Surah Al-Hajj (22) — Ayah 15

(Ayah 15) ➊ {مَنْ كَانَ يَظُنُّ اَنْ لَّنْ يَّنْصُرَهُ اللّٰهُ فِي الدُّنْيَا …: ’’ سَبَبٌ ‘‘} Rope. {’’ السَّمَآءِ ‘‘ ’’سَمَا يَسْمُوْ‘‘} (n) is from which the meaning is to be elevated. The sky is called "Samaa" because of its height, that is why the cloud is also called "Samaa" and so is the roof.

➋ One explanation of { ’’ مَنْ كَانَ يَظُنُّ اَنْ لَّنْ يَّنْصُرَهُ اللّٰهُ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَ الْاٰخِرَةِ ‘‘} is the one that Tabari has narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), that whoever thinks that Allah will not help Muhammad (peace be upon him) in this world and the Hereafter, he should tie a rope to the roof, then hang himself with it and strangle himself to death and see, does this extinguish the fire of anger and jealousy burning in his chest because of Allah's help to Muhammad (peace be upon him)? The meaning is that whoever thinks that Allah will not help His Messenger, let him hang himself and die, Allah will surely help His Messenger in this world and the Hereafter. Since everything has an appointed time with Allah, the delay in help does not mean at all that Allah will never help His Prophet. Allah certainly helps all His Messengers and the believers in this world and the Hereafter, as He said: «{ اِنَّا لَنَنْصُرُ رُسُلَنَا وَ الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا فِي الْحَيٰوةِ الدُّنْيَا وَ يَوْمَ يَقُوْمُ الْاَشْهَادُ }» [ المؤمن : ۵۱ ] "Indeed, We surely help Our Messengers and those who believe in the life of this world and on the Day when the witnesses will stand." On this explanation, the question arises that before or after this verse, there is no mention of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), so how can the pronoun "him" in "will not help him" refer to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)? The answer given is that it is not necessary for the mention of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) to precede the pronoun referring to him, because his mention is present in the mind of every believer. Therefore, even if his mention is not in the words before, there is no harm.

The second explanation is the one Tabari has narrated with an authentic chain from Mujahid, that whoever (regarding himself) thinks that Allah will never help him in this world and the Hereafter, will never provide him sustenance, he should hang a rope upwards and strangle himself, then see... That is, whoever is not ready to believe in Allah's help, such a hopeless person should hang himself and die, then see if this fulfills his hope? This is just like saying to someone, if you do not believe in such and such thing, then go and bang your head against the wall and die.

Shah Abdul Qadir (may Allah have mercy on him) has given a very excellent explanation of this verse, he writes: "Whoever, in the distress of the world, loses hope in Allah and abandons His worship and worships false things, in whose hands is neither harm nor benefit, to console and satisfy his heart, he should imagine this situation: like a person is hanging from a high dangling rope, if he cannot climb, there is hope that if the rope is pulled up, he will climb. When the rope is cut, then what hope remains? The rope means Allah's hope, and he stretched this rope towards the sky, that is, towards height." (Mawdhih) In this explanation and the previous one, the connection of this verse with the previous verse: «{ وَ مِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ يَّعْبُدُ اللّٰهَ عَلٰى حَرْفٍ }» is also becoming clear.