Tafseer of Joseph · Yusuf · 12:110
[They continued] until, when the messengers despaired and were certain that they had been denied, there came to them Our victory, and whoever We willed was saved. And Our punishment cannot be repelled from the people who are criminals.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The explanation of the words of Allah the Exalted: حَتَّى إِذَا اسْتَيْئَسَ الرُّسُلُ وَظَنُّوا أَنَّهُمْ قَدْ كُذِبُوا جَاءَهُمْ نَصْرُنَا فَنُجِّيَ مَنْ نَشَاءُ وَلا يُرَدُّ بَأْسُنَا عَنِ الْقَوْمِ الْمُجْرِمِينَ (verse 110)
Abū Jaʿfar says: Allah the Exalted says: وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِنْ قَبْلِكَ إِلا رِجَالا نُوحِي إِلَيْهِمْ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْقُرَى — these called upon those to whom We had sent them; these latter cried lies against them and threw back what they had brought to them from Allah — (until, when the messengers despaired), that is, the messengers whom We had sent to them, of their people's believing in Allah and confirming them in what they had brought to them from Allah — (and the peoples to whom they had been sent thought that the messengers had lied to them about what they had told them from Allah — about His promise to support them against them — (Our help came to them).
This is the position of a group among the exegetes.
Mention of those who said this:
19987. Abū al-Sāʾib Salm ibn Junāda related to us, he said: Abū Muʿāwiya related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Muslim, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word: (until, when the messengers despaired and they thought that they had been lied to) — he said: When the messengers had given up hope that their people would heed them, and their people thought that the messengers had lied to them, the help came to them, so that We save whom We will.
19988. Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, he said: Abū Muʿāwiya al-Ḍarīr related to us, he said: al-Aʿmash related to us, on the authority of Muslim, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās — the like of it, except that in his narration he said: "the messengers gave up hope" (ayyasa al-rusul), without "when" (lammā).
19989. Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, he said: Muʾammal related to us, he said: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr: (until, when the messengers despaired) — that their people would accept the faith, and the people of the messengers thought that the messengers had lied — (Our help came to them).
19990. Ibn Bashshār related to us, he said: Muʾammal related to us, he said: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Abū al-Ḍuḥā, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās — the like of it.
19991. Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: ʿImrān ibn ʿUyayna related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: (until, when the messengers despaired and they thought that they had been lied to) — he said: until, when the messengers gave up hope concerning their people, and the people thought that the messengers had lied — (Our help came to them).
19992. Ibn Bashshār related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, he said: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Ḥuṣayn, on the authority of ʿImrān al-Sulamī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: (until, when the messengers despaired and they thought that they had been lied to) — the messengers gave up hope of their people confirming them, and the people of theirs thought that the messengers had lied to them.
19993. ʿAmr ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd related to us, he said: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Ḥuṣayn, on the authority of ʿImrān ibn al-Ḥārith al-Sulamī, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word: (until, when the messengers despaired) — he said: the messengers gave up hope concerning their people that these would heed them. (And they thought that they had been lied to) — he said: their people thought that they had come to them with lies.
19994. Abū Kurayb related to us, he said: Ibn Idrīs related to us, he said: I heard Ḥuṣayn, on the authority of ʿImrān ibn al-Ḥārith, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: until, when the messengers had given up hope that their people would heed them, and the people thought that they had indeed lied to them — (Our help came to them).
19995. Abū Ḥuṣayn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Aḥmad ibn Yūnus related to me, he said: ʿAbathar related to us, he said: Ḥuṣayn related to us, on the authority of ʿImrān ibn al-Ḥārith, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning this verse: (until, when the messengers despaired) — he said: the messengers gave up hope concerning their people that these would believe, and the people thought that the messengers had lied to them in what they had promised them and had deceived them. (Our help came to them).
19996. Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related to us, he said: Ibn Abī ʿAdī related to us, on the authority of Shuʿba, on the authority of Ḥuṣayn, on the authority of ʿImrān ibn al-Ḥārith, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: (until, when the messengers despaired) — of the help of their people — (and they thought that they had been lied to) — the people thought that they had deceived them.
19997. Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, he said: Muḥammad ibn al-Ṣabbāḥ related to us, he said: Hushaym related to us, he said: Ḥuṣayn informed us, on the authority of ʿImrān ibn al-Ḥārith, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word: (until, when the messengers despaired) — he said: concerning their people, that they would believe in them and heed them, and the people of theirs thought that the messengers had lied to them — (Our help came to them) — that is to say: the messengers.
19998. Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: ʿAmr ibn ʿAwn related to us, he said: Hushaym informed us, on the authority of Ḥuṣayn, on the authority of ʿImrān ibn al-Ḥārith, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās — with exactly the like of it.
19999. Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn ʿAṭāʾ related to us, on the authority of Hārūn, on the authority of ʿAbbād al-Qurashī, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Muʿāwiya, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: (and they thought that they had been lied to) — with light vocalization — and his explanation of it: the people thought that the messengers had lied.
20000. Abū Bakr related to us, he said: Ṭalq ibn Ghannām related to us, on the authority of Zāʾida, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Muslim, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: (until, when the messengers despaired) — concerning their people that these would confirm them, and the people thought that the messengers of theirs had lied — (Our help came to them).
20001. Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, he said: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word: (until, when the messengers despaired and they thought that they had been lied to) — he said: the messengers gave up hope that their people would follow them, and the people thought that the messengers had lied; Allah the Exalted then helped the messengers and sent down the punishment.
20002. Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, he said: his father related to him, he said: his uncle related to us, he said: his father related to him, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word: (until, when the messengers despaired and they thought that they had been lied to, Our help came to them) — until, when the messengers had given up hope concerning their people that these would obey them and follow them, and the people thought that their messengers had lied to them — (Our help came to them).
20003. Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: Isḥāq related to us, he said: Muḥammad ibn Fuḍayl related to us, on the authority of Ḥuṣayn, on the authority of ʿImrān ibn al-Ḥārith, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: (until, when the messengers despaired) — concerning their people — (and they thought that they had been lied to) — he said: what delayed it so long was only with the one who thought that they had lied.
20004. He said: Ādam al-ʿAsqalānī related to us, he said: Shuʿba related to us, he said: Ḥuṣayn ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān informed us, on the authority of ʿImrān ibn al-Ḥārith, who said: I heard Ibn ʿAbbās say: (and they thought that they had been lied to) — with light vocalization. And Ibn ʿAbbās said: the people thought that the messengers had lied to them — with light vocalization.
20005. Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, concerning His word: (until, when the messengers despaired) — concerning their people, and the people thought that the messengers had lied to them.
20006. He said: Muḥammad ibn Fuḍayl related to us, on the authority of Khaṣīf, who said: I asked Saʿīd ibn Jubayr about His word: (until, when the messengers despaired) — concerning their people, and the unbelievers thought that they — that is, the messengers — had lied.
20007. Yaʿqūb and al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to me, they said: Ismāʿīl ibn ʿUlayya related to us. He said: Kulthūm ibn Jabr related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, concerning His word: (until, when the messengers despaired) — concerning their people that these would believe, and the people thought that the messengers had lied to them.
20008. Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: ʿĀrim Abū al-Nuʿmān related to us, he said: Ḥammād ibn Zayd related to us, he said: Shuʿayb related to us, he said: Ibrāhīm ibn Abī Ḥarra al-Jazarī related to me, who said: a young man of the Quraysh asked Saʿīd ibn Jubayr and said to him: "O Abū ʿAbd Allāh, how do you read this word? For when I come upon it, I wish that I had not read this sūra: (until, when the messengers despaired and they thought that they had been lied to)?" He said: "Yes — until, when the messengers had given up hope concerning their people that these would confirm them, and those to whom they had been sent thought that the messengers had lied." And al-Ḍaḥḥāk ibn Muzāḥim said upon this: "I have never seen anyone like today — a man who is invited to knowledge and tarries so long over it!! Were I to travel to Yemen for it, that would be little!"
20009. Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: al-Ḥajjāj related to us, he said: Rabīʿa ibn Kulthūm related to us, he said: his father related to me, that Muslim ibn Yasār asked Saʿīd ibn Jubayr and said: "O Abū ʿAbd Allāh, a verse has utterly struck me: (until, when the messengers despaired and they thought that they had been lied to) — is this then the ruin — that the messengers think that they have been lied to? Or do we think that they lied — with light vocalization?" Saʿīd ibn Jubayr said: "O Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, until, when the messengers had given up hope concerning their people that these would heed them, and the people thought that the messengers had lied to them — (Our help came to them, We save whom We will, and Our punishment is not averted from the criminal people)." Muslim then arose and embraced Saʿīd and said: "May Allah relieve you as you have relieved me."
20010. Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, he said: Yaḥyā ibn ʿAbbād related to us, he said: Wuhayb related to us, he said: Abū al-Muʿallā al-ʿAṭṭār related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: (until, when the messengers despaired and they thought that they had been lied to) — he said: the messengers gave up hope that their people would believe; and the people thought that the messengers had lied in what they had told them and proclaimed to them.
20011. He said: Shabāba related to us, he said: Warqāʾ related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His word: (until, when the messengers despaired) — that their people would confirm them, and the people thought that the messengers had lied — Our help came to the messengers.
20012. Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, he said: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, he said: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid — the like of it.
20013. Al-Muthannā related to me: he said: al-Ḥajjāj related to us, he said: Ḥammād related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, concerning this verse: until, when the messengers had given up hope concerning their people, and the people thought that the messengers had lied.
20014. He said: Ḥammād related to us, on the authority of Kulthūm ibn Jabr, who said: Saʿīd ibn Jubayr said to me: one of the masters among your masters asked me about this verse, and I said: the messengers gave up hope concerning their people, and the people thought that the messengers had lied.
20015. Yūnus related to me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Ibn Zayd said, concerning His word: (until, when the messengers despaired and they thought that they had been lied to) — he said: the messengers gave up hope that their people would believe in them, and the people — the polytheists — thought that the messengers had lied in what Allah had promised them of His help to them against them, and that they had been deceived. And he read: (Our help came to them) — he said: the help reached the messengers then. And Ubayy read: "kūdhdhibū" (with tashdīd — they were grievously lied to).
20016. Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn ʿAṭāʾ related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd, on the authority of Abū al-Mutawakkil, on the authority of Ayyūb ibn Abī Ṣafwān, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Ḥārith, that he said: (until, when the messengers despaired) — of the faith of their people — (and they thought that they had been lied to) — and the people thought that they had lied to them in what they had brought to them.
20017. Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb related to us, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, who said: the people thought that their messengers had lied to them in what they had promised them.
20018. Al-Qāsim related to us, he said: al-Ḥusayn related to us, he said: Muḥammad ibn Fuḍayl related to us, on the authority of Jaḥsh ibn Ziyād al-Ḍabbī, on the authority of Tamīm ibn Ḥudhlam, who said: I heard ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd say concerning this verse: "Until, when the messengers despaired and they thought that they had been lied to" — he said: the messengers gave up hope that their people would believe in them, and the people, when the matter was long delayed, thought that they had indeed lied — with light vocalization.
20019. Abū al-Muthannā related to us, he said: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, he said: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Abū al-Muʿallā, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, concerning His word: (until, when the messengers despaired) — he said: the messengers gave up hope that their people would support them, and the people of the messengers thought that the messengers had lied to them.
20020. Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq related to us, he said: Abū Aḥmad related to us, he said: ʿAmr ibn Thābit related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr: until, when the messengers gave up hope that these would confirm them, and the people thought that the messengers had lied to them.
20021. He said: Abū Aḥmad related to us, he said: Isrāʾīl related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: until, when the messengers gave up hope that their people would confirm them, and the people thought that the messengers had lied to them.
20022. It was related to me from al-Ḥusayn ibn al-Faraj, he said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd ibn Sulaymān related to us, he said: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His word: (until, when the messengers despaired) — he says: they gave up hope concerning their people that these would heed them and believe in them — "and they thought" — he says: the people of the messengers thought that the messengers had lied to them in the promise.
Abū Jaʿfar says: The recitation according to this explanation that we have mentioned of the word (kūdhhibū) is with ḍamma of the kāf and light dhāl. This is also the recitation of some of the reciters of Medina and the majority of the reciters of Kūfa.
We chose this explanation and this recitation because this follows His word: وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِنْ قَبْلِكَ إِلا رِجَالا نُوحِي إِلَيْهِمْ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْقُرَى أَفَلَمْ يَسِيرُوا فِي الأَرْضِ فَيَنْظُرُوا كَيْفَ كَانَ عَاقِبَةُ الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ — so that this was an indication that the despair of the messengers concerned the faith of their peoples who were destroyed, and that the implied subject in His word: (and they thought that they had been lied to) can only be traced back to the mention of the earlier destroyed peoples. This was made even clearer by the fact that Allah, in His connected chain of narration about the messengers and their peoples, continues with His word: (We save whom We will), since those who were destroyed are the very same who thought that the messengers had lied to them — and they cried lies against them in the conviction that they had deceived them.
A group among those who read it with this recitation, however, chose an explanation other than the one we chose: they construed the meaning as: until, when the messengers despaired of the faith of their peoples, and the messengers thought that they had indeed been lied to in what they had been promised of the help.
Mention of those who said this:
20023. Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, he said: ʿUthmān ibn ʿUmar related to us, he said: Ibn Jurayj related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Mulayka, who said: Ibn ʿAbbās read: (until, when the messengers despaired and they thought that they had been lied to) — he said: they were people who were weak and lost hope.
20024. He said: Ḥajjāj ibn Muḥammad related to us, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, who said: Ibn Abī Mulayka informed me, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who read: (and they thought that they had been lied to) — with light vocalization. Ibn Jurayj said: I say it as he says: they were deceived. ʿAbd Allāh said: Ibn ʿAbbās said to me: they were human beings. And Ibn ʿAbbās recited: حَتَّى يَقُولَ الرَّسُولُ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَعَهُ مَتَى نَصْرُ اللَّهِ أَلا إِنَّ نَصْرَ اللَّهِ قَرِيبٌ [Sūrat al-Baqara: 214]. Ibn Jurayj said: Ibn Abī Mulayka meant by this that they became weak and thought that they had been deceived.
20025. Ibn Bashshār related to us, he said: Muʾammal related to us, he said: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Abū al-Ḍuḥā, on the authority of Masrūq, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh, that he read: (until, when the messengers despaired and they thought that they had been lied to) — with light vocalization. ʿAbd Allāh said: that is the one you abhor.
20026. He said: Abū ʿĀmir related to us, he said: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Sulaymān, on the authority of Abū al-Ḍuḥā, on the authority of Masrūq, that a man asked ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd: (until, when the messengers despaired and they thought that they had been lied to) — he said: that is the one you abhor — with light vocalization.
20027. He said: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, he said: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Abū Bishr, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, who said concerning this verse: (until, when the messengers despaired and they thought that they had been lied to) — I said: "kūdhhibū"! He said: "Yes, were they not human beings?"
20028. Al-Ḥārith related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related to us, he said: Isrāʾīl related to us, on the authority of Simāk, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word: (until, when the messengers despaired and they thought that they had been lied to) — he said: they were human beings, they thought.
Abū Jaʿfar says: This is an explanation and a position, and a position other than this explanation is in my judgment more precise. And a position other than the one mentioned is more fitting to the descriptions of the prophets. For if the messengers were permitted to doubt Allah's promise to them and to doubt the truth of His report, while they witnessed proofs and signs of Allah which those to whom they were sent did not witness — and they would be excused for that — then those to whom they were sent are even more excused in that. And this is a position which, if anyone adopts it, his case is clear.
This explanation which we mentioned last was attributed to ʿĀʾisha — and she rejected it fiercely, as has been conveyed to us.
Mention of the narration about that from her, may Allah's good pleasure be upon her:
20029. Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, he said: ʿUthmān ibn ʿUmar related to us, he said: Ibn Jurayj related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Mulayka, who said: Ibn ʿAbbās read: (until, when the messengers despaired and they thought that they had been lied to) — and he said: they were human beings, weak and despairing. Ibn Abī Mulayka said: I mentioned this to ʿUrwa, and he said: ʿĀʾisha said: "Never! Allah never informed His messenger of anything but that he knew it would come to pass before he died. But the affliction of the messengers continued, until the prophets thought that those who had followed them had lied to them." And she recited it: "qad kudhdhhibū" — with tashdīd, in the sense of being cried lies against.
20030. He said: Ḥajjāj related to us, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, who said: Ibn Abī Mulayka informed me, that Ibn ʿAbbās recited: (and they thought that they had been lied to) — with light vocalization. ʿAbd Allāh said: then Ibn ʿAbbās said to me: they were human beings. And Ibn ʿAbbās recited: حَتَّى يَقُولَ الرَّسُولُ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَعَهُ مَتَى نَصْرُ اللَّهِ أَلا إِنَّ نَصْرَ اللَّهِ قَرِيبٌ [Sūrat al-Baqara: 214]. Ibn Jurayj said: Ibn Abī Mulayka meant by this that they became weak and thought that they had been deceived. Ibn Jurayj said: Ibn Abī Mulayka informs me, from ʿUrwa, from ʿĀʾisha, that she contested and rejected this, and said: "Whatever Allah promised Muḥammad ﷺ of anything, he knew for certain that it would take place before he died. But the affliction of the messengers continued, until they thought that those who were with them among the believers had lied to them." Ibn Abī Mulayka said in the narration of ʿUrwa: ʿĀʾisha recited it as: "wa-ẓannū annahum qad kudhdhhibū" — with tashdīd, in the sense of being cried lies against.
20031. He said: Sulaymān ibn Dāwūd al-Hāshimī related to us, he said: Ibrāhīm ibn Saʿd related to us, he said: Ṣāliḥ ibn Kaysān related to me, on the authority of Ibn Shihāb, on the authority of ʿUrwa, on the authority of ʿĀʾisha, who said: I asked her about His word: (until, when the messengers despaired and they thought that they had been lied to) — ʿĀʾisha said: "They knew for certain that they had been lied to." I said: "(with light recitation:) kūdhhibū." She said: "Never! The messengers do not do that — doubt their Lord. Rather it is the followers of the messengers: when the revelation was long delayed and the affliction over them grew heavy, the messengers thought that their followers had lied to them — (Our help came to them)."
20032. Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, he said: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of al-Zuhrī, on the authority of ʿUrwa, on the authority of ʿĀʾisha, who said: Until, when the man had given up hope of those of his people who cried him lies that they would confirm him, and the messengers thought that those of their people who had believed had lied to them, Allah's help then came to them.
Abū Jaʿfar says: This is what has been related about ʿĀʾisha in this connection. She, however, read: "kudhdhhibū" — with tashdīd and ḍamma of the kāf — with the meaning we have mentioned from her: that the messengers, concerning their followers who had believed in them, thought that these had lied to them and had turned back from their religion, on account of the awaiting of the help being experienced as long.
We have, however, set forth that what we prefer of the recitation and the explanation herein is something else, namely specifically as regards this word.
Another group who read "kudhdhhibū" — with ḍamma of the kāf and tashdīd of the dhāl — construed the meaning as: until, when the messengers gave up hope concerning their people that these would believe in them and confirm them, and the messengers thought — in the sense of: knew for certain — that their peoples had lied to them; and the help of Our messengers came to them. They said: "ẓann" (to think) here has the meaning of knowledge, in accordance with the word of the poet:
"Be fully convinced of two thousand mail-armored horsemen, Their leaders in the Persian coats of mail."
Mention of those who said this:
20033. Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of al-Ḥasan — and this is also Qatāda's position —: "Until, when the messengers had given up hope of the faith of their people, and they thought that they had been lied to" — that is to say: they knew for certain that with their people there was no good and no faith — (Our help came to them).
20034. Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, he said: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda: (until, when the messengers despaired) — he said: of their people — (and they thought that they had been lied to) — he said: they knew for certain that they had been lied to — (Our help came to them).
Abū Jaʿfar says: With this recitation read the majority of the reciters of Medina, Baṣra and Shām — that is, with tashdīd of the dhāl of "kudhdhhibū" and ḍamma of its kāf.
The explanation which al-Ḥasan and Qatāda chose for this, when it is read with tashdīd of the dhāl and ḍamma of the kāf, is, however, in conflict with what we have mentioned of the positions of all those whose opinion we have cited among the Companions — for not one of them construed "ẓann" (to think) in this place toward the meaning of knowledge and certainty. Moreover, the Arabs used "ẓann" to denote knowledge only in cases of knowledge attained by way of report or otherwise than by way of eyewitness observation. As for knowledge attained by way of eyewitness observation — for that one does not use "ẓann." One scarcely says: "I think for certain that I am alive, I think for certain that I am a human being," with the meaning of: I know that I am a human being and know that I am alive. And the messengers who were cried lies against by their peoples were without doubt witnesses of their peoples, and heard the crying of lies from them in person. Then one cannot say: they thought concerning their peoples that these had lied to them.
From Mujāhid a position is related that is contradictory to all the positions we have mentioned from the predecessors whose names we have named and whose opinions we have mentioned — an explanation contradictory to theirs, and a recitation different from that of all of them. This is that he — as is related from him — read: "wa-ẓannū annahum qad kadhabū" — with fatḥa of the kāf and dhāl and light vocalization of the dhāl.
Mention of the narration from him about this:
20035. Aḥmad ibn Yūsuf related to me, he said: Abū ʿUbayd related to us, he said: Ḥajjāj related to us, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid, that he read it as: "kadhabū" — with fatḥa of the kāf and light vocalization.
And he construed it as follows:
20036. Al-Qāsim related to us, he said: al-Ḥusayn related to us, he said: Ḥajjāj related to us, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid: the man gave up hope that his people would be punished, and the people thought that the messengers had lied — (Our help came to them) — he said: Our help reached the messengers. Mujāhid said: He says in (Sūrat) al-Muʾmin: فَلَمَّا جَاءَتْهُمْ رُسُلُهُمْ بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ فَرِحُوا بِمَا عِنْدَهُمْ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ — he said: their saying: "We are more learned than they and we will not be punished." And His word: وَحَاقَ بِهِمْ مَا كَانُوا بِهِ يَسْتَهْزِئُونَ [Sūrat Ghāfir: 83] — he said: there descended upon them what their messengers had brought of the truth.
Abū Jaʿfar says: This recitation does not permit me to recite it, on account of the consensus of the authorities among the reciters of the urban communities upon its contrary. Were that recitation permissible, it would bear an interpretive possibility — and that would be more beautiful than what Mujāhid gave as its explanation —, namely: until, when the messengers gave up hope of the punishment of Allah upon their lie-crying people, and the messengers thought that their people had lied and blasphemed against Allah by disbelieving in them. Then "ẓann" would be directed toward the meaning of knowledge, in accordance with the explanation of al-Ḥasan and Qatāda.
Concerning His word: (We save whom We will) — the reciters differed in its recitation.
The majority of the reciters of Medina, Mecca and Iraq read: "fa-nunajjī man nashāʾu" — with light vocalization and two nūns — with the meaning of: We save — We ourselves — whom We will of Our messengers and the believers in Us, but not the unbelievers who cried lies against Our messengers, when the help reached the messengers.
Those who read it thus reasoned that it is written in the muṣḥaf with only one nūn, while according to its regular form it has two nūns — because one of the two nūns is a root-letter of "anjā yunjī," and the other is "the nūn" that indicates the future in a verb of a group speaking of itself. Since they are two letters of the same kind — that is, the two nūns — the second of them is considered difficult to pronounce and is omitted in the text, while the written letter suffices for the omitted one, as is also done with the two letters of which one is assimilated into the other (idghām).
Some Kūfan reciters read this with the same meaning, but assimilated the second nūn and gave the jīm tashdīd.
Another of them read with tashdīd of the jīm and fatḥa of the yāʾ, with the meaning of: it was done to them, from: "najjaytuhu unajjīhi" (I saved him, I save him).
Some Meccan reciters read: "fa-najā man nashāʾu" — with fatḥa of the nūn and light vocalization — from: "najā yanjū" (he was saved, he is saved).
Abū Jaʿfar says: The correct recitation in our view is the recitation of those who read it as: "fa-nunajjī man nashāʾu" — with two nūns — for that is the recitation that the reciters of the urban communities follow. What deviates from that, of those who read it in one of the ways we have mentioned, is one who deviates in his recitation from that upon which the authority of the reciters has consensus. And it is not permissible to deviate from what is current in the recitation of the reciters of the urban communities.
Abū Jaʿfar says: The explanation of the words is: We save the messengers and whom We will of Our believing servants when Our help has come, as:
20037. Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, he said: his father related to him, he said: his uncle related to us: he said: his father related to him, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: "We save whom We will" — We save the messengers and whom We will — (and Our punishment is not averted from the criminal people) — and that was because Allah the Exalted sent the messengers; these called upon their people, and informed them that whoever obeyed Him would be saved, and whoever defied Him would be punished and brought to ruin.
Concerning His word: (and Our punishment is not averted from the criminal people) — He says: and Our chastisement and Our striking of whom We struck among the people who reject Us — that is not averted from the peoples who committed crimes — who disbelieved in Allah, resisted His messengers and what these brought to them from Him.
