The Poets (Al-Shu‘ara’)
Verses 198-203 GROUP_966 26.198-203
198
وَلَوْ نَزَّلْنَاهُ عَلَى بَعْضِ الْأَعْجَمِينَ
Had We revealed it to any one of the non-Arabs,
199
فَقَرَأَهُ عَلَيْهِم مَّا كَانُوا بِهِ مُؤْمِنِينَ
and he had recited it to them, they would not have believed in it.
200
كَذَلِكَ سَلَكْنَاهُ فِي قُلُوبِ الْمُجْرِمِينَ
We have thus caused denial of truth to enter into the hearts of the sinners:
201
لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ حَتَّى يَرَوُا الْعَذَابَ الْأَلِيمَ
they will not believe in it until they see the grievous punishment.
202
فَيَأْتِيَهُم بَغْتَةً وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ
It will come upon them suddenly when they are not expecting it.
203
فَيَقُولُوا هَلْ نَحْنُ مُنظَرُونَ
Then they will exclaim, ‘Could we have some respite?’
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Commentary
(a) The Quran was revealed in the Arabic language, which was also the mother tongue of the Prophet who presented it. This gave those who denied the truth the opportunity to allege that the Quran was this Prophet’s own creation. They said that, being an Arab, he had authored the Quran in Arabic. But the tenor of this objection itself clearly shows that it is lacking in seriousness. Indeed those who are not serious about matters of importance always find some flimsy excuse or the other to be critical of them. For example, if this Arabic Quran had been revealed to a non-Arab and if that person, in spite of not knowing Arabic, had recited the Arabic Quran to them, they would have immediately said that he was being tutored by some Arab. For those who lead worldly lives, any admission of Truth amounts to negating themselves. When Truth appears before them and they do not accept it, having given more importance to personal considerations, they are so conditioned to their worldly ways, that they are unable to revise their thinking and acknowledge the truth, specially when it goes against their interests.