Tafseer of Yaseen · Yaseen · 36:6
That you may warn a people whose forefathers were not warned, so they are unaware.
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.
Exposition of the interpretation of His statement, the Exalted: li-tundhira qawman mā undhira ābāʾuhum fa-hum ghāfilūn (that you may warn a people whose forefathers were not warned, so that they are heedless) (36:6).
The scholars of interpretation (taʾwīl) differed concerning the interpretation of His statement li-tundhira qawman mā undhira ābāʾuhum (that you may warn a people whose forefathers were not warned). Some of them said: the meaning is: that you may warn a people with that with which Allah warned their forefathers before them.
* Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Simāk, on the authority of ʿIkrima, concerning this verse li-tundhira qawman mā undhira ābāʾuhum (that you may warn a people whose forefathers were warned); he said: they had already been warned.
Others said: no, the meaning of it is: that you may warn a people whose forefathers were not warned.(1)
* Mention of who said that:
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: li-tundhira qawman mā undhira ābāʾuhum (that you may warn a people whose forefathers were warned). Some said: that you may warn a people with that with which their forefathers were warned, namely the warning of the people before them. And some said: that you may warn a people whose forefathers were not warned, that is to say: no warner had come to this community until Muḥammad ﷺ came to them.
The Arabic linguists differed concerning the meaning of the word "mā" in His statement mā undhira ābāʾuhum (... their forefathers ...), when the meaning of the words is taken to imply that their forefathers had indeed been warned, and when no negation is intended by "mā". Some grammarians of Basra said: the meaning of it — when no negation is intended by it — is: that you may warn them of that of which their forefathers were warned, fa-hum ghāfilūn (so that they are heedless). He said: yet the insertion of the "fāʾ" does not fit this meaning, and Allah knows best. He said: the view according to negation is better, so that the meaning of the words becomes: indeed, you are among those sent, sent to a people whose forefathers were not warned, because they lived during the interval (al-fatra).
Some grammarians of Kufa said: when no negation is intended by "mā", then the meaning of the words is: that you may warn them with that with which their forefathers were warned, the "bāʾ" being omitted, so that "mā" stands in the accusative position. fa-hum ghāfilūn (so that they are heedless) means: they are heedless of what Allah will do with His enemies, the polytheists who ascribe partners to Him (al-mushrikīn), namely the descent of His vengeance and the striking against them.
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Footnotes:
(1) That is to say: their forefathers had not been warned.
