Ayat 6
وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ يَّشْتَرِيْ لَهْوَ الْحَدِيْثِ لِيُضِلَّ عَنْ سَبِيْلِ اللّٰهِ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍۖ وَّيَتَّخِذَهَا هُزُوًاۗ اُولٰۤىِٕكَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ مُّهِيْنٌ ٦
English Sahih Internasional
6. And of the people is he who buys the amusement of speech to mislead [others] from the way of Allah without knowledge and who takes it in ridicule. Those will have a humiliating punishment.
Asbab Al-Nuzul
(And of mankind is he who payeth for mere pastime of discourse…) [31:6]. Al-Kalbi and Muqatil said: “This verse was revealed about al-Nadr ibn al-Harith. He used to travel to Persia for trade. He bought the events of non-Arabs and related them to the Quraysh, saying: ‘Muhammad relates to you the events of ‘Ad and Thamud, and I relate to you the events of Rustum and Isfindiyar and the Chosroes’. They found his tales more entertaining and they shunned listening to the Qur’an, and so this verse was revealed”. Mujahid said:
“This verse was revealed about the buying of slave-girls and songstresses”. Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Muqri’ informed us> Muhammad ibn al-Fadl ibn Muhammad ibn Ishaq ibn Khuzaymah> his grandfather> ‘Ali ibn Hujr> Mishma‘ill ibn Milhan al-Ta’i> Muttarih ibn Yazid> ‘Ubayd Allah ibn Zahr> ‘Ali ibn Yazid> al-Qasim> Abu Umamah who reported that the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, said: “It is forbidden to teach songstresses [to sing] or to sell songstresses, and the price gotten from selling them is unlawful. It is about the like of this that this verse was revealed (And of mankind is he who payeth for mere pastime of discourse, that he may mislead from Allah’s way without knowledge…) up to the end of the verse. No man raises his voice to sing except that Allah, exalted is He, sends him two devils, one on each side, who will keep banging with their feet until it is him who keeps quiet”. Thuwayr ibn Abi Fakhitah reported from his father that Ibn ‘Abbas said: “This verse was revealed about a man who bought a slave-girl who sang to him day and night”.
Ayat 15
وَاِنْ جَاهَدٰكَ عَلٰٓى اَنْ تُشْرِكَ بِيْ مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهٖ عِلْمٌ فَلَا تُطِعْهُمَا وَصَاحِبْهُمَا فِى الدُّنْيَا مَعْرُوْفًا ۖوَّاتَّبِعْ سَبِيْلَ مَنْ اَنَابَ اِلَيَّۚ ثُمَّ اِلَيَّ مَرْجِعُكُمْ فَاُنَبِّئُكُمْ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُوْنَ ١٥
English Sahih Internasional
15. But if they endeavor to make you associate with Me that of which you have no knowledge, do not obey them but accompany them in [this] world with appropriate kindness and follow the way of those who turn back to Me [in repentance]. Then to Me will be your return, and I will inform you about what you used to do.
Asbab Al-Nuzul
(But if they strive with thee to make thee ascribe unto Me as partner…) [31:15]. This was revealed about Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas as mentioned before in Surah al-‘Ankabut [29:8]. (…and follow the path of him who repenteth unto Me…) [31:15]. This verse was revealed about Abu Bakr, may Allah be well pleased with him. ‘Ata’ reported that Ibn ‘Abbas said: “This refers to Abu Bakr, may Allah be well pleased with him. When the latter embraced Islam, ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Awf, Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas, Sa‘id ibn Zayd, ‘Uthman, Talhah and al-Zubayr went to him and said: ‘Did you believe in Muhammad and adopt his message?’ And when he said that he did they all went to the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, and declared their faith in him and believed in his message. And so, Allah, exalted is He, addressing Sa‘d, said (…and follow the path of him who repenteth unto Me…), i.e. Abu Bakr, may Allah be well pleased with him”.
Ayat 27
وَلَوْ اَنَّ مَا فِى الْاَرْضِ مِنْ شَجَرَةٍ اَقْلَامٌ وَّالْبَحْرُ يَمُدُّهٗ مِنْۢ بَعْدِهٖ سَبْعَةُ اَبْحُرٍ مَّا نَفِدَتْ كَلِمٰتُ اللّٰهِ ۗاِنَّ اللّٰهَ عَزِيْزٌ حَكِيْمٌ ٢٧
English Sahih Internasional
27. And if whatever trees upon the earth were pens and the sea [was ink], replenished thereafter by seven [more] seas, the words of Allah would not be exhausted. Indeed, Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise.
Asbab Al-Nuzul
(And if all the trees in the earth were pens…) [31:27]. The commentators of the Qur’an said: “The Jews asked the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, about the spirit, and so Allah, exalted is He, revealed (They will ask thee concerning the Spirit. Say: the Spirit is by command of my Lord, and of knowledge ye have been vouchsafed but little) [17:85]. When the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, migrated to Medina, Jewish doctors went to see him and said: ‘O Muhammad, we have been informed that you said (of knowledge ye have been vouchsafed but little). Are you referring, by this, to us or to your people?’ The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, said: ‘The knowledge that you have is very little in comparison to the knowledge of Allah, glorified is He. Allah, exalted is He, has given you something which will benefit you if only you practise it’. They said: ‘O Muhammad, how can you say this when it is you who says (… and he unto whom wisdom is given, he truly hath received abundant good…) [2:269]? How can little knowledge and abundant good be combined together?’ As a response, Allah, exalted is He, revealed (And if all the trees in the earth were pens…)”.
Ayat 34
اِنَّ اللّٰهَ عِنْدَهٗ عِلْمُ السَّاعَةِۚ وَيُنَزِّلُ الْغَيْثَۚ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا فِى الْاَرْحَامِۗ وَمَا تَدْرِيْ نَفْسٌ مَّاذَا تَكْسِبُ غَدًاۗ وَمَا تَدْرِيْ نَفْسٌۢ بِاَيِّ اَرْضٍ تَمُوْتُۗ اِنَّ اللّٰهَ عَلِيْمٌ خَبِيْرٌ ࣖ ٣٤
English Sahih Internasional
34. Indeed, Allah [alone] has knowledge of the Hour and sends down the rain and knows what is in the wombs. And no soul perceives what it will earn tomorrow, and no soul perceives in what land it will die. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted.
Asbab Al-Nuzul
Lo! Allah! With Him is knowledge of the Hour…) [31:34]. This verse was revealed about al-Harith ibn ‘Amr ibn Harithah ibn Muharib ibn Hafsah, from the desert, who asked the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, about the Hour and its exact timing. He also asked: ‘Our land has dried up, when is it going to rain? And I left my wife pregnant, when is she going to give birth? And I know in which land I was born, but in which land am I going to die?’ And so Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse. Abu ‘Uthman Sa‘id ibn Muhammad al-Mu’adhdhin informed us> Muhammad ibn Hamdun ibn al-Fadl> Ahmad ibn al-Hasan alHafiz> Hamdan al-Sulami> al-Nadr ibn Muhammad> ‘Ikrimah> Iyas ibn Salamah who said: “My father related to me that he was with the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, when a man came toward him leading a mare which was followed by her foal. The man asked: ‘Who are you?’ He said: ‘I am the Prophet of Allah’. ‘And who is the Prophet of Allah?’ the man asked. The Prophet said: ‘The Messenger of Allah’. The man asked: ‘When is the Hour going to take place?’ The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, said: ‘This is of the unseen, and none knows the unseen except Allah’. The man asked: ‘When is it going to rain?’ The Prophet said: ‘This is of the unseen, and none knows the unseen except Allah’. The man asked: ‘What is in the womb of this mare of mine?’ The prophet said: ‘This is of the unseen, and none knows the unseen except Allah’. The man then said: ‘Show me your sword’. The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, gave him his sword. The man waved the sword and then returned it to the Prophet. The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, said to him at that point: ‘Indeed, you would not have been able to carry out what you intended!’ The man had said before coming: ‘I am going to ask him about these things and then behead him’ ”. Abu ‘Abd Allah ibn Abi Ishaq> Abu ‘Amr Muhammad ibn Ja‘far ibn Matar> Muhammad ibn ‘Uthman ibn Suwayd> Abu Hudhayfah> Sufyan al-Thawri> ‘Abd Allah ibn Dinar> Ibn ‘Umar who related that the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, said: “The keys of the unseen are five and none knows them except Allah, exalted is He: none knows the timing of the Hour except Allah; none knows what is hidden in wombs except Allah; none knows what is stored in the morrow except Allah; no soul knows in which land it will die, only Allah knows this; and none knows when it will rain except Allah”. This was narrated by Bukhari from Muhammad ibn Yusuf from Sufyan.