Tafseer of The Criterion · Al-Furqaan · 25:1
Blessed is He who sent down the Criterion upon His Servant that he may be to the worlds a warner -
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.
Imam al-Ṭabarī says: "Tabāraka" is a "tafāʿala" form derived from "baraka" (blessing), as Abū Kurayb related to us: ʿUthmān ibn Saʿīd related to us, saying: Bishr ibn ʿUmāra related to us, saying: Abū Rawq related to us, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās, who said: "Tabāraka" is a "tafāʿala" form derived from "baraka" (blessing). It is like the expression "our Lord has sanctified Himself" (taqaddasa). His word: تَبَارَكَ الَّذِي نَزَّلَ الْفُرْقَانَ (Blessed is He Who has sent down the Criterion) — He says: Blessed is He Who sent down the distinction — distinction after distinction, sura after sura — upon His servant Muḥammad ﷺ, so that Muḥammad would be, for all the jinn and men to whom Allah has sent him, a caller (dāʿī) to Him, a warner (nadhīr): that is, a warner who warns them against His punishment and instills in them fear of His torment, if they do not affirm His oneness and do not make their worship of Him pure and do not detach themselves from all gods and idols beside Him.
In line with what we have said about this, the exegetes also spoke.
Mention of who said that:
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said, concerning His word: تَبَارَكَ الَّذِي نَزَّلَ الْفُرْقَانَ عَلَى عَبْدِهِ لِيَكُونَ لِلْعَالَمِينَ نَذِيرًا (Blessed is He Who has sent down the Criterion upon His servant, so that he might be a warner to the worlds) — he said: The Prophet is the warner. He recited: وَإِنْ مِنْ أُمَّةٍ إِلا خَلا فِيهَا نَذِيرٌ (and there is no community but a warner has passed away in it). He recited: وَمَا أَهْلَكْنَا مِنْ قَرْيَةٍ إِلا لَهَا مُنْذِرُونَ (We have not destroyed any town without its having warners) — he said: messengers. He said: The warners are the messengers. He said: There was a warner who covered all that lay between east and west — Dhū al-Qarnayn; then he reached the two dams and was a warner. But I have not heard anyone claim that he was a prophet. وَأُوحِيَ إِلَيَّ هَذَا الْقُرْآنُ لأُنْذِرَكُمْ بِهِ وَمَنْ بَلَغَ (And this Qurʾān has been revealed to me so that I may warn you thereby, as well as everyone whom it reaches) — he said: Everyone of creation whom the Qurʾān reaches, his warner is the Prophet of Allah ﷺ. He recited: يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنِّي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ إِلَيْكُمْ جَمِيعًا (O mankind, indeed I am the messenger of Allah to you all). And he said: Allah has not sent a messenger to all mankind except Nūḥ — with him the [reckoning of] creation began, and he was the messenger of all the people on earth — and Muḥammad ﷺ, with whom He concluded [the series].
