Surah Ash-Shura (42) — Ayah 7

(Ayah 7) ➊ For knowing some of the wisdoms behind the revelation of the Quran in the Arabic language, see the commentary of Surah Yusuf, Ayah (2).
➋ The meaning of { لِتُنْذِرَ اُمَّ الْقُرٰى وَ مَنْ حَوْلَهَا: ’’ اُمَّ الْقُرٰى ‘‘} is "the mother of towns" or "the root or origin of towns," that is, the center of towns. What is meant is Makkah Mukarramah, because the first house built for the worship of Allah on earth was constructed here, which was declared the center of guidance for the whole world, as He said: « اِنَّ اَوَّلَ بَيْتٍ وُّضِعَ لِلنَّاسِ لَلَّذِيْ بِبَكَّةَ مُبٰرَكًا وَّ هُدًى لِّلْعٰلَمِيْنَ» [ آل عمران : ۹۶ ] "Indeed, the first House established for mankind is surely that at Bakkah, blessed and a guidance for the worlds." The Hajj of the House of Allah present in this city has been made obligatory upon those who are able from among all the people of the world. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) declared it better than all the earth. Abdullah bin Adi (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that he saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) standing at {’’حَزْوَرَةٌ ‘‘} (a place in the city of Makkah), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ وَاللَّهِ ! إِنَّكِ لَخَيْرُ أَرْضِ اللّٰهِ وَأَحَبُّ أَرْضِ اللّٰهِ إِلَی اللّٰهِ وَلَوْلاَ أَنِّيْ أُخْرِجْتُ مِنْكِ مَا خَرَجْتُ ] [ ترمذي، المناقب، باب في فضل مکۃ : ۳۹۲۵، و قال الألباني صحیح ] "By Allah! Indeed, you are the best of Allah's land and the most beloved land to Allah, and had I not been driven out from you, I would not have left." The revelation to him (peace and blessings be upon him) began here, and his call started from here.
➌ Here is a question: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was a warner for the whole world and all the earth, so why is the purpose of his being sent here mentioned as only for Makkah and its surroundings? The answer is that firstly, {’’ مَنْ حَوْلَهَا ‘‘} includes the whole earth; Makkah is the center of the whole earth, all turn their faces towards it in prayer and go for its Hajj. Even if {’’ مَنْ حَوْلَهَا ‘‘} is taken to mean the nearby surrounding towns, still, the mention of sending you to warn Makkah and its surroundings does not mean that you were not sent to other nations, as He said: « وَ اَنْذِرْ عَشِيْرَتَكَ الْاَقْرَبِيْنَ» [الشعراء : ۲۱۴ ] "And warn your closest kindred." Everyone knows and accepts that this does not mean you were sent only for your close relatives, otherwise what would be the need to invite the people of Makkah and Madinah? Similarly, the purpose of sending the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to warn the people of Umm al-Qura and its surroundings is not to limit his call to here. The mention that your (peace and blessings be upon him) mission is for all jinn and mankind and until the Day of Judgment has come in many places in the Noble Quran. See Surah An'am (19), A'raf (158), Furqan (1), Ahqaf (29 to 32), and Surah Saba (28).
➍ {وَ تُنْذِرَ يَوْمَ الْجَمْعِ: ’’ أَنْذَرَ يُنْذِرُ ‘‘} (to warn) has two objects, because in warning two things are considered: one, who is being warned, and two, what he is being warned about. In this verse, {’’ لِتُنْذِرَ اُمَّ الْقُرٰى وَ مَنْ حَوْلَهَا ‘‘} and {’’ وَ تُنْذِرَ يَوْمَ الْجَمْعِ ‘‘} are two sentences, both have two objects of {’’ تُنْذِرَ ‘‘}. In the first sentence, the first object is mentioned and the second is omitted, which is evident from the words of the verse: {’’أَيْ لِتُنْذِرَ أُمَّ الْقُرٰي وَ مَنْ حَوْلَهَا الْعَذَابَ‘‘} "That is, so that you may warn the people of Umm al-Qura and its surroundings of the punishment." In the second sentence, the first object is omitted and the second is mentioned: {’’ أَيْ لِتُنْذِرَ أُمَّ الْقُرٰي وَمَنْ حَوْلَهَا يَوْمَ الْجَمْعِ‘‘} "That is, so that you may warn the towns of Umm al-Qura and its surroundings of the Day of Gathering."
The meaning is that thus We have revealed to you the Arabic Quran, so that you may warn the people of the center of towns and its surroundings of the punishment that befell previous nations, and so that you may warn Umm al-Qura and its surrounding towns not only of the punishment like that of previous nations but also of the Day of Gathering. Such a lengthy matter has been encompassed in these brief words: « لِتُنْذِرَ اُمَّ الْقُرٰى وَ مَنْ حَوْلَهَا وَ تُنْذِرَ يَوْمَ الْجَمْعِ» This is called ihtibak, and it brings brevity, comprehensiveness, and beauty to the speech.
➎ {’’ يَوْمَ الْجَمْعِ ‘‘} refers to the Day of Resurrection, because on that day all the former and latter will be gathered, as He said: « يَوْمَ يَجْمَعُكُمْ لِيَوْمِ الْجَمْعِ ذٰلِكَ يَوْمُ التَّغَابُنِ» [ التغابن : ۹ ] "The Day He will gather you for the Day of Gathering, that is the Day of Loss and Gain."
➏ { لَا رَيْبَ فِيْهِ:} "In which there is no doubt," because this matter has been placed in human nature that when a master appoints his slaves to a task, then they wrong and oppress each other, it is necessary that he gathers them one day and gives justice to the oppressed against the oppressor; if he does not do so, he will be considered unjust. So how can there be any doubt in the Day of Gathering by the Best of Judges? As for the fact that some people doubt it, their doubt has been declared null and void, that it has no consideration.
➐ { فَرِيْقٌ فِي الْجَنَّةِ وَ فَرِيْقٌ فِي السَّعِيْرِ:} This is the outcome of {’’ يَوْمَ الْجَمْعِ ‘‘}, that one group will go to Paradise and one group will go to the blazing Fire.

7. 1. That is, just as We sent every messenger in the language of his people, similarly We have revealed the Qur'an to you in the Arabic language, because your people speak and understand this language.

7. 2. The Day of Resurrection is called the Day of Gathering because on that day all people from the earliest to the latest will be gathered together; moreover, the oppressors and the oppressed, and the believers and the disbelievers, all will be gathered and will receive reward or punishment according to their deeds.

7. And thus We have revealed to you this Qur’an in Arabic, so that you may warn the people of Makkah and those around it [5], and warn them of the Day of Gathering, about which there is no doubt. On that Day, a group will be in Paradise [6] and another group in the Fire.

[5]
The Quran is Guidance for the Whole World:

By ﴿اُمُّ الْقُرَيٰ﴾ is meant the central town or the major city, and by this is meant Makkah al-Mukarramah, where the House of Allah is present, and which has been made a center for the gathering of all the people of the world. And by its surroundings is not meant only the nearby areas or country, but rather the entire surface of the earth is intended, because it has been made the center of the whole earth. Thus, in this verse, a few fundamental points have been mentioned very concisely. One is that the Quran has been revealed in the language of the Arabs themselves, so that there should be no difficulty in understanding or explaining it, and people should not remain dependent on a specific type of scholars, but rather all the Arabs can benefit from it directly. The second is that your call is not only for the people of Makkah, but for the whole world. And the third is that the basic purpose of your Prophethood is that you fully warn all the people of the world about the events that will occur on the Day of Resurrection and the reward and punishment for their deeds.

[6] That is, all the humans and jinn who have been created will be gathered together on that day. In the world, there are many religions, and then each religion has dozens of sects. But on that day, all creation will be divided into only two groups: one, the people of Paradise; the other, the people of Hell. The mention of a third group, the people of A'raf, has also come in Surah Al-A'raf, but that group will not be a permanent group; rather, sooner or later, they will join the people of Paradise.