Verses 68–73
6. Al-An'aam · The Cattle
Makkan165 verses
وَإِذَا رَأَيْتَ ٱلَّذِينَ يَخُوضُونَ فِىٓ ءَايَٰتِنَا فَأَعْرِضْ عَنْهُمْ حَتَّىٰ يَخُوضُوا۟ فِى حَدِيثٍ غَيْرِهِۦ ۚ وَإِمَّا يُنسِيَنَّكَ ٱلشَّيْطَٰنُ فَلَا تَقْعُدْ بَعْدَ ٱلذِّكْرَىٰ مَعَ ٱلْقَوْمِ ٱلظَّٰلِمِينَ
6:68When you see those who gossip impiously about Our signs, avoid them until they engage in some other discourse; but if Satan makes you forget, then, after remembering, do not sit with the wrongdoing lot.
وَمَا عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ يَتَّقُونَ مِنْ حِسَابِهِم مِّن شَىْءٍۢ وَلَٰكِن ذِكْرَىٰ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَّقُونَ
6:69Those who are Godwary are in no way accountable for them, but this is merely for admonition’s sake, so that they may beware.
وَذَرِ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱتَّخَذُوا۟ دِينَهُمْ لَعِبًۭا وَلَهْوًۭا وَغَرَّتْهُمُ ٱلْحَيَوٰةُ ٱلدُّنْيَا ۚ وَذَكِّرْ بِهِۦٓ أَن تُبْسَلَ نَفْسٌۢ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ لَيْسَ لَهَا مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ وَلِىٌّۭ وَلَا شَفِيعٌۭ وَإِن تَعْدِلْ كُلَّ عَدْلٍۢ لَّا يُؤْخَذْ مِنْهَآ ۗ أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ ٱلَّذِينَ أُبْسِلُوا۟ بِمَا كَسَبُوا۟ ۖ لَهُمْ شَرَابٌۭ مِّنْ حَمِيمٍۢ وَعَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌۢ بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَكْفُرُونَ
6:70Leave alone those who take their religion for play and diversion and whom the life of this world has deceived, and admonish with it, lest any soul should perish because of what it has earned: It shall not have any guardian besides Allah, nor any intercessor; and though it should offer every kind of ransom, it shall not be accepted from it. They are the ones who perish because of what they have earned; they shall have boiling water for drink and a painful punishment because of what they used to defy.123
قُلْ أَنَدْعُوا۟ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ مَا لَا يَنفَعُنَا وَلَا يَضُرُّنَا وَنُرَدُّ عَلَىٰٓ أَعْقَابِنَا بَعْدَ إِذْ هَدَىٰنَا ٱللَّهُ كَٱلَّذِى ٱسْتَهْوَتْهُ ٱلشَّيَٰطِينُ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ حَيْرَانَ لَهُۥٓ أَصْحَٰبٌۭ يَدْعُونَهُۥٓ إِلَى ٱلْهُدَى ٱئْتِنَا ۗ قُلْ إِنَّ هُدَى ٱللَّهِ هُوَ ٱلْهُدَىٰ ۖ وَأُمِرْنَا لِنُسْلِمَ لِرَبِّ ٱلْعَٰلَمِينَ
6:71Say, ‘Shall we invoke besides Allah that which can neither benefit us nor harm us, and turn back on our heels after Allah has guided us, like someone seduced by the devils and bewildered on the earth, who has companions that invite him to guidance, [saying,] ‘‘Come to us!’’?’ Say, ‘Indeed it is the guidance of Allah which is [true] guidance. And we have been commanded to submit to the Lord of all the worlds,
وَأَنْ أَقِيمُوا۟ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَٱتَّقُوهُ ۚ وَهُوَ ٱلَّذِىٓ إِلَيْهِ تُحْشَرُونَ
6:72and that ‘‘Maintain the prayer and be wary of Him, and it is He toward whom you will be gathered.’’ ’
وَهُوَ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ بِٱلْحَقِّ ۖ وَيَوْمَ يَقُولُ كُن فَيَكُونُ ۚ قَوْلُهُ ٱلْحَقُّ ۚ وَلَهُ ٱلْمُلْكُ يَوْمَ يُنفَخُ فِى ٱلصُّورِ ۚ عَٰلِمُ ٱلْغَيْبِ وَٱلشَّهَٰدَةِ ۚ وَهُوَ ٱلْحَكِيمُ ٱلْخَبِيرُ
6:73It is He who created the heavens and the earth with reason, and the day He says [to something], ‘Be!’ it is. His word is the truth, and to Him belongs all sovereignty on the day when the Trumpet will be blown. Knower of the sensible and the Unseen, He is the All-wise, the All-aware.4
Tafsir
Commentary on this passage
Verse 68
1.The best prescription of guidance for true believers is that they should keep aloof from the gatherings of the enemies of Islam and not to sit with them when they are talking against religion and if by mistake they sit, they must get up from there at once and boycott them openly and not intend to sit along with them till they start talking about fair and reasonable things.
Verse 70
2.Different kinds of people are found with regard to religious matters. Some people follow the religion properly while others follow it when it is for their personal benefit and some divide its commands into two and consider some of them worthy of performance and some they ignore. These are the same people who have made religion a play and a sport. Otherwise if they had divine law in their view they would have acted accordingly and would not worry about their own opinions. A cautious course of action is mentioned for such people: Keep aloof from them practically so that other people cannot participate in their offence and should not desert them entirely; so that they would be completely free in their crimes. On the contrary they should be exhorted through Quran continuously so that there would be some chances left for them to come to the right path. They should be informed about the wrath of Allah and told about the power and authority of Allah. They should be made attentive towards the helplessness of anything or anyone other than Allah. They should be made attentive towards the state of affairs of the followers of Shaitan that how people wander in the desert of life but cannot find any way.
Verse 72
3.With divine guidance the mention of the establishing of Prayer shows that true guidance is the establishment of Prayer and fear of God. Those who remain aloof from these two can never be called the guided ones. All the good deeds depend on Prayer; and fear of God is the only sign of faith.
Footnotes
Explanations of words and phrases in these verses
- 1
This shows that we must severe social contacts with irreligious people but they could not be completely ignored. We must continue to remind them.
- 2
‘Basala’ is to prevent. Thus those who deflect the enemy are called Basil.
- 3
The severity of the chastisement is such that there is no helper, no interceder and no penalty is acceptable. Boiling water is fed to them and they are subjected to the worst punishment. One shall not dare to sin if one can only imagine all this.
Benefit: The denial of wali and intercessor in the 70th verse and the prohibition of supplicating and worshipping useless entities with the condition of “from other than Allah” shows that it is not correct to invoke them independently of Allah. However, it does not prohibit us from invoking them on the basis of the power and ability bestowed on them by Allah.
- 4
This division is from the aspect of people. That some things are seen by them and some are not visible to them. While everything is visible to Allah. There is no concept of unseen for the Almighty.