Tafseer of The Rock · Al-Hijr · 15:94
Then declare what you are commanded and turn away from the polytheists.
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.
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Abī Muḥammad, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr or ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: he said: Allah, the Exalted, sent down: فَاصْدَعْ بِمَا تُؤْمَرُ — this is a command from Allah, the Exalted, to His Prophet ﷺ to proclaim His message to his people and to all to whom he was sent. By فَاصْدَعْ بِمَا تُؤْمَرُ Allah means: proceed and divide — as Abū Dhuʾayb said: "As if they are a mass of clouds and he is a player who casts out the lot-arrows and apportions them (yaṣdaʿu)." In accordance with what we have said concerning this, the exegetes also spoke. Al-Muthannā related to me, on the authority of Muʿāwiya, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās — concerning فَاصْدَعْ بِمَا تُؤْمَرُ : he said: Carry it out. Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: Do what you are commanded. Mujāhid said: With the Qurʾān. And also: With reciting the Qurʾān aloud in the prayer. Al-Muthannā related to me, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUbayda: The Prophet remained hidden until فَاصْدَعْ بِمَا تُؤْمَرُ وَأَعْرِضْ عَنِ الْمُشْرِكِينَ was sent down, whereupon he went forth with his companions. Yūnus related to me: Ibn Wahb reports: Ibn Zayd said concerning فَاصْدَعْ بِمَا تُؤْمَرُ : With the Qurʾān that was revealed to him and which he was to convey to them. Allah said فَاصْدَعْ بِمَا تُؤْمَرُ and not "bimā tuʾmaru bih," although the verb amara requires the preposition bi, because the meaning is: divide by Our command — We have commanded you to preach the religion with which We have sent you, and We have permitted you to make it public. The word "mā" in بِمَا تُؤْمَرُ has the meaning of a noun, as Allah said يَا أَبَتِ افْعَلْ مَا تُؤْمَرُ — its meaning: carry out the command that is enjoined upon you. Some of the Kufan philologists said: the bāʾ that connects the verb has been omitted — the Arabs have two dialects in this: amartuka amran, or amartuka bi-amrin; inserting the bāʾ or omitting it is equivalent. As for His word وَأَعْرِضْ عَنِ الْمُشْرِكِينَ : Allah says to His Prophet ﷺ: Proclaim to your people what you have been sent with, and refrain from fighting the mushrikīn and combating them. This was before the obligation of jihād against them had been imposed upon him; then this was abrogated by His word فَاقْتُلُوا الْمُشْرِكِينَ حَيْثُ وَجَدْتُمُوهُمْ . Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to us, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās — concerning وَأَعْرِضْ عَنِ الْمُشْرِكِينَ : that is among the abrogated verses. Al-Ḍaḥḥāk said: وَأَعْرِضْ عَنِ الْمُشْرِكِينَ and قُلْ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا يَغْفِرُوا لِلَّذِينَ لَا يَرْجُونَ أَيَّامَ اللَّهِ and all that is similar to this in the Qurʾān — Allah commanded His Prophet ﷺ to observe this, but afterwards He commanded him to fight, so that all of this was abrogated: خُذُوهُمْ وَاقْتُلُوهُمْ — the verse.