“And indeed We have set forth for mankind in this Quran every kind of example, yet most people persist in nothing but disbelief (89). And they say, ‘We will never believe you until you cause a spring to gush forth from the earth for us’ (90).”
His words, exalted is He: “And indeed We have set forth for mankind in this Quran every kind of example”—that is, every type of lesson, ruling, promise, warning, and the like—“yet most people persist in nothing but disbelief”: that is, denial. (1)
His words, exalted is He: “And they say, ‘We will never believe you’”—we will never affirm your truthfulness—“until you cause a spring to gush forth from the earth for us.” The scholars of Kufa and Ya‘qub recited “cause to gush forth” with a light pronunciation of the letter jim, since a spring is one thing. The remaining reciters pronounced it with a doubled jim, derived from causing something to gush forth. They all agreed on the doubled pronunciation in His words, “then cause rivers to gush forth abundantly through it,” because rivers are plural, and the doubled form indicates abundance, as is further indicated by the word “abundantly” that follows.
‘Ikrimah narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas that ‘Utbah and Shaybah, the sons of Rabi‘ah; Abu Sufyan ibn Harb; al-Nadr ibn al-Harith; Abu al-Bukhtari ibn Hisham; al-Aswad ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib; Zam‘ah ibn al-Aswad; al-Walid ibn al-Mughirah; Abu Jahl ibn Hisham; ‘Abdullah ibn Abi Umayyah; Umayyah ibn Khalaf; al-‘As ibn Wa’il; and Nabih and Munabbih, the sons of al-Hajjaj, gathered after sunset behind the Ka‘bah, along with others who had assembled with them. They said to one another, “Send for Muhammad, speak with him, and dispute with him, so that you may have exhausted your case against him.”
So they sent word to him: “The leading men of your people have gathered for you, in order to speak with you.” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ came to them promptly, thinking that they had come to a new resolve concerning his matter. He was eager for their sake and desired their right guidance. When he sat with them, they said:
“O Muhammad, we have sent for you in order to establish our excuse concerning you. By Allah, we know of no man among the Arabs who has brought upon his people what you have brought upon yours. You have insulted our forefathers, disparaged our religion, declared our minds foolish, reviled our gods, and divided the community. There is not a single disgraceful thing except that you have done it in your dealings with us. If you have brought this message seeking wealth, we shall give you from our wealth until you become the wealthiest of us. If you seek honor, we shall make you our chief. If you desire kingship, we shall make you king over us. And if this condition of yours is a jinn companion that appears to you, which has so overcome you that you are unable to repel it, we shall spend our wealth seeking medical treatment for you, until we cure you of it—or until we have exhausted our excuse concerning you.” They used to call a jinn companion a ra’iyy.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “I do not suffer from what you claim. I have not brought you what I have brought in pursuit of your wealth, nor to attain honor over you, nor to gain dominion over you. Rather, Allah has sent me to you as a messenger, sent down to me a Book, and commanded me to be for you a bearer of glad tidings and a warner. I have conveyed to you the message of my Lord and sincerely advised you. If you accept it from me, it will be your share in this world and the Hereafter; but if you reject it, I shall patiently await Allah’s command until Allah judges between me and you.”