Verse 10:17 | inQuran

English - Hazrat Molavi Sher Ali ^ra

Say, ‘If Allah had so willed, I should not have recited it to you nor would He have made it known to you. I have indeed lived among you a whole lifetime before this. Will you not then understand?’

English - Five Volume Translation

Say, ‘If Allah had so willed, I should not have recited it to you nor would He have made it known to you. I have indeed lived among you a whole lifetime before this. Will you not then understand?’[1292]

Commentary:

The argument against the abrogation theory which was begun in the previous verse is continued in the present one. Such commandments may be abrogated as are needed only for a particular time, the commandments changing with the change of circumstances. But, if any commandments were to be changed without any change having taken place in the circumstances of men, then it would be a proof of the fact that such commandments were misplaced and their promulgation quite useless.

It is regarding this fact that the Holy Prophet is made to say to the disbelievers "If the teachings given by me had not been useful and some other teachings had been more adapted to bring about a change in you, then I would not have delivered these teachings to you, neither would God have revealed them to me."

The words, I have indeed lived among you a whole lifetime before this. Will you not then understand?, embody a great criterion to test the truth of a claimant to prophethood. The Holy Prophet is here asked to refer disbelievers to the period of life he had already passed among them as proof of his sincerity and the truth of his claims. If the period of his life before he claimed to be a Prophet had presented an extraordinarily high standard of truthfulness and integrity and between that period and his claim to prophethood there was no interval during which it might be supposed that he had fallen from that high standard of moral excellence, his claim to prophethood must be accepted as coming from a highly moral and truthful man. When even the Prophet’s opponents admitted that all his lifetime he had been a singularly upright man and had even won from them the title of al-Amin (the Trustworthy) on account of his unimpeachable integrity, he could not suddenly turn an impostor. How was it possible that one who was the most upright and righteous of men a day before should have become a hardened liar the next day (for there is no greater liar than he who forges lies about God). Naturally a person confirmed in a certain course of conduct through habit or temperament takes a long time to develop in himself a major change for either good or evil. How then could the Prophet of Islam suddenly turn into an impostor? There never was a time when the Prophet’s life was hidden from the gaze of his compatriots. He was a resident of Mecca, belonged to a well-known Meccan tribe, and was popularly known in the city as الامین (the Truthful). In view of these established historical facts, the Quran, as it were, says to the disbelievers, "You ascribe to Our Messenger the most heinous of all lies, viz. forging lies against God, but you cannot produce any evidence to show when this change for the worse developed in him. On the contrary, you admit that right up to the time when he claimed to be a Prophet, he continued to live among you day and night; and you looked upon him as an exceptionally righteous and truthful man. How then can you now say that all of a sudden he has begun to forge lies against God?"

The words, before this, are intended to point to the great psychological fact that the objections of the Holy Prophet’senemies after he laid claim to prophethood should carry no weight with right-thinking people, because it always happens that after a person has announced himself to be a Messenger of God, people naturally turn against him and begin to impute to him all sorts of evil things. The fact that the Emperor Heraclius asked of Abu Sufyan, when the latter was brought before him at Jerusalem, what his people thought of the Prophet before he laid claim to prophethood, also shows that he too had realized the force of this great argument.

The words, Will you not then understand?, draw our attention to the established psychological truth that a sudden change does not come upon a man except either (1) through some physical injury, etc. (for instance when a man happens to receive a blow on the head causing loss of memory or change in manners, etc.) or (2) through some great spiritual influence. History provides instances when a great shock or calamity has made a person give way to despair and thereby inclined him to evil or when the discovery of some great truth has created a sudden change in him for good. A study of the life history of the Holy Prophet shows that he had never been subject to either of these two influences. Before his exaltation to prophethood, he led a life of retirement, giving himself up to prayer and meditation. At the same time he had not despaired of his countrymen but, like a true well-wisher, earnestly worked for their good. In such circumstances it is an insult to human reason and to all known laws of human psychology to say that though before he claimed to be a Messenger of God the Prophet of Islam was a model of piety and righteousness, yet the very day he made that claim he became the greatest of liars.

For a discussion of the "illiteracy" of the Holy Prophet see under 7:158.

English - Short Commentary Translation

Say, ‘If Allah had so willed, I should not have recited it to you, nor would He have made it known to you. I have indeed lived among you a whole lifetime before this. Will you not then understand?’[1245]

اردو ترجمہ مرزا طاہر احمد خلیفة المسیح الرابعؒ

تو کہہ دے اگر اللہ چاہتا تو میں تم پر اس کی تلاوت نہ کرتا اور نہ وہ (اللہ) تمہیں اس پر مطلع کرتا۔ پس میں اس (رسالت) سے پہلے بھی تمہارے درمیان ایک لمبی عمر گزار چکا ہوں، تو کیا تم عقل نہیں کرتے؟

French

Dis : « Si Allāh l’avait voulu, je ne vous l’aurais pas récité, et Il ne vous l’aurait pas non plus fait connaître. Avant ceci, j’ai certainement passé toute une vie parmi vous. Ne voulez-vous donc pas comprendre ? »

German

Sprich: "Hätte Allah es gewollt, so hätte ich ihn euch nicht vorgetragen, noch hätte Er ihn euch kundgemacht. Ich habe doch fürwahr ein Menschenalter unter euch gelebt vor diesem. Wollt ihr denn nicht begreifen?"

Chinese

你 (对他们) 说: “如果安拉原本意欲 (以别的教义代替 «古兰经»), 那么, 我不会向你们诵读它, 他 (安拉) 也不会给你们这个 (教义)。在这以前, 我在你们中已度过了一个很长的时期, 你们怎么不运用理智呢?”[585]

Italian

Di': «Se Allah avesse così voluto, né io ve lo avrei recitato, né Egli ve lo avrebbe fatto conoscere. Prima di ciò io ho vissuto tra di voi un'intera vita. Perché allora non volete capire?»

Spanish

Diles: “Si Al-lah hubiese querido, no os lo habría recitado ni os lo habría dado a conocer. En verdad, he vivido entre vosotros una vida antes de esto. ¿No queréis comprender?”.

اردو تفسیرِ صغیر

(اور) تو (انہیں) کہہ کہ اگر اللہ کی (یہی) مشیت ہوتی (کہ اس کی جگہ کوئی اور تعلیم دی جائے) تو مَیں اسے [1]تمہارے سامنے پڑھ کر نہ سناتا اور نہ وہ (ہی) تمہیں اس (تعلیم) سے آگاہ کرتا۔ چنانچہ اس سے پہلے میں ایک عرصہ دراز تم میں گزار چکا[2] ہوں کیا پھر (بھی) تم عقل سے کام نہیں لیتے۔

اردو ترجمہ مودودی

اور کہو “اگر اللہ کی مشیّت نہ ہوتی تو میں یہ قرآن تمہیں کبھی نہ سناتا اور اللہ تمہیں اس کی خبر تک نہ دیتا آخر اس سے پہلے میں ایک عمر تمہارے درمیان گزار چکا ہوں، کیا تم عقل سے کام نہیں لیتے؟

English - Sahih

Say, "If Allah had willed, I would not have recited it to you, nor would He have made it known to you, for I had remained among you a lifetime before it. Then will you not reason?"

اردو ترجمہ احمد علی

کہہ دو اگر الله چاہتا تو میں اسے تمہارےسامنے نہ پڑھتا اورنہ وہی تمہیں اس سے خبردار کرتا کیوں کہ اس سے پہلے تم میں ایک عمر گذار چکا ہوں کیا پھر تم نہیں سمجھتے

English - Talal Itani

Say, "If (had) willed Allah, not I (would) have recited it to you, and not He (would) have made it known to you. Verily, I have stayed among you a lifetime before it. Then will not you use reason?"

Chinese Commentary ^*

585

这节经文概括了一种绝对正确的标准以检验先知品位宣称的真理。如果一位先知在宣称先知品位之前的生活真实性的标准一贯是非常非常高的, 而且在那个时期和他宣称先知品位之间的一段时间内看来他的崇高而完美的道德标准从未降低过, 那么, 他的先知品位的宣称必须以一个高度诚实和有道德的人而被接受。很自然, 如果一个人通过习惯或个性在一个一定长的行为过程中得到了证实, 花了一段很长的时间在他身上形成一种或者向好的或者向坏的方面发展的主要变化, 那么, 伊斯兰教的先知在他宣称先知品位以前的一生中一直是个极为正直的人, 如何能突然变成一个骗子?

اردہ تفصیرِ صغیر نوٹس ^*

1

یعنی موجودہ قرآن کی تعلیم کو۔

2

یعنی کیا تم میری گذشتہ زندگی کو نہیں دیکھتے کہ خداتعالیٰ تو الگ رہا‘ میں انسان کے متعلق بھی کوئی جھوٹی بات نہیں کہتا تھا۔

English - Arberry

Say: 'Had God willed I would not have recited it to you, neither would He have taught you it; I abode among you a lifetime before it -- will you not understand?'

English - Maududi

Tell them: 'Had Allah so willed, I would not have recited the Qur'an to you, nor would Allah have informed you of it. I have spent a lifetime among you before this. Do you, then, not use your reason?

English - Ahmed Ali

Say: "Had God pleased I would never have recited it to you, nor would He have given you comprehension of it. (Remember that I am one of you) and have lived a whole life with you before (its revelation). Even then you do not understand."

English - Yusuf Ali

Say: "If Allah had so willed, I should not have rehearsed it to you, nor would He have made it known to you. A whole life-time before this have I tarried amongst you: will ye not then understand?"

English - Five Volume Commentary ^*

1292

Commentary:

The argument against the abrogation theory which was begun in the previous verse is continued in the present one. Such commandments may be abrogated as are needed only for a particular time, the commandments changing with the change of circumstances. But, if any commandments were to be changed without any change having taken place in the circumstances of men, then it would be a proof of the fact that such commandments were misplaced and their promulgation quite useless.

It is regarding this fact that the Holy Prophet is made to say to the disbelievers "If the teachings given by me had not been useful and some other teachings had been more adapted to bring about a change in you, then I would not have delivered these teachings to you, neither would God have revealed them to me."

The words, I have indeed lived among you a whole lifetime before this. Will you not then understand?, embody a great criterion to test the truth of a claimant to prophethood. The Holy Prophet is here asked to refer disbelievers to the period of life he had already passed among them as proof of his sincerity and the truth of his claims. If the period of his life before he claimed to be a Prophet had presented an extraordinarily high standard of truthfulness and integrity and between that period and his claim to prophethood there was no interval during which it might be supposed that he had fallen from that high standard of moral excellence, his claim to prophethood must be accepted as coming from a highly moral and truthful man. When even the Prophet’s opponents admitted that all his lifetime he had been a singularly upright man and had even won from them the title of al-Amin (the Trustworthy) on account of his unimpeachable integrity, he could not suddenly turn an impostor. How was it possible that one who was the most upright and righteous of men a day before should have become a hardened liar the next day (for there is no greater liar than he who forges lies about God). Naturally a person confirmed in a certain course of conduct through habit or temperament takes a long time to develop in himself a major change for either good or evil. How then could the Prophet of Islam suddenly turn into an impostor? There never was a time when the Prophet’s life was hidden from the gaze of his compatriots. He was a resident of Mecca, belonged to a well-known Meccan tribe, and was popularly known in the city as الامین (the Truthful). In view of these established historical facts, the Quran, as it were, says to the disbelievers, "You ascribe to Our Messenger the most heinous of all lies, viz. forging lies against God, but you cannot produce any evidence to show when this change for the worse developed in him. On the contrary, you admit that right up to the time when he claimed to be a Prophet, he continued to live among you day and night; and you looked upon him as an exceptionally righteous and truthful man. How then can you now say that all of a sudden he has begun to forge lies against God?"

The words, before this, are intended to point to the great psychological fact that the objections of the Holy Prophet’senemies after he laid claim to prophethood should carry no weight with right-thinking people, because it always happens that after a person has announced himself to be a Messenger of God, people naturally turn against him and begin to impute to him all sorts of evil things. The fact that the Emperor Heraclius asked of Abu Sufyan, when the latter was brought before him at Jerusalem, what his people thought of the Prophet before he laid claim to prophethood, also shows that he too had realized the force of this great argument.

The words, Will you not then understand?, draw our attention to the established psychological truth that a sudden change does not come upon a man except either (1) through some physical injury, etc. (for instance when a man happens to receive a blow on the head causing loss of memory or change in manners, etc.) or (2) through some great spiritual influence. History provides instances when a great shock or calamity has made a person give way to despair and thereby inclined him to evil or when the discovery of some great truth has created a sudden change in him for good. A study of the life history of the Holy Prophet shows that he had never been subject to either of these two influences. Before his exaltation to prophethood, he led a life of retirement, giving himself up to prayer and meditation. At the same time he had not despaired of his countrymen but, like a true well-wisher, earnestly worked for their good. In such circumstances it is an insult to human reason and to all known laws of human psychology to say that though before he claimed to be a Messenger of God the Prophet of Islam was a model of piety and righteousness, yet the very day he made that claim he became the greatest of liars.

For a discussion of the "illiteracy" of the Holy Prophet see under 7:158.

English - Short Commentary Notes ^*

1245

The verse embodies an infallible criterion to test the truth of a claimant to Prophethood. If the life of a Prophet before he lays claim to Prophethood presents an extraordinarily high standard of truthfulness and integrity and between that period and his claim to Prophethood there is no interval during which it might be supposed that he has fallen from that high standard of moral excellence, then his claim to Prophethood must be accepted as that of a highly moral and truthful man. Naturally, a person confirmed in a certain course of conduct through habit or temperament takes a long time to develop in himself a major change for either good or evil. How then could the Prophet of Islam suddenly turn into an impostor when all his lifetime before his claim to Prophethood he had been a singularly upright man?

English - Pickthall

Say: If Allah had so willed I should not have recited it to you nor would He have made it known to you. I dwelt among you a whole lifetime before it (came to me). Have ye then no sense?

English - Muhammad Ali ^ra

Say: If Allah had desired, I would not have recited it to you, nor would He have made it known to you. I have lived among you a lifetime before it. Do you not then understand?

English - Sir Muhammad Zafrullah Khan ^ra

Tell them: Had Allah so willed, I would not have recited it to you nor would He have made it known to you. I have spent a whole lifetime among you before this. Will you not then understand?

Verse 17

View Aspects

Explore Context

Related Topics

Verse Morphology

Explore Topics

Explore Roots