Tafheem ul Quran
Surah 6 Al-An'am, Ayat 122-129
اَوَمَنۡ كَانَ مَيۡتًا فَاَحۡيَيۡنٰهُ وَجَعَلۡنَا لَهٗ نُوۡرًا يَّمۡشِىۡ بِهٖ فِى النَّاسِ كَمَنۡ مَّثَلُهٗ فِى الظُّلُمٰتِ لَـيۡسَ بِخَارِجٍ مِّنۡهَا ؕ كَذٰلِكَ زُيِّنَ لِلۡكٰفِرِيۡنَ مَا كَانُوۡا يَعۡمَلُوۡنَ
﴿6:122﴾
وَكَذٰلِكَ جَعَلۡنَا فِىۡ كُلِّ قَرۡيَةٍ اَكٰبِرَ مُجۡرِمِيۡهَا لِيَمۡكُرُوۡا فِيۡهَا ؕ وَمَا يَمۡكُرُوۡنَ اِلَّا بِاَنۡفُسِهِمۡ وَمَا يَشۡعُرُوۡنَ
﴿6:123﴾
وَاِذَا جَآءَتۡهُمۡ اٰيَةٌ قَالُوۡا لَنۡ نُّـؤۡمِنَ حَتّٰى نُؤۡتٰى مِثۡلَ مَاۤ اُوۡتِىَ رُسُلُ اللّٰهِؔۘؕ اَللّٰهُ اَعۡلَمُ حَيۡثُ يَجۡعَلُ رِسٰلَـتَهٗ ؕ سَيُصِيۡبُ الَّذِيۡنَ اَجۡرَمُوۡا صَغَارٌ عِنۡدَ اللّٰهِ وَعَذَابٌ شَدِيۡدٌۢ بِمَا كَانُوۡا يَمۡكُرُوۡنَ
﴿6:124﴾
فَمَنۡ يُّرِدِ اللّٰهُ اَنۡ يَّهۡدِيَهٗ يَشۡرَحۡ صَدۡرَهٗ لِلۡاِسۡلَامِۚ وَمَنۡ يُّرِدۡ اَنۡ يُّضِلَّهٗ يَجۡعَلۡ صَدۡرَهٗ ضَيِّقًا حَرَجًا كَاَنَّمَا يَصَّعَّدُ فِى السَّمَآءِؕ كَذٰلِكَ يَجۡعَلُ اللّٰهُ الرِّجۡسَ عَلَى الَّذِيۡنَ لَا يُؤۡمِنُوۡنَ
﴿6:125﴾
وَهٰذَا صِرَاطُ رَبِّكَ مُسۡتَقِيۡمًا ؕ قَدۡ فَصَّلۡنَا الۡاٰيٰتِ لِقَوۡمٍ يَّذَّكَّرُوۡنَ
﴿6:126﴾
لَهُمۡ دَارُ السَّلٰمِ عِنۡدَ رَبِّهِمۡ وَهُوَ وَلِيُّهُمۡ بِمَا كَانُوۡا يَعۡمَلُوۡنَ
﴿6:127﴾
وَيَوۡمَ يَحۡشُرُهُمۡ جَمِيۡعًا ۚ يٰمَعۡشَرَ الۡجِنِّ قَدِ اسۡتَكۡثَرۡتُمۡ مِّنَ الۡاِنۡسِۚ وَقَالَ اَوۡلِيٰٓـئُهُمۡ مِّنَ الۡاِنۡسِ رَبَّنَا اسۡتَمۡتَعَ بَعۡضُنَا بِبَعۡضٍ وَّبَلَغۡنَاۤ اَجَلَـنَا الَّذِىۡۤ اَجَّلۡتَ لَـنَا ؕ قَالَ النَّارُ مَثۡوٰٮكُمۡ خٰلِدِيۡنَ فِيۡهَاۤ اِلَّا مَا شَآءَ اللّٰهُؕ اِنَّ رَبَّكَ حَكِيۡمٌ عَلِيۡمٌ
﴿6:128﴾
وَكَذٰلِكَ نُوَلِّىۡ بَعۡضَ الظّٰلِمِيۡنَ بَعۡضًاۢ بِمَا كَانُوۡا يَكۡسِبُوۡنَ
﴿6:129﴾
(6:122) He who was dead and whom We raised to life,88 and We set
a light for him to walk among men - is he like the one steeped in darkness out
of which he does not come out?89. Thus have their own doings been
made to seem fair to the unbelievers.90 (6:123) Thus We have appointed the leaders of the wicked ones in every land
to weave their plots; but in truth they plot only to their own harm, without
even realizing it. (6:124) Whenever there comes to them a sign from Allah, they say: 'We will
not believe until we are given what was given to the Messengers of Allah.'91
Allah knows best where to place His message. Soon shall these wicked ones meet
with humiliation and severe chastigement from Allah for all their evil plotting.
(6:125) Thus, (it is a fact that) whomsoever Allah wills to guide, He opens
his breast for Islam;92 and whomsoever He wills to let go astray,
He causes his breast to become strait and constricted, as if he were climbing
towards the heaven. Thus Allah lays the abomination (of flight from and hatred
of Islam) on those who do not believe (6:126) even though this way is the straight way of your Lord, and We have
distinguished its signs to those who heed to admonition. (6:127) Theirs shall be an abode of peace93 with their Lord -
their Protector - in recompense for all they have done. (6:128) And on the Day when He shall muster them all together, He will say
(to the jinn):94 'O assembly of the jinn, you have seduced a good
many of mankind.' And their companions from among the humans will say: 'Our
Lord! We did indeed benefit from one another95 and now have reached
the term which You had set for us.' Thereupon Allah will say: 'The Fire is now
your abode, and therein you shall abide.' Only those whom Allah wills shall
escape the Fire. Surely your Lord is All-Wise, All-Knowing.96 (6:129) In this manner We shall make the wrong-doers friends of each other
(in the Hereafter) because they earned (evil together in the world).97
Notes
88. 'Death' signifies here the state of ignorance and lack of consciousness,
whereas 'life' denotes the state of knowledge and true cognition, the state
of awareness of Reality. He who cannot distinguish between right and wrong and
does not know the Straight Way for human life, may be alive on the biological
plane, but his essential humanity is not. He may be a living animal but is certainly
not a living human being. A living human being is one who can distinguish right
from wrong, good from evil, honesty from dishonesty.
89. The question is: 'How can they expect one who has been able to attain
genuine consciousness of his true human nature and who, by virtue of his knowledge
of the Truth, can clearly discern the Straight Way among the numerous crooked
ways, to live like those who lack true consciousness and go on stumbling in
the darkness of ignorance and folly?'
90. The law of God with regard to those to whom light is presented but who
wilfully refuse to accept it, preferring to follow their crooked paths even
after they have been invited to follow the Straight Way, is that in the course
of time such people begin to cherish darkness, and to enjoy groping their way
in the dark, stumbling and falling as they proceed. They tend to mistake cacti
for orchids, thorns for roses. They find pleasure in every act of evil and corruption.
They look forward to renewed experiences of corruption, hoping that where they
were previously unsuccessful they will now find success.
91. This shows that they were unwilling to believe in the statement of the
Prophets that an angel of God came to each of them and delivered the message
of God. They would believe, they said, only if the angel approached them directly
and intimated God's message to them.
92. 'To open someone's breast to Islam' means to make him feel fully convinced
of the truth of Islam and to remove all his doubts, hesitations and reluctance.
93 The righteous will enjoy 'the Abode of Peace' since there he will be safe
from every misfortune and evil.
94. The term finn here refers to the evil ones among the jinn.
95. This means that they had derived unfair benefit from one another and
had served their selfish ends by mutual deception.
96. Even though God has the right to punish whoever He wishes and to forgive
whoever He wishes, His punishing and forgiving will be neither arbitrary nor
whimsical. It will rather be founded on absolute knowledge and wisdom. God will
forgive those whom He knows not to be responsible for their guilt, and thus
not liable to punishment according to His wisdom and justice.
97. Just as the wrong-doers had been accomplices in sin and evil during their
earthly life, they would remain companions in the After-life as well and share
its punishment.