Tafseer of The letter Qaaf · Qaaf · 50:45
We are most knowing of what they say, and you are not over them a tyrant. But remind by the Qur'an whoever fears My threat.
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.
Explanation of the words of the Exalted: نَحْنُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا يَقُولُونَ وَمَا أَنْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ بِجَبَّارٍ فَذَكِّرْ بِالْقُرْآنِ مَنْ يَخَافُ وَعِيدِ ("We know best what they say, and you have no power over them; so remind with the Qurʾān whoever fears My threat") (50:45).
The Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, says: We, O Muḥammad, know best what these polytheists (mushrikīn) say about Allah, with their fabrications about Allah, their denial of His signs, and their rejection of Allah's power to resurrect after death. وَمَا أَنْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ بِجَبَّارٍ ("and you have no power over them"), He says: and you are not a ruler over them who can compel them.
As 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 — on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: وَمَا أَنْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ بِجَبَّارٍ ("and you have no power over them"), he said: do not be harsh and tyrannical toward them.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His words وَمَا أَنْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ بِجَبَّارٍ ("and you have no power over them"): for Allah, Mighty and Exalted, abhors tyranny, has forbidden it, and has warned against it. Al-Farrāʾ said: here "jabbār" (oppressor, tyrant) is used in the meaning of ruler, derived from "jabariyya" (tyranny); and he said: al-Mufaḍḍal recited the following to me:
"And on the Day of al-Ḥazn, when Maʿadd gathered together, and all people except us were of one religion; we refused the command of the oppressor (al-jabbār), until we raided the hollow [in the morning] with a thousand marked warriors."
It is also transmitted as "al-jawf" (the hollow). And he said: by "al-jabbār" he meant here the warning ruler on account of his authority.
He said: and it has been said that the meaning of His words وَمَا أَنْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ بِجَبَّارٍ ("and you have no power over them") is: you were not sent to compel them to Islam; you were only sent as an admonisher, so admonish. And he said: the Arabs do not form a "faʿʿāl" pattern from an "afʿaltu" verb; they do not say "hādhā kharrāj" when they mean "mukhrij" (one who brings out), nor do they say "dakhkhāl" when they mean "mudkhil" (one who brings in). They form "faʿʿāl" only from "faʿaltu": they say "kharrāj" from "kharajtu," and "dakhkhāl" from "dakhaltu," and "qattāl" from "qataltu." He said: and the Arabs have in a single case said "darrāk" from "adraktu," but that is exceptional (shādhdh).
He said: so if you take "al-jabbār" in this meaning, then that is a valid interpretation. He said: and I have heard some of the Arabs say "jabara-hu ʿalā al-amr" while they meant "ajbara-hu" (he compelled him); and on the basis of this linguistic form "al-jabbār" is correct, and by it is meant: he who overpowers and compels them.
And His words فَذَكِّرْ بِالْقُرْآنِ مَنْ يَخَافُ وَعِيدِ ("so remind with the Qurʾān whoever fears My threat"), the Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, says: so admonish, O Muḥammad, with this Qurʾān which I have sent down to you, whoever fears the threat with which I have threatened against whoever disobeys Me and opposes My command.
Naṣr ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Awdī related to me, saying: Ḥakkām al-Rāzī related to us, on the authority of Ayyūb, on the authority of ʿAmr al-Mulāʾī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, he said: they said: "O Messenger of Allah, if only you would make us fearful?" Then was revealed فَذَكِّرْ بِالْقُرْآنِ مَنْ يَخَافُ وَعِيدِ ("so remind with the Qurʾān whoever fears My threat").
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Ḥakkām related to us, on the authority of Ayyūb ibn Sayyār Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, on the authority of ʿAmr ibn Qays, he said: they said: "O Messenger of Allah, if only you would admonish us?" — and he mentioned something similar.
End of the explanation of Sūrah Qāf.
