Surah Ash-Shura (42) — Ayah 52

(Ayah 52) ➊ By {وَ كَذٰلِكَ اَوْحَيْنَاۤ اِلَيْكَ رُوْحًا مِّنْ اَمْرِنَا: ’’ رُوْحًا ‘‘} is meant revelation, whether in the form of the Qur’an or in the form of the Sunnah, because both are revelation, as He said: « وَ مَا يَنْطِقُ عَنِ الْهَوٰى (3) اِنْ هُوَ اِلَّا وَحْيٌ يُّوْحٰى » [ النجم : 4،3 ] “And he does not speak from [his own] desire. It is but a revelation revealed.” It is called “spirit” because true life is attained through it, both the life of the heart and the life of the Hereafter, as He said: « يُنَزِّلُ الْمَلٰٓىِٕكَةَ بِالرُّوْحِ مِنْ اَمْرِهٖ عَلٰى مَنْ يَّشَآءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهٖۤ » [ النحل : ۲ ] “He sends down the angels with the revelation by His command upon whom He wills of His servants.”
➋ { مَا كُنْتَ تَدْرِيْ مَا الْكِتٰبُ وَ لَا الْاِيْمَانُ:} In this statement, there is a reminder of the blessing that Allah granted you knowledge which you did not know before. Secondly, it is proof of your being a true Prophet, that despite being unlettered and not having knowledge of the Book and faith, bringing such a great Book as the Noble Qur’an could only be by Allah’s favor and through His revelation.
➌ Here is a question: there is no problem in the fact that you (peace be upon him) did not have knowledge of the Book before this, but it is worth considering that you did not have knowledge of faith either, because the Prophets (peace be upon them) before receiving prophethood at least have faith in Allah and His Oneness, as is mentioned in Sahih Bukhari and others about the Prophet (peace be upon him) worshipping in the cave of Hira. The answer is that not only you, but all the Arabs, despite being unlettered, believed in Allah and also acknowledged that He is the Creator of the heavens and the earth and the One who manages the entire universe, but they were afflicted with the disease of shirk (polytheism). The nature of the Prophets is extremely sound, and our Prophet (peace be upon him) also had faith in Allah. Even before prophethood, the Prophet (peace be upon him) never committed shirk or major sins, but this faith was general. The detailed faith, which according to the hadith of Jibril is to believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Last Day, and destiny, its details became known to you only after revelation. Moreover, when the word “faith” is mentioned alone, it includes affirmation, speech, and action, as in the famous hadith of the delegation of Abdul Qais, and as Allah called prayer “faith” in Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayah (143): « وَ مَا كَانَ اللّٰهُ لِيُضِيْعَ اِيْمَانَكُمْ», and as the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: [ اَلإِْيْمَانُ بِضْعٌ وَ سَبْعُوْنَ أَوْ بِضْعٌ وَ سِتُّوْنَ شُعْبَةً فَأَفْضَلُهَا قَوْلُ لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا اللّٰهُ وَ أَدْنَاهَا إِمَاطَةُ الْأَذٰی عَنِ الطَّرِيْقِ ] [ مسلم، الإیمان، باب بیان عدد شعب الإیمان… : ۳۵ ] “Faith has over seventy (70) or (he said) over sixty (60) branches, the most excellent of which is saying ‘La ilaha illallah’ and the least of which is removing something harmful from the road.” It is clear that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) did not know the details of prayer, zakah, hajj, and other matters of faith before divine revelation.
➍ Here, where it is said that you (peace be upon him) did not know these matters until Allah revealed to you and granted you the great light of guidance through the Book of Allah, this has been stated by Allah in several places, as He said: «وَ اَنْزَلَ اللّٰهُ عَلَيْكَ الْكِتٰبَ وَ الْحِكْمَةَ وَ عَلَّمَكَ مَا لَمْ تَكُنْ تَعْلَمُ » [ النساء : ۱۱۳ ] “And Allah has sent down to you the Book and wisdom and taught you that which you did not know.” And He said: « وَ اِنْ كُنْتَ مِنْ قَبْلِهٖ لَمِنَ الْغٰفِلِيْنَ» [ یوسف : ۳ ] “And indeed, you were among the unaware of it before this.” And He said: «وَ مَا كُنْتَ تَتْلُوْا مِنْ قَبْلِهٖ مِنْ كِتٰبٍ وَّ لَا تَخُطُّهٗ بِيَمِيْنِكَ اِذًا لَّارْتَابَ الْمُبْطِلُوْنَ » [ العنکبوت : ۴۸ ] “And you did not recite before it any scripture, nor did you inscribe one with your right hand. Otherwise, the falsifiers would have had [cause for] doubt.” And He said: « وَ مَا كُنْتَ تَرْجُوْۤا اَنْ يُّلْقٰۤى اِلَيْكَ الْكِتٰبُ اِلَّا رَحْمَةً مِّنْ رَّبِّكَ » [ القصص : ۸۶ ] “And you did not expect that the Book would be conveyed to you, but [it is] a mercy from your Lord.” And He said: «تِلْكَ مِنْ اَنْۢبَآءِ الْغَيْبِ نُوْحِيْهَاۤ اِلَيْكَ مَا كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُهَاۤ اَنْتَ وَ لَا قَوْمُكَ مِنْ قَبْلِ هٰذَا » [ ھود : ۴۹ ] “That is from the news of the unseen which We reveal to you; you knew it not, neither you nor your people before this.” Also, take a look at the commentary of these verses.
➎ In {وَ لٰكِنْ جَعَلْنٰهُ نُوْرًا:’’ نُوْرًا ‘‘}, the tanween is for magnification, and in {’’ جَعَلْنٰهُ ‘‘}, the pronoun in {’’ هُ ‘‘} refers to the divine revelation mentioned in {’’ رُوْحًا مِّنْ اَمْرِنَا ‘‘}. That is, We have made this revelation, which is in the form of the Qur’an and Sunnah, a great light. It is called light because with it the truth becomes clear and the darkness of ignorance, doubt, and shirk is removed.
➏ { نَهْدِيْ بِهٖ مَنْ نَّشَآءُ مِنْ عِبَادِنَا :} That is, We have made this revelation such a light by which We guide whom We will among Our servants. Allah has called the Noble Qur’an a light of guidance in several places. See Surah An-Nisa (174), Al-A’raf (157), Al-Ma’idah (15, 16), and Surah At-Taghabun (8).
➐ { وَ اِنَّكَ لَتَهْدِيْۤ اِلٰى صِرَاطٍ مُّسْتَقِيْمٍ:} For the explanation of guidance and the straight path, study Surah Al-Fatihah.