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ka-dhālika ʾarsalnāka fī ʾummatin qad khalat min qablihā ʾumamun li-tatluwa ʿalayhimu lladhī ʾawḥaynā ʾilayka wa-hum yakfurūna bi-r-raḥmāni qul huwa rabbī lā ʾilāha ʾillā huwa ʿalayhi tawakkaltu wa-ʾilayhi matābi
Thus have We sent you to a nation before which many nations have passed away, that you may recite to them what We have revealed to you. Yet they defy the All-beneficent. Say, ‘He is my Lord; there is no god except Him; in Him I have put my trust, and to Him will be my return.’
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah Ar-Ra‘d – Verse 30
30. “Thus did We send you among a nation before whom (other) nations have (come and) passed away, in order that you might recite to them whatever We have revealed to you, whereas they reject the Beneficent (Allah). Say: ‘He is my Lord, there is no god but He; on Him only I rely, and unto Him is my return.”
We have already discussed about the Divine blessings which are conferred upon the people who are believers and the righteous and the rewards they deserve. Now, Allah (s.w.t.) deals with the blessing of the prophetic mission bestowed on the highly-esteemed Prophet of Islam (S), implying that as We provided the believers and the righteous with the blessings of reward, We designated your Ummat with the utmost blessing of your celestial prophetic mission.
Some commentators have argued that this signifies that: As We commissioned prophets for previous nations, We thus also sent you for the nation of Islam. Your nation is not the first one. Before this nation, there have also been other nations and tribes as well. The verse says:
“Thus did We send you among a nation before whom (other) nations have (come and) passed away…”
The main purpose and objective of your heavenly mission is to read to them the Qur’an, which is Our revelation revealed to you, so as to enable them to engage in meditation about its instructive contents and topics and learn admonitions and draw lessons from them. However, the tribe of Quraysh are blasphemous about ‘Rahman’ (the Beneficent) and say that they know ‘Allah’, but they do not know Rahman (The Beneficent). The Prophet (S) was commanded to tell them that ‘Rahman’ (The Beneficent) is his Lord, the One Whom they deny and ignore, and Who is unique and peerless.
The Beneficent is his Creator and his administrator to whom he has left all his affairs to administer, and he has made allegiance to His obedience and submit to His verdict. And his return is towards Him and his repentance involves Him alone. The verse continues saying:
“…in order that you might recite to them whatever We have revealed to you, whereas they reject the Beneficent (Allah). Say: ‘He is my Lord, there is no god but He; on Him only I rely, and unto Him is my return.”
Explanations
1- The prophetic mission of the blissful Prophet (S) has occurred among the nation of Arabs, yet other verses of the Qur’an are explicit in declaring that he is the prophet of all nations.
“And We have not sent you but to all mankind…” 28
2- The prophetic mission of the godly prophets is a Divine tradition and it is based on His grace and His blessings. And the duty which is incumbent on the prophets is conveying the Divine revelations and ordinances to the people. 3- Reasons and rationale for our faith in Allah and the issues involved are: His Lordship (my Lord), His Unitarianism (there is no god but He), His provision of asylum for all (I rely only on Him), and our return is to Him (unto Him is my return).
Footnotes