Tafseer of The Spider · Al-Ankaboot · 29:49
Rather, the Qur'an is distinct verses [preserved] within the breasts of those who have been given knowledge. And none reject Our verses except the wrongdoers.
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 saying of the Exalted: بَلْ هُوَ آيَاتٌ بَيِّنَاتٌ فِي صُدُورِ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ وَمَا يَجْحَدُ بِآيَاتِنَا إِلا الظَّالِمُونَ ("Nay, it is clear signs in the breasts of those who have been given knowledge. And none rejects Our signs except the wrongdoers") (29:49).
The exegetes (ahl al-taʾwīl) differed over the meaning of His saying: بَلْ هُوَ آيَاتٌ بَيِّنَاتٌ فِي صُدُورِ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ ("Nay, it is clear signs in the breasts of those who have been given knowledge"). Some of them said: by this the Prophet of Allah ﷺ is meant. And they said: the meaning of the words is: Nay, the presence among the People of the Book (ahl al-kitāb), in their scriptures, of the fact that Muḥammad ﷺ does not write and does not read, and that he is unlettered (ummī), constitutes clear signs in their breasts.
Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, he said: my father related to me, he said: my uncle related to me, he said: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning his saying: بَلْ هُوَ آيَاتٌ بَيِّنَاتٌ فِي صُدُورِ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ ("Nay, it is clear signs in the breasts of those who have been given knowledge"), he said: Allah, the Exalted, had revealed to the people of knowledge something concerning the matter of Muḥammad ﷺ in the Torah and the Gospel, and taught it to them, and made it a sign for them. He said to them: Verily, the sign of his prophethood is that, when he arises, he will arise without knowing any scripture, and without writing it with his right hand; and those are the clear signs.
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, he said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd informed us, he said: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning his saying: وَمَا كُنْتَ تَتْلُو مِنْ قَبْلِهِ مِنْ كِتَابٍ ("And you did not recite before it any scripture"), he said: the Prophet of Allah used not to write and not to read, and thus had Allah set down his description in the Torah and the Gospel: that he is an unlettered prophet (nabī ummī) who does not read and does not write; and that is the clear sign in the breasts of those who have been given knowledge.
Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: بَلْ هُوَ آيَاتٌ بَيِّنَاتٌ فِي صُدُورِ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ ("Nay, it is clear signs in the breasts of those who have been given knowledge") — among the People of the Book; they acknowledged Muḥammad, his description, and his prophethood as truth.
Al-Qāsim related to us, he said: al-Ḥusayn related to us, he said: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj: بَلْ هُوَ آيَاتٌ بَيِّنَاتٌ ("Nay, it is clear signs"), he said: Allah revealed the matter of Muḥammad in the Torah and the Gospel to the people of knowledge; nay, it is a clear sign in the breasts of those who have been given knowledge — by which he means: the Prophet ﷺ.
And others said: by this the Qurʾān is meant. And they said: the meaning of the words is: Nay, this Qurʾān constitutes clear signs in the breasts of those who have been given knowledge, among the believers in Muḥammad ﷺ.
Mention of who said that:
Al-Qāsim related to us, he said: al-Ḥusayn related to us, he said: Abū Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, he said: al-Ḥasan said concerning his saying: بَلْ هُوَ آيَاتٌ بَيِّنَاتٌ فِي صُدُورِ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ ("Nay, it is clear signs in the breasts of those who have been given knowledge") — the Qurʾān constitutes clear signs in the breasts of those who have been given knowledge, that is to say: the believers.
And the more correct of the two views concerning this is the saying of him who says: by this is meant: Nay, the knowledge that you did not used to recite any scripture before this Book, nor write it with your right hand, constitutes clear signs in the breasts of those who have been given knowledge among the People of the Book.
And I have said that this is the more correct of the two interpretations of the verse, because his saying: بَلْ هُوَ آيَاتٌ بَيِّنَاتٌ فِي صُدُورِ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ ("Nay, it is clear signs in the breasts of those who have been given knowledge") stands between two of Allah's reports concerning His messenger Muḥammad ﷺ; it is therefore more fitting that it be a report about him than that it be a report about the Book, the report of which had already been concluded beforehand.
And his saying: وَمَا يَجْحَدُ بِآيَاتِنَا إِلا الظَّالِمُونَ ("And none rejects Our signs except the wrongdoers"). The Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: none denies the prophethood of Muḥammad ﷺ and his proofs, and rejects the knowledge that is known from the scriptures of Allah which He revealed to His prophets concerning the sending of Muḥammad ﷺ, his prophethood, and his mission, except the wrongdoers, that is to say: those who have wronged themselves by their disbelief in Allah, Mighty and Exalted is He.
