وَكُلًّا نَّقُصُّ عَلَيْكَ مِنْ أَنۢبَآءِ ٱلرُّسُلِ مَا نُثَبِّتُ بِهِۦ فُؤَادَكَ ۚ وَجَآءَكَ فِى هَـٰذِهِ ٱلْحَقُّ وَمَوْعِظَةٌ وَذِكْرَىٰ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ 120
Translations
And each [story] We relate to you from the news of the messengers is that by which We make firm your heart. And there has come to you, in this, the truth and an instruction and a reminder for the believers.
Transliteration
Wa kullan naqussu alayka min anbaa ar-rusuli ma nuthabbitu bihi fuadaka wa jaaka fee hadhihi al-haqqu wa maw'izatun wa dhikra lil-mu'mineen
Tafsir (Explanation)
Allah tells the Prophet Muhammad that He recounts to him the stories of the previous messengers in order to strengthen his heart with certainty and patience in his mission. The classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Qurtubi emphasize that these narratives serve triple purposes: they provide truth (al-haqq) for understanding Divine guidance, moral admonition (maw'izah) for ethical conduct, and reminder (dhikra) for the believers to reflect upon the sunnah (way) of Allah with His prophets and people.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears at the conclusion of Surah Hud, which extensively narrates the stories of the prophets (Nuh, Hud, Salih, Lut, Shuayb, and Musa). The context addresses the Prophet's emotional and spiritual struggle amid opposition from the Quraysh, offering him solace through these prophetic narratives which share the common theme of patience, rejection, and ultimate vindication.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet said, 'The best of you are those from whom you learn good character' (related to the exemplary function of prophetic narratives). Additionally, Aisha reported that the Prophet's character was the Qur'an itself (Sahih Muslim 746), indicating how these stories embody practical guidance.
Themes
Key Lesson
The Qur'anic stories are not mere historical narratives but divinely-prescribed remedies for the believer's heart, offering emotional resilience through knowing that all prophets faced trials. Modern readers should reflect upon these accounts as both intellectual affirmation of truth and spiritual medicine for facing personal adversity with patience and hope.
Related Ayahs
فَلَعَلَّكَ تَارِكٌۢ بَعْضَ مَا يُوحَىٰٓ إِلَيْكَ وَضَآئِقٌۢ بِهِۦ صَدْرُكَ أَن يَقُولُوا۟ لَوْلَآ أُنزِلَ عَلَيْهِ كَنزٌ أَوْ جَآءَ مَعَهُۥ مَلَكٌ ۚ إِنَّمَآ أَنتَ نَذِيرٌ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ وَكِيلٌ
Then would you possibly leave [out] some of what is revealed to you, or is your breast constrained by it because they say, "Why has there not been sent down to him a treasure or come with him an angel?" But you are only a warner. And Allāh is Disposer of all things.
وَلَآ أَقُولُ لَكُمْ عِندِى خَزَآئِنُ ٱللَّهِ وَلَآ أَعْلَمُ ٱلْغَيْبَ وَلَآ أَقُولُ إِنِّى مَلَكٌ وَلَآ أَقُولُ لِلَّذِينَ تَزْدَرِىٓ أَعْيُنُكُمْ لَن يُؤْتِيَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ خَيْرًا ۖ ٱللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا فِىٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ ۖ إِنِّىٓ إِذًا لَّمِنَ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ
And I do not tell you that I have the depositories [containing the provision] of Allāh or that I know the unseen, nor do I tell you that I am an angel, nor do I say of those upon whom your eyes look down that Allāh will never grant them any good. Allāh is most knowing of what is within their souls. Indeed, I would then be among the wrongdoers [i.e., the unjust]."
ذَٰلِكَ مِنْ أَنۢبَآءِ ٱلْقُرَىٰ نَقُصُّهُۥ عَلَيْكَ ۖ مِنْهَا قَآئِمٌ وَحَصِيدٌ
That is from the news of the cities, which We relate to you; of them, some are [still] standing and some are [as] a harvest [mowed down].
وَأَخَذَ ٱلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا۟ ٱلصَّيْحَةُ فَأَصْبَحُوا۟ فِى دِيَـٰرِهِمْ جَـٰثِمِينَ
And the shriek seized those who had wronged, and they became within their homes [corpses] fallen prone