Surah 34

Surah 34:46

"Say: ‘I give you only one admonition, (namely) that you stand before God, in pairs or singly, (and) then reflect: (there are) not any jinn in your companion. He is only a warner for you in the face of a harsh punishment.’"
Refutation of Their Accusation that the Prophet was Insane Verses 34:46
Show Full Scripture Context (34:46) — 1 Verse
Verse 46

۞قُلۡ إِنَّمَآ أَعِظُكُم بِوَٰحِدَةٍۖ أَن تَقُومُواْ لِلَّهِ مَثۡنَىٰ وَفُرَٰدَىٰ ثُمَّ تَتَفَكَّرُواْۚ مَا بِصَاحِبِكُم مِّن جِنَّةٍۚ إِنۡ هُوَ إِلَّا نَذِيرٞ لَّكُم بَيۡنَ يَدَيۡ عَذَابٖ شَدِيدٖ

Say: ‘I give you only one admonition, (namely) that you stand before God, in pairs or singly, (and) then reflect: (there are) not any jinn in your companion. He is only a warner for you in the face of a harsh punishment.’

Allah says: ‘Say, O Muhammad, to these disbelievers who claim that you are crazy,’

{I exhort you to one (thing) only,} meaning, 1 am only telling you to one thing,’ and that is:

Quoted Scripture
"that you stand up for Allah's sake in pairs and singly, and reflect, there is no madness in your companion."

meaning, ‘stand sincerely before Allah, without being influenced by your own desires or tribal feelings, and ask one another, is Muhammad crazy? Advise one another,’

{and reflect} means, let each person look within himself concerning the matter of Muhammad, and ask other people about him if he is still confused, then let him think about the matter. Allah says:

Quoted Scripture
"that you stand up for Allah's sake in pairs and singly , and reflect, there is no madness in your companion."

This meaning was stated by Mujahid, Muhammad bin Ka*b, As-Suddi, Qatadah and others. This is what is meant by the Ayah.

Quoted Scripture
"He is only a wamer to you in face of a severe torment."

Al-Bukhari recorded that Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, commented on this Ayah: “One day, the Prophet climbed up As-Safa’ and shouted,
«0 people /» The Quraysh gathered around him, and said, What is the matter with you?’ He said,
«What do you think? If I told you that the enemy were approaching and will reach us in the morning or in the evening, would you believe me?*
They said, ‘Of course.’ He said:
>1 am a wamer to you in the face of a severe punishment .»
Abu Lahab said, *May you perish! You have called us together only to tell us this?’ Then Allah revealed:

{Perish the two hands of Abu Lahab and perish he!} (111:1)

We have already discussed this in our Tafsir of the Ayah:
{And warn your tribe of near kindred} (26:214).

About this Source & Scholarly Authority (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

Universal Sunni Consensus: Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim by Hafiz Ibn Kathir (701–774 AH / 1301–1373 AD) is universally regarded across all major schools of Sunni Islam (traditional, Salafi, Ash'ari) as the most authoritative classical exegesis. It is prized because it relies on Tafsir bil-Ma'thur—interpreting the Quran using the Quran itself, authentic Hadiths of Prophet Muhammad, and recorded statements of the early Companions (Sahabah).

Standard English Edition: This text is from the standard 10-volume English abridgment published by Dar-us-Salam Publications (supervised by Shaykh Safiur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri), which is the official, most widely distributed English Quranic commentary in mosques and Islamic libraries worldwide today.