Indexed OCR Text

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animals of the world, who did not hesitate in harnessing other
'animals' in their service, what would they know about the purpose of
creation other than taking the fulfillment of their immediate physical
compulsions and needs, and acting in accordance with animal instincts
as the purpose of their lives - very much like an animal would do.
When this be the only purpose of life, then, it is also obvious that the
criterion of recognizing good and bad, small or big, high or low, noble
or mean can hardly be any other than whoever has more and better to
eat and drink, wear and use up, and things and resources to live
around with and hold on to, shall be successful, honourable and noble -
and whoever has less of these shall be low life and doomed!
The truth of the matter is that, given this view of life, talking
about good morals and good deeds as a criterion of judging the nobility
of human beings remains out of the question. In that case, only that
deed will be good and that morality will be virtuous through which
these animal objectives could be fully realized.
Therefore, the first and the last lesson given by the blessed proph-
ets and the religions they brought with them was that there is a life
after this life, which will be eternal and uninterrupted. Its peace will
be perfect and eternal, and so will be its pain, perfect and eternal. The
life of the present world is not its own purpose. Instead of that, the
real purpose of this transitory life is to get together everything which
is going to come out handy in the other life - (delightfully summarized
with a punch by an Urdu poet who said):
ربا مرنى کی تیاری می مصروف
مرا کام اور اس دنیا میں تھا کیا
Remained busy getting ready to die -
What else was that I had to do in this world?
This is the line of distinction between human beings and animals -
that animals have no concern for the next life, contrary to human be-
ings whose greatest concern, at least in the sight of reasonable and
far-sighted people, is to correct, nurse and build the prospects of the
next life. Given this belief and point of view, the standard of nobility
and menialness, honour and disgrace will obviously not be eating and
drinking lavishly, living plentifully or qualitatively, or making and

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holding wealth and property greedily - instead, the standard will be
good morals and righteous deeds on which depends the real honour of
the Akhirah (Hereafter).
Whenever people in this world have shifted away from the teach-
ings of the prophets JI +Je and from belief in the Akhirah, the natu-
ral outcome was there for everyone to see. Money and things became
the cold criterion of character and status. Those successful in this race
were taken as high and classy, and whoever was left behind, or re-
mained an under-achiever, was taken to be poor, honourless, mean
and low.
Therefore, in all ages (including ours with the loudest claims to de-
mocracy and justice), people caught in the maze of worldly life have
been practicing class distinction of rich and poor and high and low
openly or secretly under a thousand guises whereby they would assign
all virtues to the rich and influential and condemn the poor as low-life.
This is what the people of Sayyidna Nuh >Je did. They criticized
the believing poor following this standard, when they said that they
would not sit with such lowly people. They said that if he wished them
to hear his message, he should first turn those poor wretches out of his
company. They even said: ◌َ26:111] قَالُواً اَنُزُمِنٌ لَكَ وَاتَّبَعَكَ الْآَرُذَلُون]. It means: 'How
can it be that we are to believe in you while those following you are
lowly people?' Sayyidna Nuh >JI ale answered their heart-rending re-
وَمَا عِلْمِىٌ بِمَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ إِنُ :mark in his own prophetic diction when he said
It means: 'I do not know about what they do.[26:112] حِسَابُهُمْ إِلَّ عَلَى رَبِّى لَوْتَشْهُرُوْنَ
(which could help him decide whether they were high or low) so (the
reality of everyone's deeds and) their accounting is the responsibility
of none but my Lord (who is aware of the secrets of the hearts), if you
understand.'
By saying so, Sayyidna Nuh JI ue brought these ignorant and ar-
rogant people oblivious of the reality of human nobility and ignobility
to see the truth of the matter - as they were the ones who used these
terms without knowing what they really meant and just went ahead
stamping the rich as noble and the poor as wretched, while money is
no criterion of virtues and vices. The criterion is deeds and morals. At
this occasion, Sayyidna Nuh >JI _Le could have said that those people
were nobler and more respectable than them as far as the standard of

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deeds and morals was concerned. But, his prophetic method of preach-
ing and correcting did not permit him to say something like that lest
his addressees are provoked adversely. Therefore, he thought it to be
sufficient to say that lowliness depended on deeds and since he did not
know about their deeds fully, he could not decide as to who was noble
and who was not.
The same thing has been happening in every age, after the age of
Sayyidna Nuh, when poor people of successive times, no matter how
noble and respectable in terms of their morals and deeds they may
have been, were still down-graded as lowly by materialistic and arro-
gant people. Yet, these were the people who, guided by their far-
sightedness and good morals, were the first ones to say yes to the call
of prophets in one after the other age. In fact, for later scholars of re-
ligions and communities this became the proof of the veracity of a
prophet that his early followers are the poor ones of the community.
This was the reason why, when the letter of the Holy Prophet de Jul
du reached the Byzantine ruler, Heracles (Hiraql) inviting him to em-
brace Islam, he wished to investigate into the veracity of his prophet-
hood. For this purpose, he asked from people who knew the Prophet of
Islam some questions. One of these questions was: Whether most of
his followers were from among the rich, or the poor? When he was told
that they were poor people, he said: These are usually the first follow-
ers of messengers and prophets.
The same question rose again during the blessed time of the Holy
Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. Its answer appears in the present verses with
particular instructions.
Reports Ibn Kathir from Imam Ibn Jarir: Some chiefs of disbeliev-
ers from the tribe of Quraysh - 'Utbah, Shaybah, Ibn Rabi'ah, Mut'im
ibn 'Adiyy, Harith ibn Nawfal and others - came to the Holy Prophet's
uncle, Abu Talib and said to him: One of the problems, which stops us
from listening to and accepting what Your nephew Muhammad & tells
us, is that people who surround him all the time are either our slaves
who were set free by us, or they are people who were living at our mer-
cy only. Now, with such lowly people around him, we cannot attend
his sittings. You tell him, if he would ask these people to leave when
it is time for us to come in, we could listen to him and think about it.

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When his uncle, Abu Talib reported this to the Holy Prophet
Sayyidna 'Umar offered his advice by saying: What is wrong with it?
Try this too for a few days. These people love us and they are not for-
mal. When these chiefs are to come, they would move away from the
sitting.
Thereupon, this verse was revealed in which the Holy Prophet
has been emphatically prohibited to do something like that. It was af-
ter the revelation of the verse that Sayyidna 'Umar had to apologize by
admitting that his advice was wrong.
And these poor people about whom this conversation took place
were, at that time, no less a people than Sayyidna Bilal al-Habashi,
Sayyidna Şuhayb ar-Rumi, Sayyidna 'Ammar ibn Yasir, Sayyidna Salim
Mawla Abi Hudhayfah, Şabi Mawla Usayd, Sayyidna 'Abdullah ibn
Mas'ud, Sayyidna Miqdad ibn 'Amr, Sayyidna Mas'ud Ibn al-Qari, Sayy-
idna Dhush-Shimalyn, and other noble Şahabah (may Allah be pleased
with all of them) the testimonial of whose nobility and honour came
from the heavens. And at another place in the Holy Qur'an, the same
subject was stressed upon in these words:
وَاصِْرْ نَفْسَكَ مَعَ الَّذِيْنَ يَدْعُونَ رَبَّهُمْ بِالْغَدْوةِ وَالْعَشِّ ◌ُرْدُوْنَ وَجُهَهُ وَلَا تَعْدُ
عَبْنُكَ عَنْهُمْهُ تُرِبِدُ زِيْنَةَ الْحَيُوةِ الدُّنْيَاءٌ وَلَا تُطِعْ مَنْ أَغْفَّلْنَا قَلْبَهُ عَنْ ذِكْرِنَا
وَاتَّبَعَ هَوَبُ وَكَانَ آَمُرُ، قُرُطَاه
And hold your self with those who call on their Lord morning
and evening, seeking His pleasure only. And do not cast your
eyes (for others) beyond them, seeking the embellishment of
the present life. And do not obey the one whose heart We
have made neglectful of Our remembrance, and who follows
his own desires, and whose case is that of excess - 18:28.
In the present verse, the quality of these poor people has been
identified as: They call on their Lord morning and evening. Here,
morning and evening refer to all times of the day and night according
to usage. As for calling, it means 'Ibadah or worship. Also placed here
is a restriction along with this 'Ibadah, at whichever time of the day
and night it may be, that is: 1233;&2 :'seeking Him only.' This tells us
that 'Ibadah (worship of Allah) without Ikhlas (absolute sincerity be-
fore Him) is not trustworthy.

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As for the saying: You are not responsible for what is in their ac-
count, and they are not responsible for anything in your account,' ac-
cording to the interpretation of Ibn 'Atiyyah and Al-Zamakhshari and
others, here the pronouns in: 4w (Hisabihim : their account) and de
('Alaihim : they are not responsible) refers to these chiefs of disbeliev-
ers, those who insisted on removing poor Muslims from the gathering
at the sitting. So, Allah Ta'ala told the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم not
to bother with them whether, or not, they enter the fold of faith - be-
cause he was not responsible for anything in their account, just as
they were not responsible for anything in his account. If he were re-
sponsible for that, that is, he would have been questioned as to why
these people did not become Muslims, then, in that situation, he could
have removed the poor Muslims from his sitting just for the sake of
the chiefs of the disbelievers. And now, when this is not so, removing
them from the sitting was rank injustice. And if he were to do some-
thing like that, he would have become one of the unjust.
In the second verse (53), it was said that this is how Allah had test-
ed some of them through some others, so that these chiefs of the disbe-
lievers should be able to see the great subduing power of Almighty Al-
lah when poor Muslims, whom they took to be lowly, reached stations
unimaginable and won signal honour and recognition both in this
world and in the Akhirah, just because they chose to follow the Mes-
senger of Allah. Then, let them go about saying: Were these poor peo-
ple the only ones to deserve honours and rewards from Allah and to
have been so blessed at the expense of us, the noble ones?
According to Kashshaf and other classic commentories, this saying
of theirs is an outcome of their trial taken through poor and weak
Muslims. They failed in this test. Rather than ponder over this great
demonstration of Allah's absolute power and conclude therefrom that
nobility does not depend on wealth or power, instead, it does on morals
and deeds - they started blaming Allah for giving them the honour
while they were the ones deserving of it. In answer, Allah Ta'ala once
again pointed out to the reality behind it by saying: ◌َاَلَيْسَ اللهُ بِأَعْلَمَ بِالشّكِرِين (Is
it not that Allah knows the grateful best?) It means that Allah knows
best as to who has the taste for truth and aptitude for gratitude. In
other words, in the real sense, a person of nobility and honour is he

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who recognizes the right of his Benefactor and is grateful to Him, and
it is he who is deserving of all reward and honour - and definitely not
the one who, day in and day out, despite being soaked with the bless-
ings of his Provider and Benefactor, goes on disobeying Him.
Some Injunctions and Instructions
Given below are some injunctions and instructions which emerge
from these verses:
1. No one has the right to look down upon anyone in tattered
clothes or broken down condition. At times, there are people carrying
those outward looks who happen to be very honourable and accepted
in the sight of Allah. In a Hadith, the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم is re-
ported to have said: 'Many a broken-down, dust-stained people are
such as are held dear by Allah. If they were to swear by Allah about
something that it would be like that, Allah Ta'ala does honour their
swearing by Him (and lets it be like that).
2. Taking material affluence as the criterion of nobility and lowli-
ness is an insult to humanity. It really depends on good morals and
deeds.
3. For a reformer and preacher of any nation, though a universal
call which addresses everyone, ayes or nays, followers or dissenters, is
necessary, yet, foremost is the right of those who own his teachings
and follow it. Putting them as secondary, or ignoring them for the
sake of others is not permissible. For example, in the case of Muslims,
the education and reform of unaware Muslims should not be put off in
favour of carrying the call to non-Muslims.
4. The rewards and blessings of Allah keep increasing in relation
to the measure of gratitude. A person who wishes an increase in Di-
vine rewards, must make gratitude, expressed through word and deed,
his way of life, a constant of personality.
About verse 54 :َوَإِذَا جَاءُكَ الَّذِيْنَ يُؤْمِنُون (And when to you come those who
believe ... ), there are two interpretations given by leading authorities
in Tafsir:
1. Most of them have declared it to be related to previous verses
and event. In support, they refer to the narration about the event
when the chiefs of Quraysh demanded through Abu Talib that his

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nephew should first remove the poor people around him, with whom
they could not sit, then they would come and listen to him, and think
about it. Thereupon, it was Sayyidna 'Umar as Ul _+, who advised that
it did not matter much, for Muslims were sincere friends and if re-
quested they would move out of the sitting so that the chiefs of Qu-
raysh could listen to the Word of Allah and become Muslims.
But, in the previous verses, came the command against this advice
that this should never be done. Doing this would be cruel and unjust.
The revelation of this verse made Sayyidna 'Umar de Algo, realize the
gravity of his error. He feared he had become a sinner by advising
against what was the will of Allah. He came to tender his apology for
it.
Thereupon, the present verses were revealed to comfort him. In
gist, the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم has been asked here to assure
them that there will be no retribution for their past mistakes. In fact,
not simply that there will be no retribution for the mistake, but that
they will also be blessed in many ways by the most merciful Allah. He
has also been asked to tell them about His Law that if a Muslim does
something evil in ignorance, then gets alerted, repents and corrects his
ways for the future, Allah Almighty will forgive him his past sins - and
will also not deprive him of His blessings in this world and in the
world to come. According to this explanation, these verses were re-
vealed as related to this particular event described in previous verses.
2. Some commentators have taken these verses to be carrying an
independent set of rules for guidance. These relate to people who have
committed a sin, then felt ashamed of what they did, and repented,
and corrected their ways.
A little deliberation will show that there is no contradiction be-
tween the two sayings - because it is universally agreed that an in-
junction of the Holy Qur'an which has been revealed in the background
of a particular event, subject to the condition of its words and subject
being general, shall not remain restricted to that event, instead of
which, it shall have the status of a general injunction. Therefore, even
it were to be granted that the said verses did come to be revealed
about the event mentioned, still then, this injunction shall have the
status of a general rule of conduct which will cover every sinner who

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gets alarmed even after having committed the sin, then feels ashamed,
repents, corrects and turns watchful for the future.
Now let us turn to a fuller explanation of these verses. It is said in
the first verse (54) :َوَإِذَا جَآءُكَ الَّذِيْنَ مُؤْمِنُونَ بِيُتِنَا فَقُلُ سَلْمٌ عَلَيْكُمُ كَتَبَ رَبُّكُمُ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ الرَّحْمَة It
means: When those people come to him who believe in His Ayat ( the
word, 'Ayat', at this place, could mean the Ayat or Verses of the Qur'an,
and the Ayat or general signs of the perfect power of Allah Jalla
Sha'nuhu as well), the Holy Prophet , Le JUL has been instructed
to address them by saying: ' (Peace be upon you). Here,
'Salamun 'Alaikum' could have two meanings. It could either mean:
Convey to them the Salam or greetings of Allah Jalla Sha'nuhu -
which is the highest honour they could receive. Given this interpreta-
tion, that becomes the best antidote for the heart-break of poor Mus-
lims, about whom the chiefs of the Quraysh had said that they should
be removed from the gathering before they come. Or it could also
mean: You give them the good news of their being safe and protected -
that is, if they have fallen short or even made a mistake in what they
have done, that will stand forgiven, and that they shall stay protected
against all sorts of calamities.
In the next sentence of the verse: ◌َكَتَبَ رَبُّكُمُ عَلى نَفُسِهِ الرَّحْمَة , the promise of
additional favour and reward has been made by saying : You tell these
Muslims that Allah has taken it upon Himself that mercy shall be
shown to them. Therefore, let them not be frightened or nervous. First
of all, by using the word, Rabb, the assertion in the verse has been pro-
vided with a proof - that Allah is your Nurturer, Nourisher, Sustainer.
It is obvious no nurturer would let what is being nurtured go to waste.
Then, the mercy which was promised by that Rabb has been further
clarified through a weighty, yet endearing, statement that 'their Rabb
has prescribed this mercy on Himself'. It is obvious when even an av-
erage good person would not go back on his promise, how could this be
ever imagined when referred to the Lord of the Worlds Himself, spe-
cially so when this promise has been preserved as a written document.
Based on a narration of Sayyidna Abu Hurairah as Ml ), it has
been reported in the Şahin of Al-Bukhari and Muslim, and in the Mus-
nad of Ahmad, that the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: When Allah
Ta'ala created the whole creation and determined the destiny of every-

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إِنَّ رَحْمَتِىٌ غَلَبَتُ غَضَبِى :one, then, in a Book with Him on the Arsh, He wrote
(My Mercy is dominant over My Wrath).
And Sayyidna Salman as Ul ya, says: We have seen written in the
Torah, when Allah created the heavens and the earth and the entire
creation in them, He divided His mercy in a hundred parts. One part
from this He distributed all over the creation - and wherever any effect
of this mercy is found among human beings, animals and other ele-
ments of creation, that owes itself to this same part. The mutual love
and concern found among parents and children, brothers and sisters,
husbands and wives, among relatives, neighbours and friends, are all
the outcome of this share from the mercy of Allah. The rest of the
ninety nine parts of mercy have been kept by Allah Ta'ala for Himself.
There are other narrations in which this has been described as a Ha-
dith from the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. This goes to show the quality
and extent of Allah's mercy for His creation.
It goes without saying that no 'Ibadah (worship) or 'Ita'ah
(obedience) can be good enough so as to be considered as presentable
before Allah Jalla Sha'nuhu - neither by an angel nor by a human be-
ing. We should not see our 'Ibadah and Ita'ah and good deeds in isola-
tion. If we were to look at them as related to the highest of the high,
we would humbly realize that what we have been able to do was not
any better than what is simply bad. Still one has to be thankful for
being able to do what was possible specially when no human being is
free of real evils and sins - unless protected by Allah. Under this situ-
ation, justice would have demanded that no one remains safe from a
general punishment. But, what is actually happening is that every
human being is being showered with the blessings of Allah all the
time. This, then, is the direct outcome of that mercy which the great
Lord-Nourisher of the universe has put it down in writing as His re-
sponsibility.
Every Sin is Forgiven by Taubah [Repentance]
This perfect mercy of Allah appears mentioned in the form of a rule
أَنَّهُ مَنُ عَمِلَ مِنْكُمْ سُؤًَّّاً بِجَهَالَةٍ ثُمَّ تَابَ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ وَأَصْلَحَ فَاَنَّه: 54 in the third sentence of verse
It means: One of you who happens to have done something bad
by having acted ignorantly, then repents after that and corrects his
conduct, then Allah Almighty is most forgiving, He will forgive him his

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sins; and He is very merciful, so forgiveness alone will not be consid-
ered enough, for he will be blessed with rewards also.
From the word, " Jus " (Jahalah; literally: ignorance, used in the
sense of acting ignorantly) one may think that this promise of forgive-
ness is valid only when a sin is committed in a state of ignorance, not
knowing what is being done - and the commitment of a sin knowingly
would be considered excluded from the purview of this injunction.
But, this is not true - because Jahalah (ignorance) here means acting
ignorantly which refers to the act of ignorance, that is, one ends up do-
ing something as would have been done by one who is ignorant and
unaware of the outcome of his or her act. It is not necessary that the
doer of the act be ignorant in reality. This is confirmed by the use of
the word Jah alah itself - as the word, Jahalah has been used here in-
stead of using the word, Jahl, most likely to point out to this refine-
ment in meaning. The reason is that Jahl (also meaning ignorance) is
an antonym of 'Ilm (Knowledge) while Jahalah stands in contrast to
forbearance and dignity. In other words, the word, Jahalah is em-
ployed, in usage, to ignorance which is demonstrated practically, in
deed. A little thought will reveal that a sin, whenever it is committed
by someone, comes about to be because of this practical ignorance.
Therefore, some pious elders have said that a person who acts against
any command given by Allah and His Messenger is Jahil (ignorant). It
refers to this very practical ignorance. For this, it is not necessary to
be uninformed and lacking in knowledge - because countless definitive
statements of the Holy Qur'an and Sahih Ahadith (Nass) prove that eve-
ry sin can be forgiven by making Taubah (repentance), whether com-
mitted by heedlessness or ignorance, or knowingly and deliberately
through self-wickedness or a blinded following of (the drum-beats of)
one's own desire.
At this point, it is also worth noticing that the promise of mercy
and forgiveness made to sinners in this verse is conditioned with two
things: (a) Taubah (repentance), and (b) the Islah of 'Amal (the correc-
tion of misdeed). Taubah means being ashamed of the sin. Says the
Hadith: Phần thần ti (Taubah or repentance is another name of Nadamah,
that is, being ashamed of or having remorse).
As for the second condition, that is, the correction of deed, it means

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that one should see to it that what happened before will not be repeat-
ed in the future. So, this process of trying to better one's doings in-
cludes the making of a firm determination not to go near that sin ever
again by fully auditing and checking one's behaviour at all times, and
also included here is that all rights belonging to someone which have
been violated or compromised because of that sin, should be compen-
sated to the best of one's capability. They may be the Rights of Allah
(Huququllah) or the Rights of the Servants of Allah (Huquq al-'Ibad).
Examples of the Rights of Allah are: Falling short in the duties and ob-
ligations like Salah, Sawm, Zakah and Hajj. And the examples of the
Rights of the Servants of Allah are: Usurping someone's property un-
lawfully, to attack someone's honour, and to cause pain to someone by
using bad language or causing such pain in some other manner.
Therefore, for Taubah (repentance) to be total and complete, the
way it is necessary to first feel ashamed of the past sin, then seek for-
giveness from Allah Ta'ala, then resolve to keep one's conduct correct
and straight in the future and never go near that sin again - similarly,
it is also necessary that the prayers (Salah) and fasts (Sawm) which
were missed due to heedlessness should be replaced by doing Qada' for
them. Then, any Zak ah which has not been paid earlier should be paid
now. If there is a shortcoming in taking care of what was obligatory in
Qurbani (Sacrifice) or Sadaqatul-Fitr (post-Ramadan charity for the
poor and needy), that should be paid off. If one has not done his or her
Hajj, despite its being Fard, an absolute obligation, one should do it
now; and if it is not possible to do so personally, one should arrange to
have it done on his or her behalf (Hajj Badal). And if, one does not
have the time to arrange for an authorized proxy for Hajj, and does not
have the convenience to personally make up for whatever was missed
and the Qa da' of which had become due - during his lifetime - then, he
or she should make a Wasiyyah (will) so that their inheritors or heirs
could take care of paying the Fidyah (ransom) of the obligations due
against him or her, or make arrangements for Hajj on his or her be-
half. In short, for 'the correction of deed,' the correction of the future
conduct only is not enough - it is also necessary to make amends by
paying off for obligations left unperformed in the past.
Similar is the case of the Rights of the Servants of Allah (Huquq al-

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'Ibad). If someone's property has been taken unlawfully, it should be
returned to him, or have him forgive it. And if someone has been
caused pain physically or verbally, forgiveness must be sought from
the aggrieved person. And if, it is not possible or within one's control
to have him forgive it - for example, he dies; or goes away to a place
the address of which is not known - then, the way out is that one
should make it a point to keep praying for his forgiveness before Allah
Ta'ala consistently. If so, it can be hoped that the holder of the right
will be pleased and the person who was unable to have the forgiveness
of the deceased during his lifetime will become absolved of what was
due on him.
Verses 56 - 58
قُلْ إِنّى نُهِيْتُ أَنْ أَعْبُدَ الَّذِيْنَ تَدْعُنَ مِنُ دُوُنِ اللَّهِعْ قُلْ لَّ
اتَّبِعُ اَهُوَاْ ءَكُمْ قَدْ ضَلَلْتُ إِذَّا وَّمَا أَنَا مِنَ الُتَدِيْنَ ﴿١٥٦
قُلُ إِنِّى عَلى بَيِّنَةٍ مِنْ رَّبِّئُ وَكَذَّبْتُمُ بِهِ* مَا عِنْدِىُ
مَا تَسْتَعْجِلُونَ بِهِ* إِنِ الْحُكُمُ إِلَّ ◌ِلْهِ، يَقُصُ الْحَنَّ وَهُوَ خَيْرُ
الْفُصِلِيْنَ ﴿٥٧﴾ قُلُ لَّوْ اَنَّ عِنْدِىُ مَا تَسْتَعْجِلُونَ بِهِ لَقُضِىَ
الْآَمُرُ بَيْنِىُ وَ بَيْنَكُمُ ﴿ وَاللهُ اَعْلَمُ بِالْظَّلِمِيْنَ ﴿٥٨﴾
Say, "I have been forbidden from worshiping those you
call beside Allah." Say, "I do not follow your desires.
In that case, I would be going astray and would no
more be of those on the right path. [56]
Say, "I am on clear guidance from my Lord, and you
have belied it. What you hurry about is not there with
me. The Decision belongs to none but Allah. He relates
the Truth and He is the best decision-maker. [57] Say,
"If what you hurry about were with me, the matter be-
tween me and you would have been over. And Allah
knows the unjust best." [58]
The Linkage of Verses
In the verses cited above, the answer to disbelievers who were de-
manding that the Divine punishment should come to them posthaste

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was given in :َوَهُوَ خَيْرُ الْفُصِلِين (He is the best decision-maker) while the
mention of the perfect power of Almighty Allah was made in: paradis
SIE (Allah knows the unjust best). Next from here, there is a de-
scription of the encompassment of the Knowledge and Power of Allah
Ta'ala on all conceivable data and destiny.
Verses 59 - 62
وَعِنْدَهُ مَفَاتِحُ الْغَيْبِ لَا يَعْلَمُهَا إِلَهُوَ، وَبَعْلَمُ مَافِى الْبَرِّ
وَالْبَحْرِ * وَمَا تَسْقُطُ مِنُ قَرَقَةٍ إِلَّ يَعْلَمُهَا وَلَ حَبَّةٍ فِىُّ ◌ُلُمْتِ
الْأَرْضِ وَلَ رَطْبٍ وَلَا بَابِسٍ إِلَّ فِىُ كِتْبٍٍ تُبِيٍْ ﴿٥١)
وَهُوَ الَّذِى يَتَقُّكُمْ بِالَّيْلِ وَبَعْلَمُ مَا جَرَحُمْ بِالنَّهَارِثُمَّ يَبْعَنُّكُمْ
فِيْهِ لِيُقْضِى أَجَلٌ مُسَتَّىٌ ثُمَّ إِلَيْهِ مَرُجِعُكُمْ ثُمَّ يُنَتِّئُّكُمْ بِمَا
كُنْهُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ ﴿٦﴾ وَُوَالْقَاهِرُ فَوْقَ عِبَادِهِ وَيُسِلُ عَلَيُكُمُ
حَفَظَةٌ حَتَّى إِذَاجَآءَ آَحَدَكُمُ الْمُؤْتُ تَوَقَّتُهُ رُسُلُنَا وَهُمُ
لَايُفَرِّ طُوْنَ ﴿٦١) ثُّ رُدُّؤَّا إِلَى اللَّهِ مَوْلُهُمُ الْحَقِّءُ اَلَآَ لَهُ
اُكُمُّ وَهُوَاَ سُرَعُ الْخْسِيْنَ ﴿٦٢﴾
And with Him are the keys of the Unseen. No one
knows them but He. And He knows what is in the land
and the sea. Not a leaf ever falls but He knows it, nor a
grain in the dark hollows of the earth, nor anything
fresh or dry, but are in a manifest book. [59]
And He is the One who takes you away by the night
and knows what you do by the day, then He makes you
rise therein, so that a fixed term may be fulfilled.
Thereafter, to Him you are to return; then He will tell
you what you have been doing. [60]
And He is Dominant over His slaves and He sends to
you those who take care of you until when death comes
to one of you, Our deputies take him in full, and they
neglect nothing. [61] Then they are returned to Allah,
their real Master. Behold, to Him belongs the judge-
ment, and He is the swiftest reckoner. [62]

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Commentary
How to Stay Safe from Sins - The Master Prescription
Of all the religions of the world, belief in Tauhid, monotheism in its
pure and applied form, is the distinctive feature of Islam. It is also ob-
vious that Tauhid is not limited to taking the being of Allah Ta'ala as
one. Instead, Tauhid is believing in Him as being unique and without
equal in all His attributes of perfection and in not taking any created
being, other than Him, to be a sharer or partner in these attributes of
perfection.
Some of these attributes of Divine perfection are: Life, Knowledge,
Power, Hearing, Seeing, Will, Creation, Sustenance. Allah is so per-
fect in all His attributes that no created being can be equal to Him in
any of the attributes. Then, out of these, two attributes are most dis-
tinct. These are Knowledge ('Ilm) and Power (Qudrah). His Knowledge
encompasses and embraces all existents and non-existents, open and
secret, large or small, atoms and particles. So it is with His Power
which surrounds and controls everything fully and conclusively. The
two verses (59 & 60) cited above describe these two attributes - and
these two attributes are mysteriously unique. If anyone were to bring
himself around to believe in these two attributes strongly and com-
pletely, and thereby start imagining them as being present before him,
then, he just cannot ever even think of committing a crime or sin. It
goes without saying that here is a person who, in all states of word
and deed, rest and movement, remains conscious of the presence and
knows that there is someone All-Knowing, All-Aware, All-Powerful
watching over him all the time, and Who knows him outside in and in-
side out and Who is aware of even the intention of the heart and the
passing thought of the mind, then, how would he ever be able to take
even a tiny step towards any disobedience to his All-Powerful Master?
This is the legendary philosopher's stone of what is known as Istihdar
in religious terminology [or, to make it more recent, it is like building a web site
in your heart with this frame of reference being always online, just click and connect! -
Tr.]
In the end, we can say that these two verses are sovereign pre-
scriptions which can make one a model human being, correct and
groom deeds and morals, and keep them that way all along.

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It was said in the first verse (59) :َوَعِنْدَهُ مَفَاتِعُ الْغَيْبِ لَا يَعْلَمُهَا إِلَّ هُو (And with
Him are the keys of the Unseen. No one knows them but He). The
word, 'w' (Mafatih : keys) is plural. Its singular can be: .: Maf-
tah, pronounced with a vowel point a on the letter Mim, which denotes
treasure; and it could also be: ¿ EL. : Miftah, pronounced with a vowel
point i on the letter Mim, which means key. The word, Mafatih accom-
modates both meanings. Therefore, some commentators and transla-
tors have rendered it as treasures while some others take it as keys.
The outcome, however, is the same because owning the keys to the
treasures is taken as the owning of the treasures.
Knowledge of the Unseen and Absolute Power: Two Attributes
of Allah, not shared by anyone
'Al-Ghayb' means things which have not come into existence, or in
existence they have come but Allah Ta'ala has not let anyone know
them (Mazhari). The first kind relates to conditions and events about
Qiyamah, or future happenings in the universe - for example, who will
be born when and where? Who will do what? Who will live how long?
Who will have how many breath counts? Who will take how many
steps? Who will die where and buried where? Who will get what suste-
nance, and how much, and at what time? When will it rain, and
where, and how much?
The example of the second kind is the foetus which has come to ex-
ist in the womb of a woman, but no one can be certain in the absolute
sense, as universally applicable with inevitable reliability and accessi-
bility, about the foetus being good natured or bad tempered, handsome
or ugly, even a male or female (the radiological determination of which
at the later trimesters of pregnancy is a different matter and does not
affect the premises of the present discussion). Similar is the case of
many other things which, despite having come into existence, remain
unseen and unknown to the created beings.
So, the sentence: Au lite means that with Allah are the keys
(or treasures) of the Unseen. The sense of being 'with him' (k) is that
they are owned by Him and are in His possession. The outcome is that
He is the One who has control of the treasures of the Unseen and it is
He who has the exclusive power to bring them into existence and make
them manifest as and when He has determined. This is as has been

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وَإِنُّ ◌ِنُ شَىْءٍ إِلَّ عِنْدَنَا خَزَائِنُهُ وَمَا نُنَزِّلُهُ إِلَّ بِقَدَرِ: said in another verse of the Holy Qur'an
gies which means: We have treasures of everything, but We send them
down in a particular measure (15:21).
In short, from this one sentence, it stands proved that the knowl-
edge of Allah is perfect, and so is His power, and also that this all-
encompassing knowledge and absolute power is the exclusive attribute
of Allah Jalla Sha'nuhu, and that no one can acquire or have it. By
putting the word, he ('indahu: with Him) before, according to the rules
of the Arabic grammar, a pointed reference has been made towards
this restriction and particularity. Immediately after, this hint has
been changed into full clarity when, to drive the point home, it was
said: GIR Y (No one knows them but He).
So, this sentence proves two things: (1) The awareness of Allah
about everything Unseen by virtue of His all-encompassing knowledge,
and His being dominant over all of them by virtue of His perfect pow-
er; and (2) The inability of any created being or thing, other than Al-
lah Jalla Sha'nuhu, to acquire or have such knowledge and power.
The meaning of the word, 'Al-Ghayb' (Unseen), as in the terminolo-
gy of the Qur'an, which has been stated above (with reference to Tafsir Ma-
zhari) - that it means things which have not yet come into existence, or
have come into existence but have not yet been fully unveiled to any
created being - was to be kept in sight, the common doubts which both-
er people when they take a shallow view of the question of Ghayb,
would be automatically removed.
Usually what happens is that people take the word, Al-Ghayb
(Unseen) in a literal sense, that is, that which is absent from our
knowledge and perception - whether the sources of acquiring its
knowledge be present in the sight of others - thus, they would start
calling that too as the Ghayb. As a result, all sorts of doubts abound.
Take the example of astrology, divination of fortunes mathematically
('Ilmul-Jafr : The knowledge of Jafr; vulg. 'Jafar'), geomancy ('Ilmur-
Raml: The knowledge of Raml; vulg. 'Ramal', meaning divination by
means of figures and lines in the sand), or palmistry and things like
that which are harnessed to acquire the knowledge of future events.
Or, there may be someone who gets to know about future events
through Kashf (illumination) and Ilham (inspiration). Or, there are our

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weather forecasters who by examining things like the drift, power and
velocity of the monsoons predict rains and storms a lot of which turns
out to be right too. But, common people hasten to take all these to be
the Knowledge of the Unseen. Therefore, they start doubting about
these verses of the Holy Qur'an thinking that the Qur'an tells us that
the 'Ilm of the Ghayb, the knowledge of the Unseen, is an attribute of
Allah Jalla Sha'nuhu, while observation shows that others too get to
acquire it.
The answer is clear. If Allah Ta'ala has made one of His servants
informed on some future event, that then, in the terminology of the
Qur'an, does not remain what the 'Ilm of Ghayb or the knowledge of
the Unseen is. Similarly, in accordance with the Qur'anic terminology,
knowledge ('Ilm) which can be acquired through means and instru-
ments (technology) is no Knowledge of the Unseen ('Ilm al-Ghayb). Ex-
amples of this could be the weather reports of the meteorological de-
partments and bureaus, or the diagnosis of the hidden condition of a
patient by feeling the pulse (manually or instrumentally). The reason
is that the weather forecaster or the physician got the chance to an-
nounce such information only when the substance of these events
comes into existence and becomes obvious. The only difference is that
it does not manifest itself openly until that time; it reveals itself,
through technical instruments, to experts. People at large remain un-
aware. And when this substance becomes stronger, its manifestation
becomes common. For this reason, weather forecasters cannot come up
with what would be the breaking news of rains that will come one or
two months from now - because the substantial evidence of rains has
not presented itself before them. Similarly, no physician can diagnose
the status of medicine or food taken a year or two ago, or a year or two
after, by feeling the pulse (manually or instrumentally) today - be-
cause that does not habitually leave any effect on the pulse.
In short, these are things the existence of which is foretold by ex-
amining their traces and signs. Now, when the traces, signs and sub-
stances of these have come into existence, that does not remain part of
the Knowledge of the Unseen ('Ilm al-Ghayb); rather, it has become a
matter of observation. However, because of its being refined or weak,
it has not become public knowledge. When it becomes stronger, it will

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become a matter of common observation too.
In addition to this, the awareness acquired from all these things,
despite that so much has taken place, still remains in the class of esti-
mation and calculation. The real 'Ilm' or Knowledge is the name of
Certitude. That does not come out of any of these. That is why events
attesting to the error of such information are many and frequent.
As for astrology and other disciplines, whatever there is based on
mathematical computation is knowledge, but not Al-Ghayb (Unseen).
It is like someone computes existing data and says that the sun will
rise today at the hour of five and forty one minutes; or, there will be a
solar or lunar eclipse on such and such date in such and such a month.
It is obvious that determining time by calculating the speed of that
which is perceptible through the senses is very much like announcing
the news of planes and trains reaching airports and stations. Moreo-
ver, the claim to be able to know things through astrology etc. is noth-
ing but deception. The emergence of one truth out of a hundred lies is
no knowledge.
When X-Ray equipment was invented, it was hoped that the deter-
mination of the sex of the foetus will be possible, but it did not serve
the purpose satisfactorily (besides being radiologically harmful). Ex-
perts in our time (specially those associated with digital imaging who
study the foetus in section view, or use water-induced method to let
the foetus float in the womb which helps determine digitally if it is a
boy) too are helpless as far as the first trimester of pregnancy is con-
cerned. Nothing can be known at that stage.1 But, during the later
trimesters, predictions are made which can be called technical approx-
imations at best and cannot be classed as certain knowledge and abso-
lute awareness. Sometimes predictions can be correct, at others faulty
or misread. This is not the Certitude of 'Ilm al-Ghayb, nor qualifies as
such.
The gist of the assertion is: That which is Al-Ghayb in the termi-
nology of the Qur'an is something no one knows but the most sacred
1. Even the test of genes to determine the gender of a child, cannot work
before a certain stage of pregnancy which again is a matter of
observation, and not the knowledge of the unseen. (Muhammad Taqi
Usmani)

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Allah. As for what people habitually get to know through causation or
intrumentation is not really the Ghayb - though, it may be so called be-
cause of not having been manifested openly.
Similarly, when part of the knowledge of what belongs to the
Ghayb has been given to some prophet or messenger, through Wahy
(revelation), or to a man of Allah (Waliy) through Kashf (illumination)
and Ilham (inspiration), that then, does not remain Ghayb. This is
called 'Gi' (the reports or news of the Unseen) in the Holy Qur'an,
and not Al-Ghayb. This appears in several verses of the Qur'an, for ex-
ample : ◌َتِلْكَ مِنْ أَنْبَاء الْغَيْبِ نُوحِيْهًا إِلَيْك (These are some reports from the Unseen
[events] which We reveal to you - 11:49). Therefore, when it is said:
GARY (No one knows them but He) in the present verse, there is no
room for any doubt or exemption in it.
In this particular sentence, a special attribute of Allah has been
pointed out - that He is the Knower of the Unseen ('Alim al-Ghayb).
The sentences that follow contain a description of the knowledge of the
Seen ('Ilmush-Shahadah), that is, the knowledge of things present and
existing, in sharp contrast to the knowledge of the Unseen ('Ilmul-
Ghayb). They too establish that the knowledge of Allah Jalla
Sha'nuhu is all-encompassing leaving not the minutest particle out-
side its reach. It was said: And He knows what is in the land and the
sea. Not a leaf ever falls but He knows it, nor a grain in the dark hol-
lows of the earth, which too is within His knowledge; and so is, in His
knowledge, everything fresh or wet or dry in the whole universe - and
all of which lies recorded in writing on al-Lawh al-Mahfuz, the Pre-
served Tablet.
To sum up, it can be said that Allah Ta'ala has two unique attrib-
utes of knowledge in which no angel or prophet or another created be-
ing shares with Him. These are: the Knowledge of the Unseen ('Ilm al-
Ghayb) and the All-Encompassing Knowledge of existents (al-'Ilm al-
Muhit). These attributes have been described with a system. The first
sentence says: ◌َوعِنْدَةً مَفَاتِيعُ الْغَيْبِ لَا يَعْلَمُهَا إِلّ مُو(And with Him are the keys of
(the Unseen. No one knows them but He). This was about the first at-
tribute. In the sentences that follow, the all-encompassing knowledge
of Allah about His universe of existents was identified first by saying:
And He knows what is in the land and the sea). It) وَيَعْلَمُ مَافِى الْبَرِّ وَ الْبَحُرِ

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means the whole universe and all existents. This is like saying morn-
ing and evening in the sense of all the time or saying the East and the
West in the sense of the whole world. Thus, by saying land and sea
the sense given is that of the whole universe with its existents. So, the
knowledge of Allah Jalla Sha'nuhu covers whatever there is.
Further on, this was explained by saying that the knowledge of Al-
lah Ta'ala is not limited to what is big, He also knows what is the mi-
nutest and the most concealed: ( sighs u; (Not a leaf ever falls
but He knows it). It means that the falling of every leaf in the whole
wide world - before it falls, when it falls and after it falls - remains
within His knowledge. He knows how many times each leaf on a tree
will swing and sway and when and where it will fall and through what
circumstances it will go through. The mention of 'fall' at this place is
perhaps indicative of the life cycle of the leaf. Its fall from the tree is
the end of its growth and botanical life. Its last condition has been
pointed out here as a mirror to the rest of its conditions.
After that it was said: ◌ِوَلاَ حَبَّةٍ فِى ظُلُمتِ الأَرْض (Nor a grain in the dark hol-
lows of the earth). Mentioned first was a leaf which falls in common
sight. After that, it was a grain which is sowed in fields by a farmer, or
gets buried somewhere in the dark and deep belly of the earth. Then,
the same all-surrounding knowledge of Allah has been pointed out
through things fresh and dry. In the end it was said that with Allah all
these things were present in writing. According to some commenta-
tors, ' As' (a manifest book) means al-Lawh al-Mahfuz, the Pre-
served Tablet. Some others say that it denotes Divine Knowledge. It
has been identified with 'a manifest book' because what is written
stays preserved leaving nothing to chance or mistake or forgetting.
This is similar to the all-encompassing knowledge of Allah Jalla
Sha'nuhu, which is not based on conjecture - it is certain.
Many verses of the Holy Qur'an confirm that the kind of all-
encompassing knowledge from which nothing, neither a particle nor
its condition, remains excluded is but that of Allah Subhanuhu wa
Ta'ala. It was said in Surah Luqman:
إِنَّهَا إِنُ تَكُ مِثْقَالَ حَبَّةٍ مِنْ خَرُدٍَ فَتَكُنُ فِىٌ صَخْرَةٍ أَوُ فِى الََّمُوتِ أَوْ فِى
الْأَرُضِ يَأْتِ بِهَا اللَّهُ إِنَّ اللّهَ لَطِيْفُ خَبِيْرُه
TJ