Tabari

Tafseer of Sheba · Saba · 34:28

وَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَٰكَ إِلَّا كَآفَّةًۭ لِّلنَّاسِ بَشِيرًۭا وَنَذِيرًۭا وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ ٱلنَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ

And We have not sent you except comprehensively to mankind as a bringer of good tidings and a warner. But most of the people do not know.

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 saying of the Exalted: وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلا كَافَّةً لِلنَّاسِ بَشِيرًا وَنَذِيرًا وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لا يَعْلَمُونَ (34:28) (And We have sent you only to the whole of mankind, as a bringer of glad tidings and as a warner; but most people do not know.)

    The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says: And We have not sent you, O Muḥammad, exclusively to these polytheists (mushrikīn) among your people who ascribe partners to Allah, but rather We have sent you to the whole of mankind together — the Arabs among them and the non-Arabs, the red and the black — as a bringer of glad tidings to whoever obeys you, and as a warner to whoever denies you. (وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لا يَعْلَمُونَ / "but most people do not know") that Allah has thus sent you to the whole of mankind.

    And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the exegetes (ahl al-taʾwīl) spoke.

    * Mention of who said that:

    Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His saying (وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلا كَافَّةً لِلنَّاسِ / "And We have sent you only to the whole of mankind"), he said: Allah sent Muḥammad to the Arabs and the non-Arabs, and the most honored among them with Allah is the one who is most obedient to Him.

    It has been related to us that the Prophet of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: "I am the forerunner of the Arabs, and Ṣuhayb is the forerunner of the Romans (Byzantines), and Bilāl is the forerunner of the Abyssinians, and Salmān is the forerunner of the Persians."

    Show original Arabic
    القول في تأويل قوله تعالى : وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلا كَافَّةً لِلنَّاسِ بَشِيرًا وَنَذِيرًا وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لا يَعْلَمُونَ (28) يقول تعالى ذكره: وما أرسلناك يا محمد إلى هؤلاء المشركين بالله من قومك خاصة، ولكنا أرسلناك كافة للناس أجمعين؛ العرب منهم والعجم، والأحمر والأسود، بشيرًا من أطاعك، ونذيرًا من كذبك ( وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لا يَعْلَمُونَ ) أن الله أرسلك كذلك إلى جميع البشر. وبنحو الذي قلنا في ذلك قال أهل التأويل. * ذكر من قال ذلك: حدثنا بشر، قال: ثنا يزيد، قال: ثنا سعيد، عن قتادة قوله ( وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلا كَافَّةً لِلنَّاسِ ) قال: أرسل الله محمدًا إلى العرب والعجم، فأكرمُهُم على الله أطوعهم له. ذكر لنا نبي الله صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّم قال: " أنَا سابِقُ العربِ وصُهيبُ سابِقُ الرُّومِ وبِلالُ سابقُ الحبشةِ وسلْمَانُ سابقُ فارِسَ".