The Makkan Period, Part 7: The Glad Tidings of Muhammad
Section 7 of 14 · The Life of the Prophet Muhammad: The Makkan Period
He Will Speak All That I Command Him
The final part of the prophecy states, "And he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him" — meaning he will not withhold any information. Everything he is given, he will speak.
۞ يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلرَّسُولُ بَلِّغْ مَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِن رَّبِّكَ ۖ وَإِن لَّمْ تَفْعَلْ فَمَا بَلَّغْتَ رِسَالَتَهُۥ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ يَعْصِمُكَ مِنَ ٱلنَّاسِ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِى ٱلْقَوْمَ ٱلْكَـٰفِرِينَ
“O Messenger, convey all that has been sent down to you from your Lord. If you do not, then you shall not have conveyed His message (at all). Allah shall protect you from the people. Surely, Allah does not lead the disbelieving people to the right path.” (5:67)
And Allah (swt) says in the Qur'an, telling Muhammad (peace be upon him): O Prophet of Allah, convey everything that you have received, and if you do not do so, then you have not conveyed the message. Meaning: if you withhold even one word that was given to you, you have not fulfilled your role, you have not fulfilled your responsibility. So everything that Muhammad (peace be upon him) received, he delivered — even when it was verses of the Qur'an criticising an action of his.
عَبَسَ وَتَوَلَّىٰٓ أَن جَآءَهُ ٱلْأَعْمَىٰ
“He (the Prophet) frowned and turned his face, because the blind man came to him!” (80:1–2)
For example, in Sūrat ʿAbasa, when Rasūlullāh (peace be upon him) was speaking to a nobleman from Quraysh and he turned away from the blind man, Ibn Umm Maktūm, Allah (swt) said: ʿabasa wa tawallā, an jāʾahu al-aʿmā — words that are criticising that action of Muhammad (peace be upon him). And something similar can be said about the verses of Sūrat al-Taḥrīm.
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّبِىُّ لِمَ تُحَرِّمُ مَآ أَحَلَّ ٱللَّهُ لَكَ ۖ تَبْتَغِى مَرْضَاتَ أَزْوَٰجِكَ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
“O Prophet, why do you ban (on your self) something that Allah has made lawful for you, seeking to please your wives? And Allah is Most-Forgiving, Very-Merciful.” (66:1)
Yā ayyuhā al-nabiyyu lima tuḥarrimu mā aḥalla Allāhu lak — Allāhu akbar: O Messenger of Allah, why are you making what is lawful unto yourself unlawful, in order to please your wives? And one could go on with other examples. So Rasūlullāh (peace be upon him) conveyed everything that was given to him.