إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلائِكَتَهُ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ   

Verily Allah and His angels send blessings

upon the Prophet.

    Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was Allah's chosen Messenger to bring Allah's Message of Guidance to the people of the world.

    In this Ayah, the Almighty Himself is conferring His Messenger the highest honor, the very specific blessings of Allah.  In this Ayah, Muhammad (pbuh) is mentioned in person to be deserving of this privilege.

    And the Angels, too, will pray to Allah to bless Muhammad (pbuh), and for the grace of Allah to be upon Muhammad (pbuh).

 يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا    

O' you who believe invoke blessings upon him

and greet him with proper greetings.

    Allah enjoins on us to follow suit and to invoke the blessings to be on His Messenger, thus we are enjoined to:

·        hold Muhammad in the highest esteem,

·        love Muhammad with all our hearts,

·        to follow Muhammad's example, and

·      appreciate Muhammad for his qualifications.

    Please note that Allah has called upon all the believers, wherever they are and regardless of age, to hold to Muhammad (pbuh) and his teachings, to appreciate him, to comprehend his role fully, and to value him the way he should be valued.

Ø Allah wants to give Muhammad his due, since Allah Almighty fully knows how arduous Prophet Muhammad's task was, how difficult and involved it was.

Ø Allah knew fully how heavy the responsibility of Prophet Muhammad was, and how tough and rough the road ahead of Muhammad was.

Ø Allah Almighty knew well the character of His Messenger, and He knew that Muhammad was a man of honor and integrity, justice and honesty, purity and candor, and the list goes on.

Ø Allah wants all people to be aware of the high degree of worthiness of Muhammad (pbuh) and He asks us to send our blessings upon him too, and to salute him with the best salutations.

Verily those who affront Allah and His Messenger (Muhammad),

    There are believers and disbelievers.  The disbelievers foolishly reject the enlightenment of Islam and blindly hold religion in contempt, snub its teachings, and pay no attention to its ideals.  They often mock and slander its workers.

    These disbelievers often made of the Prophet's person an object to condemn and denounce.

    Whatever the disbelievers tried and attempted they offended Muhammad (pbuh) while he was alive, and they do the same hurt to his person now.  But by so doing, Allah Almighty says He feels the same way as Muhammad did.  In other words, the one who hurts Muhammad is hurting Allah (swt), and the one who offends Muhammad (pbuh) is offending Allah.

 لَعَنَهُمُ اللَّهُ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالآخِرَةِ   

Allah has cursed them in this world and the Hereafter,

    The disbelievers are cursed and doomed not only in their earthly life but also in the Eternal one.

    Allah is cynical of these disbelievers, He is contemptuous of them, and He will deprive them of His mercy; nay, even more He has put His curse upon them!  The injuries the disbelievers inflict upon Muhammad (pbuh) and Islam are transitory.  The injuries they inflict upon themselves are everlasting, and the penalties awaiting them are severe and harsh.

 وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمْ عَذَابًا مُّهِينًا   

and has prepared for them a humiliating chastisement.

    Allah promises the disbelievers who offend Him and His Messenger a humiliating punish­ment especially in the Hereafter.

    When Allah gives, He gives generously, and when He promises He always fulfills His promise.  When He promises a humiliating punishment to the disbelievers, He will give them an extremely painful one, and deservedly so.

وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْذُونَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ بِغَيْرِ مَا اكْتَسَبُوا   

Those who hurt the believing men and women

without having deserved it,

    The disbelievers often hurt the people who believe in Islam and work for it.  They become jealous of them because the believ­ers are secure and comfortable in their faith, committed in their work, free of anxiety.  They are jealous because the believers lead a pure life, untarnished, and righteous.

    On the other hand, the disbelievers lack themselves a firm base to stand on, and any faith of substance. 

    Thus, the world has two distinct camps, the good camp of the believers versus the bad camp of the disbelievers, and the beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.  Allah, of course, is on the side of those who believe in Him, who are unyieldingly committed to His service.

 فَقَدِ احْتَمَلُوا بُهْتَانًا وَإِثْمًا مُّبِينًا   

they shall bear the guilt of slander

and a manifest sin.

    Allah warns the disbelievers that if they hurt the believers, they will bear the heavy responsibility for their actions.  It is a grave sin, and they will account for it in the Hereafter, and they will pay the penalty for it.

    This will make us think:

How may millions of people in the past and present capitalize on Islam,

·        how many bigoted people injure Islam,

·        how many prejudiced people wrong Islam,

·        how many hypocrites want to speak in the name of Islam, and

·      how many hateful radio and TV directors want to defile Islam?

    The answer is numerous ones.  They seem to fill the world and you can see them everywhere.  You may see them in the schools, in offices, in the streets, in small towns, in large towns, and in every country.

    Take an impartial consensus and see how this Ayah applies to all of them, and you will conclude that hurting those who work for Allah is, in an indirect way, hurting Allah, and it is a grave sin for which they will pay the heavy price (Damnation).