لِتُنذِرَ قَومًا ما أُنذِرَ آباؤُهُم فَهُم غافِلونَ

That you may warn a people whose fathers were not warned, so they are oblivious.

EXEGESIS

Mā undhira ābāʾuhum (whose fathers were not warned) could be translated in two ways depending on how we consider mā. If it is considered as a negative particle, the meaning is as it is translated here: whose fathers were not warned. However, if we take it as a particle that changes the verb which follows it to a noun (maṣdariyyah), it would mean: that you may warn a people the way their fathers were warned. This latter meaning is adopted by those who say that the ancestors of Quraysh were warned by other prophets, including Prophet Ishmael (a).

The concept of indhār (to warn) is used frequently in the Quran; Prophet Muhammad (s) is described as nadhīr (warner) and bashīr (bearer of good news).

EXPOSITION

A messenger is sent to warn people. This warning concerns the consequences of our acts in this world and the next. It means that God cares about us and intends to ward off those consequences from us: Indeed We sent Noah to his people, [saying:] ‘Warn your people before a painful punishment overtakes them (71:1). If He did not care, He would not warn.

This warning is not something of which we are completely unaware; the prophets just remind us about it, which is why they are called mudhakkir (one who reminds). All essential elements of faith are in us, and we only need reminders to bring them out and to make them fresh for us.

The question here is why the Quran regards the people of Mecca and other contemporaries of Prophet Muhammad (s) a people whose fathers were not warned. This is the question that has urged some commentators to interpret the verse to mean: that you may warn a people the way their fathers were warned. However, it is evident that a messenger who warned his people a few centuries before and did not leave behind any book to be followed cannot be regarded as a warner for the people who came a long time after him. Therefore, the Arab prophets such as Prophet Hūd (a) and Prophet Ṣāliḥ (a), who lived several millennia before Islam, could not be regarded as warners for the people of Mecca. Moreover, these prophets lived far from Hijaz, and their people were different from the people of Prophet Muhammad (s). Even Prophet Ishmael (a), who lived in the same area, was too distant in history and did not leave any books behind.

A question arises: what about Prophet Moses (a), who left a book, or Prophet Jesus (a), who lived not long before Islam? Do we not regard them as prophets who were to warn all nations, including the Arabs? Apparently not, at least as long as their book was not translated and transmitted to other nations. The Arabs could not read the Bible; it was only translated into Arabic in the second century ah, and the Jews who could read that literature would not preach it to the Arabs. That is why the Quran states the attitude of the polytheists, They swore by Allah with solemn oaths that if a warner were to come to them they would be better guided than any of the nations. But when a warner came to them it only increased them in aversion (35:42), and removed their objection so that they would not say, The book was sent down only to two communities before us, and we were indeed unaware of their studies (6:156).

Therefore, regarding non-Arab prophets and the Arab prophets who lived a long time before the time of Prophet Muhammad (s), it is true to say that you may warn a people whose fathers were not warned.

But what about some prophets mentioned in narrations who lived very close to the time of Prophet Muhammad (s) such as Khālid ibn Sinān or Quss ibn Sāʿidah? It is even reported that Prophet Muhammad (s) could remember Quss ibn Sāʿidah when he was preaching in the ʿUkāẓ market whilst Prophet Muhammad (s) was in his early years. Apparently, these personalities were more callers to the faith of Prophet Abraham (a) than actual prophets. They were preachers who, although they may have received some sort of divine inspiration, did not claim any mission. It is reported by Imam Ali (a): ‘Allah appointed Muhammad (s) while no one among the Arabs claimed prophethood or read any divine book.’

Hence, it is proper to call the period between Prophet Jesus (a) and Prophet Muhammad (s) the period of fatrah (interruption) because, in this period, people were oblivious, as this verse mentions.

Tabatabai also holds that the closest ancestries of the tribe of Quraysh were never sent such a warning/message, unlike their farthest ancestors who received such a message through Prophet Ishmael (a), and that the period between Prophet Muhammad (s) and Prophet Jesus (a) was the period of fatrah.^{‎[1]Mizan, 17/63.} During this period, there is no record of a prophet or a messenger sent to Arabs or non-Arabs, O People of the Book! Certainly, Our Apostle has come to you, clarifying [the divine teachings] for you after a gap in [the appearance of] the apostles, lest you should say: ‘There did not come to us any bearer of good news nor any warner.’ Certainly, there has come to you a bearer of good news and a warner. And Allah has power over all things (5:19).

It should be noted that even though the starting point of the mission of Prophet Muhammad (s) was the people of Mecca, the message of warning did not remain limited to Mecca or the Arabs only. It was a general message for the entire humankind until the end of the world, regardless of their race, nationality, or geographical area; Say: ‘O mankind! I am indeed a manifest warner to you!’ (22:49), Blessed is He who sent down the criterion to His servant that he may be a warner to all the nations (25:1).

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said, explaining this verse: ‘So that you may warn the people, from which you are, like the warning that their ancestors had received, for they are heedless about God and His Messenger and His warning.’^{‎[2]Safi, 4/245.}
2. Imam Ali (a) said: ‘Woe to the one whose heedlessness had come upon him, so he forgot the journey and never prepared for it.’^{‎[3]Muhammad Rayshahri, Mīzān al-Ḥikmah, 3/2283.}

Note: Heedlessness invokes more heedlessness, and it may develop to irreversible stages, where no guidance is helpful.

3. Imam Ali (a) said: ‘Isn’t there someone who would be awake from his heedlessness before his time is over [in this world]?!’^{‎[4]Muhammad Rayshahri, Mīzān al-Ḥikmah, 3/2283.}
4. Imam Ali (a) said: ‘I advise you to mention death, reduce the negligence about it, and how can you even be negligent of something that is not neglectful of you?!’^{‎[5]Muhammad Rayshahri, Mīzān al-Ḥikmah, 3/2284.}

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

After presenting both probabilities rising from the particle mā, Rāzī attempts to resolve the conflict between these two by mentioning that the farthest ancestors were warned (by Prophet Ishmael (a), for example), and the closest ancestors were not warned; in both cases, the generation of Prophet Muhammad (s) is thereby heedless. Thus, both meanings of mā are acceptable. In addition, the message and the warnings of Prophet Muhammad (s) are inclusive to all nations because even the People of the Book had a period of dormancy after the biblical era, and they deviated from the true message descended to them. According to the Quran, this verse includes the closer ancestry of other nations than the people of Mecca.

In addition, Rāzī mentions that punishment does not necessarily depend on the signs and proofs given by Prophet Muhammad (s). In general, disobedient people deserve punishment if they go against whatever is obligated by God or by the intellect.^{‎[6]Razi, 26/253.} Therefore, in the case of mā meaning negation, their ancestors have not been warned, so they are heedless. In the case of mā al-maṣdariyyah, it would indicate that their farthest ancestors were warned, but not them, and that is why in both meanings they are heedless.^{‎[7]Baydawi, 4/263.}

INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS

1. Now, the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.^{‎[8]Galatians 5:19-21.}
2. If I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.^{‎[9]Ezekiel 3:18.}

[1] Mizan, 17/63.
[2] Safi, 4/245.
[3] Muhammad Rayshahri, Mīzān al-Ḥikmah, 3/2283.
[4] Muhammad Rayshahri, Mīzān al-Ḥikmah, 3/2283.
[5] Muhammad Rayshahri, Mīzān al-Ḥikmah, 3/2284.
[6] Razi, 26/253.
[7] Baydawi, 4/263.
[8] Galatians 5:19-21.
[9] Ezekiel 3:18.