Tafheem ul Quran

Surah 6 Al-An'am, Ayat 91-94

وَمَا قَدَرُوا اللّٰهَ حَقَّ قَدۡرِهٖۤ اِذۡ قَالُوۡا مَاۤ اَنۡزَلَ اللّٰهُ عَلٰى بَشَرٍ مِّنۡ شَىۡءٍ ؕ قُلۡ مَنۡ اَنۡزَلَ الۡـكِتٰبَ الَّذِىۡ جَآءَ بِهٖ مُوۡسٰى نُوۡرًا وَّ هُدًى لِّلنَّاسِ​ تَجۡعَلُوۡنَهٗ قَرَاطِيۡسَ تُبۡدُوۡنَهَا وَتُخۡفُوۡنَ كَثِيۡرًا​ ۚ وَعُلِّمۡتُمۡ مَّا لَمۡ تَعۡلَمُوۡۤا اَنۡتُمۡ وَلَاۤ اٰبَآؤُكُمۡ​ؕ قُلِ اللّٰهُ​ۙ ثُمَّ ذَرۡهُمۡ فِىۡ خَوۡضِهِمۡ يَلۡعَبُوۡنَ‏ ﴿6:91﴾ وَهٰذَا كِتٰبٌ اَنۡزَلۡنٰهُ مُبٰرَكٌ مُّصَدِّقُ الَّذِىۡ بَيۡنَ يَدَيۡهِ وَلِتُنۡذِرَ اُمَّ الۡقُرٰى وَمَنۡ حَوۡلَهَا​ ؕ وَالَّذِيۡنَ يُؤۡمِنُوۡنَ بِالۡاٰخِرَةِ يُؤۡمِنُوۡنَ بِهٖ​ وَهُمۡ عَلٰى صَلَاتِهِمۡ يُحَافِظُوۡنَ‏ ﴿6:92﴾ وَمَنۡ اَظۡلَمُ مِمَّنِ افۡتَـرٰى عَلَى اللّٰهِ كَذِبًا اَوۡ قَالَ اُوۡحِىَ اِلَىَّ وَلَمۡ يُوۡحَ اِلَيۡهِ شَىۡءٌ وَّمَنۡ قَالَ سَاُنۡزِلُ مِثۡلَ مَاۤ اَنۡزَلَ اللّٰهُ​ؕ وَلَوۡ تَرٰٓى اِذِ الظّٰلِمُوۡنَ فِىۡ غَمَرٰتِ الۡمَوۡتِ وَالۡمَلٰٓـئِكَةُ بَاسِطُوۡۤا اَيۡدِيۡهِمۡ​ۚ اَخۡرِجُوۡۤا اَنۡفُسَكُمُ​ؕ اَلۡيَوۡمَ تُجۡزَوۡنَ عَذَابَ الۡهُوۡنِ بِمَا كُنۡتُمۡ تَقُوۡلُوۡنَ عَلَى اللّٰهِ غَيۡرَ الۡحَـقِّ وَكُنۡتُمۡ عَنۡ اٰيٰتِهٖ تَسۡتَكۡبِرُوۡنَ‏ ﴿6:93﴾ وَلَقَدۡ جِئۡتُمُوۡنَا فُرَادٰى كَمَا خَلَقۡنٰكُمۡ اَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ وَّتَرَكۡتُمۡ مَّا خَوَّلۡنٰكُمۡ وَرَآءَ ظُهُوۡرِكُمۡ​ۚ وَمَا نَرٰى مَعَكُمۡ شُفَعَآءَكُمُ الَّذِيۡنَ زَعَمۡتُمۡ اَنَّهُمۡ فِيۡكُمۡ شُرَكٰٓؤُا​ ؕ لَقَدْ تَّقَطَّعَ بَيۡنَكُمۡ وَضَلَّ عَنۡكُمۡ مَّا كُنۡتُمۡ تَزۡعُمُوۡنَ‏ ﴿6:94﴾

(6:91) They did not form any proper estimate of Allah when they said: 'Allah has not revealed anything to any man.'59 Ask them: 'The Book which Moses brought as a light and guidance for men and which you keep in bits and scraps, some of which you disclose while the rest you conceal, even though through it you were taught that which neither you nor your forefathers knew -who was it who revealed it?'60 Say: 'Allah!'- and then leave them to sport with their argumentation. (6:92) (Like that Book) this too is a Book which We have revealed; full of blessing, confirming what was revealed before it so that you might warn the people of the Mother of Cities (Makka) and those around it. Those who believe in the Hereafter believe in it, and are evermindful of their Prayers.61 (6:93) Who can be more unjust than he who places a lie on Allah and who says: 'Revelation has come to me' when in fact nothing was revealed to him, and who says: 'I will produce the like of what Allah has revealed?' If you could but see the wrongdoers in the agonies of death, and the angels stretching out their hands (saying): 'Yield up your souls! Today you will be recompensed with the chastisement of humiliation for the lie you spoke concerning Allah, and for you waxing proud against His signs.' (6:94) (And Allah will say): 'Now you have come to Us all alone even as We had created you in the first instance, and you have left behind all that We had bestowed upon you in the world. We do not see with you your intercessors whom you imagined to have a share with Allah in your affairs. You have now been cut off from one another and all those whom you imagined (to be Allah's associates in your affairs) have failed you.'

Notes

59. In the light of the foregoing discussion and commentary, it is quite evident that this statement comes from the Jews. Since the Prophet (peace be on him) had asserted that he was a Prophet and that a Book had been revealed to him, the unbelieving Quraysh and other polytheists of Arabia naturally used to approach the Jews and the Christians - who believed in the Prophets and in the Scriptures - and tried to solicit a candid answer from them as to whether God's words had indeed been revealed to Muhammad (peace be on him). Whatever answer they gave was then disseminated on all sides by the active opponents of the Prophet (peace be on him) in order to create revulsion against Islam. This is the reason for mentioning, and then refuting, this statement by the Jews, which had been used by the opposition as an argument against Islam.
One might wonder how a Jew, who believes in the Torah as a revealed Book of God, could say that God had revealed nothing to anyone. At times blind obstinacy and bigotry cause people to resort to arguments which strike at the roots of their own belief. These people were bent upon denying the prophethood of Muhammad (peace be on him), and this fanaticism had come to dominate them so much that they went so far as to deny the very institution of prophethood.
To say that peopte have not formed any proper estimate of God means that they have erred grossly in assessing His wisdom and power. Whoever says that God did not reveal knowledge of Reality and the code for man's guidance has fallen into one of two errors. Either he considers it impossible for man to become the recipient of God's revelation, and this constitutes a gross misjudgement of God's power, or he thinks that even though God has equipped man with intelligence and with the power to act as he chooses, He has nevertheless made no arrangement for his guidance, but has left him in this world altogether unguided and thus conferred upon him the right to behave in any way he likes. This is obviously a misjudgement of God's wisdom.

60. The revelation of the Torah to Moses (peace be on him) is adduced by way of evidence since the Jews, to whom this response is addressed, believed that it had been revealed. It is obvious that their recognition of the Torah as the Book revealed to Moses negated their standpoint that God had never revealed anything to any human being. Their belief in the Torah at least proved that revelation to man is possible, and had actually taken place.

61. The point argued above was that God's word can be, and in the past has been, revealed to human beings. The next point is that the message of Muhammad (peace be on him) is indeed the revealed word of God. In order to establish this, four things are adduced as evidence: First, that this Book is overflowing with God's grace and beneficence. In other words, it contains the best possible principles for the well-being and salvation of mankind. It lays down the true doctrines of belief. It urges man to righteous conduct and inspires him to moral excellence. It contains guidance as to how one may live a life of purity. And above all, it is free from any trace of the ignorance, egocentricity, narrow-mindedness, iniquity, obscenity and other corruptions with which the Jews and the Christians had overlaid their revealed Scriptures. Second, this Book does not propound any guidance which is essentially divergent from that previously revealed; rather it confirms and supports it. Third, the purpose of the revelation of this Book is the same as that of the revelation of Scriptures in the past, viz., to shake people out of their heedlessness and warn them of the evil consequences of their corruption. Fourth, that the call of this Book did not attract those who merely worshipped worldly advantages and were slaves of their animal desires. On the contrary, it attracted those whose vision goes beyond the narrow limits of worldly life. Moreover, the revolution wrought in the lives of people under the influence of this Book has rendered them conspicuously distinct from others in respect of piety and godliness.
A Book with such characteristics and with such a wholesome impact on human beings can only be from God.