Episode 22 - Clarifying a Misunderstanding of the Verse About the Messengers: (They Thought They Had Lied)

Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah. Dear brothers, in the previous episode, we mentioned that a Muslim must strive to understand the verses that may seem, at first glance, to imply something inconsistent with having good thoughts about Allah's messengers, peace be upon them. We mentioned the story of Prophet Lut, peace be upon him, as an example. Today, we will mention another example. You, my brother, when you were reading His saying: ((Until the messengers despaired and thought they had lied, then Our help came to them, and We saved whom We willed, and Our punishment cannot be repelled from the wicked people)) What did you understand from this verse? I fear that some may understand from it that the messengers despaired of Allah's help and had bad thoughts about His promise, glory be to Him, and far be it from the messengers of Allah to think such thoughts about their Lord. Rather, they are the role models of the worlds in their certainty of Allah's truth and that He fulfills His promise. So what is the meaning of the verse? Al-Tabari narrated in his interpretation that Muslim bin Yasar asked Said bin Jubayr, may Allah have mercy on him, about this verse, and Said explained it as follows: (Until the messengers despaired... meaning: from their people believing them, and they thought they had lied, meaning: the people to whom they were sent thought that the messengers had lied to them). The key to the answer is knowing that the word (lied) refers to the people of the messengers, not the messengers themselves. So, those who disbelieved among their people thought that their messengers had lied to them by saying that punishment would befall the disbelievers, because the years passed and it had not yet come. When Muslim bin Yasar heard this explanation from Said, he went to him and embraced him, saying: (May Allah relieve you as He has relieved me). Imagine his joy in understanding a verse whose misunderstanding had caused him distress. Al-Dhahhak (from the interpreters) commented on this explanation from Said bin Jubayr: (If I had traveled to Yemen for this, it would have been little). True! For such a clarifying explanation that relieves the chest of what is difficult regarding a verse from what Allah has revealed... this explanation deserves that distances be cut and times be spent. These days, we do not need to cut distances, but we can obtain an explanation of a verse in seconds through a reliable website or contacting a scholar. The important thing is to have concern for understanding the speech of our Lord and the purity of our hearts towards His Book, glory be to Him. And our mother Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, interpreted the verse as the messengers thought that their followers had lied to them because they delayed the victory that the messengers had promised them. And this is also a possible meaning. The important thing is to interpret the verse in a way that language allows and that preserves the honor of the prophets, peace be upon them. We ask Allah to guide us with our religion and make us among those who learn the Quran and teach it. And peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah.