فَذَكِّر إِنَّما أَنتَ مُذَكِّرٌ

So remind – for you are only a reminder.

EXEGESIS

The particle fa (so) that starts this verse reveals a link to the previous verses. Having described the final abode of the wicked and the righteous and inviting a reflection on the signs of God, the Prophet is now commanded: So remind them of all this: that they have no other sustainer and master besides the one God. He created them and all that they benefit from, and to Him alone they shall return for accounting and recompense. So perchance, people would willingly submit themselves to Him and choose the path of eternal salvation.

While some have translated dhakkir and mudhakkir here as warn^{‎[1]Abdel Haleem, 88:21.} or admonish,^{‎[2]Qarai, 88:21.} most have translated the root dhikr as reminder. With this meaning, the command to remind also confirms that the truth is not new. It is already inscribed in man’s soul but he has forgotten it and fallen into a state of spiritual slumber.

EXPOSITION

This verse is a direct address to the Prophet, asking him to continue reminding mankind of the truth he has received from God, and also reminding him not to let the pain of his message’s rejection overwhelm him: for you are only a reminder.

For you are only a reminder also serves to console the Prophet that he will not be held accountable for the disbelief of others.

God holds guidance exclusively as His prerogative. Had He wished, He could have compelled all to believe (6:107, 10:99). Everything else is merely a means and a reminder of His guidance. Neither revelation and scripture nor the prophets and their rightful heirs can guide a soul in and of themselves. They only act as triggers to awaken man and remind him of his true divine nature (fiṭrah) that is hard-wired in him (30:30). That is perhaps why reminding only benefits those who are sincere and already possess some inclination to faith (51:55); unlike those who are deaf, dumb, and blind (2:171; see also 6:39), heedless like cattle (7:179), and it makes no difference whether they are warned or not, they will not believe (2:6, 36:10).

As said before, the Prophet is a reminder of a truth already inscribed in man’s heart. This truth – which humankind has forgotten and to which it needs to awaken – is the same truth that Prophet Adam (a), Prophet Noah (a), Prophet Moses (a), and Prophet Jesus (a) preached, of worshipping one God alone (21:25) and not associating anyone with Him (3:64); of submitting to Him and obeying Him rather than following Satan (36:60).

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. From Imam Ali (a): ‘From his [i.e. Adam’s] progeny Allah chose prophets and took their pledge for His revelation and for carrying His message as their trust. With time, many people perverted Allah’s trust with them and ignored His position and [instead] took compeers along with Him. Satan turned them away from knowing Him and kept them aloof from His worship. Then Allah sent His messengers and a series of His prophets towards them to get them to fulfil the pledges of His creation, to recall to them His bounties, to exhort them by preaching, to unveil before them the hidden virtues of wisdom, and show them the signs of His omnipotence, namely the sky raised over them, the earth placed beneath them, the means of living that sustains them, the death that causes them to perish, the ailments that turn them old, and the incidents that successively betake them.’^{‎[3]Nahj, sermon 1.}

Note: For the pledge that God took from His messengers to remind people and preserve His message and guidance to mankind, see the Expositions for 3:81 and 33:7.

[1] Abdel Haleem, 88:21.
[2] Qarai, 88:21.
[3] Nahj, sermon 1.