Surah Al-An'am 6:83-90 - Quran Translation Commentary

(6:83) That was Our Argument that We bestowed upon Ibrahim against his people. We raise in ranks whom We will.¹³⁹ Verily, your Lord is All wise, All knowing.

(6:84) (Consequently) We bestowed on him Ishaq and Ya`qub: each (of them) We guided; as We had earlier guided Nuh; and, out of his seed,¹⁴⁰Da'ud, Sulayman, Ayyub, Yusuf, Musa and Harun. That is how We reward those who excel.

(6:85) And Zakariyyah, Yahya, `Isa and Ilyas:¹⁴¹ all (of them) of the righteous.

(6:86) And Isma`il, Al Yasa`, Yunus and Lut: all (of them) We favored above the rest of the world.¹⁴²

(6:87) And, of their fathers, offspring, and brothers: We chose them (also) and guided them to a straight path.

(6:88) That is Allah's guidance. He guides therewith whom He will of His slaves. But, had they declared associates (to Allah), all they did would have come to naught.¹⁴³

(6:89) Those were men whom We vouchsafed the Book, (sound) Judgment¹⁴⁴ and Prophethood. Yet, if these (people) reject them,¹⁴⁵ then, already We have entrusted it to a people who reject them not.¹⁴⁶

(6:90) Those were a people whom Allah guided; therefore, follow their guidance.¹⁴⁷ (As for these) Say, ‘I do not ask you wages for it. It is nothing but a reminder to the worlds.'

Commentary

139. The implication is that the raising of ranks was the result of the arguments, or evidences, that Ibrahim was given (Razi).

Asad adds: "The description of Abraham's reasoning as God's own argument implies that it was divinely inspired, and is therefore valid for the followers of the Qur'an as well."

140. Since Lut was not of the seed of Ibrahim, the pronoun in verse 84 can only refer to Nuh (asws). That is, Lut was a seed of Nuh Ibn Jarir.

Nonetheless, some scholars believe the allusion by "his seed" is to Ibrahim. Ibn Abi Hatim has reported that once Hajjaj b. Yusuf sent for Yahya b. Ya`mar. He told him: "I have heard your claim that Hasan and Husayn are the Prophet's seed. It seems you say that the proof is in the Book of Allah. Now, I have read it from end to end but could not find anything to confirm that." Yahya b. Ya`mar read out this verse and said: "The verse says `Isa is the seed of Ibrahim. But `Isa had no father. So, he was Ibrahim's seed from the mother's side" (Ibn Kathir). A similar report is in Bayhaqi (Shawkani).

Further, the Prophet himself once held Hasan by the hand and said: "This my son is a Sayyid (a true leader)" Ibn Kathir, Qurtubi.

141. Ibn Mas`ud held that Ilyas is another name of Idris. But, we know that Nuh himself was a seed of Idris. Therefore, the opinion of the genealogists sounds weightier who say that Ilyas was the son of Yasi, the son of Finhas, in the line of Musa Ibn Jarir.

142. Although one hundred and twenty-four thousand Prophets and three hundred and thirteen Messengers have been raised on this earth, the Qur'an named a total of eighteen here at this point. Six more have been named elsewhere. Starting with Adam we list them here in order of their probable advent on the earth. Their probable Biblical names with approximate dates are given in brackets.

(1) Adam, the first man and Prophet on earth.

(2) Idris, an ancient Prophet. It is not certain if he was raised before or after Nuh.

(3) Nuh [Noah, an ancient prophet, ancestor of Ibrahim, period unknown].

(4) Ibrahim [Abraham, about 2100 B.C.].

(5) Lut [Lot, a nephew of Ibrahim, about 2100 B.C.]

(6) Isma`il [Ishmael, a son of Ibrahim].

(7) Is haq, [Isaac, son of Ibrahim, 2060 1880 B.C.: Majid].

(8) Ya`qub, also known as Israel, [Jacob, son of Ishaq, 2000 1850 B.C.: Majid].

(9) Hud [about 2000 B.C.: Syed Sulayman, Hifzur Rahman].

(10) Yusuf, [Joseph, son of Ya`qub, 1910 1800 B.C.: Majid].

(11) Salih [about 1600 B.C.: Syed Sulayman].

(12) Shu`ayb [period not established, but he is not the Shu`ayb of Musa].

(13) Musa [Moses, 1520 1400 B.C.: Majid].

(14) Harun [Aaron, Musa's brother].

(15) Ayyub [Job, about 1300/1500 B.C.: Hifzur Rahman. But Syed Sulayman Nadwi has placed him between 700 and 1000 B.C].

(16) Da'ud [David, d. 962 B.C.: Majid].

(17) Sulayman, [Solomon, son of Da'ud, d. 932 B.C.: Majid].

(18) Ilyas, same as Ilyasin of the Qur'an, [Elijah, 9th century B.C.: The New American Desk Encyclopedia].

(19) Al Yasa` [Elisha, a successor of Elijah: Hifzur Rahman].

(20) Yunus [Jonah, about 600 B.C.: Hifzur Rahman].

(21) Zakariyyah [Zacharias, the caretaker of Maryam, around 30 years B.C.: Hifzur Rahman]. He is different from Zechariah of the OT who appeared in the sixth century B.C.

(22) Yahya [John the Baptist, a contemporary of `Isa, but d. 30 C.E.].

(23) `Isa [Jesus, son of Mary, 4 B.C.: an error occurred in dating him], and

(24) Muhammad, [born about 569 years After Christ].

The Qur'an also speaks of a Prophet in verse 246 of surah al Baqarah. But it does not name him. It is widely believed that his name was Shamwil. Da`ud succeeded him as a Prophet.

The hadith literature adds another name: that of Shith who appeared immediately after Adam. A report of Abu Dhar in Ibn Hibban says he was given 50 scriptural Books.

The above would make the list of Prophets and Messengers named either in the Qur'an or in the hadith as 26.

In addition to the above, two other names occur in the Qur'an, with strong probability that they were Prophets: (1) Dhu al Kifl and (2) `Uzayr [Ezra of the Bible, 5th century before Christ, a contemporary of Nebuchadnezzar].

Finally, some others have been hinted at as Prophets by the Qur'an, such as (1) Yusha` b. al Nun [Joshua, the successor of Musa. He is probably the young companion of Musa mentioned in surah al Kahaf: Hifzur Rahman]. Some historians think he too was a Prophet. (2) Hizqil, [Ezekiel, probably the one involved in the episode stated in verse 243 of surah al Baqarah. See note no. 514, and (3) Maryam, the mother of Jesus, who is considered a Prophetess by some scholars (Au.).

143. Coming as it does from a Sufi commentator, these words acquire special significance: In this verse is the refutation of those ignorant people who believe that some men are dearer to Allah than others simply because they are what they are, such as, for instance, Muhammad, and a few Awliya' Allah whom they name. An implication drawn from this belief is that those men were, so to say, beyond the Law. Whereas, the verse makes it clear that none, not even Prophets and Messengers, were dear to Allah for their own sake. If they were dear to Him, it was because of their qualities, such as, to name one, a firm commitment to Tawhid: "Had they associated (others with Allah), all (the good things) they did would have come to naught" (Thanwi).

144. Taking cue from Mujahid, Ibn Jarir interprets the hukm of the text as the power of intellect that is acquired through a study of revelation.

145. Qatadah has said that by the word "them" the allusion is to the eighteen prophets named earlier; in other words, belief in them and in their message (Ibn Jarir).

146. Ibn Jarir reports that Ibn `Abbas, Dahhak, Qatadah and others were of the opinion that those who were entrusted the message after the Quraysh rejected it, were the Ansar. (And the Muhajirun: Ibn Kathir). Nonetheless, Ibn Jarir himself believes it is the prophets and messengers who were entrusted with the message.

After stating his own opinion that it is the Muhajirun and Ansar who have been alluded to, Rashid Rida writes an account of a dream he experienced: "I found myself in my hometown Tarabulus in Syria in the company of a few people of the town, well dressed in their caps and `imamah (head gear). A person well known there for his courage and nobility happened to step in. He was introduced to us. We greeted him and the others who were accompanying him. These new comers surprised us with a news item. They said that the time had come for the fulfillment of the prophecy contained in the verse: ‘Yet, if these (people) reject these, then, already We have entrusted it to a people who reject them not.' They asked us: ‘Do you know the latest news?' We said: ‘No.' They said: ‘Well! This is very important. Europe is talking about it. Their papers carry the news.' I can vaguely remember that they were carrying some newspapers with them. Then they named one of the Ministers of the Ottoman government, who was taking personal interest in the affair and had travelled (somewhere) in that connection. I began to wonder about the affair. Why was the minister travelling? Was he going to Europe? Had Allah subdued the hearts of those other than its present patrons? These and other questions arose in my mind and I wanted to ask some of those in whose company I had found myself. But then I woke up. It was fajr time."

Rashid Rida does not write the year he saw the dream. But a fair guess is that it was somewhere around 1910. Nothing much happened during his own life time by way of an interpretation of the dream. However, since the beginning of the last quarter of this century, and more markedly since late 80's, a change in the atmosphere can easily be discerned. On the one hand, contradictory currents seem to be sweeping through the Islamic body politic: both of the rejection of Islam, as well as of a return to it. If there is re awakening in a part of the Islamic world, there is every sign of its rejection in another part. In fact, this trend can be noticed in every cross section of the Muslim society however small, and whichever the country or region examined. On the other hand, despite a massive drive, since over three hundred years, by the Orientalists, Western scholars, and now the media, to present a distorted figure of Islam, Islam seems to be more and more acceptable to the people of their countries now than it was ever before. Tens of thousands of people are entering Islam every year in Europe and North America. Starting from a zero representation of the local population a few decades earlier, by now about one to two percent of the population has embraced Islam in those countries. It looks as though for every person rejecting Islam in the Islamic world, there is someone in the West accepting it: Islam is neither Eastern nor Western, yet, it is a sorry affair indeed in the East, the seat of Islam. Is it possible that some decisions have been made in the Heavens (Au.)?

147. That is, the Prophet was to follow them in the principles of religion and moral precepts which have remained unchanged throughout the ages (Zamakhshari).

Ibn `Abbas has said that following the instruction to follow the previous prophets, our Prophet used to prostrate himself at verse 24 of surah Sad, which reports Da'ud as having prostrated himself. The report is in Bukhari (Ibn Kathir, Shawkani).

Qurtubi writes: The verse is a proof that, as the great majority of legists have declared, the Law of the previous prophets so long as not annulled by Islam is the Law for this Ummah. Apart from this verse, another verse also substantiates this principle. It is verse 45 of surah Al Ma'idah:

وَكَتَبْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ فِيهَا أَنَّ النَّفْسَ بِالنَّفْسِ وَالْعَيْنَ بِالْعَيْنِ وَالْأَنْفَ بِالْأَنْفِ وَالْأُذُنَ بِالْأُذُنِ وَالسِّنَّ بِالسِّنِّ وَالْجُرُوحَ قِصَاصٌ [المائدة : 45]

"And We decreed therein (i.e., in the Tawrah) for them: a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a nose for a nose, an ear for an ear, a tooth for a tooth and for wounds a (suitable) retaliation."

Apart from this, there is no other verse in the Qur'an that speaks of Qisas (the law of Just Retribution). Since the Prophet's own institution of retaliation was following this verse (which was originally a Tawrah prescription), it can be deduced that the Shar` of the past prophets is the Shar` of this Ummah, so long as nothing new has been revealed and so long as there is no contradiction whatsoever.