Page 432
wa-qālū naḥnu ʾaktharu ʾamwālan wa-ʾawlādan wa-mā naḥnu bi-muʿadhdhabīna
They say, ‘We have greater wealth and more children, and we will not be punished!’
— Ali Quli Qarai
34Saba’سبأVerse 35 of 54
Sheba34. Saba’سبأ
Saba’
Sheba
MeccanVerse 35 of 54
Surah As-Saba- Verses 34-35
34. “And We sent no Warner into any city except the opulent ones of it said: ‘Verily we are disbelievers in what you are sent with’.”
35. “They also said: ‘We are more (than you) in wealth and children and we shall not be punished’.”
Opposition with the holy Prophet of Islam (S) is not a new thing, while former people used to oppose other Divine prophets, too. Since the words in previous verses were about the proud people’s temptation (seduction), the verses under discussion introduce a part of this seduction and, in the meanwhile it also consoles the holy Prophet of Islam (S) indicating that if a group of people oppose you, you may not surprise, because the opposition of the rich tyrants against the true prophets has been a constant style of theirs.
Allah says:
The Qur’anic word /naŏir/ means: ‘Warner’. It refers to the Divine prophets who warned people by Allah’s punishment against their deviations, cruelties, sins, and corruptions. Here the Arabic phrase /mutrafuha/ is the plural form of /mutraf/ derived from /taraf/ in the sense of ‘prosperity’, and /mutraf/ is used in the sense of ‘prosperity’. The Arabic word /mutraf/ is applied for the one whose affluence of bounty and welfare of life has made him proud, and neglectful, and has caused him to be disobedient.2
Yes, those who were in the first row of the opponents of the Divine prophets (as) were usually from this group of disobedient neglectful people of prosperity. Since, on one side, they saw the teachings of the prophets as a hinder for their pleasures and lusts, and on the other side, they were defenders of the deprive that by usurpation of whose rights had reached to this dazzling life, and on the third side, in order to guard their wealth and properly, they always used the power of government, and in all these instances they found the Divine prophets in their opposite situation, then they immediately decided to stand against them.
It is wonderful that they did not emphasize on a particular divine ordinance or instruction, but they generally said:
They insisted not to be with them even for a step, which itself is the best proof for their obstinacy and enmity against the truth. This is an important matter which the Qur’an has disclosed through different verses: that the deprived were often the first group of people who accepted the invitation of the Divine prophets, and the proud people, who were in prosperity, were also the first group of people who began opposition. Certainly the deniers of the Divine prophets’ call were not allocated to this group; the factors of mischief and claimers of polytheism and superstitions were those who ceaselessly tried to forcefully drug others towards themselves.
This very meaning is also mentioned in Surah Az-Zukhruf, No. 43, verse 23; Surah Hud, No. 11, verse 116; and also in Surah Mu’minun, No. 23, verse 33. This group oppose not only against the Divine prophets, but also against any step of improvement that may be taken from the side of any learned reformer and any studious scholar. In order to confuse the programs of the reformers, they often conspire and commit any crime they can. Next verse refers to their futile logic to which they betake all times to prove their superiority and to beguile common people.
It announces:
They say that Allah has affection to them because He has given them both abundant wealth and plenty of human power, and this is the evidence for His grace upon them and the sign for their rank and near position to Him, so He will not punish them, the near- stationed ones! The verse continues saying:
Does Allah punish His beloved? If we were banished from His presence, why would He give us so many bounties? In short, our world being bountiful itself is a clear reason for the good of our Hereafter. Some of the commentators believe that the Qur’anic sentence: /wa ma nahnu bi mu‘aŏŏabin/ (we shall not be punished) is probably a reason that they denied the Hereafter and punishment entirely, while the later verses show that this sentence does not imply this meaning but their purpose has been in this that, for the reason of their wealth, they are nigh to Allah.
Footnotes