Surah Ghafir (40) — Ayah 78

(Ayah 78) ➊ {وَ لَقَدْ اَرْسَلْنَا رُسُلًا مِّنْ قَبْلِكَ:} Among the illegitimate demands made by the disbelievers to trouble and humiliate you (ﷺ), and to oppose Allah’s verses and argue crookedly about them, was the demand to show strange and wondrous signs and miracles according to their wishes, as mentioned in Surah Bani Isra’il (90 to 93). Allah, advising the Prophet (ﷺ) to be patient, mentioned the previous messengers as an example and model, that you should not be distressed or saddened by such demands from them. Many messengers passed before you, but even among them, showing miracles was not within anyone’s power. So if you cannot show them a miracle according to their demand, it does not affect the truthfulness of your prophethood, just as it did not affect the prophethood of the previous messengers.

➋ { مِنْهُمْ مَّنْ قَصَصْنَا عَلَيْكَ:} Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) said that the prophets who have not been mentioned are far more numerous than those who have been mentioned in the Quran. For details, see the commentary of Surah An-Nisa (164).

➌ Our teacher Muhammad Abduh (may Allah have mercy on him) writes: “It is not correct to say with certainty about any ancient leader of a nation (who lived before our Prophet ﷺ) that he was not a prophet; it is possible that he was a prophet and that he called to monotheism, but later people distorted his teachings.” (Ashraf al-Hawashi) Such a person also cannot be called a prophet with certainty.

➍ { وَ مَا كَانَ لِرَسُوْلٍ اَنْ يَّاْتِيَ بِاٰيَةٍ اِلَّا بِاِذْنِ اللّٰهِ:} The meaning is that a miracle is not a plaything that whenever the disbelievers wished, they demanded it from the prophet, and whenever the prophet wished, he showed it. No messenger has the power to bring any miracle without Allah’s permission. This is a clear refutation of those who, let alone prophets, even claim about saints that they have the power to bring back an arrow shot from a bow and can do whatever they wish.

➎ { فَاِذَا جَآءَ اَمْرُ اللّٰهِ قُضِيَ بِالْحَقِّ:} That is, the miracle presented upon demand is in the nature of Allah’s decisive judgment; if any nation still does not believe after that, its destruction is certain.

➏ { وَ خَسِرَ هُنَالِكَ الْمُبْطِلُوْنَ: ’’ هُنَالِكَ ‘‘} It applies to both time and place; the words “at this place,” “at this time,” and “on this occasion” include both meanings. That is, at the time of the coming of the punishment, the believers are saved and the followers of falsehood remain in loss and their traces are wiped out.

78. 1. And these, in number, are much more than those whose incidents have been mentioned. Because in the Noble Quran, only 25 prophets and messengers are mentioned and the conditions of their nations are described.

78. 2. By "sign" here is meant a miracle and an extraordinary event that indicates the truthfulness of the prophet. The disbelievers kept demanding from the prophets that they show them such and such things, just as the disbelievers of Makkah made several demands from the Prophet ﷺ, the details of which are present in Surah Bani Isra'il. Allah Almighty is saying that it was not within any prophet's power to show any miracle to their people at their demand; this was only in Our power. Some prophets were given miracles from the very beginning, some nations were shown miracles at their demand, and some were not shown miracles despite their demands. The decision was made according to Our will. No prophet had the power to show a miracle whenever he wished. This is a clear refutation of those people who attribute such things to some saints, that they would manifest extraordinary acts whenever and however they wished, as is narrated about Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani. All these are fabricated stories. When Allah did not give this power to the prophets, who needed it as proof of their truthfulness, then how can any saint be given this power? Especially when a saint does not even need it, because it is necessary to have faith in the prophethood of a prophet, so miracles were needed for them, but Allah's wisdom and will did not require it, so this power was not given to any prophet. It is not necessary to have faith in the sainthood of a saint, so they do not need miracles and wonders. Why would Allah Almighty grant them this power without need?

78. 3. That is, when the appointed time for their punishment comes, whether in this world or the Hereafter.

78. 4. That is, the matter will be decided among them with justice. The people of truth will be saved and the people of falsehood will be punished.

78. Indeed, We sent messengers before you; among them are those whose stories We have related to you, and among them are those whose stories We have not related to you. And no messenger could bring a sign except by Allah’s permission [99]. Then, when Allah’s command came, judgment was passed with truth, and there the wrongdoers [100] lost.

[99]
﴿حِسي﴾ Miracle and Its Requirements:

Because a miracle is not the act of the Prophet, but rather a direct act of Allah, although it occurs at the hands of the Prophet. Here, it seems necessary to clarify that a miracle is not granted merely as a spectacle or entertainment, but its purpose is to fulfill some important religious or worldly objective. Some prophets were granted certain miracles without their request, as proof of prophethood and completion of argument against the disbelievers. And if a prophet does not present any tangible miracle and the people demand a tangible miracle from him, then Allah grants such a miracle to the prophet at the demand of the people, but if the disbelieving people still do not believe, then surely a painful punishment descends upon them. For example, the people of Thamud demanded the miracle of the she-camel from Salihؑ. But even after receiving this miracle, when they did not believe, they were destroyed. Similarly, some people demanded from Sayyiduna Isaؑ that a prepared and ready table be sent down from the sky. So according to some narrations, their demand was fulfilled. But even then, when those people did not believe, they were turned into apes and swine. The disbelievers of Makkah also used to demand various tangible miracles from youﷺ, the details of which have already been mentioned in Surah Bani Isra'il. Allah did not grant these requested miracles to the Messenger of Allahﷺ for the reason that Allah did not will that the people of Quraysh be utterly destroyed, because later, many among them embraced Islam and rendered invaluable services.

[100] By "Allah's command" here is meant the command of Allah's punishment, and its application can be to the day of punishment upon a people in this world, or to the Day of Judgment in the Hereafter. Whatever the case may be, Allah makes a just decision between the messengers and their opponents; at that time, the messengers are honored and successful, and nothing but humiliation and loss falls to the share of the followers of falsehood.