The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 2) — Page 473
PT. 8 AL-AN'ĀM good ideas to men and to invite them to virtue (2:32). They sometimes perform this function through the medium of dreams and visions. The opening words of the verse refer to this very function. means The words, the dead speak to them, refer to the testimony of pious men of the past to the truth of a Divine Messenger either by of prophecies which are handed down to posterity in writing or orally, or by their appearing to men in dreams and visions. There is another way also in which the dead may speak to men. This happens when a person who is spiritually dead or a nation which is devoid of spiritual life is quickened to life by seeing the truth of their Prophet and then testifies to his truth before other persons or nations. The words, and We gather to them all things face to face, refer to the testimony of the different objects of nature to the truth of a Prophet before his enemies. The different objects of nature bear testimony in the form of earthquakes, pestilences, storms, floods, famines and other visitations. These things come upon the enemies of a Prophet as punishments from heaven. Nature itself appears to be angry with them; the very elements are up in arms against them. All things that are God's (and what is there that is not God's?) stand up in opposition to the enemies of a Divine Messenger. Thus it is that both heaven and earth bear testimony to a Prophet's truth. It should be noted that all these signs were actually shown in the time 913 CH. 6 of the Holy Prophet. As for the angels, they appeared at the Battle of Badr and were even seen by some of the disbelievers (Jarir, iv. 47), but those who were hard-hearted did not believe. They knew the Holy Prophet to be a truthful and upright man but, surrounded by evil associates and swayed by evil passions, they denied his claims. In the beginning even men like Abū Jahl were impressed by the truth and honesty of the Holy Prophet; for it is recorded that when the verses of the Quran were recited to Abū Jahl for the first time, he admitted that it was the truth. In spite of this, however, he exclaimed, "When did we follow the children of 'Abd Manāf?" (an ancestor of the Holy Prophet), meaning that he could not accept the leadership of the Prophet. Thereafter he gradually increased in perversity, so much so that at the Battle of Badr he actually prayed to God to destroy whichever of them (meaning himself and the Holy Prophet) had created mischief and discord among his people. The prayer was heard, but he himself was its victim. His case is a typical instance of how the hearts of men were hardened because they rejected the Holy Prophet at the very outset, in spite of knowing him to be sincere and truthful. The words, most of them behave ignorantly, imply that they will not believe unless God forces His will on them and compels them to accept the truth; but God will not do that, and these people are so foolhardy that they would not change their hostile attitude unless compelled to do so.