Tafseer of Consultation · Ash-Shura · 42:48
But if they turn away - then We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], over them as a guardian; upon you is only [the duty of] notification. And indeed, when We let man taste mercy from us, he rejoices in it; but if evil afflicts him for what his hands have put forth, then indeed, man is ungrateful.
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 words of the Exalted: فَإِنْ أَعْرَضُوا فَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ عَلَيْهِمْ حَفِيظًا إِنْ عَلَيْكَ إِلا الْبَلاغُ وَإِنَّا إِذَا أَذَقْنَا الإِنْسَانَ مِنَّا رَحْمَةً فَرِحَ بِهَا وَإِنْ تُصِبْهُمْ سَيِّئَةٌ بِمَا قَدَّمَتْ أَيْدِيهِمْ فَإِنَّ الإِنْسَانَ كَفُورٌ (But if they turn away, then We have not sent you as a keeper over them. Upon you rests only the conveyance. And when We let man taste mercy from Us, he rejoices in it; but if an evil befalls them because of what their hands have sent ahead, then man is truly ungrateful) (42:48).
The Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: but if these polytheists (mushrikīn) turn away, O Muḥammad, from the truth that you have brought them, and from the right guidance to which you have called them, and they give you no heed and refuse to accept it from you, then leave them; for We have not sent you to them as an overseer over them, guarding and counting up their deeds.
(إِنْ عَلَيْكَ إِلا الْبَلاغُ) — He says: upon you, O Muḥammad, rests nothing other than that you convey to them the message with which We have sent you to them. When you have conveyed that to them, then you have done what rested upon you.
The Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: and when We enrich the son of Ādam and grant him abundance from Ourselves — and that is the mercy (raḥma) which He, exalted is His praise, mentioned — he rejoices in it. He says: he is gladdened by the wealth We have given him, and by the abundance and great riches with which We have provided him.
(وَإِنْ تُصِبْهُمْ سَيِّئَةٌ) — He says: and if neediness, poverty, and a straitened livelihood befall them.
(بِمَا قَدَّمَتْ أَيْدِيهِمْ) — He says: because of the disobedience to Allah which they have sent ahead, as a punishment for their disobedience to Him, then he denies the favor of Allah and despairs of good.
(فَإِنَّ الإنْسَانَ كَفُورٌ) — the Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: then man is a denier of the favors of his Lord; he enumerates the calamities and denies the favors. He said only (وَإِنْ تُصِبْهُمْ سَيِّئَةٌ) and brought the suffix "hum" (them) in the form of a reference to a plural of masculine persons, whereas before that He had mentioned "man" in the meaning of the singular, because it has the meaning of a plural.
