Essence of the Holy Qur’an — Page 46
46 Chapter 21 Al-Anbiy a ’ + (Revealed before Hijrah) Date of Revelation and Context The S u rah , like the three preceding ones, was revealed at Mecca, very early in the Holy Prophet’s ministry. Ibn Mas‘ u d says that it was revealed before the 5th year of the Call, along with Chapters Ta H a , A1-Kahf and Maryam. The opening verses of S u rah Maryam were recited by Ja‘far before the Negus during the Emigration to Abyssinia which took place in that year. The immediate connection of the S u rah with S u rah Ta H a consists in the fact that towards the end of that S u rah it was stated that Divine punishment would overtake disbelievers at its appointed time, and the Holy Prophet was enjoined to bear their opposition and persecution patiently and with fortitude. The present S u rah opens with a warning to disbelievers that the time of their punishment has already arrived and that though they will now have to render an account of their actions, they will continue to wander in the wilderness of heedlessness and disbelief. This is the immediate connection of the S u rah with the preceding one. But it is its subject-matter as a whole, which, in fact, constitutes the real connecting link between the present S u rah and some of the preceding Chapters. In S u rah Maryam some of the false Christian doctrines were repudiated and rebutted, viz. that Jesus possessed Divine attributes, that he had abrogated the Law and had declared it to be a curse and that salvation depended not on good works but upon atonement. In S u rah Ta H a detailed account of Moses was given in order to refute again these false doctrines. The Christians were told that Christianity was but a link in the Mosaic Dispensation, and that Moses’s circumstances constituted a flat repudiation of their doctrines. His whole pride lay in the fact that he was a Law-giving Prophet. If the Law was a curse, then, according to Christian belief, Moses, instead of having been regarded as an object of respect and pride, should have been condemned and denounced. After this, the S u rah Ta H a gave a brief account of the lapse suffered by Adam and thus traced the Christian theory of the original sin to its very root and then refuted it. It was made clear in that S u rah that sin formed no part of the heritage of man and that he is punished only for his own trespasses and offences. Next, it was stated that if it was not possible for man to get rid of sin, then the very purpose of Divine punishment is defeated and God’s Prophets and His Messengers, instead of holding out warnings to sinners, should have given them the comforting message that being mere creatures of circumstances and possessing no volition or discretion they will not be called to account for their actions. The same subject has been enlarged and expanded in the present