Overview (Verse 113)

Special Grace for the Prophet
 
Finally, God tells His Messenger of the favour He gave him when He protected him from deception by the conspirators. He, thus, exposed their plot by which they tried to conceal matters so that people would not know what they had plotted. Yet they do not hide themselves from God Who is aware of all their plotting. God also reminds His Messenger of His favours by which He gave him revelations and wisdom, as well as knowledge of what he did not know. This is a favour to all mankind represented by the noblest and most honourable one in God’s sight: “But for God’s grace to you and His mercy, some of them would indeed endeavour to lead you astray. Yet none but themselves do they lead astray. Nor can they harm you in any way. It is God who has bestowed this book on you from on high and given you wisdom, and has taught you what you did not know. God’s favour on you is great indeed.” (Verse 113)
 
This was but one of the numerous and diverse attempts which the enemies of Muĥammad, God’s noble Messenger, tried in order to divert him away from the path of truth and justice. Each time, however, God bestowed on him grace in abundance, leaving the schemers to rue their actions and sink into error. The history of the Prophet Muĥammad, (peace be upon him), is full of such attempts, the failure of his enemies and his own success when God guided him every time to the right way. In this verse, God reminds him of His grace and favours, reassuring him at the same time that such people will not harm him in the least. That in itself is an act of Divine grace.
 
Just as this particular favour is mentioned, with all its aspects of revealing the truth to the Prophet, so the greatest favour of all is also identified. That is, the favour of choosing him to be God’s Messenger: “It is God who has bestowed this book on you from on high and given you wisdom, and has taught you what you did not know. God’s favour on you is great indeed.” (Verse 113)
 
It is a favour God has granted to all mankind, heralding a re-birth of man so that he may have a new upbringing similar to that he enjoyed when God’s spirit was first breathed into him. It is the favour that picked humanity up from the depths of ignorance, helping it rise to the highest zenith attainable by man through the Divine constitution and the system it lays down for human life. It is a favour that cannot be truly appreciated except by one who knows what it means to live under ignorant systems, past or present, and under Islam, or one who has experienced both.
 
It is because God’s Messenger was the first to realise this favour and the noblest and wisest person ever to experience it, that the reminder is given to him personally: “It is God who ... has taught you what you did not know. God’s favour on you is great indeed.” (Verse 113)