Tafseer of The Dunes · Al-Ahqaf · 46:8
Or do they say, "He has invented it?" Say, "If I have invented it, you will not possess for me [the power of protection] from Allah at all. He is most knowing of that in which you are involved. Sufficient is He as Witness between me and you, and He is the Forgiving the Merciful."
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: أَمْ يَقُولُونَ افْتَرَاهُ قُلْ إِنِ افْتَرَيْتُهُ فَلا تَمْلِكُونَ لِي مِنَ اللَّهِ شَيْئًا هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا تُفِيضُونَ فِيهِ كَفَى بِهِ شَهِيدًا بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَكُمْ وَهُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ (46:8) (Or do they say: he has fabricated it? Say: if I have fabricated it, then you have no power to avail me anything against Allah. He knows best concerning that in which you indulge. He suffices as a witness between me and you, and He is the Forgiving, the Merciful).
The Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, says: or do these polytheists in Allah from the Quraysh say: Muḥammad has fabricated this Qurʾān, that is, he himself has invented it and contrived it as a lie? Say to them, O Muḥammad: if I have fabricated it and contrived it as a lie against Allah, ( فَلا تَمْلِكُونَ لِي ) (then you have no power to avail me ... anything), he says: then you will avail me nothing against Allah, if He punishes me for my fabricating it and my contriving it against Him, and you will not be able to ward off any harm from me if He strikes me with it.
And His words ( هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا تُفِيضُونَ فِيهِ ): he says: my Lord knows more than anything else besides Him about what you say among yourselves concerning this Qurʾān. And the hāʾ in His words ( تُفِيضُونَ فِيهِ ) (in which you indulge) refers to the mention of the Qurʾān.
And in accordance with what we have said concerning the meaning of His words ( تُفِيضُونَ فِيهِ ), the exegetes 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 of them — on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His words ( إِذْ تُفِيضُونَ فِيهِ ), he said: you say.
And His words ( كَفَى بِهِ شَهِيدًا بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَكُمْ ): he says: Allah suffices as a witness over me and over you, concerning what you say in your denial of me regarding that with which I have come to you from Allah, the Forgiving, the Merciful toward them, in that He does not punish them for it after their repentance from it.
