Tafheem ul Quran

Surah 6 Al-An'am, Ayat 122-129

اَوَمَنۡ كَانَ مَيۡتًا فَاَحۡيَيۡنٰهُ وَجَعَلۡنَا لَهٗ نُوۡرًا يَّمۡشِىۡ بِهٖ فِى النَّاسِ كَمَنۡ مَّثَلُهٗ فِى الظُّلُمٰتِ لَـيۡسَ بِخَارِجٍ مِّنۡهَا​ ؕ كَذٰلِكَ زُيِّنَ لِلۡكٰفِرِيۡنَ مَا كَانُوۡا يَعۡمَلُوۡنَ‏ ﴿6:122﴾ وَكَذٰلِكَ جَعَلۡنَا فِىۡ كُلِّ قَرۡيَةٍ اَكٰبِرَ مُجۡرِمِيۡهَا لِيَمۡكُرُوۡا فِيۡهَا​ ؕ وَمَا يَمۡكُرُوۡنَ اِلَّا بِاَنۡفُسِهِمۡ وَمَا يَشۡعُرُوۡنَ‏ ﴿6:123﴾ وَاِذَا جَآءَتۡهُمۡ اٰيَةٌ قَالُوۡا لَنۡ نُّـؤۡمِنَ حَتّٰى نُؤۡتٰى مِثۡلَ مَاۤ اُوۡتِىَ رُسُلُ اللّٰهِؔ​ۘؕ اَللّٰهُ اَعۡلَمُ حَيۡثُ يَجۡعَلُ رِسٰلَـتَهٗ​ ؕ سَيُصِيۡبُ الَّذِيۡنَ اَجۡرَمُوۡا صَغَارٌ عِنۡدَ اللّٰهِ وَعَذَابٌ شَدِيۡدٌۢ بِمَا كَانُوۡا يَمۡكُرُوۡنَ‏ ﴿6:124﴾ فَمَنۡ يُّرِدِ اللّٰهُ اَنۡ يَّهۡدِيَهٗ يَشۡرَحۡ صَدۡرَهٗ لِلۡاِسۡلَامِ​ۚ وَمَنۡ يُّرِدۡ اَنۡ يُّضِلَّهٗ يَجۡعَلۡ صَدۡرَهٗ ضَيِّقًا حَرَجًا كَاَنَّمَا يَصَّعَّدُ فِى السَّمَآءِ​ؕ كَذٰلِكَ يَجۡعَلُ اللّٰهُ الرِّجۡسَ عَلَى الَّذِيۡنَ لَا يُؤۡمِنُوۡنَ‏  ﴿6:125﴾ وَهٰذَا صِرَاطُ رَبِّكَ مُسۡتَقِيۡمًا​ ؕ قَدۡ فَصَّلۡنَا الۡاٰيٰتِ لِقَوۡمٍ يَّذَّكَّرُوۡنَ‏ ﴿6:126﴾ لَهُمۡ دَارُ السَّلٰمِ عِنۡدَ رَبِّهِمۡ​ وَهُوَ وَلِيُّهُمۡ بِمَا كَانُوۡا يَعۡمَلُوۡنَ‏ ﴿6:127﴾ وَيَوۡمَ يَحۡشُرُهُمۡ جَمِيۡعًا​ ۚ يٰمَعۡشَرَ الۡجِنِّ قَدِ اسۡتَكۡثَرۡتُمۡ مِّنَ الۡاِنۡسِ​ۚ وَقَالَ اَوۡلِيٰٓـئُهُمۡ مِّنَ الۡاِنۡسِ رَبَّنَا اسۡتَمۡتَعَ بَعۡضُنَا بِبَعۡضٍ وَّبَلَغۡنَاۤ اَجَلَـنَا الَّذِىۡۤ اَجَّلۡتَ لَـنَا​​ ؕ قَالَ النَّارُ مَثۡوٰٮكُمۡ خٰلِدِيۡنَ فِيۡهَاۤ اِلَّا مَا شَآءَ اللّٰهُؕ اِنَّ رَبَّكَ حَكِيۡمٌ عَلِيۡمٌ‏ ﴿6:128﴾ وَكَذٰلِكَ نُوَلِّىۡ بَعۡضَ الظّٰلِمِيۡنَ بَعۡضًاۢ بِمَا كَانُوۡا يَكۡسِبُوۡنَ‏  ﴿6:129﴾

(6:122) 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 (6:123) 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. (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 chastigement from Allah for all their evil plotting. (6:125) Thus, (it is a fact that) whomsoever Allah wills to guide, He opens his breast for Islam;92 and whomsoever He wills to let go astray, He causes his breast to become strait and constricted, as if he were climbing towards the heaven. Thus Allah lays the abomination (of flight from and hatred of Islam) on those who do not believe (6:126) even though this way is the straight way of your Lord, and We have distinguished its signs to those who heed to admonition. (6:127) Theirs shall be an abode of peace93 with their Lord - their Protector - in recompense for all they have done. (6:128) And on the Day when He shall muster them all together, He will say (to the jinn):94 'O assembly of the jinn, you have seduced a good many of mankind.' And their companions from among the humans will say: 'Our Lord! We did indeed benefit from one another95 and now have reached the term which You had set for us.' Thereupon Allah will say: 'The Fire is now your abode, and therein you shall abide.' Only those whom Allah wills shall escape the Fire. Surely your Lord is All-Wise, All-Knowing.96 (6:129) In this manner We shall make the wrong-doers friends of each other (in the Hereafter) because they earned (evil together in the world).97


Notes

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.

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.

92. 'To open someone's breast to Islam' means to make him feel fully convinced of the truth of Islam and to remove all his doubts, hesitations and reluctance.

93 The righteous will enjoy 'the Abode of Peace' since there he will be safe from every misfortune and evil.

94. The term finn here refers to the evil ones among the jinn.

95. This means that they had derived unfair benefit from one another and had served their selfish ends by mutual deception.

96. Even though God has the right to punish whoever He wishes and to forgive whoever He wishes, His punishing and forgiving will be neither arbitrary nor whimsical. It will rather be founded on absolute knowledge and wisdom. God will forgive those whom He knows not to be responsible for their guilt, and thus not liable to punishment according to His wisdom and justice.

97. Just as the wrong-doers had been accomplices in sin and evil during their earthly life, they would remain companions in the After-life as well and share its punishment.