Surah Al-An'am 6:51-55 - Quran Translation Commentary

51. And hereby⁸² warn⁸³ those who fear that they will be brought before their Lord, beside whom they have no guardian or intercessor; So that they may become God-fearing. ⁸⁴

52. And do not drive away those who call their Lord, morning and evening, seeking His pleasure.⁸⁵ You are not accountable for them in anything, nor are they accountable for you in anything; that you should drive them away and thus yourself become a wrongdoer.

53. And thus have we made some of them a means of testing others, and that is why they say: “Are these the men from amongst us whom Allah has favoured?”⁸⁶ Does not Allah know best who are thankful?⁸⁷

54. And (O prophet!) When those who believe in our signs come to you, say: “Peace be upon you. Your Lord has prescribed mercy for Himself. If any one of you commits evil through ignorance and then repents and mends his ways, verily, (he will find) Allah is Oft - Forgiving, Most Merciful.”⁸⁸

55. And thus do we explain our signs in detail, so that the path of the wicked may be laid bare.

Commentary

82. The word “Wahi” (revelation) literally means to hint or to point. The covert means through which Allah sends his message to his messengers is called “Wahi” in Quranic terminology. Here this (hereby) refers to Quran.

83. Warning by means of Quran means that for purpose of warning the people and for propagating the message of religion, the teachings of Quran should be presented directly, because nothing is more effective than the words of Allah. And the convincing proof by reasoning can be given through the means of His own words. This command was given to prophet Muhammad (Sallal Lahu Alaihi wasallam) when the language of the people who were addressed by him was Arabic. For putting into practice this command in the present circumstances it is necessary that the believers in Quran should present the translation of Quran in the languages of their addressees, particularly the translation of the verses dealing with warning, in which the people are warned to beware of the terrible fate awaiting those who disbelieve and transgress.

84. That is: Those who are careless of their fate in the next world and who are so insensitive that they are not prepared to hear the admonition of their warner with solemnity, should be left alone, and attention should be paid to those whose hearts are still alive and who are anxious about their salvation.

It should be noted that the fear of accountability before God is inherent in man’s nature. It is another matter, however, if this fear is suppressed by the overwhelming carnal desires. The warnings given by Quran strengthen and activate this fear, as a result of which it helps man to lead a righteous life.

85. In Makkah there were quite a few people who had responded to the dawah of Quran, but who did not enjoy any high social position and who were poor. Some of them were even slaves, But they had a loving heart in their breasts for their Lord, which had gathered them round the prophet. These people used to attend the meetings of the prophet. The sardars of Quraish looked at them with disdain, and their pride did not allow them to attend the meetings of the prophet which were frequented by these lowly people, and in which the rich and the poor were considered equal. Therefore, it was their demand that the prophet should remove and drive away these lowly people from his presence so that they (the Quraish) should be able to come. This demand of theirs is being , rejected forcefully, and the sincere people of faith are being appreciated and honoured even though they are poor and helpless.

86. That is: By providing guidance of faith to the poor and have-nots of the land we have put the wealthy and the haves to a test and have made them to think that if they use their intelligence they can also be appreciative of the wealth of faith, and if they still want to persist in their pride, then they may refuse to appreciate the value of faith. They are failing in this test, with the result that they do not approve of the poor people and mock at them and remark that God could not find better people than these to bestow his favours upon.

87. In the matter of receiving guidance of faith the main thing is not a man’s worldly position but that sense of gratitude which a man has in his heart for his Lord. The Lord therefore, bestows His favours on his grateful slaves only by providing them with the wealth of faith, however poor they may be from the material point of view.

88. The infidels look down upon the poor people of faith with contempt and always try to disparage them. But Allah has given them in this verse such a heartwarming message that it is sufficient to drive away all their sorrows. Allah has favoured them with such honour and elevation that the materialists cannot even imagine.

And he reigns Supreme over His slaves, and He sends forth guardians over you till death comes to one of you, when Our messengers (angels) seize his soul, and they never fail in this duty. Then are all restored to Allah, their true Master. Beware! His is the Judgement, and He is swiftest in taking account. (Al-Quran)