Ash-Shura 42:51 · Consultation · Arabic, translation, recitation

Other English translations

Abdel Haleem (Oxford)+

"It is not granted to any mortal that God should speak to him except through revelation or from behind a veil, or by sending a messenger to reveal by His command what He will: He is exalted and wise."

Pickthall (classic)+

"And it was not (vouchsafed) to any mortal that Allah should speak to him unless (it be) by revelation or from behind a veil, or (that) He sendeth a messenger to reveal what He will by His leave. Lo! He is Exalted, Wise."

Yusuf Ali (classic)+

"It is not fitting for a man that Allah should speak to him except by inspiration, or from behind a veil, or by the sending of a messenger to reveal, with Allah's permission, what Allah wills: for He is Most High, Most Wise."

Tafsīr · classical commentary

Ibn Kathir

Abridged English, public domain

How the Revelation comes down

This refers to how Allah sends revelation. Sometimes He casts something into the heart of the Prophet , and he has no doubt that it is from Allah, as it was reported in Sahih Ibn Hibban that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

«إِنَّ رُوْحَ الْقُدُسِ نَفَثَ فِي رُوعِي أَنَّ نَفْسًا لَنْ تَمُوتَ حَتْى تَسْتَكْمِلَ رِزْقَهَا وَأَجَلَهَا، فَاتَّقُوا اللهَ وَأَجْمِلُوا فِي الطَّلَب»

(Ar-Ruh Al-Qudus i.e., Jibril breathed into my heart that no soul will die until its allotted provision and time have expired, so have Taqwa of Allah and keep seeking in a good (and lawful) way.)

أَوْ مِن وَرَآءِ حِجَابٍ

(or from behind a veil) -- as He spoke to Musa, peace be upon him. He asked to see Him after He had spoken to him, but this was not granted to him. In the Sahih, it recorded that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to Jabir bin `Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with him:

«مَا كَلَّمَ اللهُ أَحَدًا إِلَّا مِنْ وَرَاءِ حِجَابٍ، وَإِنَّهُ كَلَّمَ أَبَاكَ كِفَاحًا»

(Allah never speaks to anyone except from behind a veil, but He spoke to your father directly.) This is how it was stated in the Hadith. He Jabir's father was killed on the day of Uhud, but this refers to the realm of Al-Barzakh, whereas the Ayah speaks of this earthly realm.

أَوْ يُرْسِلَ رَسُولاً فَيُوحِىَ بِإِذْنِهِ مَا يَشَآءُ

(or (that) He sends a Messenger to reveal what He wills by His leave.) as Jibril, peace be upon him, and other angels came down to the Prophets, peace be upon them.

إِنَّهُ عَلِىٌّ حَكِيمٌ

(Verily, He is Most High, Most Wise.) He is Most High, All-Knowing, Most Wise.

وَكَذَلِكَ أَوْحَيْنَآ إِلَيْكَ رُوحاً مِّنْ أَمْرِنَا

(And thus We have sent to you Ruh of Our command.) means, the Qur'an.

مَا كُنتَ تَدْرِى مَا الْكِتَـبُ وَلاَ الإِيمَـنُ

(You knew not what is the Book, nor what is Faith.) means, `in the details which were given to you in the Qur'an.'

وَلَـكِن جَعَلْنَـهُ

(But We have made it) means, the Qur'an,

نُوراً نَّهْدِى بِهِ مَن نَّشَآءُ مِنْ عِبَادِنَا

(a light wherewith We guide whosoever of Our servants We will. ) This is like the Ayah:

قُلْ هُوَ لِلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ هُدًى وَشِفَآءٌ وَالَّذِينَ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ فِى ءَاذَانِهِمْ وَقْرٌ وَهُوَ عَلَيْهِمْ عَمًى

(Say: "It is for those who believe, a guide and a healing. And as for those who disbelieve, there is heaviness (deafness) in their ears, and it (the Qur'an) is blindness for them.") (41:44).

وَأَنَّكَ

(And verily, you) means, `O Muhammad,'

لَتَهْدِى إِلَى صِرَطٍ مُّسْتَقِيمٍ

(are indeed guiding to a straight path.) means, the correct behavior. Then Allah explains this further by saying:

صِرَطِ اللَّهِ

(The path of Allah) meaning, His Laws which He enjoins.

الَّذِى لَهُ مَا فِى السَّمَـوَتِ وَمَا فِى الاٌّرْضِ

(to Whom belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on the earth.) means, their Lord and Sovereign, the One Who is controlling and ruling them, Whose decree cannot be overturned.

أَلاَ إِلَى اللَّهِ تَصِيرُ الاٍّمُورُ

(Verily, all matters at the end go to Allah.) means, all matters come back to Him and He issues judgement concerning them. Glorified and exalted be He far above all that the evildoers and deniers say. This is the end of the Tafsir of Surat Ash-Shura

Commentary

The first of the above verses (51) was revealed in response to a hostile Jewish demand. As mentioned by Baghawl, Qurtubi and others, the Jews asked the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، "How can we believe in you while you neither see Allah Ta’ ala, nor do you speak to Him face to face, as Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) used to see and converse with Allah Ta’ ala?"

The Holy Prophet ﷺ told the Jews that it is wrong to say that Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) has seen Allah Ta’ ala. Then this verse was revealed to announce that it is not possible for any human being to converse with Allah Ta'ala face to face in this world. Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) also did not hear Allah Ta'ala face to face, but only heard the voice from behind a curtain.

This verse also tells us that there are only three ways in which Allah Ta'ala speaks to a human being. One is ` wahy' which is infusion of something in the heart. It can happen while one is awake, and it can also happen during sleep in the form of a dream as stated in many ahadith that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said, اُلقِیَ فی روعی (This has been infused in my heart. And the dreams of the prophets (علیہم السلام) are also a form of wahy, because Shaitan cannot find his way in them. In case of dreams, the words do not usually come from Allah Ta’ ala; only the subject matter is infused in the mind which is then rendered by the prophets in their own words.

The second way in which Allah may address a person, as mentioned in the above verses, is that Allah speaks from behind a curtain, as happened to Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) on Mount Tur, where he heard the speech of Allah Ta’ ala, but did not see Him. Therefore he asked Allah Ta'ala to show Himself. The reply was in negative, as mentioned by the Holy Qur'an in surah A'raf (7:143).

And this curtain which prevents man from seeing Allah Ta'ala is not something which can hide Allah Ta’ ala, because nothing can hide His All-Pervasive Light. Rather, it is the weakness of man's vision that becomes a curtain against seeing Allah. That is why when his vision would be strengthened in Paradise, every dweller of Heaven will be favoured with ability to see Allah Ta’ ala, as per the creed of Ahl-us-Sunnah wal-Jama` ah in accordance with the explanations of correct ahadith.

This rule that no one can converse face to face with Allah Ta’ ala, without any curtain in-between, pertains to this world. The specific mention of ` human being' in this verse is because the intention here is to address mankind. Otherwise, apparently Allah Ta'ala does not speak face to face even with the angels, as stated by Sayyidna Jibra'i1 (علیہ السلام) in a narration of Tirmidhi, "I had become very close, and yet there were seventy-thousand more curtains." And if the face to face conversation of the Holy Prophet ﷺ with Allah Ta'ala during the Night of Ascension (Lailat-ul-mi` raj) is proved, as stated by certain learned persons, it would not negate this rule, because that conversation did not take place in this world, but in the Heavens. (Allah knows best).

The third method is mentioned in the verse as أَوْ يُرْ‌سِلَ رَ‌سُولًا "that He sends a messenger" (42:51). The messenger could be Jibra'il (علیہ السلام) or any other angel who may carry Allah Ta’ ala's message, and read it out to the prophet. And this has been the most common way. The whole of Glorious Qur'an has been revealed in this fashion through angels. It should be noted that the word ` wahy' has been explained above to mean infusion in mind or heart only, but this word is often used for all kinds of Divine discourses also, as narrated in a lengthy hadith of Bukhari where the message sent through an angel has also been termed as one kind of ` wahy'. And there are two forms in which the angel carries the message. Sometimes he appears in his original form, and sometimes in the human form. (Allah knows best).