The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 2) — Page 227
CH. 4 PT. 5 AN-NISA' 65. And We have sent no Messenger but that he should be وَمَا اَرْسَلْنَا مِنْ رَّسُولِ إِلَّا لِيُطَاعَ بِإِذْنِ اللهِ وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ إِذْ ظَلَمُوا أَنْفُسَهُمُ obeyed by the command of جَاءُوكَ فَاسْتَغْفَرُوا اللهَ وَاسْتَغْفَرَ Allah. And if they had come to لَهُمُ الرَّسُولُ لَوَجَدُوا اللهَ تَوَّابًا رَّحِيمًا asked thee when they had wronged their "souls, and forgiveness of Allah, and if the Messenger also had asked forgiveness for them, they would have surely found Allah Oft-Returning with compassion, and Merciful. 537 فَلَا وَرَبِّكَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ حَتَّى يُحَكِّمُوكَ But no, by thy Lord, they. 66 are not believers until they فِيمَا شَجَرَ بَيْنَهُمْ ثُمَّ لَا يَجِدُوا فِي أَنْفُسِهِمْ make thee judge in all that is in a4:111. b4:60. against Islam. They were not yet beyond redemption. It was possible they might one day see the error of their ways and become sincere and true Muslims. 537. Commentary: It is sometimes sought to be inferred from the words, We have sent no Messenger but that he should be obeyed by the command of Allah, that though a Prophet is to be always obeyed by the people to whom he preaches his message, yet he himself gives allegiance to no other Prophet nor can he be subject to the Law of any other Prophet. This is evidently a very wrong inference. The simple and straightforward meaning of the words is only this that when God sends a Prophet, He means that those to 667 whom he is sent should obey him. But the fact that a Prophet is the object of other people's obedience cannot preclude the possibility of his being himself subordinate to, and a follower of another Prophet. A governor is sent to a province to be obeyed but that does not mean that he is not subordinate to the Governor General, if any, or to the king. According to the Quran, Aaron was a subordinate Prophet to Moses. This is why, when Moses went up to the Mount leaving Aaron behind him to look after the Israelites, and the Israelites took to worshipping the calf, Moses severely reprimanded him on his return, saying "Hast thou then disobeyed my command?" (20:94). In this connection see also 5:45.