Tabari

Tafseer of The Stories · Al-Qasas · 28:86

وَمَا كُنتَ تَرْجُوٓا۟ أَن يُلْقَىٰٓ إِلَيْكَ ٱلْكِتَٰبُ إِلَّا رَحْمَةًۭ مِّن رَّبِّكَ ۖ فَلَا تَكُونَنَّ ظَهِيرًۭا لِّلْكَٰفِرِينَ

And you were not expecting that the Book would be conveyed to you, but [it is] a mercy from your Lord. So do not be an assistant to the disbelievers.

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.

Tabari (1 passage)

  1. Full Dutch translation of Tabari's text

    The explanation of the statement of the Exalted: وَمَا كُنْتَ تَرْجُو أَنْ يُلْقَى إِلَيْكَ الْكِتَابُ إِلا رَحْمَةً مِنْ رَبِّكَ فَلا تَكُونَنَّ ظَهِيرًا لِلْكَافِرِينَ (28:86) ("And you did not expect that the Book would be entrusted to you; it was only a mercy from your Lord. So do not be a helper to the disbelievers.") (86)

    The Exalted, whose mention is lofty, says: And you did not expect, O Muḥammad, that this Qurʾān would be revealed to you, so that you would know the reports and accounts of those who passed away before you, and of what will occur after you, of that which has not yet come to pass, which you have not witnessed and will not witness, and that you would then recite that to your people from the Quraysh — except that your Lord had mercy upon you and revealed it (the Qurʾān) to you. His statement: إِلا رَحْمَةً مِنْ رَبِّكَ ("except a mercy from your Lord") is a disconnected exception (istithnāʾ munqaṭiʿ).

    And His statement: فَلا تَكُونَنَّ ظَهِيرًا لِلْكَافِرِينَ ("So do not be a helper to the disbelievers") means: So praise your Lord for the favor He has bestowed upon you through His mercy toward you, by revealing this Book to you, and do not be a support for whoever disbelieves in your Lord in his disbelief in Him. And it has been said: that belongs to the deferred (al-muʾakhkhar) whose meaning is precedence (taqdīm), and that the meaning of the lām is: Indeed, He who prescribed the Qurʾān for you and revealed it to you — while you did not expect that it would be revealed to you, so that you would become a prophet before that moment — will surely bring you back to a place of return (maʿād).

    Show original Arabic
    القول في تأويل قوله تعالى : وَمَا كُنْتَ تَرْجُو أَنْ يُلْقَى إِلَيْكَ الْكِتَابُ إِلا رَحْمَةً مِنْ رَبِّكَ فَلا تَكُونَنَّ ظَهِيرًا لِلْكَافِرِينَ (86) يقول تعالى ذكره: وما كنت ترجو يا محمد أن ينـزل عليك هذا القرآن, فتعلم الأنباء والأخبار عن الماضين قبلك, والحادثة بعدك, مما لم يكن بعد, مما لم تشهده ولا تشهده, ثم تتلو ذلك على قومك من قريش, إلا أن ربك رحمك, فأنـزله عليك, فقوله: ( إِلا رَحْمَةً مِنْ رَبِّكَ ) استثناء منقطع. وقوله: ( فَلا تَكُونَنَّ ظَهِيرًا لِلْكَافِرِينَ ) يقول: فاحمد ربك على ما أنعم به عليك من رحمته إياك, بإنـزاله عليك هذا الكتاب, ولا تكوننّ عونا لمن كفر بربك على كفره به. وقيل: إن ذلك من المؤخَّر الذي معناه التقديم, وإن معنى اللام: إن الذي فرض عليك القرآن, فأنـزله عليك, وما كنت ترجو أن ينـزل عليك, فتكون نبيا قبل ذلك, لرادّك إلى معاد.