Tafheem ul Quran

Surah 6 Al-An'am, Ayat 155-165

وَهٰذَا كِتٰبٌ اَنۡزَلۡنٰهُ مُبٰرَكٌ فَاتَّبِعُوۡهُ وَاتَّقُوۡا لَعَلَّكُمۡ تُرۡحَمُوۡنَۙ‏ ﴿6:155﴾ اَنۡ تَقُوۡلُـوۡۤا اِنَّمَاۤ اُنۡزِلَ الۡـكِتٰبُ عَلٰى طَآئِفَتَيۡنِ مِنۡ قَبۡلِنَا وَاِنۡ كُنَّا عَنۡ دِرَاسَتِهِمۡ لَغٰفِلِيۡنَۙ‏ ﴿6:156﴾ اَوۡ تَقُوۡلُوۡا لَوۡ اَنَّاۤ اُنۡزِلَ عَلَيۡنَا الۡـكِتٰبُ لَـكُنَّاۤ اَهۡدٰى مِنۡهُمۡ​ ۚ فَقَدۡ جَآءَكُمۡ بَيِّنَةٌ مِّنۡ رَّبِّكُمۡ وَهُدًى وَرَحۡمَةٌ​  ۚ فَمَنۡ اَظۡلَمُ مِمَّنۡ كَذَّبَ بِاٰيٰتِ اللّٰهِ وَصَدَفَ عَنۡهَا​ ؕ سَنَجۡزِى الَّذِيۡنَ يَصۡدِفُوۡنَ عَنۡ اٰيٰتِنَا سُوۡٓءَ الۡعَذَابِ بِمَا كَانُوۡا يَصۡدِفُوۡنَ‏ ﴿6:157﴾ هَلۡ يَنۡظُرُوۡنَ اِلَّاۤ اَنۡ تَاۡتِيَهُمُ الۡمَلٰۤـئِكَةُ اَوۡ يَاۡتِىَ رَبُّكَ اَوۡ يَاۡتِىَ بَعۡضُ اٰيٰتِ رَبِّكَ ؕ يَوۡمَ يَاۡتِىۡ بَعۡضُ اٰيٰتِ رَبِّكَ لَا يَنۡفَعُ نَفۡسًا اِيۡمَانُهَا لَمۡ تَكُنۡ اٰمَنَتۡ مِنۡ قَبۡلُ اَوۡ كَسَبَتۡ فِىۡۤ اِيۡمَانِهَا خَيۡرًا​ ؕ قُلِ انْتَظِرُوۡۤا اِنَّا مُنۡتَظِرُوۡنَ‏ ﴿6:158﴾ اِنَّ الَّذِيۡنَ فَرَّقُوۡا دِيۡنَهُمۡ وَكَانُوۡا شِيَـعًا لَّسۡتَ مِنۡهُمۡ فِىۡ شَىۡءٍ​ ؕ اِنَّمَاۤ اَمۡرُهُمۡ اِلَى اللّٰهِ ثُمَّ يُنَـبِّـئُـهُمۡ بِمَا كَانُوۡا يَفۡعَلُوۡنَ‏ ﴿6:159﴾ مَنۡ جَآءَ بِالۡحَسَنَةِ فَلَهٗ عَشۡرُ اَمۡثَالِهَا​ ۚ وَمَنۡ جَآءَ بِالسَّيِّئَةِ فَلَا يُجۡزٰٓى اِلَّا مِثۡلَهَا وَهُمۡ لَا يُظۡلَمُوۡنَ‏ ﴿6:160﴾ قُلۡ اِنَّنِىۡ هَدٰٮنِىۡ رَبِّىۡۤ اِلٰى صِرَاطٍ مُّسۡتَقِيۡمٍۚ دِيۡنًا قِيَمًا مِّلَّةَ اِبۡرٰهِيۡمَ حَنِيۡفًا​ ۚ وَمَا كَانَ مِنَ الۡمُشۡرِكِيۡنَ‏ ﴿6:161﴾ قُلۡ اِنَّ صَلَاتِىۡ وَنُسُكِىۡ وَ مَحۡيَاىَ وَمَمَاتِىۡ لِلّٰهِ رَبِّ الۡعٰلَمِيۡنَۙ‏  ﴿6:162﴾ لَا شَرِيۡكَ لَهٗ​ۚ وَبِذٰلِكَ اُمِرۡتُ وَاَنَا اَوَّلُ الۡمُسۡلِمِيۡنَ‏ ﴿6:163﴾ قُلۡ اَغَيۡرَ اللّٰهِ اَبۡغِىۡ رَبًّا وَّهُوَ رَبُّ كُلِّ شَىۡءٍ​ ؕ وَلَا تَكۡسِبُ كُلُّ نَـفۡسٍ اِلَّا عَلَيۡهَا​ۚ وَلَا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ وِّزۡرَ اُخۡرٰى​ ۚ ثُمَّ اِلٰى رَبِّكُمۡ مَّرۡجِعُكُمۡ فَيُنَبِّئُكُمۡ بِمَا كُنۡـتُمۡ فِيۡهِ تَخۡتَلِفُوۡنَ‏  ﴿6:164﴾ وَهُوَ الَّذِىۡ جَعَلَـكُمۡ خَلٰٓـئِفَ الۡاَرۡضِ وَرَفَعَ بَعۡضَكُمۡ فَوۡقَ بَعۡضٍ دَرَجٰتٍ لِّيَبۡلُوَكُمۡ فِىۡ مَاۤ اٰتٰٮكُمۡ​ؕ اِنَّ رَبَّكَ سَرِيۡعُ الۡعِقَابِ  ۖ وَاِنَّهٗ لَـغَفُوۡرٌ رَّحِيۡمٌ‏ ﴿6:165﴾

(6:155) And likewise We revealed this (Book) - a blessed one. Follow it, then, and become God-fearing; you may be shown mercy. (6:156) (You may no longer) say now that the Book was revealed only to two groups of people before Us 137 and that we had indeed been unaware of what they read. (6:157) Nor may you claim that: 'Had the Book been revealed to us, we would have been better guided than they.' Surely clear evidence has come to you from your Lord, which is both a guidance and a mercy. Who, then, is more unjust than he who gave the lie to the signs of Allah and turned away from them?138 And We shall soon requite those who turn away from Our signs with a severe chastisement for having turned away. (6:158) What! Do they wait either for the angels to appear before them or for your Lord to come unto them or for some clear signs of your Lord1139 to appear before them? When some clear signs of your Lord will appear, believing will be of no avail to anyone who did not believe before, or who earned no good deeds through his faith.140 Say: 'Wait on; we too are waiting.' (6:159) Surely you have nothing to do with those who have made divisions in their religion and become factions.141 Their matter is with Allah and He will indeed tell them (in time) what they have been doing. (6:160) Whoever will come to Allah with a good deed shall have ten times as much, and whoever will come to Allah with an evil deed, shall be requited with no more than the like of it. They shall not be wronged. (6:161) Say: 'As for me, my Lord has guided me on to a straight way, a right religion, the way of Abraham142 who adopted it in exclusive devotion to Allah, and he was not of those who associated others with Allah in His divinity.' (6:162) Say: 'Surely my Prayer, all my acts of worship, 143 and my living and my dying are for Allah alone, the Lord of the whole universe. (6:163) He has no associate. Thus have I been bidden, and I am the foremost of those who submit themselves (to Allah).` (6:164) Say: 'Shall I seek someone other than Allah as Lord when He is the Lord of everything?'144 Everyone will bear the consequence of what he does, and no one shall bear the burden of another. 145 Thereafter, your return will be to your Lord, whereupon He will let you know what you disagreed about. (6:165) For He it is Who has appointed you vicegerent over the earth, and has exalted some of you over others in rank that He may try you in what He has bestowed is upon you.146 Indeed your Lord is swift in retribution, and He is certainly AllForgiving, All-Compassionate.

Notes

137. The allusion is to the Jews and the Christians.

138. 'Signs of Allah' include the teachings embodied in the Qur'an. They are also manifest in the noble life of the Prophet (peace be on him), and the pure lives of those who believed in him. Tley also include the natural phenomena to which the Qur'an refers in support of its message.

139. That is, either tokens of the approach of the Day of Reckoning or God's scourge or any other sign that will uncover the Truth, after which there will be no reason left for testing man.

140. Those tokens will be so clear that after their appearance it will neither avail the unbeliever to repent of his unbelief nor the disobedient to forsake his disobedience. For faith and obedience have meaning and value only as long as the Truth remains hidden, as long as the tenure of life granted to people does not seem to have approached its end and the world with all its vanities continues to delude man that, as there may neither be God nor After-life, one should eat, drink and enjoy oneself as best one can.

141. This is addressed to the Prophet (peace be on him) and through him to all followers of the true faith. The import of this statement is that true faith has always consisted, and still consists, in recognizing the One True God as one's God and Lord; in associating none with God in His divinity - neither in respect of His essence, nor of His attributes, nor of His claims upon His creatures; in believing in the Hereafter and hence considering oneself answerable before God; and in living according to those principles and values which have been communicated by God to mankind through His Prophets and Books. This was the religion entrusted to man at the beginning of human life. The religions which emerged later stemmed from the perverted ingenuity of man, from his baser lusts, and from an exaggerated sense of devotion to venerable personalities. Such factors corrupted the original religion and overlaid it with harmful innovations. Hence, people modified and distorted the original beliefs by mixing them with products of their conjecture and philosophical thinking. More and more innovations were added to the original laws of the true religion. Putting aside the Law of God, men set themselves up as their own law-makers, indulged in hair-splitting elaborations, and exaggerated the importance of disagreements in minor legal problems. They showed excessive veneration for some Prophets of God and some standard-bearers of the true religion, and directed their rancour and hatred against the others. Thus there emerged innumerable religions and sects, the birth of each leading to the fragmentation of humanity into an ever-increasing number of mutually hostile groups. Anyone who decides to follow the true religion must therefore cut himself off from all factions and chart an independent course.

142. The 'Way of Abraham' is one further indication of the way of true religion which one is required to follow. This way could also have been designated as the way of Moses or of Jesus But since their names have become falsely associated with Judaism and Christianity respectively, it was necessary to call it the 'Way of Abraham'. Moreover, Abraham was acknowledged by both the Jews and the Christians as rightly-guided and both knew, of course, that he lived long before either Judaism or Christianity was born. In the same way, the polytheists of Arabia also considered Abraham to be rightly-guided. Despite their ignorance, they at least acknowledged that that righteous man, who had founded the Ka'bah, was a worshipper of God exclusively and no idolator.

143. 'The Arabic word nusuk used here signifies ritual sacrifice as well as the other forms of devotion and worship.

144. Since God is the Lord of the entire universe, how could anyone be His lord? Since the entire universe is yoked to obedience to God, man is an integral part of the universe, how can he reasonably, look for another lord in that area of his life in which he uses his own volition,ind judgement? Is it appropriate for him to move in diametrical opposition to the entire universe?

145. Every person is responsible for whatever he does; and no one is responsible for the deeds of others.

146. This statement embodies three important truths: First, that human beings as such are vicegerents of God on earth, so that God has entrusted them with many things and endowed them with the power to use them. Second, it is God Himself Who has created differences of rank among His vicegerents. The trust placed in some is more than that of others. Some men have been granted control of more resources than others. Some are more gifted in respect of their abilities. Likewise, some human beings have been placed under the trust of others. Third, all this is indeed designed to test man. The entire life. of man is in fact, a vast examination wherein man is being tested about the trust he has received from God: how sensitive he is to that trust, to what extent he lives up to it, and to what extent he proves to be competent with it. What position man will be able to attain in the Next Life depends on the result of this test.