حَتّىٰ إِذَا استَيأَسَ الرُّسُلُ وَظَنّوا أَنَّهُم قَد كُذِبوا جاءَهُم نَصرُنا فَنُجِّيَ مَن نَشاءُ ۖ وَلا يُرَدُّ بَأسُنا عَنِ القَومِ المُجرِمينَ
When the apostles lost hope and they thought that they had been told lies, Our help came to them, and We delivered whomever We wished, and Our punishment will not be averted from the guilty lot.
EXEGESIS
Istay՚asa (lost hope) has the same meaning as yaʾisa meaning despair. As discussed in verse 80, the form istayʾasa has a reflexive meaning implied by form eight (iftaʿala),[1] meaning to feel despair. It has been argued that istayʾasa could have the meaning of approaching despair without truly feeling despair,[2] but that understanding seems contrived to fit this verse, rather than the actual meaning of the word, especially considering its usage in verse 80.
Nujjiya (we delivered) was originally nunjiya, however the second nūn has been assimilated in jīm which has taken a shaddah to indicate the contraction. It is the first person plural present tense of anjā, meaning to rescue from harm.
The Quran uses both the forms nunajjī and nunjī. See 10:103 and 19:72 vis-à-vis verse 21:88. Noteworthily, in the latter verse the word nunjī is written without the first nūn, but it is pronounced. These differences in pronunciation and spelling are common in languages and can be compared to something like ‘can not’, ‘cannot’, and ‘can’t’ in English, where the original phrase is abbreviated twice. It is good to also keep in mind that at the time when the Quran was inscribed, written Arabic was still in its early stages and orthographic conventions were not yell fully formed.
Ba՚s (punishment) means toughness, severity, and that which is detested. It can mean hardship, then We seized them with stress (baʾsāʾ) and distress (6:42). It can also mean power and martial prowess, for Allah is greatest in might (baʾs) and severest in punishment (4:84).[3] There is a difference between baʾs and harm (ḍarar); the latter is more general and includes all harm, whist the former can only be caused by a rational actor. When that rational actor is the all-powerful God, one should be fully aware that there is no escaping or turning away that punishment if it is decreed.[4]
Mujrimīn (guilty lot) is the plural of the active participle mujrim, from jurm, which originally means to cut off fruit from a tree.[5] It intends the one who ‘cuts off without right’, hence it refers to a criminal. Jurm is also used to refer to sin (dhanb), as the one who sins is cutting themselves off from God.[6]
EXPOSITION
The previous verse spoke of the destruction of past nations who had disbelieved in their prophets. This verse continues explaining the preconditions for such a destruction to befall a people. Divine punishment was not hastened in this world unless it became certain that a nation would not believe. Only once the prophets became certain that their people would not believe and would not obey God’s commands, divine punishment befell them. Even in that case, God would rescue the believers and only punish the wrongdoers.
When the apostles lost hope: when God’s messengers – who were human men, as was the Prophet Muhammad (s), raised from among established communities – summoned their people to divine truth, they faced relentless rejection. Their calls went unheeded, their warnings met only with stubborn disbelief. This persistence in rebellion ultimately led the messengers to that profound moment of realisation – a despair (yaʾs) born not of weakness, but of divine confirmation that their people’s hearts had sealed themselves against guidance. This spiritual resignation did not mark the failure of prophecy, but the fulfilment of God’s justice; when persistent rejection crosses the threshold of divine forbearance, it leaves only the enactment of God’s inevitable decree. The example of Prophet Noah (a) may be cited, who received the revelation that none of your people will believe except those who already have (11:36), or that of Prophet Moses (a) confronting Pharaoh’s arrogance.
We might ask: is this not in contradiction with what we were told earlier in the surah, do not despair of Allah’s mercy. Indeed, no one despairs of Allah’s mercy except the faithless lot (verse 87)? How could it be that the messengers of God should lose hope for their people and become certain that they would never repent and accept guidance? The answer is that this despair was not regarding the mercy of God, but a recognition of the spiritual illness within their people who would not believe and accept the truth.
And they thought that they had been told lies: the pronoun they should refer to the those who rejected the prophets. It means: when the people assumed the messengers were lying about the punishment, Our victory came;[7] and God knows best.
Our help came to them: by destroying the enemies of the believers,[8] as evidenced by the following statement, which tells of how the believers were delivered from that punishment. It is noteworthy how the help of God is framed as the destruction of their enemies.
And We delivered whomever We wished: it is the custom of God to save the believers from the catastrophes that would destroy the faithless lot, as attested to by numerous other verses such as 30:47, 11:58, 11:66, 11:94, and others. This surah has also been a beautiful example of how God pays special attention and care to the believers and helps them through trials, even if they are surrounded by wrongdoers.
And Our punishment will not be averted from the guilty lot: the divine plan will always be fulfilled and rebellion against it will not avert its course, but will simply bring harm to the one at odds with it.
Thus far the surah has been emphasising that God carries out His plan in a subtle manner[9] without robbing His servants of their free will or utilising overwhelming force, rather He does so by simply taking into account all their choices. However, now in this penultimate verse we are reminded that sometimes God must indeed take more assertive action, and when all of a people turn away from the call of His prophets, He will replace that generation with another, and if you turn away He will replace you with another people, and they will not be like you (47:38).
INSIGHTS FROM HADITH
- From Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Jahm, that Imam al-Riḍā (a) was asked about this verse by the caliph Maʾmūn, and he replied: ‘When the apostles lost hope in their people, and their people thought that the messengers had been told lies, then Our help came to the messengers.’[10]
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
The ambiguity of the pronouns in this verse has once again sparked discussion amongst the exegetes. Similarly, the statements of losing hope and thinking they had been lied to have been heavily debated, so much so that Subḥānī considers this one of the difficult verses of the Quran.[11]
One suggestion is that and they thought that they had been told lies is referring to the prophets, who thought their people had lied to them; meaning that they thought even many of those amongst their people who had proclaimed faith were lying and only pretending,[12] or that the difficulty of the trials they faced and the pressure from society had caused them to abandon their faith.[13] This interpretation would not require assuming any change in subjects.
If we are to accept the interpretation we mentioned in the Exposition (that and they thought that they had been told lies is referring to the disbelievers), it entails that the verb they thought here is not referring to apostles, even though they are the group that is mentioned immediately before. In reply to this problem, the exegetes have posited that when ‘messengers’ (rusul) are mentioned it implies that there are those who have been sent a message, which is whom the verse is referring to.[14] This is similar to saying for example ‘the king sent a messenger, but they refused to receive him’, where it is understood that ‘they’ is referring to the ones to whom the message was sent. Others have mused that the earlier verse declared Have they not travelled over the land, and they are the ones being referred to here.[15] Of course, as we said, this interpretation requires that we accept the pronoun has switched once from apostles to the disbelievers.
Some commentators have suggested that and they thought that they had been told lies refers to the followers of the prophets, who despaired of God’s promised help, thinking it would not come, and thought they had been lied to regarding that,[16] similar to when some Muslims despaired during the Battle of Aḥzāb: when the eyes rolled [with fear] and the hearts leapt to the throats, and you entertained misgivings about Allah, it was there that the faithful were tested and jolted with a severe agitation. And when the hypocrites were saying, as well as those in whose hearts is a sickness: ‘Allah and His Apostle did not promise us [anything] except delusion’ (33:10-12).
Whilst it is grammatically possible that and they thought that they had been told lies would hence include the prophets as well, this must be rejected as it cannot be imagined that the messengers of God should think that God had lied to them. Such a thing cannot be imagined of even pious believers.[17]
Qurṭubī relates the opinion of al-Tirmidhī, who said that the prophets did not lose hope thinking that God’s promise of help had been a lie, but rather that their people had done something wrong that would result in a breach of the conditions required for the help to arrive, and the more time passed, they would entertain such doubts.[18] Whether we accept that or not, it can act as an interpretation for 2:214, but not for this verse in question, as it cannot serve as an explanation for the statement they thought that they had been told lies.
Subḥānī argues that it is not correct to assume that the subject for they thought that they had been told lies is switched from apostles to their people. He therefore tries to explain that in thoroughly difficult situations when the promised help of God is delayed, even prophets of God might feel thoughts that make them call out, When will Allah’s help [come]? (2:214). He argues this is not despair per se, but since it is a call like that of someone in a desperate situation, it is described this way in the verse.[19] However, all of this is not a satisfying explanation for they thought that they had been told lies.
[1] Similar arguments have been made here as they had been made there about the meaning of the form istafʿala with regards to these words, however like there, they are not very convincing.
[2] As argued in Mizan, 11/279.
[3] Raghib, p. 153
[4] Mudarrisi, 6/356.
[5] Raghib, p. 192; Lisan, 12/90.
[6] Ayn, 6/119; Lisan, 12/91; Tahqiq, 2/75, j-r-m.
[7] Tabrisi, 5/413-414.
[8] Tibyan, 6/209; related in Qurtubi, 9/277.
[9] See for example the discussion regarding the phrase Indeed, my Lord is all-attentive in bringing about what He wishes (verse 100).
[10] Uyun, 1/179; Nur, 2/479.
[11] Munyah, 14/222.
[12] Tabrisi, 5/415; Nemuneh, 10/98.
[13] Related in Baghawi, 2/519.
[14] Tibyan, 6/207-208; Tabrisi, 5/415; Tabari, 13/53-54.
[15] Tibyan, 6/207-208.
[16] Related in Qurtubi, 9/276.
[17] Tabrisi, 5/414.
[18] Qurtubi, 9/276. See also Nemuneh, 10/100.
[19] Munyah, 14/223-224.