Did all the people before the arrival of prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) have warners or not ?

Qur'an 36:6 says
;
لِتُنۡذِرَ قَوۡمًا مَّاۤ اُنۡذِرَ اٰبَآؤُهُمۡ فَهُمۡ غٰفِلُوۡنَ

"In order that you (Muhammad-pbuh) may warn a people whose forefathers were not warned, so they are heedless"


But, Qur'an 35:24
says ;
ِنَّاۤ اَرۡسَلۡنٰكَ بِالۡحَـقِّ بَشِيۡرًا وَّنَذِيۡرًاؕ وَاِنۡ مِّنۡ اُمَّةٍ اِلَّا خَلَا فِيۡهَا نَذِيۡرٌ‏

"Surely We have sent you with the truth as a bearer of good news and a warner; and there is not a nation but a warner has gone among them"



Again, Qur'an 13:7
says ;
وَيَقُوۡلُ الَّذِيۡنَ كَفَرُوۡا لَوۡلَاۤ اُنۡزِلَ عَلَيۡهِ اٰيَةٌ مِّنۡ رَّبِّهٖؕ اِنَّمَاۤ اَنۡتَ مُنۡذِرٌ​ وَّ لِكُلِّ قَوۡمٍ هَادٍ

"And the disbelievers say: "Why is not a sign sent down to him from his Lord?" You are only a warner, and to every set of people there is a guide"



The first verse (Qur'an 36:6) above shows that before the arrival of prophet Muhammad (pbuh), there are some set of people (like forefathers of the Arabs) that did not have any warner (to warn them against the punishment of Allah).

However, the last two verses (Qur'an 35:24 and Qur'an 13:7) appear to say otherwise by stating that every nation has a warner and every people has a guide
.

Therefore, how are we to understand all these verses together without any contradictions ?

The key to understanding all these verses lies in knowing the actual meaning of the original Arabic words used in all these verses.

For example, the Arabic word ummah (which usually means a religious nation that can encompass people of many centuries) used in Qur'an 35:24 is broad and more general than the Arabic word qawm (which only means a set of people) used in Qur'an 36:6
.


Hence, while Qur'an 36:6 is only referring to a set of people (qawm), before the advent of prophet Muhammad (pbuh), who had no warner, then Qur'an 35:24 is only saying that ; just like this last and present religious nation (ummah) has its own warner (which is of course Prophet Muhammad-pbuh), all the previous religious nations (i:e all the past ummah) before the arrival of prophet Muhammad (pbuh) also had their own warners.


So what can be understood from these two verses is that warners were sent to all "ummah" (i:e all religious nations) as stated in Qur'an 35:24 but warners were not sent to all "qawm" (i:e all different set of people) as can be deduced from Qur'an 36:6. This is because "ummah" (a religious nation which can encompass people of many centuries ) is far more greater than "qawm" (just a set of people). Therefore, there is no any contradiction between the two verses.


There is no any place in the Qur'an where it is stated that warners were sent to all different set of people. In fact, Allah openly declared as follows ;
وَلَوۡ شِئۡنَا لَبَـعَثۡنَا فِىۡ كُلِّ قَرۡيَةٍ نَّذِيۡرًا

"And had We willed, We would have raised a warner in every town (Qur'an 25:51)"

This simply shows that warners were not sent to every town where different set of people (i:e qawm) are living.

Now that we are able to resolve the illusory contradiction between Qur'an 36:6 and Qur'an 35:24, then what about Qur'an 13:7 which says ;

"And the disbelievers say: "Why is not a sign sent down to him from his Lord?" You are only a warner, and to every set of people (i:e qawm) there is a guide"

Again, the key to understanding this verse lies in checking the original Arabic word. The original Arabic word used for "guide" in the verse above is "هَادٍ" which is different from "نَّذِيۡرا" which means "warner".

Qur'an 13:7 did NOT say
; " ......You are only a warner, and to every set of people, there is a "warner" (despite the fact that the word "warner" is expected to be used in conformity with the word warner that came before it ; just like they are used together in Qur'an 35:24 quoted above).

However, the verse cautiously say ; " You are only a warner, and to every set of people there is a guide (هَادٍ )".

If Qur'an 13:7 use "warner" in place of "guide", then a real contradiction would occur with Qur'an 36:6 which says that some set of people (forefathers of the Arabs) did not have any warner.

Similarly, if Qur'an 35:24 use the word qawm (set of people) in place of the word ummah (religious nation), then real contradiction would occur again with Qur'an 36:6
.
You can see that all the words in the Qur'an are carefully chosen to avoid any kind of contradiction
;
لَا يَتَدَبَّرُونَ الْقُرْآنَ وَلَوْ كَانَ مِنْ عِندِ غَيْرِ اللَّهِ لَوَجَدُوا فِيهِ اخْتِلَافًا كَثِيرًا

"Do they not then consider the Qur'an carefully? Had it been from other than Allah, they would surely have found therein much contradictions" (Qur'an 4:82)


Some people may want to reason ; what is the difference between a warner
and a guide ?

A guide is not necessary to be a warner. For example, all the signs in the Heavens and Earth (like existence of the sun, the moon and the stars, different kind of animals, different kinds of fruits and flowers, sending down of rain from the sky, changes in the direction of wind and alternation of day and night) are only a guide to existence and oneness of Allah. All these signs are not warners against the punishment of Allah.

Similarly, prophets of Allah like Abraham and Ishmael (peace be upon them) that once lived in Makkah to build Kaaba were only a guide to the forefathers of the Arabs. They were not warners to them. If Abraham and Ishmael were warners to the Arabs, then why would Qur'an 36:6 says whose forefathers were not warned ? So it is only the prophet Muhammad (pbuh) that was sent as a warner
to the Arabs.


As you can see, a guide is not necessary to be a warner. But a warner must definitely be a guide. Therefore, all warners are guide but not all guide are warners just like all messengers of Allah-رسل (like Moses, Jesus and Muhammad-pbuh) are prophets-نبي but not all prophets (like Adam) are messengers. The first messenger sent by Allah to the people of the earth is prophet Nuh.


In conclusion, we can now conveniently say that all religious nations (i:e all ummah) have warners ( Qur'an 35:24, 16:36, 10:47,) but all different set of people ( i:e all qawm ) do not have warners (Qur'an 36:6, 32:3, 25:51, 28:46).

What all different set of people (i:e all qawm) have is a guide(Qur'an 13:7), which can either be a warner or not.

Hence, any set of people which are not opportuned to receive or hear about any warner in this world can still be judged on the Day of Resurrection based on the fact that they must have a guide
like ;

(i) signs in the creation that testify to the existence and oneness of Allah, and

(ii) their conscience (innate ability to distinguish between the good and evil deeds).


This very analysis came from my own personal research and thinking since I couldn't find any tafsir which directly addresses all these verses together. In case you have a different view, please kindly let me know.

Thanks for taking your time in reading carefully to the end !

Abdulgaffar22:
Did all the people before the arrival of prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) have warners or not ?

Qur'an 36:6 says
;
لِتُنۡذِرَ قَوۡمًا مَّاۤ اُنۡذِرَ اٰبَآؤُهُمۡ فَهُمۡ غٰفِلُوۡنَ

"In order that you (Muhammad-pbuh) may warn a people whose forefathers were not warned, so they are heedless"


But, Qur'an 35:24
says ;
ِنَّاۤ اَرۡسَلۡنٰكَ بِالۡحَـقِّ بَشِيۡرًا وَّنَذِيۡرًاؕ وَاِنۡ مِّنۡ اُمَّةٍ اِلَّا خَلَا فِيۡهَا نَذِيۡرٌ‏

"Surely We have sent you with the truth as a bearer of good news and a warner; and there is not a nation but a warner has gone among them"



Again, Qur'an 13:7
says ;
وَيَقُوۡلُ الَّذِيۡنَ كَفَرُوۡا لَوۡلَاۤ اُنۡزِلَ عَلَيۡهِ اٰيَةٌ مِّنۡ رَّبِّهٖؕ اِنَّمَاۤ اَنۡتَ مُنۡذِرٌ​ وَّ لِكُلِّ قَوۡمٍ هَادٍ

"And the disbelievers say: "Why is not a sign sent down to him from his Lord?" You are only a warner, and to every set of people there is a guide"



The first verse (Qur'an 36:6) above shows that before the arrival of prophet Muhammad (pbuh), there are some set of people (like forefathers of the Arabs) that did not have any warner (to warn them against the punishment of Allah).

However, the last two verses (Qur'an 35:24 and Qur'an 13:7) appear to say otherwise by stating that every nation has a warner and every people has a guide
.

Therefore, how are we to understand all these verses together without any contradictions ?

The key to understanding all these verses lies in knowing the actual meaning of the original Arabic words used in all these verses.

For example, the Arabic word ummah (which usually means a religious nation) used in Qur'an 35:24 is broad and more general than the Arabic word qawm (which means a set of people) used in Qur'an 36:6
.


Hence, while Qur'an 36:6 is only referring to a set of people (qawm), before the advent of prophet Muhammad (pbuh), who had no warner, then Qur'an 35:24 is only saying that ; just like this last and present religious nation (ummah) established by the arrival of prophet Muhammad (pbuh) has its own warner, all the previous religious nations (i:e all the past ummah) before the arrival of prophet Muhammad (pbuh) also has their own warners.


So what can be understood from these two verses is that warners were sent to all "ummah" (i:e all religious nations) as stated in Qur'an 35:24 but warners were not sent to all "qawm" (i:e all different set of people)
as can be deduced from Qur'an 36:6. This is because "ummah" (a religious nation) is far more greater than "qawm" (a set of people). Therefore, there is no any contradiction between the two verses.


There is no any place in the Qur'an where it is stated that warners were sent to all different set of people. In fact, Allah openly declared as follows ;
وَلَوۡ شِئۡنَا لَبَـعَثۡنَا فِىۡ كُلِّ قَرۡيَةٍ نَّذِيۡرًا

"And had We willed, We would have raised a warner in every town (Qur'an 25:51)"

This simply shows that warners were not sent to every town where different set of people (i:e qawm) are living.

Now that we are able to resolve the illusory contradiction between Qur'an 36:6 and Qur'an 35:24, then what about Qur'an 13:7 which says ;

"And the disbelievers say: "Why is not a sign sent down to him from his Lord?" You are only a warner, and to every set of people (i:e qawm) there is a guide"

Again, the key to understanding this verse lies in checking the original Arabic word. The original Arabic word used for "guide" in the verse above is "هَادٍ" which is different from "نَّذِيۡرا" which means "warner".

Qur'an 13:7 did NOT say
; " ......You are only a warner, and to every set of people, there is a "warner" (despite the fact that the word "warner" is expected to be used in conformity with the statement before it).

However, the verse cautiously say ; " You are only a warner, and to every set of people there is a guide (هَادٍ )".

If Qur'an 13:7 use "warner" in place of "guide", then a real contradiction would occur with Qur'an 36:6 which says that some set of people (forefathers of the Arabs) did not have any warner.

Similarly, if Qur'an 35:24 use the word qawm (set of people) in place of the word ummah (nation), then real contradiction would occur again with Qur'an 36:6
.
You can see that all the words in the Qur'an are carefully chosen to avoid any kind of contradiction
;
لَا يَتَدَبَّرُونَ الْقُرْآنَ وَلَوْ كَانَ مِنْ عِندِ غَيْرِ اللَّهِ لَوَجَدُوا فِيهِ اخْتِلَافًا كَثِيرًا

"Do they not then consider the Qur'an carefully? Had it been from other than Allah, they would surely have found therein much contradictions" (Qur'an 4:82)


Some people may want to reason ; what is the difference between a warner
and a guide ?

A guide is not necessary to be a warner. For example, all the signs in the Heavens and Earth (like existence of the sun, the moon and the stars, different kind of animals, different kinds of fruits and flowers, sending down of rain from the sky, changes in the direction of wind and alternation of day and night) are only a guide to existence and oneness of Allah. All these signs are not warners against the punishment of Allah.

Similarly, prophets of Allah like Abraham and Ishmael (peace be upon them) that once lived in Makkah to build Kaaba were only a guide to the forefathers of the Arabs. They were not warners to them. If Abraham and Ishmael were warners to the Arabs, then why would Qur'an 36:6 says whose forefathers were not warned ? So it is only the prophet Muhammad (pbuh) that was sent as a warner
to the Arabs.


As you can see, a guide is not necessary to be a warner. But a warner must definitely be a guide. Therefore, all warners are guide but not all guide are warners just like all messengers of Allah-رسل (like Moses, Jesus and Muhammad-pbuh) are prophets-نبي but not all prophets (like Adam) are messengers. The first messenger sent by Allah to the people of the earth is prophet Nuh.


In conclusion, we can now conveniently say that all religious nations (i:e all ummah) have warners ( Qur'an 35:24, 16:36, 10:47,) but all different set of people ( i:e all qawm ) do not have warners (Qur'an 36:6, 32:3, 25:51, 28:46).

What all different set of people (i:e all qawm) have is a guide(Qur'an 13:7), which can either be a warner or not.

Hence, any set of people which are not opportuned to receive or hear about any warner in this world can still be judged on the Day of Resurrection based on the fact that they must have a guide
like ;

(i) signs in the creation that testify to the existence and oneness of Allah, and

(ii) their conscience (innate ability to distinguish between the good and evil deeds).


This very analysis came from my own personal research and thinking since I couldn't find any tafsir which directly addresses all these verses together. In case you have a different view, please kindly let me know.

Thanks for taking your time in reading carefully to the end !

The above write up is written in response to one enemy of Islam who wanted to show that there is contradiction between Qur'an 36:6 and Qur'an 35:24