Surah Al-An'am 6:95-100 - Quran Translation Commentary

95. Verily, it is Allah who splits the seed and the fruit-stone¹⁷⁶. He brings forth the living from the dead, and the dead from the living¹⁷⁷. That is Allah. Then, where are you being misled?

96. He is the Cleaver (of darkness) bringing forth dawn¹⁷⁸. He made the night for the rest and the sun and the moon for reckoning¹⁷⁹. This is the planning of the Mighty and All- Knowing.¹⁸⁰

97. And it is He that created for you the stars, so that you may be guided, thereby in the darkness of the land and the sea¹⁸¹. We have explained in detail our signs for the people of knowledge¹⁸².

98. And it is He that created you from one soul¹⁸³; then for everyone there is a place for dwelling and a depository¹⁸⁴. We have explained our signs in detail for the people of understanding¹⁸⁵.

99. And it is He who sent down water ¹⁸⁶ from the sky. with it we bring forth¹⁸⁷ vegetation of every kind: from it we grow green foliage out of which we produce close-growing grains, and from blossoms of the palm trees. we bring forth clusters of dates low hanging, and gardens of grapes, olives and pomegranates, alike and unlike¹⁸⁸. Behold their fruits when they begin to bear fruit and ripen.¹⁸⁹ In these are signs for those who believe.

100. And they have set up jinns as partners with Allah, though He has created them¹⁹⁰, and have, invented for Him sons and daughters without any knowledge¹⁹¹. He is Holy and above their imputations.

Commentary

176. The idea is to invite our attention to the wonders of God’s creation, nature. who is that splits the seed and the fruit-stone and causes them to sprout, and then makes them to grow into green plants and huge trees? Is there any other being who has a say in these things or who can interfere in these matters? If not, then how can any other being have a say in the matter of deciding your fate or causing you harm or benefit?

177. It is also the working of Allah’s created nature that the living comes out of the dead and the dead comes forth from the living. Man observes this phenomenon every day. In the vegetable kingdom, the example can be seen in the fruit-stone developing into a tree and the tree giving out the fruit-stone. In the animal kingdom, we can see live bird coming out of the egg and the bird laying egg. Similarly, from the matter, man and from man, the matter. A clear example in this connection will be the birth of a still-born child from the womb of a living mother.

178. In the foregoing verses there was the mention of the marvellous phenomena which were visible on the earth. In this verse are mentioned the marvellous phenomena that appear in the sky. The light of the dawn appears on the horizon after tearing the veil of the darkness of the night and awakens man from his sleep of negligence, that he may begin his dawn of life with the acknowledgement of his Lord’s marvellous creative powers.

179. The sun and the moon are the means of reckoning time. The fixation of the limits of day and night is done by the rising and setting of the sun. The dates are reckoned by the various shapes or the phases of the moon. From these then are calculated the months and years. How marvellous is this set up for reckoning of time and dates that the nature or the Divine power has created, and what a great need of humans is met by this set up!

180. That is: This order and this system in the heavens and the earth is neither haphazard nor is it influenced or affected by anybody else’s godhood, but this is the planning of that Great Being Who is the Mightiest Being and whose knowledge is all grasping and all-covering.

And it is He that created for you the stars, so that you may be guided, thereby in the darkness of the land and the sea. We have explained in detail our signs for the people of knowledge. And it is He that created you from one soul ; then for everyone there is a place for dwelling and a depository. We have explained our signs in detail for the people of understanding. (Al-Quran)

181. Stars provide light to the travellers on land and in the sea. with their help direction is also ascertained. Before the induction of modern equipments as a result of scientific progress, people used to travel with the help of stars. Even today they are a source of guidance in navigation. In other words stars have been created by Allah to serve mankind, but man, in his foolishness, took his servants to be his masters and began to worship them.

182. That is: Those who use their common sense and intelligence and ponder upon these signs come to know the reality.

183. It has been explained in Notes Nos. 2 and 3 of Surah An-Nisa.

184. By place for dwelling is meant the world and by the resting place is meant the place where man is made to rest after death. It means that man dwells on the earth created by Allah and is buried in the same earth created by Allah. When man has to live from his cradle to his grave, in the kingdom of Allah only, then how is it that he dare defy Him and rebel against Him?

185. That is: Those who are sensible and think properly, they are able to reach the right conclusion– rightness of the belief in the Unity of Allah, and that is the dawah of the holy Quran.

186. That is: Since the water is seen to be coming from the sky, in the common parlance it is said that the water is coming from the sky. This meaning should not be taken literally.

187. In the first verse Allah has used the pronoun in the third person, and in the second verse the pronoun used is in the first person. This change in the person of the pronouns is made in accordance with the style of speaking and according to other aspects also. Here the change of pronouns has been made as the direction of the speech turns from the power of Allah to His Lordship.

188. That is: Alike in shapes but different in tastes.

189. The foods for man’s sustenance provided by Allah have all kinds of grains and all varieties of fruits. If man contemplates over how these foods and their plants grow, bear fruit and ripen, he will see in every thing marvellous examples of creative powers of the Lord of the worlds. If his eyes are open and his conscience is awake, then his mind would turn from this creativity to the Creator, and he will be blessed with the right recognition of the Creator of the Universe.

Today the knowledge of botanical science has illuminated the world of botany to such an extent that countless marvels of creativity in nature are known to man Since the study of this science is being done with a prejudiced mind, without trying to think whether there is a Creator of these things, they have no interest in trying to recognise such a Creator Therefore, in the great store of knowledge, this reality remains hidden, and the beauty of the Creator and the hand of the Craftsman cannot be seen by these researchers and scientists in the craftsmanship of the things in nature and they are deprived of getting at the reality that really matters.

190. Superstitious people believe that the jinns can bring calamities on them, can influence their destinies, and can make them suffer from diseases. etc. The idolaters of Arabia also believed in these superstitions. To avert these supposed calamities they used to worship them, and to offer presents to them. The idolaters of India are not far behind the idolaters of Arabia of the past. Nay, they are much ahead of them. They have the concept of jinns as ghosts and rakshasas. To be safe from their damaging influences. they worship them. offer presents to them and shout their glories.

Quran declares all these things as absurd and meaningless, and expresses this reality about the jinns that they are the creatures, created by Allah, therefore, treating them as equal to the Creator is most absurd and unreasonable act. Jinns are as helpless as humans. They have no powers to inflict harm or give benefit. They can neither make any one sick nor can they influence anybody’s destiny, Therefore, to fear them and to worship them is wrong and foolish.

191. The polytheists of Makkah regarded the angels to be the daughters,of Allah. The Christians consider prophet Eesa (Jesus) to be the son of God. There is no reasonable and sound argument for such a belief. people have invented these concepts in their ignorance.