Surah 29:48
Show Full Scripture Context (29:47-49) — 3 Verses
وَكَذَٰلِكَ أَنزَلۡنَآ إِلَيۡكَ ٱلۡكِتَٰبَۚ فَٱلَّذِينَ ءَاتَيۡنَٰهُمُ ٱلۡكِتَٰبَ يُؤۡمِنُونَ بِهِۦۖ وَمِنۡ هَـٰٓؤُلَآءِ مَن يُؤۡمِنُ بِهِۦۚ وَمَا يَجۡحَدُ بِـَٔايَٰتِنَآ إِلَّا ٱلۡكَٰفِرُونَ
In this way We have sent down the Book to you. Those to whom We have given the Book believe in it, and among these (people) (there are) some who believe in it. No one denies Our signs but the disbelievers.
وَمَا كُنتَ تَتۡلُواْ مِن قَبۡلِهِۦ مِن كِتَٰبٖ وَلَا تَخُطُّهُۥ بِيَمِينِكَۖ إِذٗا لَّٱرۡتَابَ ٱلۡمُبۡطِلُونَ
You were not accustomed to read from any book before it, or to write it with your right (hand), (for) then the perpetrators of falsehood would indeed have had (reason to) doubt (you).
بَلۡ هُوَ ءَايَٰتُۢ بَيِّنَٰتٞ فِي صُدُورِ ٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ ٱلۡعِلۡمَۚ وَمَا يَجۡحَدُ بِـَٔايَٰتِنَآ إِلَّا ٱلظَّـٰلِمُونَ
No! It is clear signs in the hearts of those who have been given knowledge. No one denies Our signs but the evildoers.
Ibn Jarir said: “Allah says, ‘just as We revealed the Books to the Messengers who came before you, O Muhammad, so We have also revealed this Book to you.’” What he said is good and fits the context.
Allah’s saying:
{and those whom We gave the Scripture believe therein} means, those knowledgable rabbis and scholars among them who learned it and recited it properly, such as ‘Abdullah bin Salam, Salman Al-Farisi and others like them.
{as also believe therein some of these} meaning, the Quraysh Arabs and others.
No one disbelieves and rejects them except those who conceal the truth with falsehood, and those who try to hide the rays and light of the sun by their covering an eye.
Then Allah says:
meaning, “you lived among your people for a long time before you brought this Qur’an. During this time you never read any book or wrote anything. Your people, as well as others all know that you are an unlettered man who does not read or write.” This is how he was also described in the previous Scriptures, as Allah says:
This is how the Messenger of Allah will remain until the Day of Resurrection, unable to write even one line or one letter. He used to have scribes who would write down the revelation for him, or would write letters from him to be sent to different places.
Allah’s saying:
means, ‘if you had been literate, some ignorant people would have doubted you. They would have said that you learned this from Books inherited from the Prophets which came before.’ Indeed, they did say that, even though they knew that he was unlettered and could not read or write.
Allah says:
Say: “It has been sent down by Him Who knows the secret of the heavens and the earth}.
And Allah says here:
meaning, this Qur’an is clear Ayat which indicate the truth, commands, prohibitions and stories. It is memorized by the scholars for whom Allah makes it easy to memorize, recite and interpret. This is like the Ayah,
The Messenger of Allah said:
«There has never been any Prophet who was not given that which would make people believe in him. What I have been given is revelation which Allah reveals to me, and I hope that I will have the most followers among them.»
According to the Hadith of Iyad bin Himar, recorded in Sahih Muslim, Allah says:
«"I am testing you and testing others through you, revealing to you a Book which cannot be washed away by water, which you recite while you are asleep and while you are awake.»
This means, if the manuscript where it is written were to be washed with water, there is no need for that manuscript. This is because it is preserved in the hearts and is easy on the tongue (i.e., is easy to recite), and is controlling people’s hearts and minds. It is miraculous in its wording and in its meanings. In the previous Scriptures this Ummah was described as carrying their holy Books in their hearts.
Nobody denies it or tries to undermine its status or rejects it except the wrongdoers, i.e., the arrogant transgressors who know the truth but turn away from it, as Allah says:
— from Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Vol. 7, Page 498)