Quran Commentary Study - Surah 6 Al-An'aam

[Muhaba]

For those of you who want to study the Quran commentary, i will be posting portions of Surah Al-An'aam with commentary here. Although I hope to complete it within a month, it may take longer since it's pretty long.

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Surah Al-An’aam


Introduction:
Name: This Surah takes it name from verses 136, 138, and 139 in which some superstitious beliefs of the idolatrous Arabs concerning the lawfulness of some cattle (An’aam) and the unlawfulness of some others have been refuted.

Period of Revelation: According to a tradition of Ibn Abbas رضي الله عنه , the whole of the Surah was revealed at one sitting at Makkah. Asma, a daughter of Yasid and a first cousin of Hadrat Mu’az Bin Jabl رضي الله عنهما , says, “During the revelation of this Surah, the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم was riding a she-camel and I was holding her nose-string. The she-camel began to feel the weight so heavily that it seemed as if her bones would break under it.” We also learn from other traditions that the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم dictated the whole of the Surah the same night that it was revealed.

The subject-matter clearly shows that is must have been revealed during the last year of the Holy Prophet’s صلى الله عليه و سلم life at Makkah. The tradition of Asma رضي الله عنها , daughter of Yazid, also confirms this. As she belonged to the Ansar [Muslims from Yathrib who helped the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم and the Emigrants] and embraced Islam after the migration of the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم to Yathrib (Madina, Saudi Arabia), her visit to the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم at Makkah must have taken place during the last year of his life there. Because, before this, his relations with those people were not so intimate that a woman from there might have come to visit him at Makkah.

Occasion of Revelation: After determining the period of its revelation, it is easier to visualize the background of the Surah. Twelve years had passed since the Holy Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم had been inviting people to Islam. The antagonism and persecution by the Quraish had become most savage and brutal, and the majority of the Muslims had to leave their homes and migrate to Habash (Abyssinia). Above all, the two great supporters of the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم , his uncle Abu Talib and his wife Khadija رضي الله عنها , were no more there to help and give strength to him. Thus, he was deprived of all worldly support. But in spite of this, he carried on his mission in the teeth of opposition. As a result of this, on the one hand, all the good people of Makkah and the surrounding clans gradually began to accept Islam; on the other hand, the community as a whole was bent upon obduracy (stubbornness) and rejection. Therefore, if anyone showed any inclination toward Islam, he/she was subjected to taunts and derision, physical violence, and social boycott. It was in these dark circumstances that a ray of hope gleamed from Yathrib, where Islam began to spread freely by the efforts of some influential people of the Aus and Khazraj tribes who had embraced Islam at Makkah. This was a humble beginning in the march of Islam toward success and none could foresee at that time the great potentialities that lay hidden in it. For, to a casual observer, it appeared at that time as if Islam was merely a weak movement that had no material backing except the meagre support of the Prophet’s own family and of the few poor adherents of the Movement. Obviously the latter could not give much help because they themselves had been cast out by their own people who had become their enemies and were persecuting them.

Topics: These were the conditions when this discourse was revealed. The main topics dealt within this discourse may be divided under seven headings:
1. Refutation of shirk (polytheism) and invitation to the creed of tauhid (monotheism).
2. Enunciation of the doctrine of “Life After Death” and refutation of the wrong notion that there was nothing beyond this worldly life.
3. Refutation of the prevalent superstitions.
4. Enunciation of the fundamental moral principles for the building of the Islamic society.
5. Answers to objections raised against the person of the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم and his mission.
6. Comfort and encouragement to the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم and his followers who were at that time in a state of anxiety and despondency because of the apparent failure of the mission.
7. Admonition, warning, and threats to the disbelievers and opponents to give up their apathy and haughtiness.

It must, however, be noted that the above topics have not been dealt with one by one under separate headings but the discourse goes on as a continuous whole and these topics come under discussion over and over again and in new and different ways.


The Background of Makki Surahs (Surahs revealed at Makkah before the migration of the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم to Madina):

As this Surah is the first long Makki Surah in the order of the compilation of the Quran, it will be useful to explain the historical background of Makki Surahs in general so that the reader may easily understand the Makki Surahs and our references to its different stages in connection with our commentary on them.

First of all, it should be noted that comparatively very little material is available in regard to the background of the revelation of Makki Surahs whereas the period of the revelation of all the Madani surahs is known or can be determined with little effort. There are authentic traditions even in regard to the occasions of the revelation of the majority of the verses of the Madani surahs. On the other hand, we do not have such detailed information regarding the Makki Surahs. There are only a few surahs and verses which have authentic traditions concerning the time and occasion of their revelation. This is because the history of the Makki period had not been compiled in such detail as that of the Madani period. Therefore, we have to depend on the internal evidence of these surahs for determining the period of their revelation: for example, the topics they discuss, their subject-matter, their style, and the direct or indirect references to the events and the occasions of their revelation. Thus it is obvious that with the help of such evidence as this, we cannot say with precision that such and such a Surah or verse was revealed on such and such an occasion; the most we can do is compare the internal evidence of a Surah with the events of the life of the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم at Makkah and then come to a more or less accurate conclusion as to what particular stage a certain Surah belongs.

If we keep the above things in view, the history of the mission of the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم at Makkah can be divided into four stages:

The first stage began with his appointment as a Messenger and ended with the proclamation of Prophethood three years later. During this period the Message was given secretly to some selected persons only, but the common people of Makkah were not aware of it.

The second stage lasted for two years after the proclamation of his Prophethood. It bagan with opposition by individuals; then, by and by, it took the shape of antagonism, ridicule, derision, accusation, abuse, and false propaganda; then gangs were formed to persecute those Muslims who were comparatively poor, weak, and helpless.

The third stage lasted for about six years from the beginning of the persecution to the death of Abu Talib and Hadrat Khadija رضي الله عنها in the tenth year of Prophethood. During this period, the persecution of the Muslims became so savage and brutal that many of them were forced to migrate to Habash (Abbysinia). Social and economic boycott was applied against the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم , and those Muslims who continued to stay in Makkah were forced to take refuge in Shi’b-i-Abi Talib (the valley of Abu Talib) which was beseiged.

The fourth stage lasted for about three years from the tenth to the thirteenth year of Prophethood. This was a period of hard trials and grievous sufferings for the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم and his followers. Life had become unbearable at Makkah and there appeared to be no place of refuge even outside it. So much so that when the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم went to Ta’if (a city in Saudi Arabia), it offered no shelter or protection. Besides this, on the occasion of Hajj, he would appeal to each and every Arab clan to accept his invitation to Islam but met with blank refusal from every quarter. At the same time, the people of Makkah were holding counsels to get rid of him by killing or imprisoning or banishing him from their city. It was at that most critical time that Allah opened for Islam the hearts of the Ansar of Yathrib, where he صلى الله عليه و سلم migrated at their invitation.


Now that we have divided the life of the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم at Makkah into four stages, it has become easier for us to tell, as far as possible, the particular stage in which a certain Makki Surah was revealed. This is because the Surahs belonging to a particular stage can be distinguished from those of the other stages with the help of their subject-matter and style. Besides this, they also contain such references as throw light on the circumstances and events that form the background of their revelation. In the succeeding Makki Surahs, we will determine, on the basis of the distinctive features of each stage, and point out in the Preface the particular stage in which a certain Makki Surah was revealed.


Summary

Subject: Islamic Creed.
This surah mainly discusses the different aspects of the major articles of the Islamic creed: Tauhid (monotheism), Life-After-Death, and Prophethood, and their practical application to human life. Side by side with this, it refutes the erroneous beliefs of the opponents and answers their objections, warns and admonishes them, and comforts the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم and his followers who were then suffering from persecution.

Of course these themes have not been dealt with under separate headings but have been blended in an excellent manner.

Topics and their Interconnection
Verses 1 – 12: These verses are of introductory and admonitory nature. The disbelievers have been warned that if they do not accept the Islamic creed and follow the ‘Light’ shown by Revelation from the All-Knowing and All-Powerful Allah, they would go to the same doom as the former disbelievers did. Their arguments for rejecting the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم and the Revelation sent down to him have been refuted and a warning has been given to them that they should not be deluded by the respite that is being granted to them.

Verses 13 – 24: These verses inculcate Tauhid, and refute shirk, which is the greatest obstacle in the way of its acceptance.

Verses 25 – 32: In these verses, a graphic scene of the life in the Hereafter has been depicted in order to warn the disbelievers of the consequences of rejection of the Articles of Faith.

Verses 33 – 73: Prophethood is the main theme which has been discussed from the point of view of the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم , his mission, the limitations of his powers, the attitude toward his followers, and also from the point of view of the disbelievers.

Verses 74 – 90: In the continuation of the same theme, the story of Prophet Ibrahim عليه السلام has been related to bring home to the pagan Arabs that the Mission of Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم , which they were opposing, was the same as that of Prophet Ibrahim عليه السلام (Allah’s peace be upon him). This line of argument was adopted because they considered themselves to be his followers, especially the Quraish tribe who were proud of being his descendants as well.

Verses 91 – 108: Another proof of the Prophethood of Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم is the Book, which has been sent down to him by Allah, because its teachings show the right guidance in regard to creed and practice.

Verses 109 – 154: Divine restrictions have been contrasted with the superstitious restrictions of the pagan Arabs in order to show the striking differences between the two and thus prove the Quran to be a Revealed Book.

Verses 155 – 160: The Jews, who were criticized in verses 144 – 147 along with the pagan Arabs, have been urged to compare the teachings of the Quran with those of the Torah so that they might recognize their similarity and give up their lame excuses against it and adopt its Guidance to escape the retribution of the Day of Resurrection.

Verses 161 – 165: This is the conclusion of the discourse. The Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم has been instructed in a beautiful and forceful manner to proclaim fearlessly the articles of the Islamic Creed and their implications.

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Definitions:
Shirk: This word has no equivalent in English and its meaning includes idolatry, heathenism, polytheism, paganism, etc. One may be guilty of shirk even if one is not an idolater, and even if one professes to believe in Allah (God). Shirk is to ascribe any of the exclusive characteristics or powers or rights of Allah to any other or to associate any other with Allah in any way.

Mushrik: the one who practices shirk in any form. (plural: mushrikoon, mushrikeen).

Tauhid: Tauhid is the opposite of shirk. It is the doctrine that Allah is One Being in the sense that He is Unique in His Person, in His attributes, in His Powers and His Rights, and He has no offspring, no compeer, no partner and no associate in any way and capacity whatsoever. He alone is the Creator, the Sustainer, the Sovereign, the Ruler, and the sole Diety.

(Commentary of Surah Al-An’aam taken from the Meaning of Quran by Sayed Abu Al’Ala Maududi)


Posting and study plan:
Week 1:
1: Introduction
2: Verses 1 to 32 Commentary
3: Verses 33 to 55 Commentary
Week 2:
4: Verses 56 to 73 Commentary
5: Verses 74 to 90 Commentary
6: Verses 91 to 108 Commentary
Week 3:
7: Verses 109 to 117 Commentary
8: Verses 118 to 135 Commentary
9: Verses 136 to 140 Commentary
Week 4:
10: Verses 141 to 147 Commentary
11: Verses 148 to 158 Commentary
12: Verses 159 to 165 Commentary

 

[Muslim Woman]

InshaAllah will read .

 

[Muhaba]

Translation and Commentary of verses 1 to 11:

Translation:
1 – 3: Praise is only for Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth and ordained light and many kinds of darkness; in spite of this, those who have rejected the Message of their Lord have set up equal partners with Him. It is He Who has created you from earth and decreed a fixed term of life for you, and with Him there is another settled term also – yet you have doubts thereof. He is the same One Allah in the heavens and also on the earth; He has knowledge of all that you make known and of all that you keep secret and is fully aware of the good or evil you are earning.

4 – 6: Yet the reaction of the people to the Signs of their Lord has been that whenever a Sign has come to them, they have turned away from it; accordingly, they have rejected as false the Truth that has come to them now. Well, they will receive some news about what they have been ridiculing up to this time. Do they not see that We destroyed many a people who were dominant in the world during their time? We had given them such power in the land as We have not given you. We sent down for them abundant rains from the heavens and made canals flow beneath them. But (when they showed ingratitude), We destroyed them because of their sins and raised up other people in their place.

7 – 9: O Messenger, even if We had sent down to you a Book written on paper, and even if they had touched it with their own hands, the disbelievers would have said, “This is nothing but manifest sorcery.” And they say, “Why has no angel been sent down to him?” If We had sent down an angel, their fate would have been decided long before this and they would have been given no respite after this; for, if We had sent an angel, We would have sent him in human form and thus involved them in the same doubt they are involved in now.

10 – 11: O Muhammad, many Messengers before you have also been ridiculed, but in the long run, those that scoffed were overpowered by the very thing they had derided. Say to them, “Just travel in the land and see the end of those who treated the Truth as false.”


Commentary
Praise is only for Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth and ordained light and many kinds of darkness; in spite of this, those who have rejected the Message of their Lord have set up equal partners with Him.

Commentary: It should be kept in mind that the addressees were the mushrik (polytheist) Arabs who acknowledged that the Creator of the earth and the heavens and of the moon and the sun was Allah, Who brought about day and night. None of them believed that these were the creations of Lat or Hubl or Uzza or of any of their other gods or goddesses. Therefore Allah admonished them, saying (so to speak), “O foolish people, when you yourselves admit that the Creator of the heavens and the earth is Allah, why do you then make others your gods and prostrate before them and invoke their help. (For more information, refer to explanation of Verse 165 of Surah Al-Baqarah.)

It may be noted that ظلمات (dhulumaat), plural of ظلم darkness has been used in contrast to نور (nur) light, singular form. It is because ‘darkness’ is merely the absence of light and may be of many kinds.


It is He Who has created you from earth

Commentary: Allah says that He has created you from “earth” because each and every particle of the human body comes from the earth alone.

and decreed a fixed term of life for you, and with Him there is another settled term also – yet you have doubts thereof. ...

Commentary: “The other settled term” is the Day of Resurrection, when each and every human being will be brought back to life and presented before Allah for rendering the account of the life on earth.


Yet the reaction of the people to the Signs of their Lord has been that, whenever a Sign has come to them, they have turned away from it; accordingly, they have rejected as false the Truth that has come to them now. Well, they will receive some news about what they have been ridiculing up to this time.

Commentary: “they will receive some news:” The reference is to the “news” of the successes that were to follow the migration of the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم from Makkah to Al-Madinah. At the time of this revelation, neither the disbelievers nor the Believers could ever imagine the nature of the “news” they were going to receive. So much so that even the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم himself was unaware of the kind of successes the Muslims were going to achieve in the near future.


O Messenger, even if We had sent down to you a Book written on paper, and even if they had touched it with their own hands, the disbelievers would have said, “This is nothing but manifest sorcery.” And they say, “Why has no angel been sent down to him?”

Commentary: The ignorant objectors argued that if Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم had really been sent as Messenger from Allah, an angel ought to have come down from heaven to declare to the people, “This is the Messenger of Allah, so obey him; otherwise, you shall be punished.”

The ignorant objectors could not understand how the Creator of the heavens and the earth could leave His Messenger in such a plight as to be maligned and stoned by his enemies. They argued that the Messenger of such a great Sovereign ought to have come with a large retinue or at least with an angel in attendance on him, to protect him from his enemies and to fill the people with awe and to convince them of his Prophethood and to carry out his orders in some supernatural ways.

If We had sent down an angel, their fate would have been decided long before this and they would have been given no respite after this;

Commentary: 1. The first answer to their objection is this: in case Allah had sent down an angel, no respite would have been given to them for reforming themselves and mending their ways. They have been given a chance because no angel has been sent to make the Reality so naked as to leave no alternative for them but to believe in it. It is obvious that this would have defeated the very purpose of their life in the world to undergo their test. That is why no angel has been sent. Man should undergo his test and discover the unseen Reality without actually seeing it, merely by the right use of his reasoning and thinking powers, and then bring under control his own self and his lust in accordance with the dictates of that Reality. It is thus obvious that the “unseen” must remain unseen for the sake of the test.

2. The worldly life, the period of that test, will remain so only as long as the “Unseen” remains unseen. No sooner will the “Unseen” become evident than that “Period” shall automatically come to an end and, instead of test, it will be the time of the result of the test. Therefore, Allah is not granting your demand for an angel to appear before you because Allah does not like to end the term of your test before the expiry of the period of the test. (Refer to explanation of verse... of Al-Baqarah – EN 228)


for if We had sent an angel, We would have sent him in human form and thus involved them in the same doubt they are involved in now.

Commentary: The only other alternative was to send an angel in the human form. Allah says that if He had sent an angel in the human form, they would have felt the same difficulty in recognizing him as they were feeling in recognizing Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم . This too would have involved them more and more in doubts. Therefore, it was for their own good that Allah had not sent an angel in attendance on His Messenger.

... Say to them, “Just travel in the land and see the end of those who treated the Truth as false.”

Commentary: That is, “Those who ridicule the Message should travel through the land and see the remains and study the history of the former people. These will bear witness to the horrible end of those who behaved in the way they are behaving toward Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم .

 

[Muhaba]

Translation and Commentary of verses 12 – 21:
Translation:
12: Ask them: “Whose is all that is in the heavens and the earth?” Say, “All belongs to Allah. He has prescribed mercy and generosity for Himself (that is why He does not catch hold of you immediately at your first disobedience). He will, however, certainly muster all of you on the Day of Resurrection. There is no doubt about this; yet those who have made themselves liable to ruin, do not believe in this.”

13 – 16: All that lies in the darkness of the night and in the light of the day belongs to Allah, and He hears and knows everything. Say, “Should I take as my guardian any other than Allah? Should I forsake that Allah Who is the Creator of the earth and the heavens and Who nourishes all and does not stand in need of nourishment from anyone?” Say, “I have been enjoined to be the first of those who surrender to Him, (and I have been urged) not to be of those who commit shirk.” Say, “I do fear the torment of a (dreadful) Day, if I should disobey my Lord.” He who will be delivered from the torment of that Day will have received Allah’s mercy, and this is a great success.

17 – 18: If Allah afflicts you with an evil, there is none other than Him to relieve you from this, and if He bestows some good on you, (know that) He has power over everything. He has supreme authority over His servants and He is All-Wise, All-Aware.

19 – 21: Ask them, “Whose testimony is the most reliable?” Say, “Allah is witness between me and you (that I am His Messenger), and this Quran has been revealed to me so that I should thereby warn you and all whom it may reach. What? Will you really testify that there are other deities besides Allah?” Say, “As for me, I will never testify such a thing.” Say, “Indeed, He alone is the Deity and I feel disgusted with the shirk you practice.” Those to whom We have given the Book recognize this thing with as much certainty as they recognize their own sons. But those who made themselves liable to perdition do not believe in this. And who can be more unjust than the one who brings false allegations against Allah or denies Allah’s Signs? Indeed, such unjust people can never attain true success.

Commentary

Ask them: “Whose is all that is in the heavens and the earth?” Say, “All belongs to Allah.

Commentary: It is a nice way of cornering the mushriks. At first Allah tells His Messenger to ask them, “Whose is all that is in the heavens and the earth?” The questioner put the question and waited for an answer. But they [the questioned] kept silent because their answer could neither be in the negative nor in the affirmative. They could not deny this because they themselves believed that ‘all belongs to Allah.’ But they could not affirm this because in that case, they themselves would have supplied the adversary with an argument against their own creed of shirk. After putting them in this critical position, Allah enjoined His Messenger to say, “All belongs to Allah.”



All that lies in the darkness of the night and in the light of the day belongs to Allah, and He hears and knows everything. Say, “Should I take as my guardian any other than Allah? Should I forsake that Allah Who is the Creator of the earth and the heavens and Who nourishes all and does not stand in need of nourishment from anyone?”

Commentary: This contains a subtle argument: all those whom the mushriks have made their gods besides Allah stand in need of nourishment from their devotees, not to speak of giving nourishment to them. No pharaoh can set up his grandeur unless his subjects pay taxes to him; no saint becomes worthy of worship unless his worshippers build a grand mausoleum for him; no god becomes a god unless his devotees make his idol and set it up in a grand temple and decorate it with ornamentation. Thus all the artificial gods stand in need of their servants. It is the Lord of the universe alone, Who does not stand in need of anyone but all others stand in need of Him, and it is His Godhead alone that does not stand in need of any prop from anyone whosoever, but supports itself.


Ask them, “Whose testimony is the most reliable?” Say, “Allah is witness between me and you (that I am His Messenger), and this Quran has been revealed to me so that I should thereby warn you and all whom it may reach.

Commentary: That is, “Allah is a witness to the fact that I have been appointed a Messenger by Him and whatever I say is from Him.”


What? Will you really testify that there are other deities besides Allah?”

Commentary: They have been asked whether they have any knowledge about the existence of a partner or partners of Allah to show that mere guess-work or speculation does not suffice for testifying anything, and that none can testify a thing with certainty without the necessary knowledge about it.


Say, “As for me, I will never testify such a thing.”

Commentary: That is, “You may, if you like, give false testimony without any knowledge, but as for me, I cannot give a false testimony.”


Say, “Indeed, He alone is the Deity and I feel disgusted with the shirk you practice.” Those to whom We have given the Book recognize this thing with as much certainty as they recognize their own sons.

Commentary: It means that those who possess the knowledge of revealed Books know it for certain that there is only One God Who has no partner in His Godhead. Therefore they can discern the right creed about Allah from among many a different kind of other creeds and theories about Godhead, just as any person can easily identify his own child from among many thousands of other children.


But those who made themselves liable to perdition do not believe in this. And who can be more unjust than the one who brings false allegations against Allah

Commentary: “False allegations” is the claim that there are other partners with Allah in His Godhead and that they are also worthy of worship; it is also false to allege that Allah Himself has made such and such His special courtiers and has enjoined (or at least approved) that Divine attributes should be ascribed to them and that they should be treated with reverence etc. like Allah.

or denies Allah’s Signs? Indeed, such unjust people can never attain true success.

Commentary: “Allah’s Signs” are all those signs that point to the fact that there is only One God in the universe and that all others are His servants. These signs are spread all over the universe. They are found in the person of man himself and in the character and the great achievements of the Prophets and in the revealed Books. That is why the one who, in the presence of all these “Signs,” ascribes Divine attributes to others and considers them worthy of Divine rights, is in fact guilty of gross iniquity. It is indeed a great injustice that one should ascribe such Divine attributes to others without any evidence, knowledge, observation and experience, merely on the basis of guesswork or on the traditions of the forefathers. As a result of this false creed, he does injustice to truth, to Reality, to his own self, and to everything and everyone he deals with in this universe.