وَعَجِبوا أَن جاءَهُم مُنذِرٌ مِنهُم ۖ وَقالَ الكافِرونَ هٰذا ساحِرٌ كَذّابٌ
They consider it odd that there should come to them a warner from among themselves, and the faithless say: ‘This is a magician, a mendacious liar.
EXEGESIS
ʿAjibū (they consider it odd) comes from ʿajab, meaning to wonder at something because one is not used to it. It carries the meaning of strangeness and surprise.
Mundhir (warner) comes from indhār, meaning to give news that is fearful. As the message that the Prophet brought contained in it warning of a coming punishment to those who opposed it, he was a warner.
Kadhdhāb (mendacious liar) is the emphatic form of kādhib (liar).
EXPOSITION
In this verse we are introduced to the main theme of the surah, which we discussed in the Introduction. In brief, some Meccans found it strange that the man they knew yesterday should be a prophet receiving revelation. They consider it odd that such a thing could happen. They should be referring to the elites of Quraysh, the gathering spoken of in the introduction, especially considering verse 8 of this surah.
The warner spoken of in this verse is of course Prophet Muhammad (s), and we are told he is from among themselves. They thought him being a man was a weakness and shortcoming, while in reality it was an advantage for the Prophet that he was from among them and knew them and understood them.
They also falsely thought that the Prophet was at best their equal in lineage, character, intelligence, and other merits (even though in reality he was far superior in all these to them). Because of this they could not accept that he should have been chosen to this position; And they said: ‘Why was not this Quran sent down to some great man from the two cities?’ (43:31), thinking that if it was truly from God then some rich, powerful, and influential man should have been given this honour. This is of course a mistake that many often make, thinking worldly wealth and power are signs of God’s favour, while overlooking the actual merits such as God-wariness, honesty, and humility. The same accusation was made against Prophet Ṣāliḥ (a): Has the reminder been cast upon him from among us? (54:25).
Others might have been surprised that a human being like themselves could receive divine communications, Does it seem odd to these people that We have revealed to a man from among themselves (10:2), thinking that perhaps an angel should have come to bring such a message to all of them.
Curiously, we know that many Jews denied the Prophet because he was not from among their own and a gentile, yet for the Meccans this was the very reason for denying him. This tells us that these were just excuses, and really at the heart of their denial was the conceit mentioned in verse 1. As they could not admit that to others or themselves, they came up with slanderous accusations instead: and the faithless say: ‘This is a magician, a mendacious liar.’
When relating their smears, God does not say ‘they say’, rather He says the faithless (kāfirūn) say, as if to indicate that what they utter is not based on anything except kufr, denial of God’s clear signs.
As mentioned, the Prophet was no unknown person who had strolled into Mecca and declared himself a messenger from God, Is it that they do not know their apostle, and so they deny him? (23:69). Even though they knew the Prophet’s character and that he never was known to utter a lie, they imagined they had no choice but to call him a liar, since to say anything else would mean to accept his message.
Yet accusing him of being a liar was not enough to explain the power of his message and the effect it had on people. Try and want as they might, they could not bring a book like the Quran. Because of this they resorted to calling him a magician as well.
[1] Lisan, 1/580.
[2] Raghib, p. 797.
[3] Nemuneh, 19/215.
[4] Zamakhshari, 4/72. See also verse 8.
[5] Razi, 26/369.
[6] Ibn Kathir, 7/45.
[7] Razi, 26/367.
[8] Razi, 26/367.
[9] Nemuneh, 19/215; Mizan, 17/182.