Tafsir Surah Ali-Imran Verse 164, Knowing the Duties of the Prophet, Wisdom, and the Stages of Becoming a Knowledgeable Person

Dream – The Quran is a guide for Muslims that is important to understand its contents. Besides being a guide, the Quran also contains good news and stories of the past that are important to be learned.

Many verses tell about the figure of the Prophet Muhammad. He is an example for Muslims who have noble character. His heart is pure, his arrival brings light to the darkness of the Arab nation at that time. One description of the Prophet Muhammad is mentioned in Surah Ali Imran verse 164.

Surah Ali Imran is the 3rd surah in the order of the Quran. Surah Ali Imran is a long surah consisting of 200 verses. However, in this article, Dream will only discuss the content of Surah Ali Imran verse 164.

Surah Ali Imran verse 164 explains to Muslims that Allah sent a Messenger from among humans to be an example for them.

We must believe in the existence of a person who is the messenger of Allah. Besides believing in his existence, we must also believe in all the prophets and messengers. There are 25 prophets that we must believe in, while the rest can be considered as additional knowledge and wisdom.

Here is the interpretation of Surah Ali Imran verse 164 along with its complete content, including the duties of the prophets, wisdom, and the stages of becoming a knowledgeable person.

Recitation of Surah Ali Imran Verse 164

Before discussing further the content of Surah Ali Imran verse 164, it is better for you to know its recitation first. Here is the recitation of verse 164 from Surah Ali Imran along with its translation:

لَقَدْ مَنَّ اللَّهُ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ إِذْ بَعَثَ فِيهِمْ رَسُولًا مِنْ أَنْفُسِهِمْ يَتْلُوا عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتِهِ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَإِنْ كَانُوا مِنْ قَبْلُ لَفِي ضَلَالٍ مُبِينٍ

Artinya: "Sesungguhnya Allah telah memberi karunia kepada orang-orang yang beriman ketika (Allah) mengutus di antara mereka seorang Rasul dari golongan mereka sendiri, yang membacakan kepada mereka ayat-ayat-Nya, menyucikan mereka, dan mengajarkan kepada mereka Kitab (Al-Quran) dan Hikmah (Sunnah), padahal sebelum (kedatangan Rasul ini) mereka benar-benar dalam kesesatan yang nyata."

Interpretation of Surah Ali Imran Verse 164

We will quote the interpretation of Surah Ali Imran verse 164 based on Tafsir As-Sa'di by Sheikh Abdurrahman bin Nashir as-Sa'di.

In the interpretation, it is explained that Prophet Muhammad, who was sent as the last prophet, is the greatest and fundamental blessing for the Arab nation and the entire Muslim community. With the sending of Prophet Muhammad, Allah saved the Arab nation from misguidance and protected them from destruction.

Here Allah emphasizes that with the sending of Prophet Muhammad, the Arabs should be proud and believe in his prophethood. Because the purpose of Allah sending Muhammad as a prophet is clear, including his lineage, which is from the Arab nation, from the Arab people, who are the advisers in the pre-Islamic tradition full of darkness.

In this verse, Prophet Muhammad is mentioned as a compassionate figure towards all groups, who conveys the revelation of God (the Quran) and teaches its contents to his people. With the verses of Allah, the Arab nation can cleanse their souls from polytheism, sins, humiliation, and all bad manners.

Allah has bestowed His grace upon them by teaching the Book and writing, meaning knowledge that can be understood and preserved. Then teaching wisdom, which is the Sunnah as a companion to the Quran.

The interpretation of this verse describes that before the sending of Prophet Muhammad as a messenger, the Arab nation was truly in misguidance. They did not know the path that leads them to their Lord, nor about matters that purify and sanctify their souls. They were adorned with ignorance and actions that contradicted the sound mind of the universe.

The Prophet's Duties and Stages of Becoming a Scholar

The sending of Prophet Muhammad SAW as the last messenger is a pride for the Arab nation. Allah bestowed the greatest grace and happiness to the Arabs by sending His beloved from among the Arabs. He SAW was given the title Al-Amin because he was known as a trustworthy person.

Prophet Muhammad is a glory for the Arab people. Just like the Jews and Christians who take pride in Prophet Ibrahim.

In this verse of Surah Ali Imran, there is a noble duty of Prophet Muhammad SAW as the messenger of Allah, which is:

يَتْلُوْا عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتِهِ وَيُزَكِّيْهِمْ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ

“Who recites to them His verses, purifies them, and teaches them the Book (Quran) and Wisdom (Sunnah).”

This verse also contains the stages of a person in learning to understand knowledge, starting with reading. The first revelation from Allah also contains the command to read.

After going through the reading stage, the next stage is purifying the soul by cleansing the heart and mind, reducing worldly desires and pleasures. Then replace them with abundant remembrance of Allah and supplication.

After that, enter the stage of wayu’allimuhumul kitaba wal hikmah, which is to possess knowledge. That is the stage of a person who can be called 'alim.

General Content of Surah Ali Imran Verse 164

It has been explained before that Allah informs all the ummah of the Prophet Muhammad that the sending of a prophet from among humans is a great blessing that cannot be compared to any other pleasure. The messenger sent from among humans has several tasks. Among them are:

1. Reciting the verses of Allah.
2. Encouraging people to repent and stop committing sins.
3. Teaching the Quran and Hadith.

Thus, the sending of the Prophet is expected to bring humanity from the era of ignorance to the Islamic era filled with the light of God. People who were once lost, had wrong beliefs, committed immoral acts, then received guidance to the truth from the revelation brought by the messenger of Allah.

The light of guidance is obtained where they used to be in darkness. Then they know what is right and what is wrong, what is true and what is false. Because the teachings of Islam brought by the Prophet Muhammad have been able to change their evil habits.

The wisdom that can be taken from Surah Ali Imran verse 164 is that we should be more reliant on Allah. Furthermore, with the sending of the Prophet, we should no longer be lost and know what is right and what is wrong. And the last wisdom is that by obtaining the light of guidance from Allah, humans find peace and happiness.