Al-Furqaan 25:31
The Criterion · ayah 31 of 77
Wakathalika jaAAalna likullinabiyyin AAaduwwan mina almujrimeena wakafa birabbika hadiyanwanaseera
Saheeh International translation
Other English translations
Abdel Haleem (Oxford)+
"but We have always appointed adversaries from the wicked, for every prophet: Your Lord is sufficient guide and helper."
Pickthall (classic)+
"Even so have We appointed unto every prophet an opponent from among the guilty; but Allah sufficeth for a Guide and Helper."
Yusuf Ali (classic)+
"Thus have We made for every prophet an enemy among the sinners: but enough is thy Lord to guide and to help."
Tafsīr · classical commentary
Ibn Kathir
Abridged English, public domain
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Ibn Kathir
Abridged English, public domain
The Messenger will complain against His Opponents
Allah tells how His Messenger and Prophet Muhammad ﷺ will say: "O my Lord! Verily, my people deserted this Qur'an." The idolators would not listen to the Qur'an, as Allah says:
وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ لاَ تَسْمَعُواْ لِهَـذَا الْقُرْءَانِ وَالْغَوْاْ فِيهِ
(And those who disbelieve say: "Listen not to this Qur'an, and make noise in the midst of it.") (41:26). When he would recite Qur'an to them, they would talk nonsense or speak about something else, so that they would not hear it. This is a form of forsaking it and rejecting it, and not believing in it is the same as forsaking it, and not pondering its meanings and trying to understand it is the same as forsaking it, and not acting upon it and following its commandments and heeding its prohibitions is the same as forsaking it, and turning away from it in favor of poetry or other words or songs or idle talk or some other way is the same as forsaking it. We ask Allah, the Most Generous, the Bestower of bounty, the One Who is able to do what He wills, to keep us safe from doing that which earns His wrath and to use us to do that which will earn His pleasure of preserving and understanding His Book, following its commandments night and day in the manner which He loves and which pleases Him, for He is Generous and Kind.
وَكَذَلِكَ جَعَلْنَا لِكُلِّ نَبِىٍّ عَدُوّاً مِّنَ الْمُجْرِمِينَ
(Thus have We made for every Prophet an enemy among the criminals.) means, `just as there is for you, O Muhammad, those people who scorned the Qur'an, so in all the previous nations did Allah make for every Prophet an enemy among the criminals, who called people to their misguidance and disbelief,' as Allah says:
وَكَذَلِكَ جَعَلْنَا لِكُلِّ نِبِىٍّ عَدُوّاً شَيَـطِينَ الإِنْسِ وَالْجِنِّ
(And so We have appointed for every Prophet enemies -- Shayatin among mankind and Jinn) as stated in these two Ayat. (6:112) Allah says here:
وَكَفَى بِرَبِّكَ هَادِياً وَنَصِيراً
(But sufficient is your Lord as a Guide and Helper.) meaning, for the one who follows His Messenger and believes in His Book, Allah will be his Guide and Helper in this world and the Hereafter. Allah says
هَادِياً وَنَصِيراً
(a Guide and Helper.) because the idolators used to try to prevent people from following the Qur'an lest anyone be guided by it. They wanted their way to prevail over the way of the Qur'an. Allah says:
وَكَذَلِكَ جَعَلْنَا لِكُلِّ نَبِىٍّ عَدُوّاً مِّنَ الْمُجْرِمِينَ
(Thus have We made for every Prophet an enemy among the criminals.)
Tafsir Saʿdi
English translation, public domain
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Tafsir Saʿdi
English translation, public domain
Maʿārif al-Qur'ān
Mufti Shafi Usmani, English
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Maʿārif al-Qur'ān
Mufti Shafi Usmani, English
The next verse reads وَكَذٰلِكَ جَعَلْنَا لِكُلِّ نَبِيٍّ عَدُوًّا مِّنَ الْمُجْرِمِيْنَ (In a similar way We made for every prophet an enemy from among the sinners - 25:31). It means that if your adversaries do not accept Qur'an, it is not something new. In the past as well people have defied Our message and the messengers had to contend with that. The best course for you also is to be contended.
Abandoning to follow Qur'an is a great sin
On the face of it abandonment of Qur'an means its denial or non non-acceptance, which is expected only from the infidels. However, in certain traditions it is reported that those Muslim who do believe in the Qur'an but neither they read it nor try to follow it fall as much within the ambit of this category of people. Sayyidna Anas ؓ has quoted the Holy Prophet ﷺ as saying:
من تعلّم القرآن و علّق مصحفہ لم یتعاھدہ ولم ینظر فیہ جاء یوم القیامۃ متعلقا بہ یقول : یا ربّ العالمین ان عبدک ھذا اتخزنی مھجوراً فاقض بینی و بینہ ۔ ذکرہ الثعلبی (قرطبی)
The person who has learnt Qur'an and then hanged it (on the wall), neither he recites it routinely nor ponders over its injunctions will be brought on the Doomsday with Qur'an hanging by his neck with a sling, and will complain before Allah Ta’ ala 'this servant of Yours had abandoned me, so decide between me and him". (Qurtubi)
Tafsīr sourced from quran.com's open API. These are classical commentaries; for personal rulings consult a qualified scholar.