قُلْ مَا كُنتُ بِدْعًۭا مِّنَ ٱلرُّسُلِ وَمَآ أَدْرِى مَا يُفْعَلُ بِى وَلَا بِكُمْ ۖ إِنْ أَتَّبِعُ إِلَّا مَا يُوحَىٰٓ إِلَىَّ وَمَآ أَنَا۠ إِلَّا نَذِيرٌۭ مُّبِينٌۭ
Say, "I am not something original among the messengers, nor do I know what will be done with me or with you. I only follow that which is revealed to me, and I am not but a clear warner."
Introduction
This is āyah 9 of Sūrat Al-Ahqaf (The Wind-Curved Sandhills), the 66th sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Meccan period and sits within Juzʾ 26. Meccan verses tend to address faith, the oneness of God, and the hereafter.
This introduction is a starting point — the community and Bilal will enrich it over time.
Revelation & occasion
- Period
- Meccan
- Order revealed
- 66 of 114
- Surah
- Al-Ahqaf (46)
(�nor know I what will be done with me or with you�) [46:9]. Al-Kalbi reported from Abu Salih that Ibn �Abbas said: �When tribulations faced by the Companions of the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, intensified, The Prophet saw in his dream that he migrated to a land that had palms, trees and plenty of water. He related this dream to his Companions and the latter took it for a good omen and a harbinger of relief from the harm of the idolaters which they faced. After a while, when they saw that nothing had happened, they said: �O Messenger of Allah! When are you going to migrate to the land which you saw in your dream?� The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, did not answer them, but Allah, exalted is He, revealed (�nor know I what will be done with me or with you�), i.e. I do not know whether or not I am going to move to the place which I saw in my dream. I follow only that which is revealed to me�.
Tafsir
Hafiz Ibn Kathir
Chains of transmission
Oral — isnād
- ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation
Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.
- 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation
Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.
- TodayLiving chainsawaiting curation
Continuous ijāzah chains link reciters today back to the Prophet ﷺ.
Verified isnād chains for this āyah will be added by curators.
Written — the manuscript record
- ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation
The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).
- 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation
Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.
- Modern printModern printawaiting curation
The 1924 Cairo edition → today: the standard printed muṣḥaf used worldwide.
A curated chain of manuscript images for this exact āyah — roughly one per century — is coming. Help us source and verify them.
And now — what do you think?
The text, its history and the classical commentary are laid out above. Share your own understanding, ask a question, or reason with others.
Community resources
No community resources for this verse yet.