Ṣād

قُلْ مَآ أَسْأَلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ أَجْرٍ وَمَآ أَنَاْ مِنَ الْمُتَكَلّـِفِينَ

إِنْ هُوَ إِلاَّ ذِكْرٌ لِلْعَالَمِينَ

وَلَتَعْلَمُنَّ نَبَأَهُ بَعْدَ حِينٍ

86. “(O Prophet!) say: ‘No reward do I ask of you for it, nor am I of the impostors.”

87. “It is naught but a Reminder unto the Worlds,”

88. “And you shall certainly know its tiding after a while’.”

A preacher must announce his unexpected demand to people. The condition of succession in preaching is the lack of expectation from people. The Divine prophets not only had no material expectation but also had not any kind of wish from people and they were not a bore over people either. So, the first verse says:

And thus he (S) puts an end to the pretexts of the pretext-seekers, and makes clear that he wishes only their prosperity and happiness. He demands no material reward nor spiritual one from government, and his reward is only on Allah, as it is explicitly mentioned in other verses of the Qur’an, including: Surah As-Saba, No. 34, verse 47 which says:

This by itself is one of the proofs of the truthfulness of the Prophet (S), because a false claimer suggests his claim for some things and his demands, however, will be clear through his statements. And in the second stage he implies that he is not of the impostors, his statements are based on proof and logic and there is no adulation in them. His sentences are clear and his speech is free from any ambiguity and complication. The verse continues saying:

The first sentence, in fact, is about the qualities of the inviter, and the second sentence is about the kind of invitation and its content and, indeed, it proves itself. In the third stage, which is found in the next verse, it indicates that the main aim of this great invitation is the descent of this heavenly Book. It implies that this Qur’an is only a means of admonition and awareness for all the worlds. It says:

Yes, it is important that people come out of negligence and do contemplate, because the way is clear and its signs are manifest. There is a pure nature inside the man’s entity which leads him and attracts him to the line of Monotheism and piety. The important thing is awareness, and the main duty of prophets and the heavenly Books is this very thing. This application, the like of which is not so few in the Holy Qur’an, shows that the content of the invitation of prophet, in all stages, is consistent with the God-given nature and these two go forward with together.

Through the third verse, the Holy Qur’an threatens the opponents by some short but expressive sentences. It says:

You may take these words insignificant and pass by them heedlessly, but soon the truthfulness of these words will be made manifest. You will see them both in this world: in the battle-fields of Muslims and pagans, in the social and mental realms, in the Divine punishments, and in the other world by means of painful punishments of Allah. In short, whatever I told you, you will observe by your own eyes in its appropriate time. However, the lash of Allah is ready and soon it will come down on the back of oppressors and the proud ones.

Who is an Imposter?

In the above verses (verse 86) we recited that one of the honours the Prophet (S) counted for himself was that he was not of the ‘Impostors’. In Islamic narrations there are a lot of discussions about the signs of impostors and their qualities, including the tradition recorded in the Commentary of Jawami‘-ul-Jami‘ narrated from the Prophet (S). It says:

“An imposter has three signs: He always quarrels with those who are above him, he follows some affairs to which he never reaches, and he speaks of some matters about which he has no knowledge.” ¹²

In another tradition in the Prophet’s recommendations (S) to Hadrat ‘Ali (as) we recite:

“An impostor has three signs:

1) He flatters at one’s presence,

2) He backbites in one’s absence,

3) At the time of calamity, he begins taunting.” ¹³

However, it is understood from some of the narrations recorded in Nur-uth-Thaqalayn that at the end an imposter will not have any consequence save meanness and humility, and just today he has also no share but pain, trouble, and disquiet. The apparent of an imposter is hypocrisy, and his innate is sedition and he always flies with these two wings.

O’ Allah! Grant us a success that we can repel all traces of adulation, sedition, and disobedience from us.

O’ Allah! Set us in the row of the sincere ones whom You support and protect and Satan, the tempter, is hopeless of them.

O’ Allah! Give us that kind of awareness that we can stand to survive the content of this Great Qur’an, to be able to gather all the powers of the Muslims throughout the world, and to step forward firmly in Your path, so that we can overcome the enemies of the truth. Amen, O the Lord of the Worlds.

Footnotes

1. 12. Al-Mizan, Jawami‘-ul-Jami‘, Nur-uth-Thaqalayn following the verse
2. 13. Nur-uth-Thaqalayn, Following the verse