Tafseer of Ornaments of gold · Az-Zukhruf · 43:56
And We made them a precedent and an example for the later peoples.
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: فَجَعَلْنَاهُمْ سَلَفًا وَمَثَلا لِلآخِرِينَ (And We made them a bygone vanguard and an example for those who came later) (43:56).
The reciters differed over the reading of this. Most of the reciters of Kūfa, with the exception of ʿĀṣim, read it as " فَجَعَلْنَاهُمْ سُلُفًا " with a ḍamma on the sīn and the lām, taking this as a plural of salīf among the people, which is the one who goes ahead at the head of a folk. Al-Farrāʾ related that he heard al-Qāsim ibn Maʿn mention that he heard the Arabs say: "A salīf among the people has passed away." And most of the reciters of Medina and Basra, as well as ʿĀṣim, read it: ( فَجَعَلْنَاهُمْ سَلَفًا ) with a fatḥa on the sīn and the lām.
When it is read thus, it may be intended as the plural, the singular, the masculine, and the feminine, for to a folk one says: "You are a salaf (predecessors) for us," and it may also be put in the plural so that one says: "They are aslāf"; and to this bears witness the narration that has been related from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, namely that he said: "The righteous pass away as predecessors (aslāf)."
And Ḥumayd al-Aʿraj recited it: " فَجَعَلْنَاهُمْ سُلَفًا " with a ḍamma on the sīn and a fatḥa on the lām, taking this as a plural of sulfa among the people, like umma (a community) of them and qiṭʿa (a portion).
The most correct reading of this is the reading of the one who read it with a fatḥa on the sīn and the lām, because that is the purest language and the well-known manner of speech among the Arabs, and the most deserving of the languages of the Arabs with which to recite Allah's Book is the most eloquent and best known of them among them. The meaning of the words is then: We made these whom We drowned in the sea from the people of Pharaoh a vanguard going ahead to the Fire, O Muḥammad — the disbelievers of your people among the Quraysh — while the disbelievers of your people follow upon their track.
And as for what we have said about this, the exegetes have spoken accordingly.
* Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, he said: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, he said: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, he said: al-Ḥasan related to us, he said: Warqāʾ related to us — both — on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His saying: ( فَجَعَلْنَاهُمْ سَلَفًا وَمَثَلا لِلآخِرِينَ ) (And We made them a bygone vanguard and an example for those who came later) — he said: the people of Pharaoh, their disbelievers, are a vanguard for the disbelievers of the community of Muḥammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.
Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: ( فَجَعَلْنَاهُمْ سَلَفًا ) (We made them a vanguard) — into the Fire.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, he said: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar: ( فَجَعَلْنَاهُمْ سَلَفًا ) (We made them a vanguard) — he said: a vanguard to the Fire.
And His saying: ( وَمَثَلا لِلآخِرِينَ ) (and an example for those who came later) means: and a lesson and admonition by which the communities after them take warning, so that they cease to deny Allah. And as for what we have said about this, the exegetes have spoken accordingly.
* Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, he said: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, he said: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, he said: al-Ḥasan related to us, he said: Warqāʾ related to us — both — on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, from Mujāhid: ( وَمَثَلا لِلآخِرِينَ ) (and an example for those who came later) — he said: a lesson for whoever comes after them.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, he said: Abū Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda: ( وَمَثَلا لِلآخِرِينَ ) (and an example for those who came later) — that is to say: an admonition for those who came later.
Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: ( وَمَثَلا لِلآخِرِينَ ) (and an example for those who came later) — that is to say: an admonition for whoever comes after them.
Muḥammad related to us, he said: Aḥmad related to us, he said: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: ( فَجَعَلْنَاهُمْ سَلَفًا وَمَثَلا ) (And We made them a vanguard and an example) — he said: a lesson.
