وَقَالُوا۟ يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِى نُزِّلَ عَلَيْهِ ٱلذِّكْرُ إِنَّكَ لَمَجْنُونٌ · لَّوْ مَا تَأْتِينَا بِٱلْمَلَٰٓئِكَةِ إِن كُنتَ مِنَ ٱلصَّٰدِقِينَ · مَا نُنَزِّلُ ٱلْمَلَٰٓئِكَةَ إِلَّا بِٱلْحَقِّ وَمَا كَانُوٓا۟ إِذًا مُّنظَرِينَ
Wa qālū yā ayyuhā'lladhī nuzzila ʿalayhi'l-dhikru innaka la-majnūn · Law mā taʾtīnā bi'l-malāʾikati in kunta mina'l-ṣādiqīn · Mā nunazzilu'l-malāʾikata illā bi'l-ḥaqqi wa mā kānū idhan munẓarīn
"They said: 'O you upon whom the reminder has been sent down! You are surely possessed. · If you are of the truthful, why do you not bring us the angels!' · We send the angels down only with the truth; and then they would be given no respite."
The form of address must be recorded: yā ayyuhā'lladhī nuzzila ʿalayhi'l-dhikr — "O you upon whom the reminder has been sent down."
I record this as an observation about the word order: the first half of the sentence carries an acceptance — they say "the reminder was sent down to you." The second half rejects: "you are possessed." The two halves do not hold together.
| # | Explanation | Sense |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The address is mockery: they are jeering by repeating his own claim | Istihzāʾ |
| 2 | In their mouths the verb nuzzila means "which you say was sent down" | Reported speech |
Both are transmitted; I do not impose a preference. On either reading the work of the sentence is the same: the claim is repeated and immediately an attempt is made to demolish it.
ٱلذِّكْر — and the third name of the Book comes here: al-dhikr. The word will return in the ninth verse and will be treated there.
Law mā, in Arabic, like hallā, is a particle conveying incitement or reproach: "why do you not do it, do it then."
The demand was treated at al-Furqān 25/7 and 25/21 (law lā unzila ilayhi malakun fa-yakūna maʿahu nadhīrā; law lā unzila ʿalaynā'l-malāʾika). I rely on that treatment.
| Reading | Sense |
|---|---|
| 1 | With the decree — the descent of the angels means the finishing of the matter |
| 2 | With a real cause — not for an arbitrary display |
Both are transmitted. The second half of the verse lends itself to the first reading, and I record this as a supporting indication: wa mā kānū idhan munẓarīn — "and then they would have been given no respite."
From the root ن-ظ-ر, inẓār: to grant a term, to defer. And the word will return in the thirty-seventh verse of the sūra: fa-innaka mina'l-munẓarīn — the respite given to Iblīs. The same word, one a respite refused and one a respite granted. This is a repetition within the sūra that can be verified.
I record this as my own reading: the thing demanded (the coming of the angels), had it been given, would have ended the term of the one demanding it. The answer does not refuse the request; it states the price of the request.