أَأُلقِيَ الذِّكرُ عَلَيهِ مِن بَينِنا بَل هُوَ كَذّابٌ أَشِرٌ

‘Has the reminder been cast upon him from among us? Rather he is a self-conceited liar.’

EXEGESIS

It has been said that ulqiya (cast) refers to a revelation or casting that is done quickly.[1] Others have said that it literally means to throw something from the hand onto the ground and has been used metaphorically here to describe the sending down of revelation from the heavens (see also 73:5).[2]

In 15:9, the Quran is referred to as the reminder (al-dhikr), and in this verse the same title is applied to that which was revealed to Prophet Ṣāliḥ (a).[3] This is an indication that all divine books have a similar message in reminding people of Allah. Some have suggested that al-dhikr could also be a reference to prophethood and thus it is not necessary that Prophet Ṣāliḥ (a) was given a divine book.[4]

Kadhdhāb (liar) is the hyperbolic form of kādhib (liar) and thus means excessive liar.[5] The excessiveness can be as a result of the quantity of lies, i.e. someone who utters very many lies, or it can be an indication to the greatness of the lie, i.e. someone who utters lies that are too big to be accepted by the intellect.[6]

The word ashir comes from the root letters ʾ-sh-r which means excessive exultance which is a result of exceeding the limits of emotional fervour. As such, it implies that they were accusing Prophet Ṣāliḥ (a) of lying out of exultation and following his base desires.[7]

Their question is only rhetorical and meant to show incredulity. As such, their question can be understood as: Has the reminder been revealed to him, and he has been chosen from amongst us whilst he has no superiority or merit over us?![8]

An alternative reading is that they negate the possibility that the divine book could have been revealed to Prophet Ṣāliḥ (a) alone. Rather, if revelation was true, then it should have been sent down upon everyone (see also 74:52).[9] The first reading seems more apparent.

EXPOSITION

The verse is a continuation of their arguments in rejecting Prophet Ṣāliḥ (a). The previous verse indicated two of their objections: why is the apostle a human being? And why does he not have strong support and backing from the nobility? In the current verse, they further add that if indeed the apostle does have to be a single human from amongst ourselves, then ‘Why is it Ṣāliḥ specifically whilst he has nothing that would make him more worthy of this position than us?! Either we should all be apostles or someone great from amongst us should be the chosen one!’[10] A similar claim was made by the polytheists of Mecca; And they said: ‘Why was not this Quran sent down to some great man from the two cities?’ Is it they who dispense the mercy of your Lord? (43:31-32).

They attribute two qualities to Prophet Ṣāliḥ (a) in order to degrade him in the eyes of everyone else.[11] The first is that he is fabricating a great lie about receiving revelation from God. The second is that he is self-conceited and exultant in his lies, and he wants to be superior to us by claiming to be a prophet.[12] According to Mudarrisi, ashir can be interpreted as someone who desires leadership without being qualified or deserving of it.[13]

[1] Muhit, 10/43; Alusi, 14/88.
[2] Ibn Ashur, 27/189.
[3] Qaraati, 9/358.
[4] Razi, 29/307.
[5] Furqan.
[6] Razi, 29/308.
[7] Tahqiq, 1/92.
[8] Mizan, 19/80.
[9] Mizan, 19/80.
[10] Furqan, 27/492.
[11] Furqan, 27/492.
[12] Tabrisi, 9/289.
[13] Mudarrisi, 14/240.