Who is more vile than he who slanders God of falsehood, or says: "Revelation came to me," when no such revelation came to him; or one who claims: "I can reveal the like of what has been sent down by God?" If you could see the evil creatures in the agony of death with the angels thrusting forward their hands (saying): "Yield up your souls: This day you will suffer ignominious punishment for uttering lies about God and rejecting His signs with arrogance."
93
Tafseer
'Abdullāh Ibn 'Abbās / Muḥammad al-Fīrūzabādī
تفسير : (who is guilty) who is more tyrannical and more daring (of more wrong than he who forgeth a lie against allah, or saith) allah did not reveal anything, this is malik ibn al-sayf, or him who says: (i am inspired) with a scripture, (when he is not inspired in aught) with any scripture, this is musaylimah, the liar; (and who saith: i will reveal the like of that which allah hath revealed) i will say the like of what muhammad (pbuh) is saying: this is 'abdullah ibn sa'd ibn abi sarh. (if thou couldst see) o muhammad, (when the wrong-doers) the idolaters and the hypocrites, on the day of badr (reach the pangs of death and the angels stretch their hands out) to take out their souls, (saying: deliver up your souls) your spirits. (this day) the day of badr, as it is said it is the day of judgement (ye are awarded doom of degradation) a severe doom (for that ye spake concerning allah other than the truth, and scorned) you thought yourselves too great to believe in muhammad (pbuh) and the qur'an, (his portents) muhammad (pbuh) and the qur'an.
Jalāl al-Dīn al-Maḥallī
تفسير : and who, that is, none, does greater evil than he who invents lies against god, by claiming prophethood when he has not been called to it, or who says, ‘it is revealed to me’, when nothing has been revealed to him — this was revealed regarding [the false prophet] musaylama [al-kadhdhāb] — or he who says, ‘i will reveal the like of what god has revealed’? — these were the mockers who would say: if we wish we can speak the like of this [q. 8:31]; if you could only see, o muhammad (s), when the, mentioned, evildoers are in the agonies, the throes, of death and the angels extend their hands, against them, beating and torturing them, saying to them in stern censure: ‘give up your souls!, to us that we may seize them. today you shall be requited with the chastisement of humiliation because you used to say about god other than the truth, of claiming prophethood and inspiration falsely, and that you used to scorn his signs’, disdaining to believe in them. the response to the conditional [statement beginning with] law, ‘if [you could only see]’, is: ‘you would be seeing a terrifying thing’.
Ali ibn Ahmad al-Wahidi
تفسير : (who is guilty of more wrong than he who forgeth a lie against allah, or saith: i am inspired…) [6:93].
this was revealed about the liar, musaylimah al-hanafi. this man was a soothsayer who composed rhymed speech and claimed prophethood. he claimed that he was inspired by allah.
(… and who saith: i will reveal the like of that which allah hath revealed?) [6:93].
this verse was revealed about 'abd allah ibn sa'd ibn abi sarh. this man had declared his faith in islam and so the messenger of allah, allah bless him and give him peace, called him one day to write something for him. when the verses regarding the believers were revealed (verily, we created man from a product of wet earth…) [23:12-14], the prophet dictated them to him. when he reached up to (and then produced it as another creation), 'abd allah expressed his amazement at the precision of man's creation by saying (so blessed be allah, the best of creators!). the messenger of allah, allah bless him and give him peace, said: “this ['abd allah's last expression] is how it was revealed to me”. at that point, doubt crept into 'abd allah. he said: “if muhammad is truthful, then i was inspired just as he was; and if he is lying, i have uttered exactly what he did utter”. hence allah's words (and who saith: i will reveal the like of that which allah hath revealed). the man renounced islam. this is also the opinion of ibn 'abbas according to the report of al-kalbi.
'abd al-rahman ibn 'abdan informed us> muhammad ibn 'abd allah ibn nu'aym> muhammad ibn ya'qub al-umawi> ahmad ibn 'abd al-jabbar> yunus ibn bukayr> muhammad ibn ishaq> shurahbil ibn sa'd who said: “this verse was revealed about 'abd allah ibn sa'd ibn abi sarh. the latter said: 'i will reveal the like of that which allah has revealed', and renounced islam. when the messenger of allah, allah bless him and give him peace, entered mecca, this man fled to 'uthman [ibn 'affan] who was his milk brother. 'uthman hid him until the people of mecca felt safe. he then took him to the messenger of allah, allah bless him and give him peace, and secured an amnesty for him”.
