This verse is a form of solace for the Prophet’s (saws) heart.

(… قَدْ نَعْلَمُ إِنَّهُ لَيَحْزُنُكَ الَّذِي يَقُولُونَ) (We know that you, [O Muhammad], are saddened by what they say …): The Prophet (saws) used to grieve when he saw that he was calling people to goodness, but they responded him with evil. They called him ‘magician’, ‘madman’, ‘liar’, ‘fabricator’ and described his message as ‘confused visions’, until there was not a single of the despised characteristics except that they described him with it. Whereas he is the truthful and trustworthy one. Therefore, Allah (swt) willed to lift the grief from this great self, the self of Prophet Muhammad (saws) by this verse. This was certainly a solace for the heart of the Prophet (saws). When he went to Taif and its people urged the young lads to throw rocks at him and call him names, all he could do was to say:

“O Allah, to You I complain of my weakness, my lack of ability and the disdain of people. You are the most Merciful of all the merciful ones. To whom do you leave me? To an enemy oppressing me? Or to a close person who controls my affairs? If You have no displeasure towards me, then I care not, but Your protection would be more expansive for me.”[1]

(… فَإِنَّهُمْ لَا يُكَذِّبُونَكَ وَلَٰكِنَّ الظَّالِمِينَ بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ يَجْحَدُونَ) (And indeed, they do not call you untruthful, but it is the verses of Allah that the wrongdoers reject …): They deny all the verses of the Holy Quran and all the signs that appear in the creation, such as the sun, moon, stars, rivers, water, oceans, air, clouds, plants and animals. They deny and disbelieve in all these creations, thus they do not question your honesty, O Muhammad, but they are in fact denying the signs of Allah (swt). This is a consolation from Allah to His noble messenger, so that he will not be sad. Albeit the grief felt by the Messenger (saws), he was full of mercy towards his nation. It was narrated by ‘Urwa that ‘Aishah, the wife of the Prophet (saws), told him that she asked the Prophet (saws): “Have you encountered a day harder than the day of the Battle of Uhud?” The Prophet (saws) replied:

“Your tribes have troubled me a lot, and the worse trouble was the trouble on the day of ‘Aqaba when I presented myself to Ibn ‘Abd-Yalail bin ‘Abd-Kulal and he did not respond to my request. So, I departed, overwhelmed with excessive sorrow, and proceeded on, and could not relax till I found myself at Qarn ath-Tha’alib where I lifted my head towards the sky to see a cloud shading me unexpectedly. I looked up and saw Gabriel in it. He called me saying, ‘Allah has heard your people’s saying to you, and what they have replied back to you, Allah has sent the Angel of the Mountains to you so that you may order him to do whatever you wish to these people.’ The Angel of the Mountains called and greeted me, and then said, “O Muhammad! Order what you wish. If you like, I will let Al-AkhShabain (i.e. two mountains) fall on them.” The Prophet (pbuh) said, “No but I hope that Allah will let them beget children who will worship Allah Alone and will worship None besides Him.”[2]

He (saws) also said:

“Verily, I am a gifted mercy.”[3]

And when the people said to him, “Will you not pray against your people?” His answer would be:

“O Allah, guide my people, for they know not.”[4]

[1] Majma’ az-Zawaid wa Manba’ al-Fawaid, The Book of Battles and Missions, Hadith No.9851.

[2]   Majma’ az-Zawaid wa Manba’ al-Fawaid, The Book of Battles and Missions, Hadith No.9851.

[3] Sunan Ad-Darimi, The Introduction, Chapter of the early signs of the Prophet (saws), Hadith No. 15.

[4] Shu’ab al-Iman of Bayhaqi: 164/2, Hadith No. 1447.