Surah Al-Anbiyaa (21) — Ayah 107

(Ayah 107){ وَ مَاۤ اَرْسَلْنٰكَ اِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِّلْعٰلَمِيْنَ:} In almost all the books written on the subject of I‘rab al-Qur’an (the grammatical analysis of the Qur’an), {’’ رَحْمَةً ‘‘ } has been described as the maf‘ul lahu (object of reason) of {’’ اَرْسَلْنٰكَ ‘‘}. In some books, other grammatical constructions have also been mentioned, which will be discussed ahead. The established rule of grammar is that the maf‘ul lahu, which states the reason for a verb, must have the same subject as the verb itself and the maf‘ul lahu. For example, {’’ضَرَبْتُ زَيْدًا تَأْدِيْبًا‘‘} (I hit Zaid to teach him manners); in this, the one who hits and the one who teaches manners is the same. Similarly, here, the sender is Allah Almighty and the one who shows mercy is also Allah Almighty. Thus, the meaning will be: We have not sent you except as a mercy to the worlds. That is, the reason for Allah Almighty sending the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is Allah’s mercy upon the worlds. Accordingly, Shah Waliullah (may Allah have mercy on him) has translated it as: “And We did not send you except out of kindness to the worlds.” And Shah Abdul Qadir (may Allah have mercy on him) has translated it as: “And you whom We have sent, so (it is) by showing mercy to the people of the world.” The exegete Abu al-Su‘ud said: {’’ أَيْ مَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ بِمَا ذُكِرَ لِعِلَّةٍ مِنَ الْعِلَلِ إِلاَّ لِرَحْمَتِنَا الْوَاسِعَةِ لِلْعَالَمِيْنَ قَاطِبَةً‘‘} “And We have not sent you with the mentioned revelation for any reason except due to Our vast mercy upon all the worlds.” The Imam of the exegetes, Tabari, said: {’’ وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ يَا مُحَمَّدُ ! إِلاَّ رَحْمَةً لِمَنْ أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ خَلْقِيْ‘‘} “And We have not sent you, O Muhammad, except to show mercy to those among Our creation to whom We have sent you.” Then Imam Tabari, in the commentary of {’’ لِّلْعٰلَمِيْنَ ‘‘}, has preferred the opinion that the reason for sending you (peace and blessings be upon him) is mercy for both believers and disbelievers: whoever believes in you, for him mercy will be written in both this world and the Hereafter, and whoever does not believe in you will be protected in this world from those punishments that used to descend upon previous nations for denying their prophet, such as being swallowed by the earth, transformation of faces, etc.

One grammatical construction is that {’’ رَحْمَةً ‘‘} is a hal (circumstantial noun) meaning an active participle for emphasis. Just as it is said {’’زَيدٌ عَدْلٌ‘‘} that Zaid is justice, meaning he is so just as if he is the embodiment of justice. Then this {’’ اَرْسَلْنٰكَ ‘‘} can be the hal of the subject pronoun “We” and in {’’ اَرْسَلْنٰكَ ‘‘} of the pronoun “you.” In the first case, the meaning will be: We have not sent you except in the state that We are entirely mercy for the worlds. In the second case, the meaning will be: We have not sent you except in the state that you are entirely mercy for the worlds. The first meaning is close to the meaning of maf‘ul lahu. Allah Almighty sending the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) due to mercy for the worlds, and Allah Almighty sending the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in the state that His (Allah's) pure being is entirely mercy for all the worlds—both have the same meaning, which is made clear by the combined mention of {’’ رَبِّ الْعٰلَمِيْنَ ‘‘} and {’’ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ ‘‘} in Surah al-Fatiha. The second meaning, that Allah Almighty sent the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in the state that you are entirely mercy for the worlds, is also correct: you are entirely mercy for the believers in both this world and the Hereafter, he said: «{ بِالْمُؤْمِنِيْنَ رَءُوْفٌ رَّحِيْمٌ }» [التوبۃ : ۱۲۸ ] “Most compassionate and merciful to the believers.” And He said: «{ وَ رَحْمَةٌ لِّلَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا مِنْكُمْ }» [التوبۃ : ۶۱ ] “And a mercy for those among you who believe.” And for the disbelievers as well, you are entirely mercy in this world, for because of you they have been protected from the punishments like those that befell previous nations, and in your Shari‘ah, even in both peace and war, they are not subjected to the oppression and injustice that all other nations inflict upon their opponents. And your grief over the disbelievers not believing and becoming fuel for Hell was so great that Allah Almighty consoled you, saying: «{ لَعَلَّكَ بَاخِعٌ نَّفْسَكَ اَلَّا يَكُوْنُوْا مُؤْمِنِيْنَ }» [الشعراء : ۳ ] “Perhaps you would destroy yourself with grief because they do not become believers.” You (peace and blessings be upon him) showed mercy to animals, commanded it, and forbade oppression against them, he said: [ فِيْ كُلِّ ذَاتِ كَبِدٍ رَطْبَةٍ أَجْرٌ ] [ بخاري، المظالم، باب الآبار علی الطرق إذا لم یُتأذّبہا : ۲۴۶۶ ] “There is a reward in (showing mercy to) every living being.” Even to the extent that you (peace and blessings be upon him) gave the glad tidings of forgiveness to a sinful woman for giving water to a thirsty dog. This mercy of the Shari‘ah of Islam and of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is also the mercy of the Lord of the worlds, for He placed this attribute in His beloved Messenger. Thus, Ibn Juzayy in “al-Tashil,” after mentioning all three grammatical possibilities, says: {’’وَالْمَعْنٰي عَلٰي كُلِّ وَجْهٍ أَنَّ اللّٰهَ رَحِمَ الْعَالَمِيْنَ بِإِرْسَالِ سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّي اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَ سَلَّمَ‘‘} “In all these cases, the meaning is the same: that Allah Almighty, by sending our master Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), has shown mercy to the worlds.”

1. This means that whoever brings faith in your ﷺ prophethood has, in effect, accepted this mercy and shown gratitude for this blessing of Allah. As a result, he will attain happiness in this world and the Hereafter. And since your ﷺ prophethood is for the entire world, you ﷺ have come as a mercy for all the worlds, that is, through your teachings, to grant happiness in both religion and worldly life. Some people have also considered the Prophet ﷺ to be a mercy for the worlds in the sense that, because of you ﷺ, this Ummah has been completely protected from destruction and ruin, as previous nations and communities were wiped out like a wrong word. The Ummah of Muhammad (which, in terms of the Ummah of Response and the Ummah of Invitation, includes the entire human race) will not face such a total punishment. And from the ahadith, it is known that not cursing the polytheists was also a part of your ﷺ mercy: انی لم ابعث لعانا وانما بعثت رحمۃ (Sahih Muslim). Similarly, the Prophet's ﷺ making his own act of cursing or abusing a Muslim in anger a cause of mercy for that person on the Day of Judgment is also a part of your ﷺ mercy (Musnad Ahmad). That is why, in a hadith, you ﷺ said: انما رحمۃ مھداۃ (Sahih al-Jami' al-Saghir) — I have come as embodied mercy, which is a gift from Allah for the people of the world.

And We have not sent you except as a mercy [95] to all the worlds.

[95]
How is the Prophet ﷺ a Mercy for the People of the World?

The second meaning of this verse is that it is Allah’s mercy upon the people of the world that He sent the Prophet ﷺ. The meaning, in both cases, is the same: that the blessed personality of the Prophet ﷺ and his being sent is, in fact, a mercy for the entire human race. It is through him that humanity, which had fallen into heedlessness and gone astray, received such knowledge that distinguishes between the paths of truth and falsehood, shows the straight path, and leads upon it. Through this, mankind learned the principles and manners to live a good life in this world. Then, by following this path, a person’s life in the Hereafter is also improved. This kindness of his was for those who believed in him, and for the wrongdoers and disbelievers, his personality was also a source of mercy. Thus, the Divine statement is: ﴿وَمَا كَان اللّٰهُ لِيُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَاَنْتَ فِيْهِمْ﴾ [33: 8] meaning, as long as you are present among these disbelievers, Allah will not send punishment upon them. Furthermore, it was due to your supplication that punishments such as being swallowed by the earth, being transformed, and being uprooted from the roots were withheld, and the stories of your mercy upon the Muslims are so numerous that they cannot be encompassed here. The Quran has clearly stated that you were both merciful and compassionate towards the believers. The disbelievers of Makkah considered your being sent as a calamity for themselves and used to say that this man has caused division among our people, separating father from son, brother from brother, and all close relatives from one another. In response to this statement of theirs, Allah said: O ignorant ones! The personality whom you consider a calamity, let alone the Muslims, he is a mercy from Allah even for you. Because the principles of prophetic knowledge and civilization and humanity that he is presenting, all—Muslim and disbeliever alike—are benefiting from them according to their own inclinations.