Surah Ibrahim (14) — Ayah 4

(Ayah4) ➊ {لِيُبَيِّنَ لَهُمْ:} So that he may explain it to them clearly and they may understand it well and the proof may be established against them. All the messengers who were sent before the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) were sent to their own people; that messenger would be an individual from that nation and would speak their language. Although the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) prophethood is general and for all jinn and mankind until the Day of Judgment, his nation, in which he was born and which was his first audience, spoke the Arabic language. Therefore, according to the natural order, he conveyed Allah’s message to them in Arabic, so that first this nation would understand the message and then become a means to convey and explain it to others. If the Qur’an had been revealed in all languages, the doors of dispute, disagreement, and distortion of rulings would have opened, and there could never have been any centrality for the call of Islam anywhere. After being revealed in Arabic, the learning of Arabic by other nations (which is easier than all other languages) or its translation into other languages is sufficient for the guidance of all nations, as, all praise is due to Allah, is happening.

➋ { فَيُضِلُّ اللّٰهُ مَنْ يَّشَآءُ …:} That is, although every prophet presents his message in the language which the whole nation understands, the matter of guidance and misguidance is in the hands of Allah Almighty. Allah Almighty alone gives guidance to whom He wills and leaves whom He wills in misguidance. Even today, many non-Arab nations are seen as supporters and helpers of Islam, while the Arab countries, despite their service and propagation of the Arabic language, are turning away and becoming distant from Islam. (Except whom Allah wills)

4. 1. Then when Allah bestowed this favor upon the people of the world that He sent down books for their guidance and sent messengers, He completed this favor in such a way that every messenger was sent in the language of his nation so that no one would have difficulty in understanding the path of guidance.

4. 2. But despite this explanation and clarification, guidance will be granted to whomever Allah wills.

4. And We did not send any Messenger except in the language of his people, so that he might make things clear to them. Then Allah lets go astray whom He wills and guides whom He wills, and He is the Mighty, the Wise. [4][5]

[4]
What is the Explanation of the Quran?

That is, it is the responsibility of the Messenger to explain or teach the explanation of the Quran to his people, even though they speak the same language. Here, it should be understood that explanation is not merely repeating the words of the Quran, but in explanation, it includes conveying the correct meaning of the words of the Quran, its commentary and interpretation, its strategy and method of compliance—everything is included. In order to understand the Quran and act upon it, it is necessary that the meaning of the words of the Quran be determined according to both the One Who revealed it and the one upon whom it was revealed. Understand this with an example: Zaid (the speaker) says to Bakr (the addressee), "Bring water," then Bakr will only be able to comply with Zaid's command if both the speaker and the addressee have a determined and identical understanding of the words "water" and "bring." And if Zaid uses an ambiguous word, then until he further clarifies it, Bakr will not be able to act upon it. Similarly, if Zaid's addressee is someone who does not understand Urdu at all, then he will also not be able to comply with his command, and it will remain a question mark. This is why Allah Almighty did not only reveal the words of the Noble Quran, but also inspired their meaning into the mind of the addressee (the Messenger of Allah ﷺ), so that there would be no difficulty in complying with the command. That is, determining the meaning in the mind of the addressee is itself the explanation of the Quran.

Why is the Explanation of the Quran Necessary?

Furthermore, Allah Almighty has clearly stated in Surah Al-Qiyamah that the explanation along with the Quran is also Our responsibility, and the protection of both the Quran and its explanation is Our responsibility, and this very explanation was taught to the Ummah by the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. For example, in countless places in the Quran, the word ﴿اَقِيْمُوا الصَّلٰوةَ﴾ has appeared. In this verse, there is a command to establish Salah, and until it is known what Salah actually is, compliance is impossible. Looking up its meaning in the dictionary will not suffice, because this is a Shari'ah term which requires a lengthy and detailed explanation. For example, the procedure for performing Salah, how many rak'ahs should be prayed, the command of purification before it, the timings of the prayers, etc.—all of this was the task of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to teach the Ummah, and this is the explanation of the Quran. The same is the case with other Shari'ah terms, and they are numerous. For example: Ilah, Deen, Ibadah, Salah, Sawm, Hajj, Manasik Hajj, Tawaf, Talbiyah, Ruku', Sujud, Qiyam, Umrah, Akhirah, Ma'ruf and Munkar, etc.—the only valid meaning of all these terms is the one explained by the Messenger of Allah.

The Explanation of the Quran is Your Responsibility:

Moreover, many words have multiple meanings. Some are used idiomatically. Some words have different customary meanings and different literal meanings. The interpretation and explanation of all these words is called the explanation of the Quran. It is not sufficient for the Book to be revealed merely in the language that is the national language. Rather, there are many places where explanation is needed. The explanation of the Quran was your ﷺ responsibility, and this very explanation is called Sunnah.
[5] It is not the case that since Allah is dominant over everything, therefore He may misguide whomever He wills and guide whomever He wills. Rather, He is also Wise, and the demand of His wisdom is that whoever seeks guidance is surely granted guidance, and He only misguides the one who chooses the path of misguidance and is not even willing to listen to the truth.