Surah 6: Al-An'am
The Holy Qur’an with English Translation and Commentary (Five Volume Commentary)
[a]In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful.[749]
[749] Commentary:
See under 1:1.
[a] See 1:1.
All praise belongs to Allah Who created the heavens and the earth and brought into being darkness and light; yet [b]those who disbelieve set up equals to their Lord.[749A]
[749A] Important Words:
جعل (brought into being) is sometimes used synonymously with خلق i.e. he created, but whereas خلق gives the sense of creating a thing after measuring and designing it, جعل signifies the making of a thing in a particular state or condition, or constituting or appointing it for a definite purpose (Lane).
Commentary:
The practice of attributing co-partners to God is based on two different theories. One class of people hold that God has delegated His powers to certain beings. Among the people of this class the most prominent are the Hindus. Another class of men who ascribe co-partners to God think that evil cannot proceed from God and, therefore, there must be some other source of evil. So they seek a separate god whom they look upon as a source of evil or of darkness. This class of people is represented by Zoroastrians, who believe in a spirit of evil or darkness called Ahriman, a deity regarded as the equal of the creator Ormuzd, the spirit of good or light. The verse refutes both these doctrines.
By saying, All praise belongs to Allah Who created the heavens and the earth, the Holy Qur’an refutes the first-mentioned class of men. When God has created all things and when He Himself can do everything and to Him belongs all praise, what need is there for Him to entrust part of His work to other beings? One entrusts one’s work to others when one cannot do it single-handed or when one desires to pass one’s time in idleness, which is an act of dispraise. But God, being above all this, has no need of transferring His powers to other beings. These words also refute the Christian doctrine of Trinity; for if each of the three persons of Trinity is equally omnipotent and worthy of perfect praise, what need is there for the other two? On the contrary, if only all the three combined can do the work and none can do it singly, God cannot be considered to be worthy of all praise.
By saying, and brought into being darkness and light, the Holy Qur’an refutes the second class of men. The words, All praise belongs to Allah, must be read with this part of the verse also, thus hinting that even "darkness," i.e. things which are generally looked upon as evil, such as death, disease, misery and affliction, are also things for which praise is due to God. In fact, every kind of "darkness" has its uses. Directly or indirectly, it is meant for the good of man and for his general advancement. Now when even apparently evil things are meant for the ultimate good of man, the natural conclusion would be that half of the things meant for the good of men are created by one god and the other half by another, which is simply absurd.
As for the good underlying apparently evil things, it may be hinted that the difficulties and troubles which beset man serve as a means of turning him to virtue, and of his attaining divine favours and bounties. Take death for instance. If a man should not die but should remain alive forever, he could not achieve the blessings of Heaven, which embody the most perfect favours of God. On the other hand, these favours cannot be given to man in this life; for, if they were given to him here, they would become apparent to all; in that case there would remain no veil and no secrecy and consequently there would remain no merit in faith. A person deserves credit for his faith only when there is some secrecy about the thing in which he is called upon to believe.
[b] 6:151; 27:61.
[a]He it is Who created you from clay, and then He decreed a term. And there is [b]another term fixed with Him. Yet you doubt![750]
[750] Commentary:
The creation of man referred to in the words, Who created you, is meant as an illustration of the light mentioned in the previous verse, while the decreeing of a term, i.e. the ordaining of death, is meant as an illustration of "darkness". The verse ascribes both these acts to God as acts of mercy, thus refuting those who believe in two separate Gods, one of evil and the other of good.
The words, there is another term fixed with Him, refer to the Day of Judgement or of Resurrection when men, after passing through the gate of death, will receive their rewards from their Lord.
[a] 15:27; 23:13; 32:8; 37:12; 38:72.
[b] 71:5.
And [a]He is Allah, the God, both in the heavens and in the earth. He knows your inside and your outside. And He knows what you earn.[751]
[751] Commentary:
The words, both in the heavens and in the earth, do not mean that God’s person pervades the heavens and the earth. What is meant is that the knowledge and power of God comprehend the entire universe. The Holy Qur’an itself explains this by the words that follow, i.e. He knows your inside and your outside.
The latter part of the verse points out that a being cannot be looked upon as perfect if his knowledge or power is defective. But such is not the case with God. Both His knowledge and power are perfect. This is what is hinted in the words, He knows what you earn, which convey a twofold idea: (1) that God is All-Knowing and (2) that He will requite men according to their deeds which, in other words, means that He is All-Powerful. Hence, as both the knowledge and power of God are perfect, it follows that God is perfect, knowing everything and possessing the power of doing everything. So He does not stand in need of entrusting any part of His work to other beings and taking them as His helpers or co-partners.
Again, the above-quoted words also show that it is God Who punishes evil. Now, when the punishment of evil is from God, it is foolish to think that the God of evil must be some other being.
[a] 43:85.
And [b]there comes not to them any Sign of the Signs of their Lord, but they turn away from it.[752]
[752] Commentary:
An important evidence of the knowledge and power of God are the prophecies which He reveals to His Messengers and the aid and help which He vouchsafes them against overwhelming odds. These are called signs here. Thus, in order to prove the perfect knowledge and power of God, the verse refers to the powerful signs which God was showing to demonstrate the truth of the Holy Prophet and the wonderful way in which He was helping him.
[b] 21:3; 26:6; 36:47.
So [c]they rejected the truth when it came to them; but soon shall come to them the tidings of that at which they mocked.[753]
[753] Important Words:
انباء (tidings) is the plural of نبأ which means, news or tidings. The word is generally used in the Holy Qur’an about important news relating to some great event (Aqrab and Kulliyat).
Commentary:
The words, shall come, imply that the important "tidings" referred to in the verse were ordained to come to the Meccans from outside. The words, which were revealed at Mecca, thus contain a veiled prophecy to the effect that the Holy Prophet will have to flee from Mecca and that, after his flight, the Meccans will go out and fight him but that they will be routed, and the news of the great success of the Holy Prophet or, to quote the expression of the Holy Qur’an, the tidings of that at which they mocked, will reach the Meccans from outside. This prophecy was fulfilled in a wonderful way at the famous Battle of Badr, thus showing that God possesses both perfect knowledge and perfect power.
[c] 26:7.
See they not how many a generation We have destroyed before them? We had established them in the earth as [a]We have established you not, and [b]We sent the clouds over them, pouring down abundant rain; and We caused streams to flow beneath them; then did We destroy them because of their sins and raised up after them another generation.[754]
[754] Important Words:
قرن (generation). The verb form of the word, i.e. قرن (qarana) means, he connected or linked or coupled or joined. قرن means, one’s equal in age, i.e. connected with the same age; a generation of men succeeding or preceding another generation, as if both were conjoined; people of one time; people of a time among whom there appears a Prophet. قرین means an associate, comrade or companion (Lane & Aqrab).
Commentary:
The verse predicts that the enemies of the Holy Prophet shall be destroyed like the enemies of the former Prophets. Even within the confines of Arabia there had been people who were visited with Divine punishment in consequence of their opposition to their respective Prophets who appeared in bygone times. Among them were the tribes, Tubba‘, ‘Ad, Thamud and others whose stories were current among the Arabs.
The words, as We have established you not, do not mean that the world is retrogressing. The fact is that although the world is progressing as a whole, yet some of the older nations which rose to the heights of civilization in their time were so advanced in certain branches of art and science that in these specific branches they have so far not been equalled by the generations that followed. Take, for instance, the ancient Egyptians. The modern age, in spite of the marvels it has wrought in the domain of science, still gazes with wonder at some of the works of ancient Egyptian civilization. Similarly, there were people among the Arabs who carved wonderful fortresses out of rocks. Thus every people that ever attained to the heights of civilization enjoyed a certain distinction which is not shared by other nations. By using this expression, the Holy Qur’an means to say, “When these powerful people were destroyed in spite of their mastery of certain branches of knowledge, how can your arts save you from destruction?”
[a] 46:27.
[b] 11:53; 71:12.
And if We had sent down to thee a writing upon parchment and they had felt it with their hands, even then the disbelievers would have surely said, ‘This is nothing but manifest sorcery.’[755]
[755] Important Words:
قرطاس (parchment) means paper; a roll or scroll of paper; anything one writes upon; a writing or book; a butt or target (Lane).
Commentary:
The words, and they had felt it with their hands, mean, "and they had made sure that it was a heavenly thing and not an earthly one". The words also embody a beautiful allusion to the spiritual blindness of the people. Being blind, they cannot see; so they have to feel with their hands.
The verse signifies that when a man gives himself up to doubting, nothing, however clear and manifest, can convince him.
And they say, [a]‘Why has not an angel been sent down to him?’ And if We had sent down an angel, the matter would have been settled, and then they would not have been granted a respite.[756]
[756] Commentary:
The question, Why has not an angel been sent down to him, implies a desire on the part of the disbelievers to be visited by an angel whom they might see and be thus convinced of the divine mission of the Prophet. The Holy Qur’an exposes their folly by replying that although the angels of God do come to the Prophet, yet when they visit disbelievers and are seen by them, they invariably come with Divine punishment. Such angels appeared at the Battle of Badr, when, to quote the expression of the Holy Qur’an, the matter was decided (2:211). See also the succeeding verse.
[a] 2:211; 25:8.
And if We had appointed as Messenger an angel, We would have made him appear as a man; and thus We would have made confused to them that which they are themselves making confused.[757]
[757] Commentary:
Another possible form of the appearance of an angel is that he be sent to this world as a Messenger. But this could not improve things; for in that case, to make his mission to mankind worth anything, he should appear in the form of a man; but if he were to appear to them in the form of a man, then the people would entertain the same doubts about his heavenly mission as they were now doing about that of the Holy Prophet.
And surely [a]have the Messengers been mocked at before thee, but that which they mocked at encompassed those of them who scoffed.[758]
[758] Commentary:
The words, And surely have the Messengers been mocked at before thee, imply a hint that the demand of disbelievers regarding the coming of an angel is really nothing but a mockery. The verse also contains a prophecy about the destruction of the enemies of the Holy Prophet. The enemies of the former Prophets laughed them to scorn and were consequently punished by God, the very object of their mockery becoming the means of their destruction. The enemies of the Holy Prophet were also scoffing at him and so they too would meet with the same fate which befell their predecessors.
[a] 21:42.
Say, [a]‘Go about in the earth, and see what was the end of those who treated the Prophets as liars.’[759]
[759] Commentary:
When the disbelievers were told, in reply to their demand for the coming of an angel, that disbelievers saw angels only when they came with punishment from God, the disbelievers arrogantly said, "Let them come with it then". The verse tells them that such foolhardy demands were made by their predecessors also; so let them go about in the land and see what was the end of such people.
[a] 3:138; 22:47; 27:70.