Commentary
And when he concluded with the description of wisdom, the proof of the ability was established, which necessitated their belief in the absence of resurrection, as it implies a deficiency in it. Consequently, this necessitated the oneness of Allah, and polytheism was invalidated. There remained only the affirmation of the message, which necessitated their reiteration of his news, blessings and peace be upon him, between lying, madness, and slander against it. It was known that the decree was: He sent to you His Messenger with His might, supported by the miracle of this Qur'an, with its wisdom as a proof of his truthfulness and perfection in his nature and his qualification for the unique blessings of His grace and the heights of His mercy. In this, there was a proof of the truthfulness of the message; thus he coordinated his words, elevating his status with the address in the manifestation of greatness. This indicated that he should don the garments of patience against all the hardships arising from the types of creation in performing the message, by his saying, adding to it: 'And certainly We gave David a favor from Us' [Saba: 10], confirming the refutation of those who claim exclusivity: 'And We have not sent you' meaning with Our greatness, 'except as a general message' meaning a comprehensive sending for all that was included in Our creation. It restrains them from what they might spread towards following their desires, and prevents anyone from them from deviating from it. The 'taa' in 'kafatan' is for emphasis, and Ibn al-Jawzi's expression is: meaning generally for all creatures. 'For mankind' means that each one of them has the capacity to be influenced by the jinn, humans, and others from all that is besides Allah, even if they harm you with every harm regarding slander or madness or otherwise. The state of sending is confined to the generality for the purpose mentioned of donning patience to bear the hardships, not in the people. If that were intended, they would have been prioritized, and it would have been said: 'except for all mankind.' And it has been mentioned in the early parts of the cattle from al-Sabki what is beneficial here. The meaning is that David, peace be upon him, was preferred by the obedience of the mountains to him, the birds, and iron, and Solomon, peace be upon him, by what was mentioned to him. So your virtue is in the sending to all whom it is possible for them to be influenced. The pebbles glorified in your hand, the mountains were commanded to walk with you, bringing gold and silver, the red ones complained to you about taking their chicks or their eggs, the lizard bore witness for you, the camel complained to you and prostrated to you, the trees obeyed you, and the stones greeted you and obeyed your command, besides all that which can be influenced by action or capability. And Allah knows best. As for the jinn, their state is well-known, and as for the angels, the signs of sending to them are extremely evident. And in the signs of prophethood, regarding the mention of the blessing, Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with both of them, said that this verse is a proof of the Prophet's superiority, blessings and peace be upon him, over the prophets due to the generality of the message for mankind and the jinn.
And when the good news was the first truthful joyful news, and it contained a response to their words regarding lies and madness, He said: ﴿A bearer of good news and a warner﴾, meaning for those who are deserving of the good news or the warning. And when this sending was accompanied by its proof from the coming with the miraculous from itself in terms of eloquence in its composition and with the precise meanings in the good news and the warning and other than that, He turned against them their words which have no proof for them and no suspicion directed towards it in regard to him ﷺ with a saying that is clearer than the sun as a proof, and the strongest of all sayings is: ﴿But﴾. And when the first people, all of whom have the capacity for understanding, are all of the creatures and most of them are not disobedient, He made clear the desire for the two burdens from the jinn and mankind and said: Most people do not know, meaning they do not have the capacity for knowledge to know that you are the Messenger of Allah, let alone that your sending is general. Rather, they are like cattle, and for that reason they do not reflect and say, 'Has he fabricated it or is he possessed?' and similar to this without contemplating what is in this book of wisdom and correctness along with the miraculous in the states of elaboration and brevity, and concealment and clarity, so their ignorance leads them to opposition and avoidance.
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