Tafheem ul Quran
Surah 6 Al-An'am, Ayat 83-90
وَتِلۡكَ حُجَّتُنَاۤ اٰتَيۡنٰهَاۤ اِبۡرٰهِيۡمَ عَلٰى قَوۡمِهٖؕ نَرۡفَعُ دَرَجٰتٍ مَّنۡ نَّشَآءُ ؕ اِنَّ رَبَّكَ حَكِيۡمٌ عَلِيۡمٌ
﴿6:83﴾
وَوَهَبۡنَا لَهٗۤ اِسۡحٰقَ وَيَعۡقُوۡبَؕ كُلًّا هَدَيۡنَا ۚ وَنُوۡحًا هَدَيۡنَا مِنۡ قَبۡلُ وَمِنۡ ذُرِّيَّتِهٖ دَاوٗدَ وَسُلَيۡمٰنَ وَاَيُّوۡبَ وَيُوۡسُفَ وَمُوۡسٰى وَ هٰرُوۡنَؕ وَكَذٰلِكَ نَجۡزِى الۡمُحۡسِنِيۡنَۙ
﴿6:84﴾
وَزَكَرِيَّا وَيَحۡيٰى وَعِيۡسٰى وَاِلۡيَاسَؕ كُلٌّ مِّنَ الصّٰلِحِيۡنَۙ
﴿6:85﴾
وَاِسۡمٰعِيۡلَ وَالۡيَسَعَ وَيُوۡنُسَ وَلُوۡطًا ؕ وَكُلًّا فَضَّلۡنَا عَلَى الۡعٰلَمِيۡنَۙ
﴿6:86﴾
وَمِنۡ اٰبَآئِهِمۡ وَذُرِّيّٰتِهِمۡ وَاِخۡوَانِهِمۡۚ وَاجۡتَبَيۡنٰهُمۡ وَهَدَيۡنٰهُمۡ اِلٰى صِرَاطٍ مُّسۡتَقِيۡمٍ
﴿6:87﴾
ذٰ لِكَ هُدَى اللّٰهِ يَهۡدِىۡ بِهٖ مَنۡ يَّشَآءُ مِنۡ عِبَادِهٖؕ وَلَوۡ اَشۡرَكُوۡا لَحَبِطَ عَنۡهُمۡ مَّا كَانُوۡا يَعۡمَلُوۡنَ
﴿6:88﴾
اُولٰٓـئِكَ الَّذِيۡنَ اٰتَيۡنٰهُمُ الۡـكِتٰبَ وَالۡحُكۡمَ وَالنُّبُوَّةَ ؕ فَاِنۡ يَّكۡفُرۡ بِهَا هٰٓؤُلَۤاءِ فَقَدۡ وَكَّلۡنَا بِهَا قَوۡمًا لَّيۡسُوۡا بِهَا بِكٰفِرِيۡنَ
﴿6:89﴾
اُولٰٓـئِكَ الَّذِيۡنَ هَدَى اللّٰهُ فَبِهُدٰٮهُمُ اقۡتَدِهۡ ؕ قُلْ لَّاۤ اَسۡـئَلُكُمۡ عَلَيۡهِ اَجۡرًا ؕ اِنۡ هُوَ اِلَّا ذِكۡرٰى لِلۡعٰلَمِيۡنَ
﴿6:90﴾
(6:83) That was Our argument which We gave to Abraham against his people.
We raise in ranks whom We will. Truly your lord is All-Wise, All-Knowing.
(6:84) And We bestowed upon Abraham (offspring) Ishaq (Isaac) and Ya'qub
(Jacob) and each of them did We guide to the right way as We had earlier guided
Noah to the right way; and (of his descendants We guided) Da'ud (David) and
Sulayman (Solomon), Ayyub (Job), Yusuf (Joseph), Musa (Moses) and Harun (Aaron).
Thus do We reward those who do good. (6:85) (And of his descendants We guided) Zakariya (Zachariah), Yahya (John),
Isa (Jesus) and Ilyas (Elias): each one of them was of the righteous. (6:86) (And of his descendants We guided) Isma'il (Ishmael), al-Yasa' (Elisha),
Yunus (Jonah), and Lut (Lot). And each one of them We favoured over all mankind.
(6:87) And likewise We elected for Our cause and guided on to a straight
way some of their forefathers and their offspring and their brethren. (6:88) That is Allah's guidance wherewith He guides those of His servants
whom He wills. But if they ever associated others with Allah in His divinity,
then all that they had done would have gone to waste.56 (6:89) Those are the ones to whom We gave the Book, and judgement and prophethood.57
And if they refuse to believe in it now, We will bestow this favour on a people
who do believe in it.58 (6:90) (O Muhammad!) Those are the ones Allah guided to the right way. Follow,
then, their way, and say: 'I ask of you no reward (for carrying on this mission);
it is merely an admonition to all mankind.'
Notes
56. Had those people also ascribed partners to God like the people of Arabia,
they would not have achieved the positions they had attained.Some might perhaps
have earned places in the rogues' gallery of history as either ruthless conquerors
or monuments to greed. But had they not shunned polytheism and adhered to their
exclusive and unadulterated devotion to God, they would certainly neither have
had the honour of becoming the source of light and guidance to others nor of
assuming the leadership of the pious and the God-fearing.
57. Here the Prophets are mentioned as having been endowed with three things:
first, the revealed guidance embodied in the Book; second, hukm, i.e. the correct
understanding of the revealed guidance, the ability to apply its principles
to the practical affairs of life, the God-given capacity to arrive at right
opinions regarding human problems; and third, prophethood, the office by virtue
of which they are enabled to lead human beings in the light of the guidance
vouchsafed to them.
58. God does not care if the unbelievers and polytheists choose to reject
the guidance which has come down from Him, for He had already raised a sizeable
group of men of faith to truly appreciate its worth.