Tafseer of Yaseen · Yaseen · 36:14
When We sent to them two but they denied them, so We strengthened them with a third, and they said, "Indeed, we are messengers to you."
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.
And His statement ( When We sent to them two, and they both denied them, We reinforced them with a third ) — the Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, says: when We sent to them two who summoned them to Allah, and they both denied them, We reinforced both of them with a third and strengthened them thereby.
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the exegetes (ahl al-taʾwīl) have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both together — on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His statement ( We reinforced them with a third ): he said: We strengthened them.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Ḥakkām related to us, on the authority of ʿAnbasa, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, on the authority of al-Qāsim ibn Abī Bazza, on the authority of Mujāhid concerning His statement ( We reinforced them with a third ): he said: We increased them.
Yūnus related to us, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said, concerning His statement ( We reinforced them with a third ): he said: We made them three; he said: that is the reinforcement (al-taʿazzuz); he said: and the reinforcement means: strength.
And His statement ( and they said: verily, we have been sent to you ) means: the three messengers said to the inhabitants of the city: verily we have been sent to you, O people, that you may devote worship purely to Allah alone, ascribing no partner to Him, and that you may free yourselves from those gods and idols that you worship.
And with the doubling (tashdīd) in His statement ( We reinforced ) the reciters have read, with the exception of ʿĀṣim, for he read it with the lightening (takhfīf). The recitation according to us is with the doubling, on account of the agreement of the authoritative proof of the reciters upon it, and because its meaning, when it is doubled, is: We strengthened; and when it is lightened: We overcame; and "We overcame" has no real meaning in this place.
