Certainty of victory after despair
Allah, the Exalted, says: "Until, when the [They continued] messengers despaired and were certain that they had been denied, there came to them Our victory, and whoever We willed was saved. And Our punishment cannot be repelled from the people who are criminals." (Yusuf: 110)
This verse depicts the moments of extreme distress in the lives of the messengers, just before the decisive moment when Allah's promise is fulfilled. The messengers despaired of the faith of their people (the verb "استيأس" is an intensified form of "يئس," meaning deep despair). {And they thought that they had been denied.} This part of the verse is open to multiple interpretations, as the word "كُذِبُوا" has been read with both a doubled (Al-Tashdeed) and a lightened (Al-Takhfeef) form. Each reading has been interpreted in two ways, resulting in four possible interpretations. These are explained as follows:
The first reading: "كُذِبُوا" with Al-Takhfeef (lightened consonant) form, which can have two possible meanings:
The first meaning: Zan is directed at the disbelieving people, meaning: "Until, when the messengers despaired of the faith of their people, the people thought that the messengers had lied about the punishment they had warned them of if they continued in their disbelief, and about the victory they had promised to their followers." Here, the word "ظن" means an illusion or assumption.
The second interpretation: Zan refers to the messengers, meaning that the messengers thought they had been lied to about the victory that was promised to them. This view is attributed to Ibn Abbas. Aisha, however, rejected the idea that "كُذِبُوا" could be in the lightened form (Al-Takhfeef), saying: "Far be it from Allah! The messengers, peace be upon them, would never think such a thing about their Lord," and she added, "Whatever Allah promised Muhammad, peace be upon him, He knew that He would fulfill it."
There is no doubt that Ibn Abbas did not intend to suggest that the messengers would doubt the truth of the revelation. Scholars have offered various explanations of his statement, one of which is that he meant by Zan (ظن) what might cross the mind or arise as whisperings in the heart, as is natural for human beings. As for Zan in the sense of favoring one of two possibilities, this would not be attributed to a Muslim, let alone a prophet. This is the interpretation accepted by Al-Zamakhshari.
The second reading: "كُذِّبوا" with Al-Tashdeed (doubled consonant), and its interpretation has two possible meanings:
The first meaning: The word ظن (Zan) here is understood to mean certainty. The meaning would be that the messengers were certain that the people had rejected them in a way that no faith could come from them thereafter. At that point, they called down punishment upon them, and it was then that Allah, Blessed and Exalted, sent down the punishment of complete destruction upon them. The use of ظن (Zan) to mean knowledge or certainty is common in the Qur'an. Allah says:
{الَّذِينَ يَظُنُّونَ أَنَّهُمْ مُلاقُوا رَبِّهِمْ} meaning they are certain of it. (Al-Baqarah: 46)
The second meaning: The word ظن here is understood to mean assumption or estimation. The meaning would be that the messengers despaired of their people’s faith, and the messengers themselves (peace be upon them) assumed that those who had believed in them would now reject them. This is the view of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her).
Each of these four aspects mentioned in the interpretation of the verse individually portrays the immense, overwhelming hardship in the lives of the messengers, as well as their psychological state in such moments. So, how intense would it be if all four aspects were combined?
For the second consecutive year, the genocide against the Gaza Strip continues. Despair has deepened, and hardship has tightened its grip on the people. The people have lost hope in the means of victory that humans rely on, and they thought that they had been lied to.