Surah Saad (38) — Ayah 8

(Ayah 8) ➊ {ءَاُنْزِلَ عَلَيْهِ الذِّكْرُ مِنْۢ بَيْنِنَا:} This is the real matter from which the reason for their not accepting the Prophethood of their Prophet (peace be upon him) becomes apparent, and that is envy towards him (peace be upon him) and, due to envy, enmity: why did Allah Almighty choose you (peace be upon him) for this lofty position, leaving us chiefs and leaders aside? Allah Almighty has mentioned this envy and enmity in several places and has refuted it, as He said: « وَ اِذَا جَآءَتْهُمْ اٰيَةٌ قَالُوْا لَنْ نُّؤْمِنَ حَتّٰى نُؤْتٰى مِثْلَ مَاۤ اُوْتِيَ رُسُلُ اللّٰهِ اَللّٰهُ اَعْلَمُ حَيْثُ يَجْعَلُ رِسَالَتَهٗ» [ الأنعام : ۱۲۴ ] "And when a sign comes to them, they say, 'We will never believe until we are given the like of what was given to Allah’s messengers.' Allah knows best where He places His message." And He said: «وَ قَالُوْا لَوْ لَا نُزِّلَ هٰذَا الْقُرْاٰنُ عَلٰى رَجُلٍ مِّنَ الْقَرْيَتَيْنِ عَظِيْمٍ (31) اَهُمْ يَقْسِمُوْنَ رَحْمَتَ رَبِّكَ» [ الزخرف : ۳۱، ۳۲ ] "And they said, 'Why was this Qur’an not sent down upon a great man from [one of] the two towns?' Do they distribute the mercy of your Lord?" The same envy was expressed by the people of Thamud towards Salih (peace be upon him): « ءَاُلْقِيَ الذِّكْرُ عَلَيْهِ مِنْۢ بَيْنِنَا بَلْ هُوَ كَذَّابٌ اَشِرٌ (25) سَيَعْلَمُوْنَ غَدًا مَّنِ الْكَذَّابُ الْاَشِرُ » [ القمر : ۲۵، ۲۶ ] "Has the reminder been sent down upon him from among us? Rather, he is a great liar, an arrogant one. Tomorrow they will know who is the insolent liar."

➋ { بَلْ هُمْ فِيْ شَكٍّ مِّنْ ذِكْرِيْ: ’’ شَكٍّ ‘‘} refers to the state of mind in which a person cannot prefer one of two things over the other. Allah Almighty has described in this sentence the state of their hearts: that they have no reasonable excuse to deny My reminder, but due to envy, they are not ready to reflect upon it, so they are in doubt about it. If they leave envy and reflect a little, they will attain the blessing of certainty. Allah Almighty has described the state of the people of Salih (peace be upon him) in their own words in the same way. See Surah Hud (62).

➌ {بَلْ لَّمَّا يَذُوْقُوْا عَذَابِ : ’’لَمْ يَذُوْقُوْا‘‘} They have not tasted, and {’’ لَمَّا يَذُوْقُوْا ‘‘} they have not yet tasted. {’’ عَذَابِ ‘‘} is originally {’’عَذَابِيْ‘‘} (My punishment). For the sake of matching the endings of the verses, the ya has been omitted and the kasrah left. That is, the reason for them saying such things is not that there is any reality in them, but the reason is that they have not yet tasted My blow. When My blow falls, all their strength will be gone, and they will not be in a state to say such things.