Tafheem ul Quran

Surah 6 Al-An'am, Ayat 61-70

وَهُوَ الۡقَاهِرُ فَوۡقَ عِبَادِهٖ​ وَيُرۡسِلُ عَلَيۡكُمۡ حَفَظَةً  ؕ حَتّٰٓى اِذَا جَآءَ اَحَدَكُمُ الۡمَوۡتُ تَوَفَّتۡهُ رُسُلُـنَا وَهُمۡ لَا يُفَرِّطُوۡنَ‏  ﴿6:61﴾ ثُمَّ رُدُّوۡۤا اِلَى اللّٰهِ مَوۡلٰٮهُمُ الۡحَـقِّ​ؕ اَلَا لَهُ الۡحُكۡمُ وَهُوَ اَسۡرَعُ الۡحَاسِبِيۡنَ‏ ﴿6:62﴾ قُلۡ مَنۡ يُّنَجِّيۡكُمۡ مِّنۡ ظُلُمٰتِ الۡبَرِّ وَالۡبَحۡرِ تَدۡعُوۡنَهٗ تَضَرُّعًا وَّخُفۡيَةً ۚ لَـئِنۡ اَنۡجٰٮنَا مِنۡ هٰذِهٖ لَـنَكُوۡنَنَّ مِنَ الشّٰكِرِيۡنَ‏  ﴿6:63﴾ قُلِ اللّٰهُ يُنَجِّيۡكُمۡ مِّنۡهَا وَمِنۡ كُلِّ كَرۡبٍ ثُمَّ اَنۡـتُمۡ تُشۡرِكُوۡنَ‏  ﴿6:64﴾ قُلۡ هُوَ الۡقَادِرُ عَلٰٓى اَنۡ يَّبۡعَثَ عَلَيۡكُمۡ عَذَابًا مِّنۡ فَوۡقِكُمۡ اَوۡ مِنۡ تَحۡتِ اَرۡجُلِكُمۡ اَوۡ يَلۡبِسَكُمۡ شِيَـعًا وَّيُذِيۡقَ بَعۡضَكُمۡ بَاۡسَ بَعۡضٍ​ؕ اُنْظُرۡ كَيۡفَ نُصَرِّفُ الۡاٰيٰتِ لَعَلَّهُمۡ يَفۡقَهُوۡنَ‏ ﴿6:65﴾ وَكَذَّبَ بِهٖ قَوۡمُكَ وَهُوَ الۡحَـقُّ​ ؕ قُلْ لَّسۡتُ عَلَيۡكُمۡ بِوَكِيۡلٍؕ‏  ﴿6:66﴾ لِّـكُلِّ نَبَاٍ مُّسۡتَقَرٌّ​ وَّسَوۡفَ تَعۡلَمُوۡنَ‏ ﴿6:67﴾ وَاِذَا رَاَيۡتَ الَّذِيۡنَ يَخُوۡضُوۡنَ فِىۡۤ اٰيٰتِنَا فَاَعۡرِضۡ عَنۡهُمۡ حَتّٰى يَخُوۡضُوۡا فِىۡ حَدِيۡثٍ غَيۡرِهٖ​ ؕ وَاِمَّا يُنۡسِيَنَّكَ الشَّيۡطٰنُ فَلَا تَقۡعُدۡ بَعۡدَ الذِّكۡرٰى مَعَ الۡقَوۡمِ الظّٰلِمِيۡنَ‏ ﴿6:68﴾ وَمَا عَلَى الَّذِيۡنَ يَتَّقُوۡنَ مِنۡ حِسَابِهِمۡ مِّنۡ شَىۡءٍ وَّلٰـكِنۡ ذِكۡرٰى لَعَلَّهُمۡ يَتَّقُوۡنَ‏ ﴿6:69﴾ وَذَرِ الَّذِيۡنَ اتَّخَذُوۡا دِيۡنَهُمۡ لَعِبًا وَّلَهۡوًا وَّغَرَّتۡهُمُ الۡحَيٰوةُ الدُّنۡيَا​ وَ ذَكِّرۡ بِهٖۤ اَنۡ تُبۡسَلَ نَفۡسٌ ۢ بِمَا كَسَبَتۡ​ۖ لَـيۡسَ لَهَا مِنۡ دُوۡنِ اللّٰهِ وَلِىٌّ وَّلَا شَفِيۡعٌ​ ۚ وَاِنۡ تَعۡدِلۡ كُلَّ عَدۡلٍ لَّا يُؤۡخَذۡ مِنۡهَا​ ؕ اُولٰٓـئِكَ الَّذِيۡنَ اُبۡسِلُوۡا بِمَا كَسَبُوۡا​ ۚ لَهُمۡ شَرَابٌ مِّنۡ حَمِيۡمٍ وَّعَذَابٌ اَ لِيۡمٌۢ بِمَا كَانُوۡا يَكۡفُرُوۡنَ‏  ﴿6:70﴾

(6:61) And He alone holds sway over His servants and sets guardians over you40 till death approaches any of you and Our deputed angels take his soul, neglecting no part of their task. (6:62) Then all are restored to Allah, their true protector. Behold, His is the judgement. He is the swiftest of those who take account.' (6:63) Ask them (O Muhammad!): 'Who is it that delivers you from dangers in the deep darknesses of the land and the sea, and to whom do you call in humility and in the secrecy of your hearts? To whom do you pray: "If He will but save us from this distress, we shall most certainly be among the thankful?" (6:64) Say: "It is Allah alone Who delivers you from this and from every distress, and yet you associate others with Allah in His divinity."41 (6:65) Say: "It is He Who has the power to send forth chastisement upon you from above you, or from beneath your feet, or split you into hostile groups and make some of you taste each others' violence. Behold, how We set forth Our signs in diverse forms, so that maybe they will understand the Truth".42 (6:66) Your people have denied it even though it is the Truth. Say: "I am not a guardian over You.43 (6:67) Every tiding has its appointed time; you yourselves will soon know (the end)." (6:68) When you see those who are engaged in blasphemy against Our signs, turn away from them until they begin to talk of other things; and should Satan ever cause you to forget,44 then do not remain, after recollection, in the company of those wrong-doing people. (6:69) For those who are God-fearing are by no means accountable for the others except that it is their duty to adinonish them; maybe then, they will shun evil.45 (6:70) Leave alone those who have made a sport and a pastime of their religion and whom the life of the world has beguiled. But continue to admonish them (with the Qur'an) lest a man should be caught for what he has himself earned for there shall neither be any protector nor intercessor apart from Allah; and though he may offer any conceivable ransom it shall not be accepted from him, for such people have been caught for the deeds that they have themselves earned. Boiling water to drink and a painful chastisement to suffer for their unbelief is what awaits them.

Notes

40. The angels who keep watch and maintain a record of everything, i.e. all their movements, deeds and so on.

41. That God alone possesses all power and authority, and has full control over the things which cause either benefit or harm to men, and that He alone holds the reins of their destiny are facts to which there is ample testimony in man's own being. For instance, whenever man is faced with a really hard time, and when the resources upon which he normally fails back seem to fail him, he instinctively turns to God. In spite of such a clear sign, people set up partners to God without any shred of evidence that anyone other than God has any share in His power and authority.

42. God's punishment can strike in an instant. This is the warning to those who, supposing such punishment to he remote, were growing bolder in their hostility towards the Truth. They could be destroyed in a moment by a hurricane. Just a few earthquake trernors could raze villages and cities to the ground. Likewise, a few spark, of hostility could ultimately wreak such havoc among tribes. nations and countries that bloodshed and lawlessness plague them for years on end. Hence if they are spared punishments for a while that should not drug them to heedlessness and lead them to live in total disregard of distinctions between right and wrong. They should rather he grateful that God had given thern respite and by means of a number of signs He was making it possible for thern to recognize the Truth and foliow it.

43. A Prophet is neither required to compel People to see what they are not prepared to see nor to force into their hearts what they fail to comprehend. It is not a Prophet's task to chastise people for failing to see and comprehend the Truth. His task is merely to proclaim Truth as distinct from falsehood. If people fail thereafter to accept it, they will be overwhelmed by the very misfortunes against which that Prophet had warned.

44. In case the Muslims fail to remember this directive and mistakenly continue to remain in the company of those who were indulging in making fun of their faith, they should withdraw from such company as soon as they remember this directive.

45. Those who avoid disobedience to God will not be held responsible for the errors of those who disobey. This being the case, the former have no justification for taking it upon themselves to persuade the latter to obedience or to consider themselves obliged to answer all their questions, however absurd and flimsy, until the Truth is forced down their throats. Their duty is merely to admonish and place the Truth before those whom they find stumbling about in error. If there is no response to this call except remonstration and obstinate argument they are under no obligation to waste their time and energy on them. They should rather devote their time and energy to instructing and admonishing those who have an urge to seek out the Truth.