O you people of the Book, Our Apostle has come to you when apostles had ceased to come long ago, lest you said: "There did not come to us any messenger of good news or of warnings." So now there has reached you a bearer of good tidings and of warnings; for God has the power over all things.
O People given the Book(s)! Indeed this Noble Messenger (Prophet Mohammed – peace and blessings be upon him) of Ours has come to you, revealing to you Our commands, after the Noble Messengers had stopped arriving for ages, for you might claim, “Never did any Harbinger of Glad Tidings or Herald of Warning come to us” – so this Harbinger of Glad Tidings and Herald of Warning has come to you; and Allah is Able to do all things.
People of the Book, now there has come to you Our Messenger, making things clear to you, upon an interval between the Messengers lest you should say, 'There has not come to us any bearer of good tidings, neither any warner. Indeed, there has come to you a bearer of good tidings and a warner; God is powerful over everything.
O followers of the Bible! Now, after a long time during which no apostles have appeared, there has come unto you [this] Our Apostle to make [the truth] clear to you, lest you say, "No bearer of glad tidings has come unto us, nor any warner ": for now there has come unto you a bearer of glad tidings and a warner -since God has the power to will anything.
O people of the Book! surely there hath come unto you Our apostle, after a cessation of the apostles, expounding unto you, lest ye may say: there came not unto us a bearer of glad tidings nor a warner. So now there surely hath come unto you a bearer of glad tidings and a warner; and Allah is over everything Potent.
O people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians)! Now has come to you Our Messenger (Muhammad SAW) making (things) clear unto you, after a break in (the series of) Messengers, lest you say: "There came unto us no bringer of glad tidings and no warner." But now has come unto you a bringer of glad tidings and a warner. And Allah is Able to do all things.
O People of the Book! Our Messenger has come to you, making things clear to you—after a cessation of messengers—so that you cannot say, “No preacher has come to us, and no warner.” In fact, a preacher has come to you, and a warner; and God is Capable of everything.
People of the Book! After a long interlude during which no Messengers have appeared there has come to you Our Messenger to elucidate the teaching of the true faith lest you say: 'No bearer of glad tidings and no warner has come to us.' For now there indeed has come to you a bearer of glad tidings and a warner, Allah is All-Power-ful.
O People of the Scripture! Now has come to you Our Messenger making (things) clear unto you, after a break in (the series of) Messengers, lest you say: "There came to us no bringer of glad tidings and no warner." But now has come unto you a bringer of glad tidings and a warner. And Allah is able to do all things.
O People of the Scripture! Now hath Our messenger come unto you to make things plain unto you after an interval (of cessation) of the messengers, lest ye should say: There came not unto us a messenger of cheer nor any warner. Now hath a messenger of cheer and a warner come unto you. Allah is Able to do all things.
O People of the Book! Certainly Our Apostle has come to you, clarifying [the Divine teachings] for you after a gap in [the appearance of] the apostles, lest you should say, ‘There did not come to us any bearer of good news nor any warner.’ Certainly, there has come to you a bearer of good news and a warner. And Allah has power over all things.
People of the Book! After an interval during which there were no Messengers, Our Messenger (Muhammad) has come to clarify (your religion) to you, lest you should say: 'No bearer of glad tidings or a warner has come to us' Indeed, there has come to you a bearer of glad tidings and a warner. Allah has power over all things.
O People of the Scripture, there has come to you Our Messenger to make clear to you [the religion] after a period [of suspension] of messengers, lest you say, "There came not to us any bringer of good tidings or a warner." But there has come to you a bringer of good tidings and a warner. And Allah is over all things competent.
People of the Book, Our Messenger has come to you to guide you at a time when none of Our other Messengers are living among you. (We sent him) so that you will not complain about having no one to tell you of what is good or warn you of what is bad. Now a bearer of good news has come to you. God has power over all things.
O followers of the Book! indeed Our Apostle has come to you explaining to you after a cessation of the (mission of the) apostles, lest you say: There came not to us a giver of good news or a warner, so indeed there has come to you a giver of good news and a warner; and Allah has power over all things.
Y<u>a</u> ahla alkit<u>a</u>bi qad j<u>a</u>akum rasoolun<u>a</u> yubayyinu lakum AAal<u>a</u> fatratin mina a<b>l</b>rrusuli an taqooloo m<u>a</u> j<u>a</u>an<u>a</u> min basheerin wal<u>a</u> na<u>th</u>eerin faqad j<u>a</u>akum basheerun wana<u>th</u>eerun wa<b>A</b>ll<u>a</u>hu AAal<u>a</u> kulli shayin qadeer<b>un</b>
People of the Book, Our Messenger has come to you to make things clear to you after an interval between the messengers, lest you say, "No bearer of glad tidings and no warner has come to us." So a bearer of glad tidings and a warner has indeed come to you. God has the power to do all things.
O People of the Book! Now hath come unto you, making (things) clear unto you, Our Messenger, after the break in (the series of) our messengers, lest ye should say: "There came unto us no bringer of glad tidings and no warner (from evil)": But now hath come unto you a bringer of glad tidings and a warner (from evil). And Allah hath power over all things.
يَٰٓأَهْلَ ٱلْكِتَٰبِ قَدْ جَآءَكُمْ رَسُولُنَا يُبَيِّنُ لَكُمْ عَلَىٰ فَتْرَةٍ مِّنَ ٱلرُّسُلِ أَن تَقُولُوا۟ مَا جَآءَنَا مِنۢ بَشِيرٍ وَلَا نَذِيرٍ فَقَدْ جَآءَكُم بَشِيرٌ وَنَذِيرٌ وَٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
O People of the Scripture, Jews and Christians, My messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him) has come to you after a period when there were no messengers and when there was a real need for his mission, so that you do not say as an excuse, ‘No messenger came to us bringing good news of Allah’s reward nor any warning of His punishment’. Muhammad (peace be upon him) has come to you to give you good news of My reward and warn you of My punishment. I am able to do all things. Nothing is outside My ability. It is through My power that I sent the messengers and I sent Muhammad (peace be upon him) as the final messenger.
O People of the Scripture, Jews and Christians, My messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him) has come to you after a period when there were no messengers and when there was a real need for his mission, so that you do not say as an excuse, ‘No messenger came to us bringing good news of Allah’s reward nor any warning of His punishment’. Muhammad (peace be upon him) has come to you to give you good news of My reward and warn you of My punishment. I am able to do all things. Nothing is outside My ability. It is through My power that I sent the messengers and I sent Muhammad (peace be upon him) as the final messenger.
<p>Commentary</p><p>The word, "fatrah" in:	عَلَىٰ فَتْرَ‌ةٍ مِّنَ الرُّ‌سُلِ (after a gap between Messengers) literally means to slacken, to become dormant or to suspend or to terminate an activity. Leading authorities in Tafsir have given this very meaning of fatrah in this verse. It signifies the suspension of the coming of prophets for a certain interval of time which is the period of time in between Sayyidna ` Isa 	and the Last of the Prophets, Sayyidna Muhammad al-Mustafa ﷺ .</p><p>Verification of the Gap</p><p>According to Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ there is a period of one thousand and seven hundred years between Sayyidna Musa and Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہم السلام) . During this whole period, prophets kept coming with their missions without any gap. To Bani Isra'il alone, one thousand prophets were sent during this period - not included in which are prophets who appeared among peoples other than Bani Isra'il. Then comes the period of only five hundred years between the birth of Sayyidna (علیہ السلام) and the appearance of the Holy Prophet ﷺ as the Last Prophet. During this period, the usual chain of prophets remained discontinued. Therefore, this period is known as Fatrah or Gap. Before this, a longer period has never remained unvisited by prophets. (Qurtubi, with some explanation from the author)</p><p>There are other reports regarding the period of time between Sayyidna Musa and Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہم السلام) ، and that which is between Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) and the Last Prophet, Sayyidna Muhammad al-Mustafa ﷺ . The period of time indicated in these reports is either more, or less, but that does not affect the real purpose.</p><p>Imam a1-Bukhari (رح) reports on the authority of Sayyidna Salman al-Farisi ؓ عنہ	that there was a period of six hundred years between the time of Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) and the Last among Prophets ﷺ .</p><p>During this entire period, no prophet was sent as confirmed by a Hadith in Mishkat, appearing there with reference to the Sahibs of al-Bukhari and Muslim, which reports that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said:	 اَنا اَولَی النَّاس بِعِیسٰی that is, ` Among people, I am the closest to ` Isa.' He explained the meaning of his remark later in the Hadith when he said:	 لیسَ بَیننَا نَبِیُّ that is, ` No prophet was sent between the two of us.'</p><p>As for the three messengers mentioned in Surah Ya Sin (36), they were messengers sent by Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) who have been' called messengers (bearers of a message) in the literal sense.</p><p>About the appearance of Khalid ibn Sinan al-` Arabi during this gap as reported by some chroniclers, Tafsir Ruh al-Ma'ani says with reference to Shihab that his being a prophet is correct, but the period in which he came was earlier than Sayyidna ` Isa, (علیہ السلام) not after him.</p><p>Rulings concerning the Gap</p><p>Obviously, the verse seems to indicate the fate of the group of people who were not visited by any messenger or prophet or their deputies, nor did they have the religious laws of past prophets preserved with them; such people will be considered excusable and will deserve no punishment on the condition that such people should have not committed Shirk, the grave sin of ascribing partners in the Divinity of Allah. Therefore, Muslim jurists differ about rulings which apply to the people of Fatrah (gap), particularly about whether or not they will be forgiven.</p><p>The majority tilts towards the hope that they will be forgiven if they had kept adhering to the religion which had survived with them as originating from Sayyidna Musa or Sayyidna 'Isa (علیہم السلام) irrespective of its authenticity - again, subject to the condition that they had not been hostile to the principle of Tauhid, the Oneness of Allah, and had nothing to do with the practice of Shirk. The reason is that the Principle of Tauhid needs no reported proof. Any human being who ponders over it could himself reason it out.</p><p>A Question and its Answer</p><p>A question may arise here that the Jews and Christians, the people of the Book, who are being addressed in this verse did have the Torah and the Evangel and their sages and scholars with them even if no messengers reached them during this gap. How then could they come up with the excuse on the Day of Judgment that they had received no guidance? The answer is that by the time of the Holy Prophet ﷺ the original Torah and the Evangel had gone extinct. There were alterations in texts and additions of false narratives. Thus, the availability of non-original scriptures were no better than its extinction. The likelihood of an original manuscript surviving at some unknown place with someone would not be contrary to the assertion made. In fact, some scholars including Ibn Taymiyyah have written that the original copies of the Torah and Evangile were present at some places.</p><p>The Unique Perfection of the Last among Prophets ﷺ</p><p>When, by addressing the people of the Book in this verse, it was said that ` Our Messenger, Muhammad al-Mustafa ﷺ has come after a long gap,' there emerges a subtle hint towards the need that people who have been honoured with his presence among them should consider this as a matchless blessing and a supreme asset because the line of prophets had remained suspended since a long time and it has been opened for them once again.</p><p>Yet another indication given here is towards the fact that the world has been blessed with his presence in an age and at a place which lacked the light of knowledge and faith. The creation of God had lost its link with God only to be immersed in the worship of self-made idols. In the backdrop of a time such as this, the mission of reviving a people so lost was no easy task. This time was the notorious Jahiliyyah, commonly identified as the Age of Ignorance, and the people from it who were entrusted with the Prophet of Islam were spoiled, self-centered and uncompromising. Yet, such was the bliss of his company and so bracing was the light of his mission that this very set of people became, in a very short time, role models and teachers for the whole world in all departments of life - in knowledge, deed, morals, dealings, social living, to name only a few. This, then, becomes a widely witnessed and authentically verified proof that he was a Prophet and Messenger of Allah and that his prophetic teachings were the most effective and the most surpassing among those coming from all past prophets. Imagine the mission of a physician who treats a hopeless patient and does it at a place which lacks medical instruments, and medicines too, yet he succeeds in his effort to treat the patient to the limit that this patient, not simply that he rises from his death-bed to be-come a healthy person, but that he goes way ahead and himself turns into an expert physician and healer as well - if so, who can doubt the perfection of the master healer!</p><p>With this in view, we can see that following the long gap when disbelief in and disobedience to God reigned supreme everywhere, his teaching and training spread out the kind of universal light which re-mains unparalleled by any age previous to it. In short, out of all miracles, this one miracle alone could compel human beings to have faith in him.</p>
CommentaryThe word, "fatrah" in:	عَلَىٰ فَتْرَ‌ةٍ مِّنَ الرُّ‌سُلِ (after a gap between Messengers) literally means to slacken, to become dormant or to suspend or to terminate an activity. Leading authorities in Tafsir have given this very meaning of fatrah in this verse. It signifies the suspension of the coming of prophets for a certain interval of time which is the period of time in between Sayyidna ` Isa 	and the Last of the Prophets, Sayyidna Muhammad al-Mustafa ﷺ .Verification of the GapAccording to Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ there is a period of one thousand and seven hundred years between Sayyidna Musa and Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہم السلام) . During this whole period, prophets kept coming with their missions without any gap. To Bani Isra'il alone, one thousand prophets were sent during this period - not included in which are prophets who appeared among peoples other than Bani Isra'il. Then comes the period of only five hundred years between the birth of Sayyidna (علیہ السلام) and the appearance of the Holy Prophet ﷺ as the Last Prophet. During this period, the usual chain of prophets remained discontinued. Therefore, this period is known as Fatrah or Gap. Before this, a longer period has never remained unvisited by prophets. (Qurtubi, with some explanation from the author)There are other reports regarding the period of time between Sayyidna Musa and Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہم السلام) ، and that which is between Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) and the Last Prophet, Sayyidna Muhammad al-Mustafa ﷺ . The period of time indicated in these reports is either more, or less, but that does not affect the real purpose.Imam a1-Bukhari (رح) reports on the authority of Sayyidna Salman al-Farisi ؓ عنہ	that there was a period of six hundred years between the time of Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) and the Last among Prophets ﷺ .During this entire period, no prophet was sent as confirmed by a Hadith in Mishkat, appearing there with reference to the Sahibs of al-Bukhari and Muslim, which reports that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said:	 اَنا اَولَی النَّاس بِعِیسٰی that is, ` Among people, I am the closest to ` Isa.' He explained the meaning of his remark later in the Hadith when he said:	 لیسَ بَیننَا نَبِیُّ that is, ` No prophet was sent between the two of us.'As for the three messengers mentioned in Surah Ya Sin (36), they were messengers sent by Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) who have been' called messengers (bearers of a message) in the literal sense.About the appearance of Khalid ibn Sinan al-` Arabi during this gap as reported by some chroniclers, Tafsir Ruh al-Ma'ani says with reference to Shihab that his being a prophet is correct, but the period in which he came was earlier than Sayyidna ` Isa, (علیہ السلام) not after him.Rulings concerning the GapObviously, the verse seems to indicate the fate of the group of people who were not visited by any messenger or prophet or their deputies, nor did they have the religious laws of past prophets preserved with them; such people will be considered excusable and will deserve no punishment on the condition that such people should have not committed Shirk, the grave sin of ascribing partners in the Divinity of Allah. Therefore, Muslim jurists differ about rulings which apply to the people of Fatrah (gap), particularly about whether or not they will be forgiven.The majority tilts towards the hope that they will be forgiven if they had kept adhering to the religion which had survived with them as originating from Sayyidna Musa or Sayyidna 'Isa (علیہم السلام) irrespective of its authenticity - again, subject to the condition that they had not been hostile to the principle of Tauhid, the Oneness of Allah, and had nothing to do with the practice of Shirk. The reason is that the Principle of Tauhid needs no reported proof. Any human being who ponders over it could himself reason it out.A Question and its AnswerA question may arise here that the Jews and Christians, the people of the Book, who are being addressed in this verse did have the Torah and the Evangel and their sages and scholars with them even if no messengers reached them during this gap. How then could they come up with the excuse on the Day of Judgment that they had received no guidance? The answer is that by the time of the Holy Prophet ﷺ the original Torah and the Evangel had gone extinct. There were alterations in texts and additions of false narratives. Thus, the availability of non-original scriptures were no better than its extinction. The likelihood of an original manuscript surviving at some unknown place with someone would not be contrary to the assertion made. In fact, some scholars including Ibn Taymiyyah have written that the original copies of the Torah and Evangile were present at some places.The Unique Perfection of the Last among Prophets ﷺWhen, by addressing the people of the Book in this verse, it was said that ` Our Messenger, Muhammad al-Mustafa ﷺ has come after a long gap,' there emerges a subtle hint towards the need that people who have been honoured with his presence among them should consider this as a matchless blessing and a supreme asset because the line of prophets had remained suspended since a long time and it has been opened for them once again.Yet another indication given here is towards the fact that the world has been blessed with his presence in an age and at a place which lacked the light of knowledge and faith. The creation of God had lost its link with God only to be immersed in the worship of self-made idols. In the backdrop of a time such as this, the mission of reviving a people so lost was no easy task. This time was the notorious Jahiliyyah, commonly identified as the Age of Ignorance, and the people from it who were entrusted with the Prophet of Islam were spoiled, self-centered and uncompromising. Yet, such was the bliss of his company and so bracing was the light of his mission that this very set of people became, in a very short time, role models and teachers for the whole world in all departments of life - in knowledge, deed, morals, dealings, social living, to name only a few. This, then, becomes a widely witnessed and authentically verified proof that he was a Prophet and Messenger of Allah and that his prophetic teachings were the most effective and the most surpassing among those coming from all past prophets. Imagine the mission of a physician who treats a hopeless patient and does it at a place which lacks medical instruments, and medicines too, yet he succeeds in his effort to treat the patient to the limit that this patient, not simply that he rises from his death-bed to be-come a healthy person, but that he goes way ahead and himself turns into an expert physician and healer as well - if so, who can doubt the perfection of the master healer!With this in view, we can see that following the long gap when disbelief in and disobedience to God reigned supreme everywhere, his teaching and training spread out the kind of universal light which re-mains unparalleled by any age previous to it. In short, out of all miracles, this one miracle alone could compel human beings to have faith in him.
<div class="text_uthmani arabic">وَلَبِثُواْ فِى كَهْفِهِمْ ثَلاثَ مِئَةٍ سِنِينَ وَازْدَادُواْ تِسْعًا </div><p>(And they stayed in their Cave three hundred years, adding nine.) meaning, nine more lunar years to substitute for the difference between lunar and solar years, thus agreeing with the three hundred years that the People of the Book knew about. We should assert again that the time period we mentioned here was between `Isa, the last Prophet to the Children of Israel, and Muhammad , the Last Prophet and Messenger among the children of Adam. In the Sahih collected by Al-Bukhari, Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah said,</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">«إِنَّ أَوْلَى النَّاسِ بِابْنِ مَرْيَمَ لَأَنَا، لَيْسَ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَهُ نَبِي»</div><p>(I, among all people, have the most right to the son of Maryam, for there was no Prophet between Him and I.) This Hadith refutes the opinion of Al-Quda`i and others, that there was a Prophet after `Isa called Khalid bin Sinan. Allah sent Muhammad after a period of time during which there was no Prophet, clear path, or unchanged religions. Idol worshipping, fire worshipping and cross worshipping flourished during this time. Therefore, the bounty of sending Muhammad was the perfect bounty at a time when he was needed the most. Evil had filled the earth by then, and tyranny and ignorance had touched all the servants, except a few of those who remained loyal to the true teachings of previous Prophets, such as some Jewish rabbis, Christian priests and Sabian monks. Imam Ahmad recorded that `Iyad bin Himar Al-Mujash`i said that the Prophet gave a speech one day and said,</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">«وَإِنَّ رَبِّي أَمَرَنِي أَنْ أُعَلِّمَكُمْ مَا جَهِلْتُمْ مِمَّا عَلَّمَنِي فِي يَوْمِي هَذَا، كُلُّ مَالٍ نَحَلْتُهُ عِبَادِي حَلَالٌ، وَإِنِّي خَلَقْتُ عِبَادِي حُنَفَاءَ كُلَّهُمْ، وَإِنَّ الشَّيَاطِينَ أَتَتْهُمْ فَأَضَلَّتْهُمْ عَنْ دِينِهِمْ، وَحَرَّمَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ مَا أَحْلَلْتُ لَهُمْ، وَأَمَرَتْهُمْ أَنْ يُشْرِكُوا بِي مَا لَمْ أُنَزِّلْ بِهِ سُلْطَانًا، ثُمَّ إِنَّ اللهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ نَظَرَ إِلى أَهْلِ الْأَرْضِ فَمقَتَهُمْ عَرَبَهُمْ وعَجَمَهُمْ، إِلَّا بَقَايَا مِنْ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ، وقَالَ: إِنَّمَا بَعَثْتُكَ لِأَبْتَلِيَكَ وَأَبْتَلِيَ بِكَ، وَأَنْزَلْتُ عَلَيْكَ كِتَابًا لَا يَغْسِلُهُ الْمَاءُ،تَقْرَأُهُ نَائِمًا وَيَقْظَانَ، ثُمَّ إِنَّ اللهَ أَمَرَنِي أَنْ أُحَرِّقَ قُرَيْشًا فَقُلْتُ: يَارَبِّ إِذَنْ يَثْلَغُوا رَأْسِي، فَيَدَعُوهُ خُبْزَةً، فَقَالَ: اسْتَخْرِجْهُمْ كَمَا اسْتَخْرَجُوكَ، واغْزُهُمْ نُغْزِكَ، وَأَنْفِقْ عَلَيْهِمْ فَسَنُنْفِقَ عَلَيْكَ، وَابْعَثْ جَيْشًا نَبْعَثْ خَمْسًا أَمْثَالَهُ، وَقَاتِلْ بِمَنْ أَطَاعَكَ مَنْ عَصَاكَ، وَأَهْلُ الْجَنَّةِ ثَلَاثَةٌ: ذوُ سُلْطانٍ مُقْسِطٌ مُوَفَّقٌ مُتَصَدِّقٌ، وَرَجُلٌ رَحِيمٌ رَقِيقُ الْقَلْبِ بِكُلِّ ذِي قُرْبَى وَمُسْلِمٍ، وَرَجُلٌ عَفِيفٌ فَقِيرٌ ذُو عِيَالٍ (مُتَصَدِّقٌ). وَأَهْلُ النَّارِ خَمْسَةٌ: الضَّعِيفُ الَّذي لَا دِينَ لَهُ، وَالَّذِين هُمْ فِيكُمْ تَبَعٌ أَوْ تَبَعًا شَكَّ يَحْيى لَا يَبْتَغُون أَهْلًا وَلَا مَالًا، وَالْخَائِنُ الَّذِي لَا يَخْفَى لَهُ طَمَعٌ وَإِنْ دَقَّ إِلَّا خَانَهُ، وَرَجُلٌ لَا يُصْبِحُ وَلَا يُمْسِي إِلَّا وَهُوَ يُخَادِعُكَ عَنْ أَهْلِكَ وَمَالِكَ وَذَكَرَ الْبَخِيلَ أَوِ الْكَذَّابَ وَالشِّنْظِيرَ: الفَاحِش»</div><p>(My Lord has commanded me to teach you what you have no knowledge of and of which He taught me this day, `All the wealth that I gave to My servants is permissible. I created all My servants Hunafa (monotheists). But, the devils came to them and deviated them from their religion, prohibited for them what I allowed and commanded them to associate others with Me in worship, which I gave no permission for.' Then Allah looked at the people of the earth and disliked them all, the Arabs and non-Arabs among them, except a few from among the Children of Israel. Allah said (to me), `I only sent you to test you and to test with you. I sent to you a Book that cannot be washed by water (it is eternal), and you will read it while asleep and while awake.' Allah has also Commanded me to burn (destroy) Quraysh. So I said, `O Lord! They will smash my head and leave it like a piece of bread.' He said, `I will drive them out as they drove you out, and when you invade them We will help you. Spend on them (your companions) and We will spend on you, send an army and We will send five armies like it (in its support). Fight with those who obey you, against those who disobey you. And the inhabitants of Paradise are three: a just, prosperous, and charitable ruler; A merciful man who has a kind heart toward every relative and every Muslim; a forgiving, poor man with dependants who is charitable. And the inhabitants of the Fire are five: the weak one with no religion; those who follow after you not for family reasons nor wealth; and the treacherous who does not hide his treachery, acting treacherous in even the most insignificant matters; and a person who comes every morning and every evening, is cheating your family or your wealth.') And he mentioned the stingy, or the liar, and the foulmouthed person." Therefore, the Hadith states that Allah looked at the people of the earth and disliked them all, both the Arabs and non-Arabs among them, except a few among the Children of Israel, or a few among the People of the Book as Muslim recorded. The religion was distorted and changed for the people of the earth until Allah sent Muhammad , and Allah, thus, guided the creatures and took them away from the darkness to the light and placed them on a clear path and a glorious Law. Allah said,</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">أَن تَقُولُواْ مَا جَآءَنَا مِن بَشِيرٍ وَلاَ نَذِيرٍ</div><p>(lest you say, "There came unto us no bringer of glad tidings and no warner.") meaning, so that you, who changed the true religion, do not make it an excuse and say, "No Messenger came to us bringing glad tidings and warning against evil." There has come to you a bringer of good news and a warner, Muhammad .</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">وَاللَّهُ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ</div><p>(And Allah is able to do all things. ) Ibn Jarir said this part of the Ayah means, "I am able to punish those who disobey Me and to reward those who obey Me."</p>
وَلَبِثُواْ فِى كَهْفِهِمْ ثَلاثَ مِئَةٍ سِنِينَ وَازْدَادُواْ تِسْعًا (And they stayed in their Cave three hundred years, adding nine.) meaning, nine more lunar years to substitute for the difference between lunar and solar years, thus agreeing with the three hundred years that the People of the Book knew about. We should assert again that the time period we mentioned here was between `Isa, the last Prophet to the Children of Israel, and Muhammad , the Last Prophet and Messenger among the children of Adam. In the Sahih collected by Al-Bukhari, Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah said,«إِنَّ أَوْلَى النَّاسِ بِابْنِ مَرْيَمَ لَأَنَا، لَيْسَ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَهُ نَبِي»(I, among all people, have the most right to the son of Maryam, for there was no Prophet between Him and I.) This Hadith refutes the opinion of Al-Quda`i and others, that there was a Prophet after `Isa called Khalid bin Sinan. Allah sent Muhammad after a period of time during which there was no Prophet, clear path, or unchanged religions. Idol worshipping, fire worshipping and cross worshipping flourished during this time. Therefore, the bounty of sending Muhammad was the perfect bounty at a time when he was needed the most. Evil had filled the earth by then, and tyranny and ignorance had touched all the servants, except a few of those who remained loyal to the true teachings of previous Prophets, such as some Jewish rabbis, Christian priests and Sabian monks. Imam Ahmad recorded that `Iyad bin Himar Al-Mujash`i said that the Prophet gave a speech one day and said,«وَإِنَّ رَبِّي أَمَرَنِي أَنْ أُعَلِّمَكُمْ مَا جَهِلْتُمْ مِمَّا عَلَّمَنِي فِي يَوْمِي هَذَا، كُلُّ مَالٍ نَحَلْتُهُ عِبَادِي حَلَالٌ، وَإِنِّي خَلَقْتُ عِبَادِي حُنَفَاءَ كُلَّهُمْ، وَإِنَّ الشَّيَاطِينَ أَتَتْهُمْ فَأَضَلَّتْهُمْ عَنْ دِينِهِمْ، وَحَرَّمَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ مَا أَحْلَلْتُ لَهُمْ، وَأَمَرَتْهُمْ أَنْ يُشْرِكُوا بِي مَا لَمْ أُنَزِّلْ بِهِ سُلْطَانًا، ثُمَّ إِنَّ اللهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ نَظَرَ إِلى أَهْلِ الْأَرْضِ فَمقَتَهُمْ عَرَبَهُمْ وعَجَمَهُمْ، إِلَّا بَقَايَا مِنْ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ، وقَالَ: إِنَّمَا بَعَثْتُكَ لِأَبْتَلِيَكَ وَأَبْتَلِيَ بِكَ، وَأَنْزَلْتُ عَلَيْكَ كِتَابًا لَا يَغْسِلُهُ الْمَاءُ،تَقْرَأُهُ نَائِمًا وَيَقْظَانَ، ثُمَّ إِنَّ اللهَ أَمَرَنِي أَنْ أُحَرِّقَ قُرَيْشًا فَقُلْتُ: يَارَبِّ إِذَنْ يَثْلَغُوا رَأْسِي، فَيَدَعُوهُ خُبْزَةً، فَقَالَ: اسْتَخْرِجْهُمْ كَمَا اسْتَخْرَجُوكَ، واغْزُهُمْ نُغْزِكَ، وَأَنْفِقْ عَلَيْهِمْ فَسَنُنْفِقَ عَلَيْكَ، وَابْعَثْ جَيْشًا نَبْعَثْ خَمْسًا أَمْثَالَهُ، وَقَاتِلْ بِمَنْ أَطَاعَكَ مَنْ عَصَاكَ، وَأَهْلُ الْجَنَّةِ ثَلَاثَةٌ: ذوُ سُلْطانٍ مُقْسِطٌ مُوَفَّقٌ مُتَصَدِّقٌ، وَرَجُلٌ رَحِيمٌ رَقِيقُ الْقَلْبِ بِكُلِّ ذِي قُرْبَى وَمُسْلِمٍ، وَرَجُلٌ عَفِيفٌ فَقِيرٌ ذُو عِيَالٍ (مُتَصَدِّقٌ). وَأَهْلُ النَّارِ خَمْسَةٌ: الضَّعِيفُ الَّذي لَا دِينَ لَهُ، وَالَّذِين هُمْ فِيكُمْ تَبَعٌ أَوْ تَبَعًا شَكَّ يَحْيى لَا يَبْتَغُون أَهْلًا وَلَا مَالًا، وَالْخَائِنُ الَّذِي لَا يَخْفَى لَهُ طَمَعٌ وَإِنْ دَقَّ إِلَّا خَانَهُ، وَرَجُلٌ لَا يُصْبِحُ وَلَا يُمْسِي إِلَّا وَهُوَ يُخَادِعُكَ عَنْ أَهْلِكَ وَمَالِكَ وَذَكَرَ الْبَخِيلَ أَوِ الْكَذَّابَ وَالشِّنْظِيرَ: الفَاحِش»(My Lord has commanded me to teach you what you have no knowledge of and of which He taught me this day, `All the wealth that I gave to My servants is permissible. I created all My servants Hunafa (monotheists). But, the devils came to them and deviated them from their religion, prohibited for them what I allowed and commanded them to associate others with Me in worship, which I gave no permission for.' Then Allah looked at the people of the earth and disliked them all, the Arabs and non-Arabs among them, except a few from among the Children of Israel. Allah said (to me), `I only sent you to test you and to test with you. I sent to you a Book that cannot be washed by water (it is eternal), and you will read it while asleep and while awake.' Allah has also Commanded me to burn (destroy) Quraysh. So I said, `O Lord! They will smash my head and leave it like a piece of bread.' He said, `I will drive them out as they drove you out, and when you invade them We will help you. Spend on them (your companions) and We will spend on you, send an army and We will send five armies like it (in its support). Fight with those who obey you, against those who disobey you. And the inhabitants of Paradise are three: a just, prosperous, and charitable ruler; A merciful man who has a kind heart toward every relative and every Muslim; a forgiving, poor man with dependants who is charitable. And the inhabitants of the Fire are five: the weak one with no religion; those who follow after you not for family reasons nor wealth; and the treacherous who does not hide his treachery, acting treacherous in even the most insignificant matters; and a person who comes every morning and every evening, is cheating your family or your wealth.') And he mentioned the stingy, or the liar, and the foulmouthed person." Therefore, the Hadith states that Allah looked at the people of the earth and disliked them all, both the Arabs and non-Arabs among them, except a few among the Children of Israel, or a few among the People of the Book as Muslim recorded. The religion was distorted and changed for the people of the earth until Allah sent Muhammad , and Allah, thus, guided the creatures and took them away from the darkness to the light and placed them on a clear path and a glorious Law. Allah said,أَن تَقُولُواْ مَا جَآءَنَا مِن بَشِيرٍ وَلاَ نَذِيرٍ(lest you say, "There came unto us no bringer of glad tidings and no warner.") meaning, so that you, who changed the true religion, do not make it an excuse and say, "No Messenger came to us bringing glad tidings and warning against evil." There has come to you a bringer of good news and a warner, Muhammad .وَاللَّهُ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ(And Allah is able to do all things. ) Ibn Jarir said this part of the Ayah means, "I am able to punish those who disobey Me and to reward those who obey Me."