And when it was made clear that he was sent ﷺ with the tongue of his people to all of mankind, because the Arabic language is the easiest of tongues, the most comprehensive, the most eloquent, and the clearest, it was in the utmost fairness. He concluded that the path to Him is in the utmost straightness and moderation. This indicates the nobility of this tongue for its suitability for all nations and its ease for them, especially the tongue of each of the messengers with his people. Therefore, his words follow: "And We did not send" meaning by that, in terms of greatness, and he emphasized the negation by saying: "any messenger" meaning in any time of times "except with the tongue of" meaning the language of his people, those in whom there is strength in the attempt for what they want, "to clarify" meaning a clear clarification "for them" as it was previously stated that We sent you with a clear Arabic Book with the tongue of your people to clarify for them (p-375) and for all of creation. For your tongue is the easiest of tongues and the sweetest of them. It is connected to "We sent it down" [Ibrahim: 1] with the meaning that was previously mentioned. So if that is established, it is known that there is no barrier for any nation from being upright on this path except by the permission of Allah and His will. "So He leads astray" meaning it results from that that He leads astray "whom He wills" of His leading astray. And He preceded this, glorified is He, with this concern for the indication that He, glorified and exalted is He, is the creator of evil just as He is the creator of good, despite the context being for the condemnation of the disbelievers who are the heads of the people of misguidance. "And He guides whom He wills" His guidance, for He, glorified and exalted is He, is the misleader and the guide. As for the messengers, they are clarifiers, binding upon the proof, distinguishing the misguided from the guided. "And He alone" meaning only He "is the Mighty" who what is with Him cannot be attained except by Him, and nothing is impossible for Him of what He wills. "The Wise" who does not nullify what He has planned. Therefore, He planned with His wisdom the sending of him, blessings and peace be upon him and his family, to all of creation with the Arabic tongue, because the objective is to gather creation upon the truth. So He gathered them upon one tongue that is most suitable for that. If it had been sent down in all tongues, it would have contradicted this objective. And although it is with the miraculous nature of every tongue, it would have been close to coercion, leading to the loss of faith in the unseen. It would also lead to the claim of the people of every tongue that the expression of it in their tongue is greater, which would lead to boasting and tribalism resulting in the greatest division. And the most suitable tongue is the tongue of the people of the messenger because they are closest to him. Thus, their understanding of the secrets of his legislation and their grasp of its realities is easier, and they are further from error and mistake. So when they understand from him, they call upon those who follow them with translation and so on. Thus, the matter spread and became widespread and easy, and with that, it was further from distortion and safer from dispute.

And Imam Abu Ja'far ibn al-Zubair said: When [Surah Ar-Ra'd] was revealed, it laid the groundwork that those verses and proofs that were mentioned in it leave no doubt for anyone who reflects upon them to magnify its significance and clarify its matter. Allah, the Most High, said: ﴿A Book We have sent down to you to bring people out of darkness into light﴾ [Ibrahim: 1]. This means that if they remember it, and gain insight from its proofs, and contemplate its verses, ﴿And if there were a Qur'an by which the mountains were moved or the earth was cut﴾ [Ar-Ra'd: 31]. And since this guidance and misguidance are all dependent on His will, glorified and exalted is He, and His prior decree, He has said to His Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: ﴿You are only a warner, and for every people there is a guide﴾ [Ar-Ra'd: 7]. Allah, the Most High, said here: ﴿By permission of their Lord﴾ [Ibrahim: 1]. Your duty is only to convey the message. And when Allah, the Most High, said: ﴿And how many a sign in the heavens and the earth﴾ [Yusuf: 105], it was completed in [Surah Ar-Ra'd]. He informed here that all of that belongs to Him and His dominion, and He said: ﴿To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth﴾ [Ibrahim: 2]. So the heavens and the earth, in their entirety, and all that is in them, are great signs for you to reflect upon. All of that belongs to Him in ownership, creation, and invention.

﴿And to Him has submitted whoever is in the heavens and the earth willingly and unwillingly﴾ [Aal Imran: 83] ﴿And woe to the disbelievers from a severe punishment﴾ [Ibrahim: 2] for their obstinacy despite the clarity of the matter and its explanation. ﴿And they hinder from the path of Allah﴾ [Ibrahim: 3] while the path is clear and the evidence is established. Then Allah, the Exalted, said: ﴿And We did not send any messenger except with the language of his people﴾. This seems to be part of His saying, glorified and exalted is He: ﴿And certainly We sent messengers before you and made for them wives and offspring﴾ [Ar-Ra'd: 38]. This is because the disbelievers, when envy and obstinacy overwhelmed them, and their understanding was far removed due to what their hearts were created upon and sealed with, denied the fact that the messengers were from among humans until they said: ﴿Is there a human who guides us?﴾ [At-Taghabun: 6] ﴿You are nothing but humans like us﴾ [Ya-Sin: 15]. Until Quraysh said: ﴿Why was a messenger not sent down to him from among the angels?﴾ [Al-An'am: 8] ﴿What is this messenger that eats food and walks in the markets?﴾ [Al-Furqan: 7]. ﴿And they said, 'Why was this Qur'an not sent down to a great man from the two cities?﴾ [Az-Zukhruf: 31]. This was often repeated by them, and their followers echoed this sentiment. Allah, the Exalted, refuted their claims and invalidated their delusions in verses that came gradually (p-378) addressing this matter bit by bit. The first of that which was revealed in response to them, and in the arrangement of the chapters of the Book, is His saying, the Exalted: ﴿Was it a wonder to the people that We revealed to a man from among them?﴾ [Yunus: 2]. Then He followed that by affirming His uniqueness in creation, invention, management, and lordship. Implicit in this is that He does what He wills because all is His creation and dominion. He is the All-Knowing of the wisdom behind sending messengers and their being from among humans. Thus, Allah, the Exalted, humiliated every denier and obstinate one with the meaning of these verses. Then He mentioned in [Surah Hud] the saying of the people of Noah: ﴿We see you as nothing but a human like us﴾ [Hud: 27]. And his response, peace be upon him, was: ﴿Do you see if I am on clear proof from my Lord and He has given me mercy from Himself, and it has been obscured from you? Shall we compel you to it while you are averse to it?﴾ [Hud: 28]. This means that even if I am like you in humanity, Allah has favored me with His grace and has given me mercy from Himself, and a proof of what I have brought to you from Him. In this [story] is the greatest admonition. This also occurred with Saleh and Shu'ayb, peace be upon them. The habit of nations with their prophets is always to commit such statements, and in it is the evidence of their stubbornness and inability to resist them, which is evident and a testimony to their obstinacy. Then Allah, the Exalted, increased His Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, by informing him of the conditions of those who preceded him from the prophets, peace be upon them, so that those who experienced similar situations would hear what they said. He said, the Exalted: ﴿And certainly We sent messengers before you and made for them wives and offspring﴾ [Ar-Ra'd: 38]. And He made it known, glorified is He, that this does not diminish anything from their ranks; rather, it is part of establishing the proof against the servants. Then He followed that with His saying: ﴿And We did not send any messenger except with the language of his people﴾, meaning to make the argument more effective and to cut off excuses. For they might say when languages differ: 'We do not understand them.' They said this even while the languages were the same. Indeed, the people of Shu'ayb, peace be upon him, said: ﴿We do not understand much of what you say﴾ [Hud: 91]. This while he, peace be upon him, was addressing them in their own language. So how would it be if it were contrary to that? Rather, if the messengers, peace be upon them, had differed from the nations in abstaining from taking wives and children, and in consuming food and other human customs, it would have been repulsive. Thus, the wisdom behind their being from among humans is clear. [If they were from the angels, there would have been aversion and alienation due to the difference in species, and this is indicated by His saying, the Exalted: ﴿And if We had made him an angel, We would have made him a man and We would have confused them with what they confuse﴾ [Al-An'am: 9], meaning to be closer to them so that there would be no aversion. Thus, their being from among humans is closer and more valid for the proof. And since the message of Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, is general, he addressed every group among the Arabs in their own language and spoke to them in what they understood. Consider how much difference there is between his letter, blessings and peace be upon him, to Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, regarding charity and his letter to Wail ibn Hajar, despite the common purpose. And there are parallels for both letters that can be found in their contexts, and all of this is to establish the proof against everyone. And the remainder of [Surah Ibrahim] peace be upon him continues to inform about the condition of those who deny the messengers and the warning for those who oppose them, and to clarify some of the horrors of the Hereafter and its punishment.