers" (wa-lākin al-ẓālimīn): This is an instance of using the explicit noun in place of the pronoun, to indicate that they have committed wrong in their rejection.

"And certainly were messengers denied before you, but they were patient over what they were denied and harmed until Our victory came to them. And none can alter the words of Allah. And there has certainly come to you some information about the messengers."