Question 307 - The Enlightening Answer Across the Ether, Vol 4

Ahmed al-Hasan Response:

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, the Imams and the Mahdis, and grant them abundant peace. And peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you … ‘… a clear messenger came to them’ (^[27]). ‘… the truth and a clear messenger came to them’ (^[28]). ‘The phrase “a clear messenger” occurs only once in the Quran, in Surat al-Dukhan’ (^[29]). By these words, I intended to distinguish this verse in Surat al-Dukhan specifically from what occurs in Surat al-Zukhruf. In the latter, it does not state only ‘a clear messenger’; rather, it states ‘the truth and a clear messenger.’ In terms of the numbers, the number of what came to them is calculated. In Surat al-Dukhan, only ‘a clear messenger’ came to them, whereas in Surat al-Zukhruf, ‘the truth and a clear messenger’ came to them. So where is the repetition? If the discussion had been in some context other than calculation, perhaps a person reading it might misunderstand. But since the discussion concerns calculation, I do not think a misunderstanding arises when the reader knows that a single letter changes the calculation completely. The letter waw attached to ‘a clear messenger’ is sufficient to change the calculation, and therefore sufficient to make ‘a clear messenger’ completely different from ‘and a clear messenger,’ at least in the calculation-the subject of the discussion. How, then, can anyone say it was repeated, unless obstinacy has blinded him? The person addressed considers himself among those who specialize in calculation, and the statement is an answer to his question, so he is expected to understand. For further benefit, contemplate the two verses and what comes before and after each. The clear messenger in Surat al-Zukhruf is not the clear messenger in Surat al-Dukhan; for this reason I emphasized distinguishing the clear messenger in Surat al-Dukhan. Notice that in Surat al-Zukhruf there is disbelief and denial with which they confronted the truth that came with the clear messenger: ‘Rather, I allowed these people and their fathers enjoyment until the truth and a clear messenger came to them. And when the truth came to them, they said, “This is sorcery, and indeed we disbelieve in it”’ (^[30]). In Surat al-Dukhan, meanwhile, there is evasion and turning away with which they confronted the clear messenger: ‘How can there be a reminder for them when a clear messenger has already come to them? Then they turned away from him and said, “One instructed, possessed”’ (^[31]). It is narrated from Imam al-Baqir (a): ‘… and it is not lawful for a Muslim to evade him. Whoever does that is among the people of the Fire, because he calls to the truth and to a straight path’ (^[32]). The clear messenger in Surat al-Zukhruf came with the truth, and they disbelieved in the truth. As for the clear messenger in Surat al-Dukhan, he calls to the truth that came and in which they disbelieved. Ahmed Alhasan