The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 3) — Page 369
CH. 15 وَمَا يَأْتِيهِمْ مِنْ رَّسُولٍ إِلَّا كَانُوابم PT. 14 AL-HIJR 12. And there never came to them any Messenger but they mocked at him. 1718 one another's opinion (Lane). Commentary: "36:31; 43:8. In the word (parties or more literally, parties forming groups) all the former peoples have been spoken of as groups. This negatives the assertion of those so-called in- dependent people who describe themselves as not belonging to any group, for every man must belong to one group or another whether old or new, known or unknown. Herding, according to psychologists, is one of the strongest instincts of man, and it is in reference to this fact that the former peoples have been spoken of as forming so many (parties or groups). For the meaning of the word see Important Words. The verse purports to state that the Prophet of Islam is not the first Prophet. There have been Prophets before him and God extended His protection to their teachings also. Similarly He will protect his teaching, the Quran. On the occasion of the appearance of a Prophet who brings a new Law, this protection is afforded to his teaching, among other things, by his followers being invested with political power which enables them to give a practical demonstration of the truth of his teaching. His followers may not attain to political power very early in their career, nevertheless they achieve such influence as enables them to demonstrate by actual practice the truth of his teachings. It is indeed surprising that the opponents of every Prophet have always refused to test the truth of his claim by the criteria of the history of past Prophets, which is the easiest way to ascertain the merits of any such claim. This attitude of disbelievers proves that they are not honest or earnest about ascertaining the truth but intend only to confuse the issues. 1718. Commentary: The verse shows that when disbelievers addressed the Holy Prophet saying, O thou to whom this Exhortation has been sent down, thou art surely a madman (v. 7), they really used the words in jest. So what it meant in the present verse is that if disbelievers mock at the Holy Prophet, it is not a thing to be wondered at, for even Prophets whom they claim to accept were similarly mocked at by their forefathers. 1577 Another significance of the verse is that whenever there comes a Prophet, God promises to protect his teachings, and this makes disbelievers wonder. They cannot bring themselves to believe that through his teachings he has any chance of success in the face of their opposition and, therefore, they treat him with contempt. It is surprising that although all