Transliteration:( Wa iz qulnaa laka inna rabbaka ahaata binnaas; wa maa ja'alnar ru'yal lateee arainaaka illaa fitnatal linnaasi washshajaratal mal'oonata fil quraan; wa nukhaw wifuhum famaa yazeeduhum illa tughyaanan kabeeraa (section 6) )
"And when We said to you, 'Indeed, your Lord encompasses the people' [131], and We did not make the vision which We showed you except as a test for the people [132], and the cursed tree in the Qur'an [133]. And We warn them, but it only increases them in great transgression."
This refers to the fact that Allah Almighty’s knowledge and power encompass everything.
It does not mean that Allah Himself physically surrounds people — He is beyond all boundaries and free from being encompassed or contained.
This proves the reality of the physical Me'raj, i.e., the Prophet ﷺ’s heavenly ascent to the Divine Throne while awake.
The vision mentioned here refers to what the Holy Prophet ﷺ witnessed during this miraculous journey — which included divine signs in the heavens.
When he ﷺ informed the Makkans of this, the disbelievers mocked it, and some of the weak in faith became apostates.
On the other hand, Hazrat Abu Bakr (رضي الله عنه) declared: "If he said it, then it is true", thus earning the title As-Siddique.
Hence, some became firm believers, while others became open rejectors — making the event a test.
This refers to Zaqqum, a salt-thorn tree that grows from the base of Hell, whose branches spread across the depths of Jahannam and becomes food for its inmates.
When the Prophet ﷺ described this to the disbelievers, they mocked it, saying:
"How can a green tree exist in fire when fire burns everything?"
Their ignorance blinded them, failing to realize:
The same Lord who keeps sea worms alive in boiling vents,
Who enables ostriches to digest burning coals,
And in Turkey, even towels were once made from the fire-resistant skins of sea worms —
Surely, Allah can command a tree to survive within the fire of Hell!
Thus, their mockery only increased their rebellion and their stubbornness in disbelief.
60. And (remember) when We told you: “Verily, your Lord has encompassed mankind.” And We made not the vision which We showed you but a trial for mankind, and (likewise) the accursed tree in the Qur’an. We warn and make them afraid but it only increases them in naught save great disbelief, oppression and disobedience to Allah.
Allah says to His Messenger , encouraging him to convey the Message and informing him that He is protecting him from the people, that He is able to deal with them and that they are in His grasp and under His domination and control.
(And (remember) when We told you: “Verily, your Lord has encompassed mankind..”) Mujahid, `Urwah bin Az-Az-Zubayr, Al-Hasan, Qatadah and others said, “This means, He protected you from them.”
(And We made not the vision which We showed you but a trial for mankind,) Al-Bukhari recorded that Ibn `Abbas said:
(And We made not the vision which We showed you but a trial for mankind,) “This is the vision which the Messenger of Allah saw with his own eyes on the night when he was taken on the Night Journey (Al-Isra’).
and (likewise) the accursed tree in the Qur a0n. refers to the Tree of Zaqqum.” This was also recorded by Ahmad, `Abdur-Razzaq and others. It was also reported by Al-`Awfi from Ibn `Abbas. It was also interpreted as referring to the Night of the Isra’ by Mujahid, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Al-Hasan, Masruq, Ibrahim, Qatadah, `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd and several others. We have already quoted at length a comprehensive collection of Hadith about the Isra’ at the beginning of this Surah, praise be to Allah. We have also already stated that some people gave up their Islam after they had been following the truth, because their hearts and minds could not comprehend that, and they denied what their knowledge could not grasp, but Allah caused it to increase and strengthen the faith of others, and so He says:
(but a trial), meaning a test. As for the cursed tree, this is the Tree of Zaqqum. When the Messenger of Allah told them that he had seen Paradise and Hell, and seen the Tree of Zaqqum, they did not believe that, and Abu Jahl, upon whom be the curses of Allah, even said, “Bring us some dates and butter,” and he started eating them and saying, “Let us have some Zaqqum, we don’t know any other Zaqqum but this.” This was narrated by Ibn `Abbas, Masruq, Abu Malik, Al-Hasan Al-Basri and others. Everyone who interpreted the Ayah to refer to the Night of the Isra’, also interpreted it to refer to the Tree of Zaqqum.
(﴿We﴾ make them afraid) meaning, `We make the disbelievers afraid with Our warnings and punishments and torment.’
(but it only increases them in naught save great disbelief, oppression and disobedience to Allah.) means, it only pushes them further into their disbelief and misguidance, and this is because Allah has forsaken them.
(17:60) And recall when We said to you, (O Muhammad), that your Lord encompasses these people;[70] and that We have made that vision that We have shown you,[71] and the tree accursed in the Qur’an,[72] but as a trial for people. We go about warning them, but each warning leads them to greater transgression.
70. That is, at the very beginning of your Prophethood, when the disbelievers of the Quraish had started opposition to your message, We declared that We are encircling them. They might try their best to obstruct your message, but they will inevitably fail in this and your mission will succeed regardless of opposition. Can’t they see that this declaration has come out true as a miracle, for their opposition has failed to hinder your message, and they have not been able to do any harm to you at all. This was a clear sign of the fact that the mission of the Prophet (peace be upon him) was being supported by the Almighty God. As regards to the declaration that Allah is encircling the disbelievers and helping the mission of the Prophet, it occurs in several Surahs of the first stage of Prophethood at Makkah. For instance, in (Surah Al-Burooj, ayat 17-20), Allah says: These disbelievers do not learn a lesson from the stories of the people of the Pharaoh and Thamud but are rejecting the message here as Allah is encircling them on all sides.
71. This refers to Miraj (Ascension) for here word ruya does not mean “seeing things in a dream” but seeing things actually with physical eyes. It is quite obvious that if it had been a mere dream and the Prophet (peace be upon him) had presented it as a dream to the disbelievers, there was no reason why it should have become a trial for them. Everyday people see strange dreams and relate them to the people but these dreams never become such a curious thing as to make people scoff at the dreamer and accuse him of making a false claim or of being a mad person.
72. This cursed tree, Az-zaqqum which has been mentioned in (Surah Ad-Dukhan, ayat 43-44), grows at the bottom of Hell and its dwellers shall have to eat from it. This has been called a cursed tree because it is not given to people to eat as a mercy from Allah but as a symbol of His curse so that the accursed people should eat it and get more sore, for this will, so to speak, burn in their bellies like the boiling water.
[757]- In His knowledge and power, meaning that Allāh would protect him (ﷺ) from their harm. [758]- During the miʿrāj (ascension) into the heavens.
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