A bringer of good news and a warner
بشيرا ونذيرا
A bringer of good news
بشيرا
Description of
A Qur'an
قرآنا
means: We made it an Arabic Qur'an, a book whose verses are detailed, an Arabic Qur'an, a bringer of good news and a warner. A bringer of good news to whom? To whoever believed in it, as the Exalted said:
And guidance and good news for the Muslims
وهدى وبشرى للمسلمين
And a warner to whoever disbelieved in it. And if you wish, say: It is a warner to all the worlds, as the Exalted said:
Blessed is He who sent down the Criterion upon His Servant that he may be to the worlds a warner -
تَبَارَكَ الَّذِي نَزَّلَ الْفُرْقَانَ عَلَى عَبْدِهِ لِيَكُونَ لِلْعَالَمِينَ نَذِيرًا
[Al-Furqan: 1]. The point is that the good news is specific, and the warning is general, though it may be specific, as the Exalted said:
and warn thereby a hostile people.
وتُنذرَ به قوما لُدًّا
meaning those who disbelieved in it, beware. So the bringer of good news is specific to those who believed, and the warner can be general or specific. So what is the bringer of good news? The bringer of good news is the one who informs of what brings joy, and his news is called good news because its effect appears on the skin of the human being, and for this reason the features of his face shine with joy.
And a warner
ونذيرًا
The warning is information accompanied by threat.
but most of them turn away, so they do not hear.
فأعرض أكثرهم فهم لا يسمعون
So most of them turned away
فأعرض أكثرهم
The fa is a conjunction, and
Turned away
أعرض
is conjoined to
explained
فصلت
, meaning: a book whose verses are detailed, and yet most of them turned away. It is also possible that the fa is for resumption, meaning: so they turned away, i.e., it is a resumed sentence not conjoined to what came before it.
Most of them turned away
أعرض أكثرهم
means most of those to whom it reached.
"So they do not hear a hearing of acceptance" This is the result of their turning away: they became such that they do not hear, and the negation of hearing from them is due to the absence of its benefit, which is taking heed and acceptance. Know that hearing is negated sometimes due to the absence of its essence and sometimes due to the absence of its fruit. So His saying, the Exalted:
Indeed, you will not make the dead hear
إنك لا تسمع الموتى
This is a negation of its essence: the dead do not hear. And His saying, the Exalted:
And do not be like those who say, "We have heard," while they do not hear.
ولا تكونوا كالذين قالوا سمعنا وهم لا يسمعون
is due to the absence of its fruit, because hearing that has no fruit is like non-existence. And
They said
قالوا
is conjoined to
So they turned away
فأعرض
.
"
And they said
وقالوا
to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
Our hearts are within coverings
قلوبُنا في أكنة
coverings
from that to which you invite us, and in our ears is deafness, and between us and you is a partition, so work; indeed, we are working."
مما تدعونا إليه وفي آذاننا وقر ومن بيننا وبينك حجاب فاعمل إننا عاملون
This, and refuge is sought in Allah, is due to the severity of their stubbornness and disbelief. They said to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) while he was calling them:
Our hearts are in coverings from what you call us to
قلوبنا في أكنة مما تدعونا إليه
like their saying:
And they said, "Our hearts are covered."
وقالوا قلوبنا غلف
meaning the akinnah, the plural of kinn, which is that by which one hides. And his saying:
From what you call us to.
مما تدعونا إليه
means: from tawhid (the oneness of Allah), obedience, and testifying to Allah the Exalted with oneness and to His Prophet with messengership. They mentioned the hearts and began with them because they are the seat of consciousness.
And in our ears is deafness.
وفي آذاننا وقرٌ
weight, meaning we do not hear, meaning: we listen to you with dislike and hatred, as if there is a weight of hearing in our ears.
And between us and you is a barrier.
ومن بيننا وبينك حجاب
means: a barrier that stands between us and you, so we do not see you. Thus they covered all avenues of comprehension.
