Surah Al-An'am 6:151-154 - Quran Translation Commentary

(6:151) Say, ‘Come. Let me recite to you what your Lord has forbidden unto you:²⁷² that you should associate aught not with Him;²⁷³ (that you should) be good to your parents;²⁷⁴ kill not your children from fear of poverty²⁷⁵ We feed you and them;²⁷⁶ go not near the indecent²⁷⁷ the open of it or the hidden;²⁷⁸ and take not the life that Allah has declared sacred, except by right.²⁷⁹ This He has charged you with, haply you will ponder.

(6:152) And go not near the orphan's wealth save in a goodly manner²⁸⁰ until he attains his (full) strength;²⁸¹ and give full measure and weight with equity. We do not impose upon a soul save what it can bear.²⁸² And when you speak out, be just, even if they be your kin. And fulfill Allah's covenant.²⁸³ That He has charged you with,²⁸⁴ haply you will remember.

"A Muslim's blood who asserts that there is no deity worthy of worship save Allah, and that I am His Messenger, is not lawful save in case of the following three: life for life, a married adulterer, an apostate who abandons the community" (Ibn Kathir).

(6:153) And that this is My path, the straight one. Therefore, follow it, and follow not the (other) paths,²⁸⁵ lest they scatter you from His path.²⁸⁶ This He has charged you with, haply you will be godfearing.²⁸⁷

(6:154) Further,²⁸⁸ We gave Musa the Book, completing (Our favors) unto one who excelled:²⁸⁹ (a Book) explaining everything, a guidance and mercy, in the hope that they would believe in the meeting with their Lord.

Commentary

272. The words in the parenthesis are from Ibn Jarir.

273. The Sahihayn have Abu Dharr reporting that the Prophet said:

ذَاكَ جِبْرِيلُ عَرَضَ لِى فِى جَانِبِ الْحَرَّةِ فَقَالَ بَشِّرْ أُمَّتَكَ أَنَّهُ مَنْ مَاتَ لاَ يُشْرِكُ بِاللَّهِ شَيْئًا دَخَلَ الْجَنَّةَ. فَقُلْتُ يَا جِبْرِيلُ وَإِنْ سَرَقَ وَإِنْ زَنَى قَالَ نَعَمْ. قَالَ قُلْتُ وَإِنْ سَرَقَ وَإِنْ زَنَى قَالَ نَعَمْ. قَالَ قُلْتُ وَإِنْ سَرَقَ وَإِنْ زَنَى قَالَ نَعَمْ وَإِنْ شَرِبَ الْخَمْرَ

"That was Jibril who presented himself at the Harra (mountainous region of Madinah) saying, ‘Give glad tidings to your Ummah that whoever died having not associated anyone with Allah, will enter Paradise.’ I asked him: "O Jibril, even if he committed adultery and theft?" He said: “Yes.” I said, “"Even if he committed adultery and theft?" He said, ‘Yes.’ I asked: "Even if he committed adultery and theft?" He replied: "Even if he committed adultery and theft, and even if he drank wine" (Ibn Kathir).

274. Parents' rights are so great that whenever Allah spoke of His own rights, He followed up with the rights of parents (Ibn Kathir). That is because, Alusi writes, after Allah it is parents who are the cause of a child's birth as it is they whose tireless efforts make it possible for him to reach manhood.

In fact, the rights hold, even if the parents are idol worshippers. We have a hadith in the Sahihayn which reports someone asking the Prophet about:

عَنْ ابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ أَنَّ رَجُلًا سَأَلَ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَيُّ الْأَعْمَالِ أَفْضَلُ قَالَ الصَّلَاةُ لِوَقْتِهَا وَبِرُّ الْوَالِدَيْنِ ثُمَّ الْجِهَادُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ

“What deed was the most virtuous in Islam. He replied that it was to offer Prayers on time, to be dutiful toward the parents and Jihad in the cause of Allah (Ibn Kathir).

The above version is from Bukhari (Au).

Then there is the famous story of Asma’s mother visiting her daughter Asma’ at Madinah during the armistice between the Prophet and Makkans. Asma’ enquired the Prophet whether she could receive her pagan mother and treat her well. He answered, “Yes. Treat her well” (Au.).

275. Mufti Shafi` says that not to (Islamically) educate and train one's children is tantamount to slaughtering them, since that leads them to an un Islamic life. He substantiates his opinion with a verse (6: 122) which says about the believer:

أَوَمَنْ كَانَ مَيْتًا فَأَحْيَيْنَاهُ [الأنعام : 122]

"Is he then, who was dead, then We gave him life." In this verse Allah spoke of the unbeliever as dead.

Majid adds: "The prohibition may well be extended to the modern craze for ‘birth control' or the use of contraceptives to limit the number of offspring or to prevent pregnancy altogether. Now the whole neo Malthusianism as is called this application of the theory of restricting the population is based on the assumption that the reproduction power of man exceeds his power of increasing his food supply. But experience has demonstrated absolute untenability of this assumption, and means of subsistence, not only in one country but in the world at large, have, since the time of Malthus, the first modern promulgator of the doctrine, more than kept pace with the growth of population."

276. Majid comments: "It is in consonance with this Divine guarantee that, contrary to what Malthus and his disciples calculated, population has not outrun the means of subsistence, and the truth of the old economic adage has been completely vindicated that ‘while every addition to the population means another mouth to feed, it also implies another pair of hands.'"

Asad too agrees. He remarks: "This may possibly refer to abortions dictated by economic reasons."

The Sahihayn also have the report that someone asked about the greatest sin. The Prophet replied,

قَالَ رَجُلٌ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَيُّ الذَّنْبِ أَكْبَرُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ قَالَ أَنْ تَدْعُوَ لِلَّهِ نِدًّا وَهُوَ خَلَقَكَ قَالَ ثُمَّ أَيٌّ قَالَ ثُمَّ أَنْ تَقْتُلَ وَلَدَكَ خَشْيَةَ أَنْ يَطْعَمَ مَعَكَ قَالَ ثُمَّ أَيٌّ قَالَ ثُمَّ أَنْ تُزَانِيَ بِحَلِيلَةِ جَارِكَ

"That you should declare someone equal to Allah while He created you." He asked, "And then which one?" The Prophet replied, "That you should kill your child out of fear that he would share your food." He enquired, "And then which one?" The Prophet replied, "That you should commit adultery with your neighbor's wife" (Ibn Kathir).

277. The words "do not go near" imply that one ought to avoid even those acts that provoke the desire and lead to the indecent deeds (Shabbir).

278. According to Ibn `Abbas and Dahhak, the allusion could be to the pagan idea that adultery in secret was not a sin, only the one committed in open was (Ibn Jarir).

The Sahihayn have the following report of `Abdullah ibn Mas`ud. The Prophet said:

عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ لَا أَحَدَ أَغْيَرُ مِنْ اللَّهِ وَلِذَلِكَ حَرَّمَ الْفَوَاحِشَ مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا وَمَا بَطَنَ

"There is none with greater sense of honor than Allah. Hence He has forbidden all kinds of indecencies, be they open or secret."

The two also have a report which says that once Sa`d b. `Ubadah said:

قَالَ سَعْدُ بْنُ عُبَادَةَ لَوْ رَأَيْتُ رَجُلًا مَعَ امْرَأَتِي لَضَرَبْتُهُ بِالسَّيْفِ غَيْرَ مُصْفَحٍ فَبَلَغَ ذَلِكَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالَ أَتَعْجَبُونَ مِنْ غَيْرَةِ سَعْدٍ وَاللَّهِ لَأَنَا أَغْيَرُ مِنْهُ وَاللَّهُ أَغْيَرُ مِنِّي وَمِنْ أَجْلِ غَيْرَةِ اللَّهِ حَرَّمَ الْفَوَاحِشَ مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا وَمَا بَطَنَ

"Were I to see my wife with another man, I would kill him spontaneously." When the Prophet heard about it he remarked: "Does Sa`d's sense of honor surprise you? By Allah, I have a greater sense of honor than Sa`d and Allah has a greater sense of honor than me. Accordingly, He prohibited all that is indecent, be they open or secret" (Ibn Kathir).

279. The Sahihayn have preserved a report coming through Ibn Mas`ud which reports the Prophet (saws) as having said:

لَا يَحِلُّ دَمُ امْرِئٍ مُسْلِمٍ يَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَأَنِّي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ إِلَّا بِإِحْدَى ثَلَاثٍ النَّفْسُ بِالنَّفْسِ وَالثَّيِّبُ الزَّانِي وَالْمَارِقُ مِنْ الدِّينِ التَّارِكُ لِلْجَمَاعَةِ

280. According to Ibn Zayd, the words "save in a goodly manner" are explained by verse 6 of Al Nisa' which says:

وَمَنْ كَانَ غَنِيًّا فَلْيَسْتَعْفِفْ وَمَنْ كَانَ فَقِيرًا فَلْيَأْكُلْ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ [النساء : 6]

"He who is well-off might desist. However, he who is poor may take in a goodly manner" (Ibn Jarir).

281. Opinions have varied about when a person attains full strength of body and mind: from when puberty is achieved - to the age of 30 (Ibn Jarir). See note 24 of Surah al Nisa' for a detailed discussion.

282. "The meaning is that God does not expect man to behave with ‘mathematical’ equity which, in view of the many intangible factors involved, is rarely attainable in human dealings but expects him to do his best towards achieving this goal" (Asad).

283. It is part of Allah's covenant that He should be obeyed and His Messenger be acknowledged (Ibn Jarir).

284. That is, these are the commandments that Allah sent you through His Messengers, (such as Ibrahim and his progeny), and not worship of the idols, killing of the infant or burying alive of the female children which you do (based partly on Ibn Jarir).

285. That is, the path of innovations, whims and fancies, base desires, and so forth (Au.).

Majid writes: "This entirely reproves and repudiates the specious and complacent doctrine held by the Romans, and in fact by many polytheistic nations, that ‘different paths adopted to different notions and grades of knowledge converge to the same Divinity, and that the most erroneous religion is good if it forms good dispositions and inspires virtuous actions' (Lecky)."

`Abdullah (ibn Mas`ud) has reported:

عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ قَالَ خَطَّ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ خَطًّا بِيَدِهِ ثُمَّ قَالَ هَذَا سَبِيلُ اللَّهِ مُسْتَقِيمًا قَالَ ثُمَّ خَطَّ عَنْ يَمِينِهِ وَشِمَالِهِ ثُمَّ قَالَ هَذِهِ السُّبُلُ وَلَيْسَ مِنْهَا سَبِيلٌ إِلَّا عَلَيْهِ شَيْطَانٌ يَدْعُو إِلَيْهِ ثُمَّ قَرَأَ { وَإِنَّ هَذَا صِرَاطِي مُسْتَقِيمًا فَاتَّبِعُوهُ وَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا السُّبُلَ}

"Once the Prophet drew a line on the ground and said, ‘This is the path of Allah.' Then he drew other lines (diverging from it) on the left and the right side, and said, ‘These are the paths at the head of every one of them sits a Shaytan inviting thereto.' Then he recited this verse: "And that this is My path, the straight one. Therefore, follow it, and follow not the (other) paths'" (Ibn Jarir).

The report is in Nasa'i, Ibn Marduwayh and Hakim with the latter declaring it as sahih of status (Shawkani).

286. Qurtubi has the following. Irbad b. Sariyyah narrated the following in Ibn Majah:

وَعَظَنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مَوْعِظَةً ذَرَفَتْ مِنْهُ الأَعْيُنُ، وَوَجِلَتْ مِنْهُ الْقُلُوبُ، قُلْنَا: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ، هَذِهِ مَوْعِظَةُ مُوَدِّعٍ، فَمَا تَعْهَدْ إِلَيْنَا؟ قَالَ:"لَقَدْ تَرَكْتُكُمْ عَلَى الْبَيْضَاءِ لَيْلُهَا كَنَهَارِهَا، لا يَزِيغُ عَنْهَا بَعْدِي إِلا هَالِكٌ، وَمَنْ يَعِشْ مِنْكُمْ فَسَيَرَى اخْتِلافًا كَثِيرًا، فَعَلَيْكُمْ بِمَا عَرَفْتُمْ مِنْ سُنَّتِي، وَسُنَّةِ الْخُلَفَاءِ الرَّاشِدِينَ، وَعَلَيْكُمْ بِالطَّاعَةِ، وَإِنْ عَبْدًا حَبَشِيًّا، عَضُّوا عَلَيْهَا بِالنَّوَاجِذِ، فَإِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُ كَالْجَمَلِ الأَنِفِ حَيْثُمَا قِيدَ انْقَادَ"

"Once the Prophet admonished us so powerfully that our eyes were filled with tears, and our hearts softened. We said, ‘Messenger of Allah! This is an eye filling admonition. Would you like to enjoin us something?' He said, ‘I have left you on a white (patch) whose night is like its day (in brightness). So, none will slip but he who will destroy himself. Whoever lives after me will witness many differences. Upon you then would be those of my Sunnah you have known, and the Sunnah of the rightly guided caliphs. And upon you is obedience, even if it were to be a flat nosed Abyssinian (your ruler). Hold on to this them by your teeth. A believer is like a tamed camel. He goes wheresoever he is led." This sahih hadith is also in Tirmidhi in near about the same words.

Sahal b. Tustari has said: "May you follow the Sunnah and the ways of the pious predecessors. I fear that a time will come when a man would hate to hear that he should follow the Prophet in every detail. The people would shun the company of anyone who will preach that, and humiliate him."

It is reported that once Abu Musa al Ash`ari saw a new practice in the mosque (perhaps in Kufa). He spoke to `Abdullah ibn Mas`ud about it telling him that he was between its acceptance and rejection, and wanted Ibn Mas`ud to see it himself. When they went to the next Prayer, they found people sitting in groups of tens and twenties. Every group had a leader. He would say, "Say Allahu Akbar a hundred times" and they would say Allahu Akbar a hundred times. Then he would say, "Say Subhana Allah a hundred times," and they would say it a hundred times. It went on until the congregational Prayers began. `Abdullah ibn Mas`ud was very upset about it. They said they were not doing it but to obtain rewards. He remarked: "How many people do not intend to obtain rewards but miss it!"

Hussain Saleem Asad remarked that the chain of narration of this report is sound. And `Amr b. Salamah reported that he saw most of those that were present in that dhikr halqah among the Khawarij taunting us on the day of Nahrawan (the place `Ali fought the Khawarij). And the lesson is, one ought to stay close to the Sunnah, and introduce not any innovation [Au.].

And Sufyan Thawri has said: "An innovation is dearer to Shaytan than a sin because a man committing the latter seeks forgiveness but the former does not."

Quotations from Qurtubi end here.

287. It is widely reported of Ibn `Abbas that he considered verses 151 153 as those "Muhkamat" about which Allah spoke in verse 7 of Surah Al `Imran.

Mawdudi comments: "It is an essential corollary of the natural covenant mentioned above that man should follow the way prescribed by his Lord; and deflection from the orders of God, or serving anyone other than Him, constitutes a primary breach of that covenant. Once this breach has been committed, every single article of the covenant is likely to be violated one after the other. Moreover, it should also be remembered that man cannot acquit himself of the highly delicate, extensive and complex set of responsibilities entailed by this covenant unless he accepts the guidance of God and tries to follow the way prescribed by Him."

288. The words in parenthesis are from Ibn Jarir.

289. Ihsan is to do something in the most spirited fashion while remaining within the rules of the Shari`ah. The allusion by the words "unto one who excelled" could both be to Musa who excelled (in his mission) as well as the true believers of his time who excelled (in all they were asked to do) Ibn Jarir.

289a. Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, `Ikrimah, Qatadah and others have said that the allusion by the words, “two groups before us” is to Jews and Christians (Ibn Kathir).