Surah Ghafir 40:78

The Command to be Patient and Good News of Victory

Here Allah commands His Messenger to patiently bear the rejection of those who rejected him: `Allah will fulfill His promise to you that you will be victorious and will prevail over your people, and you and those who follow you, will be the successful ones in this world and the Hereafter.'

(and whether We show you some part of what We have promised them,) means, in this world, and this is what happened, for Allah gave them the joy of humiliating the leaders and nobles (of the Quraysh), who were killed on the day of Badr, then Allah granted them victory over Makkah and the entire Arabian Peninsula during the lifetime of the Prophet .

(or We cause you to die, then still it is to Us they all shall be returned.) means, `and We shall inflict a severe punishment upon them in the Hereafter.' Then Allah says, consoling His Prophet :

(And, indeed We have sent Messengers before you, of some of them We have related to you their story.) as Allah also says in Surat An-Nisa', meaning, `We have revealed the stories of some of them and how their people disbelieved in them, but the Messengers ultimately prevailed.'

(And of some We have not related to you their story, ) and they are many, many more than those whose stories have been told, as has been stated in Surat An-Nisa'. Praise and blessings be to Allah.

(and it was not given to any Messenger that he should bring a sign except by the leave of Allah.) means, none of the Prophets was able to bring miracles to his people except when Allah granted him permission to do that as a sign of the truth of the message he brought to them.

(But, when comes the commandment of Allah,) means, His punishment and vengeance which will encompass the disbelievers,

(the matter will be decided with truth,) so the believers will be saved and the disbelievers will be destroyed. Allah says:

(and the followers of falsehood will then be lost.)

Ayat ini menerangkan bahwa Allah telah mengutus para rasul dan nabi kepada umat-umat sebelum Nabi Muhammad. Di antara nabi dan rasul itu yang diterangkan kisahnya di dalam Al-Qur'an sebanyak 25 rasul, seperti Nabi Nuh, Idris, Ibrahim, Musa, Sulaiman, Isa, dan rasul-rasul yang lain. Di samping itu, banyak di antara para nabi dan rasul itu yang tidak disebutkan di dalam Al-Qur'an.

Dari Abu dzar bahwa ia berkata, "Aku bertanya, 'Ya Rasulullah berapa jumlah nabi-nabi itu? Rasulullah saw menjawab, '124 ribu dan yang menjadi rasul di antaranya ialah 315 orang. Sebuah jumlah yang banyak." (Riwayat A.hmad)

Setiap rasul yang diutus Allah itu tidak sanggup menciptakan mukjizat sendiri, tetapi bisa diberikan oleh Allah. Mukjizat itu sebagai bukti kerasulan yang dikemukakan kepada kaum yang mendustakannya. Bentuk dan sifat mukjizat itu disesuaikan dengan keadaan, masa, dan tempat di mana rasul penerimanya hidup, sehingga mukjizat itu benar-benar diyakini oleh umat pada waktu itu. Mukjizat itu diberikan jika Allah sendiri berkehendak memberikannya. Jika Allah belum berkehendak memberikannya, maka mukjizat itu tidak akan diberikannya walaupun orang-orang kafir memintanya. Mukjizat itu diberikan sesuai dengan hikmah dan kebijaksanaan Allah dan sesuai pula dengan kemaslahatan umat.

Pada akhir ayat ini diterangkan bahwa jika azab Allah telah datang menimpa orang-orang yang mendustakan-Nya, maka Allah menyelesaikan perkara mereka dengan seadil-adilnya. Allah menyelamatkan para rasul dan orang-orang yang beriman kepadanya dari azab itu, serta membinasakan orang-orang yang ingkar dan mempersekutukan-Nya. Hal ini dapat dilihat pada waktu azab Allah menimpa kaum 'Ad, Allah menyelamatkan Nabi Hud dan orang-orang yang beriman yang bersamanya. Demikian pula azab yang menimpa kaum Samud dan sebagainya.