Tafheem ul Quran Chapter : Al-An'am Surah 6.

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(6:65-67) 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
Your people have denied it even though it is the Truth. Say: "I am not a guardian over You. *43
Every tiding has its appointed time; you yourselves will soon know (the end)."

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*42. God's punishment can strike in an instant.
This is the warning to those who, supposing such punishment to the remote, were growing bolder in their hostility towards the Truth. They could be destroyed in a moment by a hurricane. Just a few earthquake ternors 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 them respite and by means of a number of signs He was making it possible for them to recognize the Truth and follow 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.
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(6:68-70) 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. For those who are God-fearing are by no means accountable for the others except that it is their duty to admonish them; maybe then, they will shun evil. *45Leave 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.

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*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.
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(6:71-73)

Ask them (0 Muharnmad!): "Shall we invoke, apart from Allah, something that can neither benefit nor harm us, and thus be turned back on our heels after Allah has guided us? Like the one whom the evil ones have lured into bewilderment in the earth, even though he has friends who call him to true guidance saying: "Come to us." Say: "Surely Allah's guidance is the only true guidance, and we have been commanded to submit ourselves to the Lord of the entire universe, and to establish Prayer, and to have fear of Him. It is to Him that all of you shall be gathered. And He it is Who has created the heavens and the earth in truth; *46 and the very day He will say: "Be!" (resurrection) there will be. His word is the Truth and His will be the dominion *47 on the day when the-Trumpet is blown. *48 He knows all that lies beyond the reach of human perception as well as all that is visible to man; *49 He is the All-Wise, the All-Aware.'


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*46. It has been asserted again and again in the Qur'an that God created the heavens and the earth 'in truth'.
This covers a wide range of meanings:
First, that the heavens and the earth have not been created just for the fun of it.
This existence is not a theatrical play.
This world is not a child's toy with which to amuse oneself as long as one wishes before crushing it to bits and throwing it away.

Creation is rather an act of great seriousness. A great objective motivates it, and a wise purpose underlies it. Hence, after the lapse of a certain stage it is necessary for the Creator to take full account of the work that has been done and to use those results as the basis for the next stage. This is stated at various places in the Qur'an in the following manner:

Our Lord, You did not create this in vain (Surah Al 'Imran 3:191).
And We did not create the heavens and the earth and whatever lies in between them playfully (Surah Al-Anbiya' 21:16).
And did you think that We created you out of play and that you will not be brought back to Us? (Surah al-Mu'minun 23:115).

Second, it means that God has created this entire system of the universe on solid foundations of truth. The whole of the universe is based on justice, wisdom and truth. Hence, there is no scope in the system for falsehood to take root and prosper. The phenomenon of the prosperity of falsehood which we observe, is to be ascribed to the will of God, Who grants the followers of falsehood the opportunity, if they so wish, to expend their efforts in promoting unrighteousness, injustice and untruth. In the end, however, the earth wfll throw up all the seeds of untruth that have been sown, and in the final reckoning every follower of falsehood will see that the efforts he devoted to cultivating and watering this pernicious tree have all gone to waste.
Third, it means that God has founded the universe on the basis of right, and it is on the ground of being its Creator that He governs it. His command in the universe is supreme since He alone has the right to govern it, the universe being nothing but His creation. If anyone else's commands seem to be carried out in this world, this should not cause any misunderstanding. For in reality the will of no one prevails, and cannot prevail in the universe, for no one has any right to enforce his will.

*47. This does not mean that the present dominion is not His. The purpose of this statement is rather to stress that when the veil which keeps things covered during the present phase of existence is lifted and the Truth becomes fully manifest, it will become quite clear that all those who seemed or were considered to possess power and authority are absolutely powerless, and that the true dominion belongs to the One True God Who created the universe.

*48. In what manner the Trumpet will be blown is difficult for us to grasp.What we know through the Qur'an is that on the Day of Judgement the Trumpet will be blown on God's command, whereupon all will die. Then after an indefinite period of time - a period that is known to God alone - the second Trumpet will be blown, whereupon all people of all epochs will be resurrected and will find themselves on the Plane of the Congregation.
Thus, when the first Trumpet is blown the entire order of the universe will be disrupted, while on the blowing of the second Trumpet a fresh order will be established, in a new form and with a new set of laws governing it.

*49. Ghayb signifies all that is hidden from, and is beyond the ken of man's knowledge.
Shahadah, as opposed to ghayb, signifies that which is manifest and thus can be known to man.
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(6:74-82)

And recall when Abraham said to his father, Azar: 'Do you take idols for gods? *50 I see you and your people in obvious error.'
And thus We showed Abraham the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, *51 so that he might become one of those who have sure faith. *52. The adversaries are told that they can observe God's signs in the phenomena of the universe, just as Abraham could. The difference is that they see nothing, as if they were blind, whereas Abraham saw with open eyes. The sun, moon and stars which rise and set before their eyes day after day and night after night witness them as misguided at their setting as at their rising. Yet the same signs were observed by the perceptive Abraham, and the physical phenomena helped him arrive at the Truth.
Then, when the night outspread over him, he beheld a star, and said: 'This is my Lord.' But when it went down, he said: 'I do not love the things that go down.'
Then, when he beheld the moon rising, he said: 'This is my Lord!' But when it went down, he said: 'Were that my Lord did not guide me, I surely would have become among the people who have gone astray.'
Then when he beheld the sun rising, he said: 'This is my Lord. This is the greatest of all.' Then, when it went down, he said: 'O my people! Most certainly 1 am quit of those whom you associate with Allah in His divinity. *53
Behold, 1 have turned my face in exclusive devotion to the One Who originated the heavens and the earth, and 1 am certainly not one of those who associate others with Allah in His divinity.'
His. people remonstrated with him whereupon Abraharn said: 'Do you remonstrate with me concerning Allah Who has guided me to the right way? 1 do not fear those whom you associate with Allah in His divinity. Only that which my Lord wills, indeed that alone will come by. My Lord embraces all things within His knowledge. Will you not take heed? *54
Why should 1 fear those whom you have associated (with Allah in His divinity) when you do not fear associating others with Allah in His divinity - something for which He has sent down to you no authority. Then, which of the two parties has better title to security? Tell us, if you have any knowledge!
Those who believe and did not tarnish their faith with wrong-doing for them there is security, and it is they who have been guided to the right way.' *55


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*50. The incident relating to Abraham (peace be on him) is adduced in order to confirm and reinforce the view that just as Muhammad (peace he on him) and his Companions - thanks to the guidance vouchsafed by God - had denounced polytheism and had turned away from all false gods, bowing their heads in obedience to the One True Lord of the universe, so had been done by Abraham in his time. In the same way as ignorant people were then opposing the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) and those who believed in him, Abraham, too, had been opposed in his day by the people among whom he lived. Furthermore, the answer Abraham gave to his people in the past can also be given by Muhammad (peace be on him) and his followers, for he was on the same path as Noah, Abraham and the other Prophets who had descended from Abraham.
Those who had refused to follow the Prophet (peace be on him) should therefore take note that they had deviated from the way of the Prophets and were lost in error.
At this point it should also be noted that Abraham was generally acknowledged by the Arabs to be their patriarch and their original religious leader. The Quraysh, in particular, were proud of their devotion to Abraham, of being his progeny and of being servants to the shrine built by him. Hence, the mention of Abraham's doctrine of monotheism, of his denunciation of polytheism and his remonstration with his polytheistic people, amounted to demolishing the very basis on which the Quraysh had prided themselves.
It also amounted to destroying the confidence of the people of Arabia in their polytheistic religion.
This also proved to them that the Muslims stood in the shoes of Abraham himself, whereas their own position was that of an ignorant nation which had remonstrated with Abraham out of ignorance and folly.

**51. The adversaries are told that they can observe God's signs in the phenomena of the universe, just as Abraham could.
The difference is that they see nothing, as if they were blind, whereas Abraham saw with open eyes. The sun, moon and stars which rise and set before their eyes day after day and night after night witness them as misguided at their setting as at their rising. Yet the same signs were observed by the perceptive Abraham, and the physical phenomena helped him arrive at the Truth.

*52. To obtain a full understanding of this section, as well as of those verses which mention the dispute between Abraham and his people, it is necessary to cast a glance at the religious and cultural condition of the latter. Thanks to recent archaeological discoveries, not only has the, city where Abraham is said to have been born been located, but a good deal of information is also available about the condition of the people of that area during the Abrahamic period.
We reproduce below a summary of the conclusions which Sir Leonard Wooley arrived at as a result of the researches embodied in his work, Abraham (London, 1935).
It is estimated that around 2100 B.C., which is now generally accepted by scholars as the time of the advent of Abraham, the population of the city of Ur was at least two hundred and fifty thousand, maybe even five hundred thousand. The city was a large industrial and commercial metropolis. Merchandise was brought to Ur from places as far away as Palmir and Nilgiri in one direction, and in the other it had developed trade relations with Anatolia. The state, of which this city was the capital, extended a little beyond the boundaries of modern Iraq in the north, and exceeded its present borders further to the west. The great majority of the population were traders and craftsmen. The inscriptions of that period, which have been discovered in the course of archaeological research, make it clear that those people had a purely materialistic outlook on life.

Their greatest concern was to earn the maximum amount of wealth and enjoy the highest degree of comfort and luxury. Interest was rampant among them and their devotion to money-making seemed all-absorbing.

They looked at one another with suspicion and often resorted to litigation. In their prayers to their gods, too, they generally asked for longer life, prosperity and greater commercial success, rather than for spiritual growth, God's pardon and reward in the Hereafter
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The population comprised three classes of people:
(1) amelu, the priests, the government and military officers;
(2) mushkinu, the craftsmen and farmers; and
(3) the slaves.

The people of the first class mentioned, i.e. amelu, enjoyed special privileges. In both criminaI and civil matters, their rights were greater than those of the others, and their lives and property were deemed to be of higher value. It was in such a city and in such a society that Abraham first saw the light of day. Whatever information we possess with regard to him and his family through the Talmud shows that he belonged to the amelu class and that his father was the highest functionary of the state. (See also Towards Understanding the Qur'an, vol. 1, Surah 2, n.290.)

In the inscriptions of Ur there are references to about five thousand deities. Each city had its own deity. Each city had a chief deity which it considered its chief protector and, therefore, that deity was considered worthy of greater reverence than all the others.

'The chief deity of Ur was Nannar (the moon god), and it is for this reason that the city later became known as Kamarina.*
The other major city was Larsa, which replaced Ur as the capital of the kingdom. Its chief deity was Shamash (the sun god). Under these major deities there was a myriad of minor deities which had generally been chosen from among the heavenly bodies - stars and planets. People considered them responsible for granting their innumerable minor prayers. Idols had been carved in the image of these celestial and terrestrial gods and goddesses and were made objects of ritual worship.
*Qamar is the Arabic word for 'moon'- Ed.

The idol of Nannar had been placed in a magnificent building on the top of the highest hill. Close to it was the temple of Nin-Gal, the wife of Nannar. The temple of Nannar resembled a royal palace. Every night a female worshipper went to its bedroom, adorned as a bride.

A great number of women had been consecrated in the name of this deity and their position was virtually that of religious prostitutes. The woman who would sacrifice her virginity for the sake of her 'god' was held in great esteem. For a woman to give herself to some unrelated person 'for the sake of God' was considered a means to salvation. Needless to say, it was generally the priests who made most use of this institution. Nannar was not merely a deity, but the biggest landlord, the biggest trader, the biggest industrialist and the most powerful ruler. Many orchards, buildings and huge estates had been consecrated to his temple.
In addition to this, cereals, milk, gold, cloth, etc., were brought as offerings to the temple by peasants, landlords and merchants, and there was a large staff in the temple to receive the offerings. Many a factory had been established on behalf of the temple. Large-scale trading was also carried out on its behalf.
All these activities were conducted by the priests in the name of the deity. Moreover, the country's main court was also located in the temple. The priests functioned as judges and their judgements were equated with those of God. The authority of the royal family was derived from Nannar. The concept was that Nannar was the true sovereign and that the ruler of the country governed merely on his behalf. Because of this relationship, the king himself was raised to the rank of a deity and was worshipped.

The founder of the dynasty which ruled over Ur at the time of Abraham was Ur-Nammu. In 2300 B.C. he had established an extensive kingdom, stretching from Susa in the east to Lebanon in the west. Hence the dynasty acquired the name 'Nammu', which became Nimrud in Arabic. After the emigration of Abraham, both the ruling dynasty and the nation of Ur were subjected to a succession of disasters. Firstly, the Elamites sacked Ur and captured Nimrud along with the idols of Nannar.
Later on, an Elamite state was established in Larsa which governed Ur as well. Later still, Babylon prospered under a dynasty of Arabian origin and both Larsa and Ur came under its hegemony. These disasters shook the people of Ur's faith in Nannar, for he had failed to protect them.

It is difficult to say much, with certainty, about the extent of the subsequent impact of the teachings of Abraham on these people. The laws which were codified by the Babylonian King Hammurabi in 1910 B.C. show the impress of the prophetic influence, whether direct or indirect. An inscription of this code was discovered in 1902 by a French archaeologist and its English translation by C. H. W. John was published in 1903 under the title The Oldest Code of Law.
Many articles of this code, both fundamental principles and substantive laws, bear some resemblance to the Mosaic Law.
If the conclusions of these archaeological researchers are correct, it becomes quite evident that polytheism did not consist merely of a set of religious beliefs and polytheistic rites, it rather provided the foundation on which the entire order of economic, cultural, political and social life rested. Likewise, the monotheistic mission which was undertaken by Abraham was not merely directed against the practice of idol-worship. It had far wider implications, so much so that it affected the position of the royal family both as rulers and deities. It also affected the social, economic and, political status and interests of the priestly class, and the aristocracy in general, and in fact the entire fabric of the social life of the kingdom.
To accept the teaching of Abraham meant that the entire edifice of the existing society should be pulled down and raised anew on the basis of belief in the One God. Hence, as soon as Abraham launched his mission, ordinary people as well as the privileged classes, ordinary devotees as well as Nimrud. rose at once to oppose and suppress it.

*53. Here some light is thrown on the mental experience through which Abraham passed in the beginning and which led him to an understanding of the Truth before prophethood was bestowed on him.
This experience shows how a right-thinking and sound-hearted man, who had opened his eyes in a purely polytheistic environment and had received no instruction in monotheism, was ultimately led to discover the Truth by careful observation of, and serious reflection on the phenomena of the universe.
The account of the conditions prevailing among the people of Abraham shows that when he began to think seriously the scene was dominated by the worship of the heavenly bodies - the moon, the sun and the stars. It was natural, therefore, that when Abraham began his quest for the Truth, he should have been faced with the question:

Is it possible that any of these - the sun, the moon and the stars - is God?

He concentrated his reflection on this central question and by observing that all the gods of his nation were bound by a rigid law under which they moved about like slaves, he concluded that those so-called gods were not possessed of even a shadow of the power of the One True Lord, Who alone had created them all and had yoked them to serve His will.

The Qur'anic passage describing Abraham's reactions on observing first a star, then the moon, and finally the sun, has puzzled some readers because the words seem to suggest that Abraham had never before witnessed these common phenomena. This misconception has made the whole narration such a riddle for some scholars that they could only solve it by inventing the strange anecdote that Abraham was born and grew to maturity in a cave and was thus deprived of the opportunity to observe the heavenly bodies. What is said, however, is so plain that one need not fall back on any such incident in order to comprehend it. It is well known, for instance, that when Newton saw an apple fall from a tree in his orchard this incident instantly raised in his mind the question:

Why do things always fall to the ground?

As a result of his reflection on this question he arrived at his theory of gravity.
On reading this incident one might wonder if Newton had never before seen anything fall to the ground!
Obviously, he must have seen things fall. For what reason, then, should the failing of an apple cause in his mind a reaction quite different from those caused by hundreds of earlier observations of similar things failing?

The answer is that a reflecting mind does not react uniformly to similar observations. A man may observe something over and over again without this observation creating any stir in his mind, but then there comes a moment when suddenly the same observation agitates his mind and his mental faculty begins to work in a different direction. It may also happen that while a man's mind is wrestling with a problem, he encounters something which is otherwise quite ordinary but which suddenly seems to provide the key. Something to this effect happened with Abraham.

Certainly, he was as familiar as anyone else with nightfall and the ensuing daybreak. The sun, the moon and the stars had all risen before his eyes in the past and had then disappeared from sight. But on one particular day his observation of a star was to stimulate his thinking in a certain direction and to lead him in the end to perceive the truth of God's Oneness.

It is possible that Abraham's mind was already engrossed in reflecting on whether, and if so to what extent, the beliefs which served as the foundation of the entire life-system of his people embodied the Truth. when he spotted a star which provided him with the initial key to the solution of the problem. It is also possible that the observation of a particular star first set him thinking about the problem.
Another question that arises is whether Abraham's statements about the star, the moon and the sun show that he lapsed into polytheism temporarily. The answer must be that, while a seeker after the Truth may pause on the way to his goal, what really matters is his direction and the end-point of his journey rather than the intermediary stages.

These stages are inevitable for every seeker of the Truth. A man stops at them to inquire and question rather than to pronounce his final judgement.

During these stages of the quest a man may seem to express the opinion: 'That is so',
but what he is really doing is asking himself the question: 'Is it really so?' When serious investigation leads to a negative answer, he proceeds further and continues the quest. Hence, it would be wrong to think of such a seeker having temporarily fallen victim to polytheism and unbelief whenever he paused at an intermediary stage for critical reflection.

*54. The word used here is tadhakkur which conveys the sense that somebody who had been either heedless or negligent of something suddenly wakes up to its true meaning.

The purpose of Abraham's statement was to recall them to their senses by reminding them that their true Lord was not uninformed about their deeds, for His knowledge encompasses everything.

*55. This entire section shows that those people did not deny the existence of God as the creator of the heavens and earth. Their real guilt was that they associated others in His attributes and His rights over man. In the first place, Abraham himself clearly states that they associated others with God as His partners.
In the second place, the way in which Abraham mentions God in addressing these people is suitable only for a people who did not deny the existence of God.
We must, therefore, regard

as incorrect the opinion of those Qur'anic commentators who try to explain this verse on the assumption that the people of Abraham either denied or were unaware of the existence of God, and considered their own deities to be the exclusive possessors of godhead.
The expression 'and did not tarnish their faith with wrong-doing' led some Companions to the misapprehension that perhaps this 'wrong-doing' signified 'disobedience'. But the Prophet (peace be on him) has made it clear that this wrong-doing signifies shirk (associating others with God in His divinity).
The verse means, therefore, that they alone are fully secure and rightly-guided who believe in God and do not mix their faith with any polytheistic belief and practice.

It is interesting to learn that this incident, which is the starting-point of Abraham's prophetic career, has found no place in the Bible.

It is mentioned only in the Talmud. The Talmudic version, however, is different from the Qur'anic version in two ways. First, in the Talmudic version Abraham's quest for the Truth begins with the sun and then proceeds by way of the stars to his discovery of the One True God.
Second. it states that Abraham not only held the sun to be his Lord but even worshipped it, and that the same happened in connection with the moon.
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وَتِلْكَ حُجَّتُنَا آَتَيْنَاهَا إِبْرَاهِيمَ عَلَى قَوْمِهِ نَرْفَعُ دَرَجَاتٍ مَنْ نَشَاءُ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ حَكِيمٌ عَلِيمٌ ﴿6:83﴾


(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.

 

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(6:84-87)

And We bestowed upon Abraham (offspring) Is'haq (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. (And of his descendants We guided) Zakariya (Zachariah), Yahya (John), Isa (Jesus) and Ilyas (Elias): each one of them was of the righteous.(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. And likewise We elected for Our cause and guided on to a straight way some of their forefathers and their offspring and their brethren. ​

 

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(6:88-90)

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
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
(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.'
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[QUOTE]*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.



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وَمَا قَدَرُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ قَدْرِهِ إِذْ قَالُوا مَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ عَلَى بَشَرٍ مِنْ شَيْءٍ قُلْ مَنْ أَنْزَلَ الْكِتَابَ الَّذِي جَاءَ بِهِ مُوسَى نُورًا وَهُدًى لِلنَّاسِ تَجْعَلُونَهُ قَرَاطِيسَ تُبْدُونَهَا وَتُخْفُونَ كَثِيرًا وَعُلِّمْتُمْ مَا لَمْ تَعْلَمُوا أَنْتُمْ وَلَا آَبَاؤُكُمْ قُلِ اللَّهُ ثُمَّ ذَرْهُمْ فِي خَوْضِهِمْ يَلْعَبُونَ ﴿6:91﴾ وَهَذَا كِتَابٌ أَنْزَلْنَاهُ مُبَارَكٌ مُصَدِّقُ الَّذِي بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ وَلِتُنْذِرَ أُمَّ الْقُرَى وَمَنْ حَوْلَهَا وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْآَخِرَةِ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ وَهُمْ عَلَى صَلَاتِهِمْ يُحَافِظُونَ ﴾ وَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّنِ افْتَرَى عَلَى اللَّهِ كَذِبًا أَوْ قَالَ أُوحِيَ إِلَيَّ وَلَمْ يُوحَ إِلَيْهِ شَيْءٌ وَمَنْ قَالَ سَأُنْزِلُ مِثْلَ مَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ وَلَوْ تَرَى إِذِ الظَّالِمُونَ فِي غَمَرَاتِ الْمَوْتِ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ بَاسِطُواْ أَيْدِيهِمْ أَخْرِجُوا أَنْفُسَكُمُ الْيَوْمَ تُجْزَوْنَ عَذَابَ الْهُونِ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَقُولُونَ عَلَى اللَّهِ غَيْرَ الْحَقِّ وَكُنْتُمْ عَنْ آَيَاتِهِ تَسْتَكْبِرُونَ وَلَقَدْ جِئْتُمُونَا فُرَادَى كَمَا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ وَتَرَكْتُمْ مَا خَوَّلْنَاكُمْ وَرَاءَ ظُهُورِكُمْ وَمَا نَرَى مَعَكُمْ شُفَعَاءَكُمُ الَّذِينَ زَعَمْتُمْ أَنَّهُمْ فِيكُمْ شُرَكَاءُ لَقَدْ تَقَطَّعَ بَيْنَكُمْ وَضَلَّ عَنْكُمْ مَا كُنْتُمْ تَزْعُمُونَ ﴿6:94﴾

(6:91-94) 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.
(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
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.'
(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.' ​

*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 prophet hood 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 prophet hood.
​

To say that people 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.​

​

 

[kalamazoo]

*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.

 

[kalamazoo]

(6:95-96) Truly it is Allah Who causes the grain *62 and the fruit-kernel to sprout. He brings forth the living from the dead and brings forth the dead from the living. *63 Such is Allah. So whither are you tending in error?It is He Who causes the dawn to split forth, and has ordained the night for repose, and the sun and the moon for reckoning time. All this is determined by Allah the Almighty, the All-Knowing.


:::::::::::::::::::
​

*62. The one who causes the seed-grain to split open under the surface of the earth and then makes it grow and appear on the surface as a plant is no other than God.

*63. To 'bring forth the living from the dead' means creating living beings out of dead matter.
Likewise, 'to bring out the dead from the living' means to remove the lifeless elements from a living organism.

 

[kalamazoo]

(6:97-103) [/B

It is He Who has made for you the stars that you may follow the right direction in the darkness of the land and the sea. We have indeed spelled out signs for the people who have knowledge. *64It is He Who created you out of a single being, *65 and appointed for each of you a time-limit and a resting place. We have indeed spelled out Our signs for those who can understand. *66And it is He Who has sent down water from the heavens, and thereby We have brought vegetation of every kind, and out of this We have brought forth green foliage and then from it close-packed ears of corn, and out of the palm-tree from the sheath of it - thick clustered dates, hanging down with heaviness, and gardens of vines, and the olive tree, and the pomegranate - all resembling one another and yet so different. Behold their fruit when they bear fruit and ripen! Surely, in all this there are signs for those who believe.And yet, some people have come to associate the jinn with Allah in His divinity, *67 even though it is He Who created them; and in ignorance they impute to Him sons and daughters. *68 He is Holy and Exalted far above that which they attribute to Him. He is the Originator of the heavens and the earth. How can He have a son when He has had no mate? And He has created everything and He has full knowledge of all things. Such is Allah, your Lord. There is no god but He - the Creator of all things. Serve Him alone - for it is He Who is the guardian of everything. No visual perception can encompass Him, even though He encompasses all visual perception. He is the All-Subtle, the All-Aware.

::::::

*64. By 'signs' are meant all that support the proposition that there is only one God, that is, no one has either the attributes of God or any share in His authority or can rightfully claim any of the rights which belong exclusively to Him.
But the ignorant cannot benefit from these signs, which are scattered all around, in order to arrive at an understanding of the Truth.


Only those who observe the phenomena of the universe in a careful and systematic manner, and do so with a correct perspective, can truly benefit from these signs.

*65. This means that God caused the human race to originate from one human being.

*66. If one were to observe carefully the creation of the human species, its division into male and female, the proliferation of the human race by procreation, the passing of life through its several stages in the womb of the mother from conception to childbirth, one would perceive innumerable signs to help one grasp the truth mentioned above.
But only those who make proper use of their intellect can be led by means of these signs to an understanding of Reality.
Those who live like animals, who are concerned merely with the satisfaction of their lusts and desires, can perceive nothing significant in these phenomena.


*67. Because of man's imaginativeness and superstitious disposition, he has often held other invisible beings to be associated with God in His governance of the universe and in making and marring man's destiny.

For example, the deity of rain, and the deity of vegetation, the god of wealth and the god of health, and so on. Such beliefs are found among all the polytheistic nations of the world.

*68. The ignorant Arabs considered angels to be the daughters of God. In the same way, other polytheistic nations wove a network of bloodrelationships with God, producing thereby a whole crop of gods and goddesses descended from the Creator.

 

[kalamazoo]

(6:104)

The lights of clear perception have now come to you from your Lord. Then, he who chooses to see clearly, does so for his own good; and he who chooses to remain blind, does so to his own harm. I am not your keeper. *69


*69. Even though this statement is from God, it is expressed through the mouth of the Prophet (peace be on him). We observe that in the Qur'an the speaker frequently changes - sometimes it is God Who is speaking, sometimes it is the angel who carries the revelation, and sometimes a group of angels; on some occasions it is the Prophet (peace be on him) who is speaking, while on others it is the men of faith.
Likewise, those addressed by the Qur'an also change - sometimes it is the Prophet (peace be' on him); sometimes it is the men of faith; sometimes it is the People of the Book; sometimes it is the unbelievers and the polytheists; sometimes it is the Quraysh; sometimes it is the Arabs; and sometimes, mankind as a whole. Regardless of these changes, however, the content of the message always remains the same -
it consists of God's guidance to mankind.

The statement 'I am not your keeper' signifies that the task of the Prophet is confined to carrying the light of true guidance to others, it is then up to them either to use it to perceive Reality for themselves or to keep their eyes closed. The Prophet (peace he on him) is not asked to compel those who deliberately kept their eyes shut to open them, forcing them to see what they did not wish to see.
​

 

[kalamazoo]

(6:105-108)

Thus do We make Our signs clear in diverse ways that they might say: 'You have learned this (from somebody)'; and 'We do this in order that We make the Truth clear to the people of knowledge.' *70(O Muhammad!) Follow the revelation which has come to you from your Lord, other than Whom there is no god, and turn away from those who associate others with Allah in His divinity. Had Allah so willed they would not have associated others with Him in His divinity; and We have not appointed you a watcher over them, and you are not their guardian. *71Do not revile those whom they invoke other than Allah, because they will revile Allah in ignorance out of spite. *72 For We have indeed made the deeds of every people seem fair to them. *73 Tlen, their return is to their Lord and He will inform them of what they have done.

::::

*70. The same has been said earlier, viz. that genuine seekers after the Truth arrive at it even when it is couched in parables about such apparently trivial things as flies and gnats (see surah al-Baqarah 2:24).
As for those who have been seized by a biased negativism, they are prone to ask, sarcastically: What have these trivial things to do with the Book of God? The same idea is expressed here in a slightly different form.

The import of the statement is that the Book of God has become a touchstone, which helps mark off the true from the false. These include the sort of people who, once they have come to know the teachings of the Book of God, try in earnest to reflect on its substance and seek to benefit from the wisdom and admonition it contains. Another group reacts quite differently. When they hear or read the Book, their minds are not attracted by the substance of its message. Rather, their curiosity is aroused and they begin probing as to where this Prophet, who had no formal education, derived the teachings which the Book contains.

And since a negative prejudice has already seized their hearts, they find it reasonable to conceive of any possibility except the possibility that the Qur'An is a revelation from God. Such people proclaim their opinion with such strong conviction that one might feel inclined to believe that they had indeed discovered the real 'source' of the Book by means of scientific investigation.

*71. It is emphasized that the Prophet (peace be on him) is only required to preach the Truth and try to call people to embrace it. His responsibility ends at that for he is, after all, not their warden. His task is to present this guidance and spare no effort in elucidating the Truth. Anyone who still rejects it does so on his own responsibility. It is not part of the Prophet's task to compel anybody to follow the Truth, and he will not be held accountable for not having been able to bring an individual out of the fold of falsehood. Hence he should not over strain his mind by his desire to make the blind see, or compel those bent on keeping their eyes shut, to observe. For, had it been an objective of God's universal plan not to allow anyone to remain devoted to falsehood, He need not have sent Prophets for that purpose.

Could He not have turned all human beings, instantly, into devotees of the Truth by His mere will?
Quite obviously God did not intend to do so. The entire basis of the Divine plan is that men should have free-will and be allowed to choose between the Truth and falsehood; that the Truth should be explained to them in order that they be tested with regard to their choice between truth and falsehood.

The right attitude, therefore, is for them to follow the Straight Way which has been illuminated by the light bequeathed to them and to keep on calling others towards it. They should naturally value very highly all those who respond to the message of the Truth. Such persons should not be forsaken or neglected, however humble their station in the world.

As for those who wilfully reject the message of God, one need not pursue them too far. They should rather be left alone to proceed towards their doom since they themselves wish so, and are insistent on doing so.

*72. The Prophet (peace be on him) and his followers are admonished not to allow their proselytizing zeal to dominate them so that their polemics and controversial religious discussions either lead them to be offensive to the beliefs of non-Muslims or to abuse their religious leaders and deities. Far from bringing people closer to the Truth, such an attitude is likely to alienate them from it further.
*73. Here we should bear in mind, as we have pointed out earlier, that God declares those things which take place as a result of the operation of the laws of nature to be His own acts, for it is He Who has rnade those laws. Whatever results from the operation of those laws, therefore, results from His command. Whenever God states that a certain act was His, the same might be described by humans as occurring in the natural course of things.


​

 

[kalamazoo]

(6:109-113) [/B]

They swear by Allah with their most solemn oaths that if a sign *74 comes to them, they will certainly believe in it. Say: 'Signs are in Allah's power alone. *75 What will make you realize that even if those signs were to come, they would still not believe? *76
We are turning their hearts and eyes away from the Truth even as they did not believe in the first instance *77 - and We leave them in their insurgence to stumble blindly.
Even if We had sent angels down to them and the dead had spoken to them, and even if We had assembled before them all the things, face to face, they would still not believe unless it be Allah's will that they believe. *78 Most of them behave in utter ignorance.
And so it is that against every Prophet We have set up the evil ones from among men and jinn, some of them inspire others with specious speech only by way of. delusion. *79 Had it been your Lord's will, they would not have done it. *80 Leave them alone to fabricate what they will.
So that the hearts of those who do not believe in the Life to Come might incline towards this attractive delusion, and that they may be well pleased with it and might acquire the evils that they are bent on acquiring.

:::::

*74. 'Sign' in this context signifies a tangible miracle which is so impressive that it leaves people with no alternative but to believe in the veracity of the Prophet (peace be on him) and the truth of his claim to have been appointed by God.
*75. The Prophet (peace be on him) denies his ability to perform miracles. That power lies with God alone.
If God wants a miracle to take place, He has the power; if He does not want miracles to take place, none will.
**And so indeed does every Prophet of God - Ed.

*76. These words are addressed to the Muslims. Driven by the restless yearning to see people embrace Islam
- a yearning which they sometimes expressed in words - they wished some miracle to happen which might lead their erring brethren to the true faith.

In response to this wish and longing they are told that their embracing the true faith does not depend upon their observing any miraculous sign.


*77. This shows that they still suffer from the same mentality which had made them reject the call of the Prophet (peace be on him) at the outset. Their outlook has undergone no change.
The same mental confusion, the same opacity of vision which had kept them from developing sound understanding and.a correct perspective still warps their understanding and clouds their vision.


*78. The people under discussion are so perverse that they do not prefer to embrace the Truth in preference to falsehood by rightly exercising their choice and volition.
The only way that is left for them to become lovers of the Truth is, therefore, that by His overpowering will God should render them truth-loving not by their choice and volition, but by metamorphizing their very nature.
Such a course, however, goes against the wisdom which underlies the creation of man. Hence it is futile to expect God to intervene in the matter and to force those people to believe by the exercise of His will.


*79. The Prophet (peace be on him) is told that he should not be unnerved even if the evil ones among both mankind and the jinn stood united against him and opposed him with all their might. For this was not the first time that such a thing had happened. Whenever a Prophet came and tried to lead people to the Truth, all the satanic forces joined hands to defeat his mission. 'Specious talk' signifies all the trickery and manoeuvring to which the enemy resorts, all his efforts aimed at sowing doubts about Islam and undermining people's faith in it, so as to arouse them against both the Prophet (peace be on him) and his message. Taken as a whole, these are characterized as 'delusion', for the weapons used in their crusade by the opponents of the Truth have the effect of deluding others as well as themselves, no matter how beneficial and successful those weapons may appear to be.

*80. Furthermore, we should always bear in mind that, according to the Qur'an, there is a tremendous difference between
'God's will'
and 'God's good pleasure'.
The failure to differentiate between the two often gives rise to serious misconceptions. If a certain thing takes place in accord with the universal will of God, and thus by His sanction, that does not necessarily mean that God is pleased with it. Nothing at all takes place in the world unless God permits it to take place, unless He makes it a part of His scheme, and unless He makes it possible for that event to take place by creating its necessary conditions. The act of stealing on the part of a thief, the act of homicide on the part of a murderer, the wrong and corruption of the wrong-doer and the corrupt, the unbelief of the unbeliever and the polytheism of the polytheist - none of these are possible without the will of God.

Likewise, the faith of the believer and the piety of the pious are inconceivable without the will of God.

In short, both these require the will of God. But whereas the things in the first category do not please Him,
those in the second do.
Even though the will of God is oriented to ultimate good, the course of the realization of that good is paved with conflict between the forces of light and darkness, of good and evil, of what is sound and pure on the one hand and what is corrupt and defiled on the other.
With larger interests in view, God has endowed man with the disposition of obedience as well as of disobedience.
He has created in man Abrahamic and Mosaic as well as Nimrodic and Pharaonic potentialities.
Both the pure, unadulterated human nature and the satanic urges are ingrained in man's being and have been provided with the opportunity to work themselves out by coming into conflict with each other.
He has granted those species of His creatures who are possessed of authority (viz. man and jinn) the freedom to choose between good and evil.

Whosoever chooses to act righteously has been given the power to do so, and the same is the case with him who chooses to be evil.

People of both categories are in a position to use material resources within the framework of the broader considerations underlying God's- governance of His universe. God will be pleased, however, only with those who are working for good. God likes His creatures to exercise their freedom of choice properly and commit themselves to good of their own volition.

Unlike the angels, who carry out God's commands without resistance from any quarter,
the task entrusted to men is to strive to establish the way of life sanctioned by God in the face of opposition and hostility from evil-doers and rebels against Him.

In the framework of His universal will, God allows even those who have chosen the path of rebellion to strive for the realization of their goals, even as He grants the believers every opportunity to strive along the path of obedience and service to God. Despite this granting of freedom and choice to all there is no doubt that God is pleased with, and guides, directs, supports and strengthens the believers alone because their overall direction is to His liking.

Nevertheless, they should not expect that by His supernatural intervention God will either force those who are disinclined to believe into believing or that He will forcibly remove the satanic forces - among both men and jinn - who are resolved to spare neither their mental and physical energy nor their material resources to impede the triumph of the Truth.

Those determined to strive in the cause of the Truth,
and of virtue and righteousness are told that they must prove their earnest devotion by waging a fierce struggle against the devotees of falsehood.

For had God wanted
to use miracles to obliterate falsehood and usher in the reign of the Truth, He would not have required human beings to accomplish the task.
He could have simply seen to it that no evil one remained in the world, leaving no possibility for polytheism and unbelief to exist.




​

 

[kalamazoo]

(6:114-115)

Shall I look upon anyone apart from Allah for judgement when it is He Who has revealed to you the Book in detail? *81 And those whom We gave the Book (before you) know that this (Book) has been revealed in truth by your Lord. Do not, then, be among the doubters. *82
The Word of your Lord is perfect in truthfulness and justice; no one can change His words. He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing.

::::

*81.

The implied speaker in this sentence is the Prophet (peace be on him) and the words are addressed to the Muslims.

The purpose of the sentence is to impress upon the Muslims that God has elucidated the relevant truths, and has also proclaimed that in their endeavour to make the Truth prevail they will have to follow the path of striving and struggle.
The devotees of the Truth should, therefore, resort to those means which human beings normally employ for the successful achievement of their objectives rather than wait for any supernatural intervention that would enable them to achieve their mission without struggle and sacrifice.

Moreover, since God Himself had chosen that human effort rather than supernatural intervention should lead to the prevalence of the Truth, who had the power to change this basic fact and bring about the victory of the Truth without any resort to human effort and sacrifice.

*82. This is no mere concoction designed to explain away the current problems. All those versed in the Scriptures, and possessing true understanding of the mission of the Prophets (peace be on them all), will confirm that everything in the Qur'an is perfectly true and in fact constitutes that eternal truth which cannot suffer any change or modification.
​

 

[kalamazoo]

(6:116-117)

(O Muhammad!) If you obey the majority of those who live on earth, they will lead you away from Allah's path. They only follow idle fancies, indulging in conjecture. *83And your - Lord knows well who stray from His path, and also those who are rightly-guided.

:::::

*83. One need not follow the way of life of the majority,
for the majority tend to follow their conjectures and fancies rather than sound knowledge.

Their beliefs, their ideas and concepts, their philosophies of life, the guiding principles of their conduct, their laws - all these are founded on conjecture.

On the contrary, the way of life which pleases God, was revealed by Him and hence is based on true knowledge rather than conjecture.
Instead of trying to discover the way of life of the majority, a seeker after truth should, therefore, persevere in the way prescribed by God, even if he finds himself to be a solitary traveler.
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[kalamazoo]

(6:118-119)

If you believe in the signs of Allah, eat (the flesh) of that over which Allah's name has been pronounced. *84 And how is it that you do not eat of that over which Allah's name has been pronounced even though He has clearly spelled out to you what He has forbidden you unless you are constrained to it? *85 Many indeed say misleading things without knowledge, driven merely by their lowly desires. But your Lord knows well the transgressors.


:::::

*84. Many nations have imposed on themselves superfluous religious taboos, which include a variety of dietary restrictions.
On the one hand, they have declared lawful many of the things which God has forbidden.
On the other, there are many things which God has made lawful but which some people have forbidden to themselves. Some people have even gone so far as to consider eating animals slaughtered in the name of God as unlawful, while those slaughtered with no mention of God's name may be eaten.
God repudiates this and urges the Muslims
- if they really believe in Him and obey His injunctions - to smash the superstitious and prejudiced notions contrived by human beings in disregard of God's revealed guidance, and to recognize as unlawful all that God has declared to be unlawful, and as lawful all that God has declared to be lawful.

*85. See Surah al-Nahl 16:15. We may observe in passing that this allusion indirectly establishes that Surah al-Nahl was revealed before the present surah.
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[kalamazoo]

(6:120-121)

Abstain from sin, be it either open or secret. Indeed those who commit sins shall surely be requited for all they have done. Do not eat of (the animal) over which the name of Allah has not been pronounced (at the time of its slaughtering), for that is a transgression. And behold, the evil ones do inspire doubts and objections into the hearts of their friends so that they dispute with you; *86 but if you obey them, you will surely yourselves turn into those who associate others with Allah in His divinity. *87

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*86. It has been reported in a tradition transmitted by 'Abd Allah b. 'Abbas that the Jewish religious scholars used to prompt the ignorant people of Arabia to address many enquiries to the Prophet (peace be on him) so as to discredit him.

One of the questions they taught them to ask was: 'Why is it that an animal killed by (the act of) God should be deemed prohibited, while one killed by us is considered lawful?

'This is a common example of the warped mentality of the People of the Book. They strained their minds to contrive such questions so as to create doubts in people's minds and to provide them with intellectual weapons in their fight against the Truth.

*87. To acknowledge the overlordship of God, yet to follow at the same time the orders and ways of those who have turned away from Him, amounts to associating others with God in His divinity.
True belief in the unity of God consists in orienting one's entire life to the obedience and service of God. Those who believe that any other being besides God is to he acknowledged in principle as having an independent claim on man's unreserved obedience should know that such acknowledgement amounts to associating others with God in His divinity at the level of belief.

On the other hand, if they actually do obey those who, in sheer disregard of God's guidance and injunctions, arrogate to themselves the right to declare according to their whims certain things to be lawful and others to be unlawful, and to bid and forbid people as they please, this amounts to associating others with God in His divinity at the level of action.
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[kalamazoo]

(6:122-1123)

He who was dead and whom We raised to life, *88 and We set a light for him to walk among men - is he like the one steeped in darkness out of which he does not come out? *89. Thus have their own doings been made to seem fair to the unbelievers. *90
Thus We have appointed the leaders of the wicked ones in every land to weave their plots; but in truth they plot only to their own harm, without even realizing it.

:::

*88.

'Death' signifies here the state of ignorance and lack of consciousness, whereas 'life' denotes the state of knowledge and true cognition, the state of awareness of Reality.

He who cannot distinguish between right and wrong and does not know the Straight Way for human life, may be alive on the biological plane, but his essential humanity is not. He may be a living animal but is certainly not a living human being.

A living human being is one who can distinguish right from wrong, good from evil, honesty from dishonesty.
*89. The question is: 'How can they expect one who has been able to attain genuine consciousness of his true human nature and who, by virtue of his knowledge of the Truth, can clearly discern the Straight Way among the numerous crooked ways, to live like those who lack true consciousness and go on stumbling in the darkness of ignorance and folly?'

*90. The law of God with regard to those to whom light is presented but who wilfully refuse to accept it, preferring to follow their crooked paths even after they have been invited to follow the Straight Way, is that in the course of time such people begin to cherish darkness, and to enjoy groping their way in the dark, stumbling and falling as they proceed. They tend to mistake cacti for orchids, thorns for roses. They find pleasure in every act of evil and corruption. They look forward to renewed experiences of corruption, hoping that where they were previously unsuccessful they will now find success.


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[kalamazoo]

(6:124)

Whenever there comes to them a sign from Allah, they say: 'We will not believe until we are given what was given to the Messengers of Allah.' *91 Allah knows best where to place His message. Soon shall these wicked ones meet with humiliation and severe chastisement from Allah for all their evil plotting.

:::

*91.

This shows that they were unwilling to believe in the statement of the Prophets that an angel of God came to each of them and delivered the message of God. They would believe, they said, only if the angel approached them directly and intimated God's message to them.
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