151." even as we have sent among you a messenger of your own who 
recites our revelations to you that purifies you 
and teaches you the book and the wisdom , and teaches you 
that which you did not know." 
152." therefore, remember me, and i will remember you; 
and be thankful to me, and be you not ungrateful." 

commentary :

 

the subject matter of the first verse is the messengership of the 
prophet of islam (p.b.u.h.) which was is answer to the invocation of 
abraham (a.s.) who had asked:" our lord, send amongst them an apostle 
of their own who shall recite unto them your revelations,....", (sura 
al-baqarah, no2, verse129) ,
besides, that the prophet of islam 
(p.b.u.h.) also repeatedly said:" i am (the fruit of ) the very acceptance of 
my father`ss invocation, abraham (a.s.)."
1 

thus, allah sent a prophet to the people from among themselves 
who was familiar with their demands, needs, and wishes. he used to 
communicate with them through their own language, and he lived 
amongst them. 

" even as we have sent among you a messenger of your own who 
recites our revelations to you that purifies you 
and teaches you the book and the wisdom, and teaches you 
that which you did not know." 

* * * *

through the second verse, allah has promoted the rank of man 
by saying that he and we remember each other. 

" therefore, remember me, and i will remember you, ..." 

the level and standard of knowledge and understanding of people 
is diffirent, so, allah tells a group of servants : "...remember allah's 
favour on you...", (sura `al-il-`imran, no. 3, verse 103),
while he 
addresses some others of them thus: "... remember me...", as in the 
current verse. the remembrance of allah is a prerequisite to being 
thankful to him, hence, it has preceded the term thankfulness. this is 
an illustration of the consideration of allah's honour for man as a 
reflection of his grace unto his servants. on one end of this scale, 
there is man with his ignorance, poverty, mortality, and feebleness, 
while on the other end, there is allah, the all-knowing, the 
all-sufficient, the eternal, and the all-mighty who wants him to 
remember him in order to show his gratitude for the great blessings of 
the qiblah and the messenger of islam, and he promises to remember 
him, too. this very remembrance is also a favour from allah bestowed 
upon his servants. 

no doubt, if a person neglects allah in life, he, of course, will be 
heedless towards him, too. 

"... and be thankful to me, and be you not ungrateful." 

explanation :

  

here, your attention is attracted to the following descriptions and
messages derived from the above verses: 

1. the recitation of divine revelations, the purification of 
receptive souls, the instruction of the book and wisdom, and teaching 
of people what they do not know, are among the duties of prophets. 

2. that leader is successful who is from amongst the people 
themselves, because he is acquainted with their problems and speaks 
the same language as theirs. 

"...a messenger of your own who recites our revelation to you..." 

3. human beings are not able to solve all their scientific problems 
by themselves. that is why he did not say in the verse / malata`lamun / 
`(he teaches you) what you do not know ', but he said: / malamtakunu 
ta`lamun / `(he teaches you) that which you did not know ' in order to 
remind us that if the prophets (a.s.) had not existed, man could never 
have found the answers to many of his problems. for example, he 
could not have found out what his future (the next world) will be, or, 
he could not recognize which path was the true path of felicity and 
salvation. 

4. prophets were not merely the teachers and leaders of ethics 
and theology, but they were also the instructors of science. without 
their leadership in science, human knowledge would have remained 
undeveloped in all fields. 

"...and teaches you that which you did not know." 

5. the remembrance of allah is not only the cause for the grace 
of allah, but with the remembrance of allah the hearts will gain 
peace and rest. sura al-ra`d, no. 19, verse 28 says: 

"...certainly! by allah's remembrance are the hearts at rest." 

6. establishing prayer is the best way to remember allah, as in 
sura taha, no. 20, verse 14, allah himself says: 

"...keep up prayer for my remembrance..."


1 al-amali, by shaykh tusi, p.379