Surah Saba 34:49

I do not ask for any Reward for conveying the Message

Allah commands His Messenger to say to the idolators:

مَا سَأَلْتُكُم مِّن أَجْرٍ فَهُوَ لَكُمْ

(Whatever wage I might have asked of you is yours.) meaning, `I do not want anything for conveying the Message of Allah to you, advising you and telling you to worship Allah.'

إِنْ أَجْرِىَ إِلاَّ عَلَى اللَّهِ

My wage is from Allah only, means, rather I will seek the reward for that with Allah.

وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَىْءٍ شَهِيدٍ

and He is a Witness over all things. means, He knows all things, and He knows everything about me and the manner in which I am conveying the Message to you, and He knows all about you.

قُلْ إِنَّ رَبِّى يَقْذِفُ بِالْحَقِّ عَلَّـمُ الْغُيُوبِ

(Say: "Verily, my Lord sends down the truth, the All-Knower of the Unseen.") This is like the Ayah:

يُلْقِى الرُّوحَ مِنْ أَمْرِهِ عَلَى مَن يَشَآءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ

(He sends the Revelation by His command to any of His servants He wills) (40:15). meaning, He sends the angel to whomsoever He wills of His servants among the people on earth, and He is the All-Knower of the Unseen; nothing whatsoever is hidden from Him in the heavens or on earth.

قُلْ جَآءَ الْحَقُّ وَمَا يُبْدِىءُ الْبَـطِلُ وَمَا يُعِيدُ

(Say: "The truth has come, and the falsehood can neither create anything nor resurrect.") means, truth and the great Law have come from Allah, and falsehood has gone and has perished and vanished. This is like the Ayah:

بَلْ نَقْذِفُ بِالْحَقِّ عَلَى الْبَـطِلِ فَيَدْمَغُهُ فَإِذَا هُوَ زَاهِقٌ

(Nay, We fling the truth against the falsehood, so it destroys it, and behold, it is vanished) (21:18). When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ entered Al-Masjid Al-Haram on the day of the conquest of Makkah, and found those idols standing around the Ka`bah, he started to hit the idols with his bow, reciting,

وَقُلْ جَآءَ الْحَقُّ وَزَهَقَ الْبَـطِلُ إِنَّ الْبَـطِلَ كَانَ زَهُوقًا

(And say: "The truth has come and the falsehood has vanished. Surely, the falsehood is ever bound to vanish.") (17:81), and:

قُلْ جَآءَ الْحَقُّ وَمَا يُبْدِىءُ الْبَـطِلُ وَمَا يُعِيدُ

(Say: "The truth has come, and the falsehood can neither create anything nor resurrect.") This was recorded by Al-Bukhari, Muslim, At-Tirmidhi and An-Nasa'i.

قُلْ إِن ضَلَلْتُ فَإِنَّمَآ أَضِلُّ عَلَى نَفْسِى وَإِنِ اهْتَدَيْتُ فَبِمَا يُوحِى إِلَىَّ رَبِّى

(Say: "If (even) I go astray, I shall stray only to my own loss. But if I remain guided, it is because of the Revelation of my Lord to me...") means, all good comes from Allah, and in what Allah sends down of revelation and clear truth there is guidance and wisdom. So whoever goes astray, does so by himself, as `Abdullah bin Mas`ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said when he was asked about some issue. He said, "I will say what I think, and if it is correct, then it is from Allah, and if it is wrong, then it is from me and from the Shaytan, and Allah and His Messenger have nothing to do with it."

إِنَّهُ سَمِيعٌ قَرِيبٌ

Truly, He is All-Hearer, Ever Near. means, He hears all the words of His servants, and He is always near to respond to them when they call on Him. An-Nasa0 0 recorded the Hadith of Abu Mu0sa0 which also appears in the Two Sلahل0hلs:

«إِنَّكُمْ لَاتَدْعُونَ أَصَمَّ وَلَا غَائِبًا، إِنَّمَا تَدْعُونَ سَمِيعًا قَرِيبًا مُجِيبًا»

(You are not calling upon one who is deaf or absent; you are calling upon One Who is All-Hearer, Ever Near and Responsive.)

Allah selanjutnya meminta Nabi Muhammad menegaskan kepada kaum kafir itu bahwa kebenaran telah datang dan kebatilan tidak akan kembali. Maksud kebenaran di sini adalah Islam, sedangkan kebatilan adalah kekafiran.

Kebenaran apabila sudah datang maka kebatilan itu akan dihancurkannya sampai lumat, sebagaimana firman Allah:

Sebenarnya Kami melemparkan yang hak (kebenaran) kepada yang batil (tidak benar) lalu yang hak itu menghancurkannya, maka seketika itu (yang batil) lenyap. Dan celaka kamu karena kamu menyifati (Allah dengan sifat-sifat yang tidak pantas bagi-Nya) (al-Anbiya'/21: 18)

Dengan demikian kebatilan akan sirna bila datang kebenaran, dan kebenaran itu akan menang Firman Allah:

Dan katakanlah, "Kebenaran telah datang dan yang batil telah lenyap." Sungguh, yang batil itu pasti lenyap. (al-Isra'/17: 81)

Kemenangan kebenaran akan membuat kebatilan tidak akan muncul lagi, baik dalam bentuk baru atau bentuk semula. Kembali dalam bentuk baru yaitu matinya kebatilan yang lama digantikan kebatilan lainnya. Kembali dalam bentuk semula, yaitu hidupnya kembali kebatilan yang sudah mati itu. Contoh kemenangan kebenaran itu adalah penguasaan kota Mekah dimana Nabi Muhammad memasuki Masjidil Haram dan menghancurleburkan berhala-berhala yang ditempatkan kaum kafir Mekah di sekeliling dan di dalam Ka'bah. Sebuah hadis menginformasikan hal itu:

Ketika Rasulullah memasuki Masjidil Haram pada hari penaklukan Mekah dan menemukan banyak berhala terpancang di sekeliling Ka'bah, beliau menusuk satu berhala di antara berhala-berhala itu dengan ujung panahnya dan membaca, "Yang benar telah datang dan yang batil telah lenyap, sesungguhnya yang batil itu sesuatu yang pasti lenyap," dan seterusnya membaca ayat 49 ini. (Riwayat al-Bukhari dan Muslim)

Setelah pengislaman kota Mekah, suku-suku di seluruh Jazirah Arab menyatakan keislaman mereka satu demi satu. Kemudian Islam terus berkembang ke seluruh dunia, dan akan terus berjaya sampai hari kiamat. Dengan demikian, kemenangan kebenaran dan kehancuran kebatilan hanya terwujud dengan perjuangan, sebagaimana Nabi Muhammad, para sahabat, dan para pemimpin sesudah mereka berjuang. Di akhirat nanti, Islam itu pasti benar dan kekafiran itu pasti salah.