Surah Saba 34:43

The Saying of the Disbelievers about the Prophets, and its refutation

Allah tells us that the disbeliever deserve to be severely punished by Him, because when His clear Verses were recited to them, and they heard them fresh from the lips of His Messenger , they said:

قَالُواْ مَا هَـذَا إِلاَّ رَجُلٌ يُرِيدُ أَن يَصُدَّكُمْ عَمَّا كَانَ يَعْبُدُ ءَابَآؤُكُمْ

(They say: "This is naught but a man who wishes to hinder you from that which your fathers used to worship.") meaning, that the religion of their fathers was the truth and that what the Messenger brought to them was false -- may the curse of Allah be upon them and their fathers!

وَقَالُواْ مَا هَـذَآ إِلاَّ إِفْكٌ مُّفْتَرًى

(And they say: "This is nothing but an invented lie.") referring to the Qur'an. l

وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ لِلْحَقِّ لَمَّا جَآءَهُمْ إِنْ هَـذَآ إِلاَّ سِحْرٌ مُّبِينٌ

(And those who disbelieve say of the truth when it has come to them: "This is nothing but evident magic!") Allah says:

وَمَآ ءَاتَيْنَـهُمْ مِّنْ كُتُبٍ يَدْرُسُونَهَا وَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَا إِلَيْهِمْ قَبْلَكَ مِّن نَّذِيرٍ

(And We had not given them Scriptures that they could study, nor sent to them before you any warner) meaning, Allah did not reveal any Book to the Arabs before the Qur'an, and He did not send any Prophet to them before Muhammad ﷺ . They used to wish for that and say, `if only a warner comes to us or a Book is revealed to us, we would be more guided than others,' but when Allah blessed them with that, they disbelieved him and stubbornly rejected him. Then Allah says:

وَكَذَّبَ الَّذِينَ مِن قَبلِهِمْ

(And those before them denied;) meaning, other nations.

وَمَا بَلَغُواْ مِعْشَارَ مَآ ءَاتَيْنَـهُمْ

(these have not received even a tenth of what We had granted to those (of old);) Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "Of the power of this world." This was also the view of Qatadah, As-Suddi and Ibn Zayd. This is like the Ayat:

وَلَقَدْ مَكَّنَـهُمْ فِيمَآ إِن مَّكَّنَّـكُمْ فِيهِ وَجَعَلْنَا لَهُمْ سَمْعاً وَأَبْصَـراً وَأَفْئِدَةً فَمَآ أَغْنَى عَنْهُمْ سَمْعُهُمْ وَلاَ أَبْصَـرُهُمْ وَلاَ أَفْئِدَتُهُمْ مِّن شَىْءٍ إِذْ كَانُواْ يَجْحَدُونَ بِـَايَـتِ اللَّهِ وَحَاقَ بِهم مَّا كَانُواْ بِهِ يَسْتَهْزِءُونَ

(And indeed We had firmly established them with that wherewith We have not established you! And We had assigned them the hearing, seeing, and hearts; but their hearing, seeing, and their hearts availed them nothing since they used to deny the Ayat of Allah, and they were completely encircled by that which they used to mock at!) (46: 26)

أَفَلَمْ يَسِيرُواْ فِى الاٌّرْضِ فَيَنظُرُواْ كَيْفَ كَانَ عَـقِبَةُ الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ كَانُواْ أَكْـثَرَ مِنْهُمْ وَأَشَدَّ قُوَّةً

(Have they not traveled through the earth and seen what was the end of those before them They were more in number than them and mightier in strength) (40:82). but that did not protect them from the punishment of Allah, and Allah destroyed them because they denied His Messengers. Allah says:

فَكَذَّبُواْ رُسُلِى فَكَيْفَ كَانَ نَكِيرِ

(yet they denied My Messengers. Then how (terrible) was My denial!) meaning, `how severe was My wrath and how great was My avenging of My Messengers.'

Pada ayat ini dijelaskan dua tuduhan lebih lanjut pemuka kaum kafir Mekah terhadap Islam. Pertama, menuduh Nabi Muhammad hanyalah seorang manusia biasa yang menyampaikan ayat-ayat Al-Qur'an kepada mereka dengan maksud menghalangi mereka menjalankan agama syirik yang diwarisi dari nenek moyang mereka. Maksudnya, Nabi Muhammad saw hanya manusia biasa, bukan malaikat, dan tidak memiliki keistimewaan berupa kekayaan, dan sebagainya. Tujuan Nabi Muhammad hanyalah menjauhkan mereka dari agama nenek moyang mereka. Dengan demikian, mereka memandang agama nenek moyang mereka itu lebih baik daripada agama yang dibawa Nabi Muhammad saw.

Kedua, mereka menuduh Al-Qur'an sebagai suatu kebohongan yang dibuat-buat. Al-Qur'an itu hanyalah buatan Muhammad saw, bukan wahyu dari Allah swt, dan isinya tidak benar.

Di sisi lain, mereka melihat kenyataan bahwa banyak manusia yang tertarik pada Al-Qur'an. Mereka sendiri pun ketika membaca atau dibacakan ayat-ayat Al-Qur'an juga merasa tertarik. Ketika melihat kandungan Al-Qur'an, mereka yakin bahwa itu tidak mungkin buatan Muhammad karena ia tidak belajar kepada siapa pun dan tidak bisa pula tulis baca. Mereka menjadi sadar bahwa tuduhan mereka terhadap Al-Qur'an itu salah. Kenyataan itu menghendaki mereka untuk mencari alasan lain. Akhirnya, mereka menuduh Al-Qur'an adalah sihir, dan karena pengaruhnya yang luar biasa, mereka menganggap sihirnya itu luar biasa hebatnya. Begitulah sifat orang kafir, ketika mereka tidak mampu lagi membantah kebenaran Al-Qur'an, mereka mencercanya dan mencari-cari alasan lain yang tak masuk akal, sebagaimana Allah berfirman:

Dan apabila mereka melihat suatu tanda (kebesaran) Allah, mereka memperolok-olokkan. Dan mereka berkata, "Ini tidak lain hanyalah sihir yang nyata. (ash-shaffat/37: 14-15)

Firman-Nya juga:

Dan jika mereka (orang-orang musyrik) melihat suatu tanda (mukjizat), mereka berpaling dan berkata, "(Ini adalah) sihir yang terus-menerus." (al-Qamar/54: 2)