The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 3) — Page 53
PT. 11 YŪNUS CH. 10 E وَلِكُلِّ أُمَّةٍ رَّسُول فَإِذَا جَاءَ And for every people there. 48 رَسُولُهُمْ قُضِيَ بَيْنَهُمُ بِالْقِسْطِ وَهُمُ Messenger comes, it is judged لَا يُظْلَمُونَ is a Messenger. So when their between them with equity, and they are not wronged. 1323 وَيَقُولُونَ مَتَى هَذَا ال And they say, “When will. 49 this promise be fulfilled, if you are truthful?'1324 concern "16:37; 35:25. 21:39; 27:72; 34:30; 36:49. that only such prophecies are liable to be revoked or cancelled as relate to matters of detail, for the prophecies which fundamental principles and are general in character are never revoked. An instance of the prophecies of this class is to be had in the well-known verse, Allah has decreed: of a certainty I will prevail, I and My Messengers (58:22); while the prophecies which are liable to be cancelled, are those to which the verse under comment relates, for here the words are, the things with which We have threatened them. This shows that the prophecies comprising threats and warnings about impending punishment are liable to be cancelled, while those containing promises of a general character not applying to a particular Prophet but embodying a general rule that applies to all the Prophets of God can never be cancelled and must be fulfilled. 1323. Commentary: It is wrong to infer from this verse that only one Messenger is sent to a people. It is the appearance of a Messenger and not the number of such Messengers that is meant here. 1261 كُنْتُمْ صَدِقِينَ In other words, the verse tells us that no people is left without a Divine Messenger. Moreover, to interpret this verse as meaning that every nation has only one Messenger sent to them contradicts the established facts of history. Both Moses and Aaron, who were real brothers, were sent not only to the same people but in the same age. In fact, what is intended here is that every religious community takes its birth from the advent of a heavenly Messenger. Obviously it refers to a Law-giving Prophet, for all religious dispensations are founded by Law- giving Prophets. The latter portion of the verse means that those who show themselves deserving of inclusion among the followers of a Prophet get the opportunity to do so, while those who reject the Divine Messenger are destroyed. Thus no people can become heirs to God's blessings and favours unless they follow the Messenger of God who is sent to them. 1324. Commentary: Strange, indeed, are the ways of