Surah Yunus 10:15

Obstinance of the Chiefs of the Quraysh

Allah tells us about the obstinance of the disbelievers of the Quraysh, who were opposed to the message and denied Allah. When the Messenger ﷺ read to them from the Book of Allah and His clear evidence they said to him: "Bring a Qur'an other than this." They wanted the Prophet to take back this Book and bring them another book of a different style or change it to a different form. So Allah said to His Prophet :

قُلْ مَا يَكُونُ لِى أَنْ أُبَدِّلَهُ مِن تِلْقَآءِ نَفْسِى

(Say: "It is not for me to change it on my own accord;) This means that it is not up to me to do such a thing. I am but a servant who receives commands. I am a Messenger conveying from Allah.

إِنْ أَتَّبِعُ إِلاَّ مَا يُوحَى إِلَىَّ إِنِّى أَخَافُ إِنْ عَصَيْتُ رَبِّى عَذَابَ يَوْمٍ عَظِيمٍ

(I only follow that which is revealed unto me. Verily, I fear the torment of the Great Day (the Day of Resurrection) if I were to disobey my Lord.)

The Evidence of the Truthfulness of the Qur'an Muhammad ﷺ then argued with supporting evidence to the truthfulness of what he had brought them:

قُل لَّوْ شَآءَ اللَّهُ مَا تَلَوْتُهُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَلاَ أَدْرَاكُمْ بِهِ

(Say: "If Allah had so willed, I should not have recited it to you nor would He have made it known to you...") This indicates that he brought this only with the permission and will of Allah for him to do so. The proof of this was that he had not fabricated it himself and that they were incapable of refuting it, and that they should be fully aware of his truthfulness and honesty since he grew up among them, until Allah sent the Message to him. The Prophet was never criticized for anything or held in contempt. So he said,

فَقَدْ لَبِثْتُ فِيكُمْ عُمُراً مِّن قَبْلِهِ أَفَلاَ تَعْقِلُونَ

(Verily, I have stayed among you a lifetime before this. Have you then no sense) Which meant "don't you have brains with which you may distinguish the truth from falsehood" When Heraclius, the Roman king, asked Abu Sufyan and those who were in his company about the Prophet , he said: "Have you ever accused him of telling lies before his claim" Abu Sufyan replied: "No." Abu Sufyan was then the head of the disbelievers and the leader of the idolators, but he still admitted the truth. This is a clear and irrefutable testimony since it came from the enemy. Heraclius then said: "I wondered how a person who does not tell a lie about others could ever tell a lie about Allah." Ja`far bin Abu Talib said to An-Najashi, the king of Ethiopia: "Allah has sent to us a Messenger that we know his truthfulness, ancestral lineage, and honesty. He stayed among us before the prophethood for forty years."

Dalam ayat ini dijelaskan sikap orang-orang musyrik apabila Nabi Muhammad membacakan kepada mereka ayat-ayat Al-Qur'an yang diturunkan kepadanya yang mempunyai keindahan bahasa dan isi yang tinggi, yang menunjukkan segala macam kebenaran, berdasar alasan-alasan dan bukti-bukti yang kuat, maka mereka menantang Rasul untuk mendatangkan kitab selain Al-Qur'an untuk mereka yang berisi hal-hal yang tidak bertentangan dengan kepercayaan yang telah mereka anut, yang tidak mencela tuhan dan sembahan-sembahan mereka, yang tidak bertentangan dengan adat kebiasaan mereka dan tidak mengharamkan apa yang telah mereka halalkan.

Dengan permintaan itu mereka bermaksud untuk mematahkan hujjah yang dikemukakan Nabi Muhammad. Mereka mengharapkan agar Muhammad bersedia mengabulkan permintaan mereka. Jika Muhammad mengabulkan permintaan mereka berarti mereka telah dapat melemahkan alasan-alasan yang dibenarkan oleh Muhammad sendiri. Maka Allah mengajarkan kepada Muhammad agar dia mengatakan kepada mereka bahwa Al-Qur'an itu dari Allah, bukan dari dia sendiri. Jika ia mengubah dan menukarnya, berarti Al-Qur'an itu buatannya sendiri, bukan dari Allah. Namun jawaban yang mereka terima berlawanan dengan harapan mereka, bahkan bernada ancaman dan peringatan yang keras yang menyatakan bahwa karena keingkaran mereka yang sangat itu, maka mereka tidak layak lagi menerima ajaran-ajaran Allah, melainkan azab Allah-lah yang mereka terima. Nabi menyatakan bahwa tidak layak menukar atau mengganti ayat-ayat Al-Qur'an. Ayat-ayat Al-Qur'an itu adalah firman Allah, bukan perkataannya, karena itu yang berhak mengganti atau mengubahnya hanyalah Allah sendiri. Dia hanya seorang rasul utusan Allah karena itu yang ia ikuti hanyalah wahyu yang telah diturunkan Allah kepadanya. Ia tidak akan mengikuti selain dari itu. Ia yakin dan percaya bahwa jika ia memperturutkan hawa nafsu dan permintaan orang-orang musyrik itu, berarti ia telah durhaka kepada Allah, telah mendustakan kalam Allah, mengingkari adanya hari kebangkitan dan sebagainya. Perbuatan yang demikian itu diancam Allah dengan azab yang pedih.