Surah al-An`am (The Cattle) 6 : 1

Overview (Verses 1 - 3)

A Framework Is Set 
 
These three opening verses strike the basic notes as they lay the foundation for the subject matter of the sūrah, namely, faith. “All praise is due to God, who has created the heavens and the earth, and brought into being darkness and light; yet those who disbelieve regard other beings as equal to their Lord.” (Verse 1)
 
The sūrah starts with praising God and glorifying Him as only He, the Creator and Originator of all things, deserves to be praised and glorified. Thus, the initial touches stress the foremost quality of Godhead, namely, creation. To start with, it refers to creation in the two widest expanses of existence, the heavens and earth. It then adds the two greatest phenomena that result from the creation of the heavens and the earth according to a deliberate plan, namely, darkness and light. This initial touch, then, takes into view the magnificent stars and planets which we see in the universe, the unimaginable distances separating them and the numerous phenomena which result from their orbital movements. It then wonders at those people who behold this awesome existence, itself a great testimony to the infinite ability of the Supreme Creator and His faultless planning, but who still refuse to believe in God, acknowledge His oneness or praise Him. Instead, they associate partners with Him whom they allege to be His equals: “Yet those who disbelieve regard other beings as equal to their Lord.” All this clear evidence in the universe thus loses its effect on the human mind and soul. The irony is of the same magnitude as the stars and the planets, the endless distances separating them and the all-enveloping phenomena that result from their creation. It is indeed greater.
 
The picture continues to unfold with its reference to human existence which follows the existence of the universe and the two phenomena of darkness and light. This is a remarkable Qur’ānic touch taking us from the darkness of clay to the light of active life. We perceive here the full artistic harmony at work, with the reference to darkness and light made at the outset. Another closely intertwined subtlety prepares us for a first term appointed for death and a second term appointed for resurrection known only to God. We, thus, have two contrasting notions to contemplate, namely idleness and movement and a dull clay contrasted with life created by God. The gap between these opposites both in time and nature, is wide indeed. All this should inspire every human heart with the certainty that it is all part of God’s scheme and that we will all be gathered to Him. Yet those who are addressed by this sūrah continue to have doubts: “Yet you are still in doubt.” (Verse 2)
 
A third touch in these short verses combines the two previous ones within the same framework, making it clear that God is the only deity in the whole universe, including the human world: “He alone is God in the heavens and on earth. He has full knowledge of all that you keep secret and all that you do openly. He knows what you earn.” (Verse 3)
 
The One who has created the heavens and the earth is the only God in them. All attributes and qualities of Godhead belong to Him alone and both the heavens and the earth acknowledge them without hesitation. This acknowledgement is reflected in their submission to the laws God has set in operation in them and in their willing fulfilment of His commandments. The same should apply to human life. God is the Creator of man, the heavens and earth alike. In man’s original making is the clay of this earth. All his qualities which combine to make of him a human being have been given to him by God. His physical entity is subject to the laws of nature God has set in operation. Man has no say in all this. He is created and given his existence by God’s will, not by his parents’ design. They may have intercourse, but they cannot effect conception by their own will. Man is born according to the laws God has established for the term of pregnancy and the conditions of childbirth. Man uses for breathing the air God has placed over the earth in the quantities and ratios He has willed. His breathing conforms to the quantity and method God has chosen for him. He feels pain, hunger, thirst, happiness, or in short, he lives in accordance with God’s law; he has no say in any of it. In all this he is in the same position as the heavens and the earth.
 
Moreover, God knows what man keeps secret and what he does in the open. He knows what he does and what he earns, be it done in public or in private. It is, then, more befitting for man to follow God’s laws in that area of his life over which he has been given full control. This includes his chosen faith, values and practices. If he does, he achieves harmony between his natural life which is subject to God’s law and his free-will in those areas where he exercises his free choice. Thus, he precludes internal conflict and saves himself from being pulled in opposite directions by two unequal laws: one set by God and one made by man. The two cannot be placed on the same level.
 
This powerful opening to the sūrah addresses man’s heart and mind, pointing out the evidence derived from creation and from life, for man is able to see such evidence in the world around him and within himself. It is an address which moves away from theology and philosophy in order to awaken human nature as it portrays the movement of creation according to a deliberate scheme and in a manner that states facts without indulging in argumentation. The creation of the heavens and the earth, their organization according to a clear system, and the creation of life — the most important aspect of which is human life — and its movement along its definite course, put human nature face to face with the truth and strongly reassure it of God’s oneness. God’s oneness is the core topic of the whole sūrah. It is what the entire Qur’ān aims to establish. The question is not confined to God’s existence, as such. Throughout human history, the basic problem was not that of accepting the existence of a deity, but rather the inability of recognizing that true deity and giving Him His true attributes.
 
The pagan Arabs addressed initially by this sūrah did not deny God’s existence altogether. Indeed, they acknowledged His existence and that He was the Creator who provided sustenance to His creation, and who owned the universe and caused life and death. They acknowledged many of His attributes as the Qur’ān states. The reason then for classifying them as pagans was their unwillingness to come to the logical conclusion of God’s actual existence, in other words, that God must be given authority over their whole lives, without their associating any partners with Him in that. Nor did they acknowledge their duty to implement God’s law as the only acceptable law in human life. It was not enough for them to acknowledge God’s existence and to give Him those attributes which would make them believers. Here at the beginning of this sūrah, the fact that God is the Creator of both man and the universe, and that He governs the life of both and has full knowledge of men’s secret thoughts and their public actions and what they hide and reveal are stated as an introduction which leads to the inevitable conclusion that all sovereignty belongs to God alone.
 
Both sets of evidence concerning creation and life represented the most perfect evidence put to the unbelievers so that they may acknowledge the major concept of God’s oneness and sovereignty and act on it in their practical life. Furthermore, both concepts represented perfect refutations of all new concepts denying God’s existence, hollow or sophisticated as they might be.
 
In point of truth, it is exceedingly doubtful that those atheists actually believed themselves. Most probably, the whole concept of atheism started as a manoeuvre to confront the Church. Zionism then exploited it for its own ends, because it tries to demolish the basic foundation of human life, so that no human community other than its own can take it as a basis for its code of living. This they state in the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. The result they aim to achieve is the collapse of humanity so that they can exercise control over it, since they preserve for themselves the source of true power, namely faith. When Evil Schemes Seem to Triumph
 
No matter how much they scheme, the Zionists cannot overpower human nature which, deep at heart, knows that there is a Lord who has created this universe. Human nature, however, may not be able to recognise the right attributes of the true Lord of the universe and it may deviate through giving authority to others beside Him. When such deviation occurs in human nature, it becomes unbeliever or idolater. Some individuals, however, may have a corrupt nature that leads to the malfunctioning of their natural faculties and responses. It is such individuals who may succumb to wicked designs aiming to make them deny God’s existence altogether. Such individuals will remain only a small minority. Indeed, the real atheists today do not number more than a few millions in Russia and China, compared to the hundreds of millions who suffer under the tyranny of those atheists. All the efforts which have gone on unabated for over forty years to utilise the means of education and information to spread atheism could not achieve more than this
 
The Zionists’ wicked designs have sought to reduce religion to a set of rituals, thus seeking to minimise its influence on practical life. In this way, they are able to persuade people that they remain believers while acknowledging that other lords legislate for them and regulate their practical activities. Hence, the Zionists undermine humanity altogether, even though people maintain the delusion that they are believers.
 
Their ultimate aim has always been to destroy Islam, because they know from their own history that they can never overcome it as long as it continues to be implemented in practice. They also know that they can overcome Muslims only when they do not truly implement Islam, regardless of the fact that they may consider themselves Muslim. Presenting the notion that religion is properly followed when it actually has little or no influence on people’s life is necessary for the Zionist plot to succeed.
 
I feel, although God knows best, that the Zionist Jews and the Christian neo- Crusaders have reached the point of despair in their attempts to uproot Islam from its strongholds in Africa, Asia and Europe as well. They have lost all hope that they can make Muslim populations adopt atheism through materialistic creeds, and they no longer entertain any hope of being able to convert Muslims to other religions through missionary work or direct colonialism. This is due to the fact that atheism is repugnant to human nature. It is even rejected by pagans, let alone by Muslims. For their part, other religions do not even hope or attempt to replace Islam in the mind of any Muslim.
 
Perhaps it is because of this despair that Zionist Jews and Christian neo-Crusaders have changed their tactics. They no longer try to confront Islam openly through Communism or missionary work. They have adopted more subtle and wicked designs. They now try to establish systems and regimes which give themselves a superficial Islamic colour and which pay lip-service to Islam. Once they have donned this mask, such regimes start to carry out all the projects and plans recommended by missionary conventions and Zionist protocols, which could not be implemented in a direct and open manner.
 
These regimes may profess to be Muslim, or at least declare that they respect religion, but at the same time, they suspend God’s law altogether and replace it with a man-made one that makes lawful what God has declared unlawful. They advocate concepts of life and moral values that undermine Islamic ones, using in the process all methods and media that influence public opinion against religious views and beliefs. In strict adherence to the conclusions of missionary conventions and Zionist protocols, they force Muslim women out of their homes, pleading the cause of progress, civilisation and the interests of development, work and productivity. This they do when millions remain unemployed, living below the poverty line. They promote permissiveness among both sexes while claiming to respect faith and to adhere to it. Despite all this, people continue to think that they live as true Muslims in a Muslim society. Is it not true, they ask, that the good among them continue to offer their prayers and observe their fasting? The central question of whether sovereignty belongs to God alone or to a diversity of deities no longer concerns them since they have been tricked into thinking that it has nothing to do with religion and that they can continue to be Muslims while conducting their lives on the basis of values and laws that are not derived from Islam.
 
In order to ensure the success of their trickery and to hide their involvement, world Zionism and neo-Crusaders stir up superficial conflicts and hostilities which show these regimes to be opposed to them. This they do at the same time as providing them with material and moral support, protecting them both discreetly and openly, and using their own intelligence services to ensure their survival. In this way, they remove all suspicion from their puppets who fulfil for them what they have been unable to fulfil for themselves after more than three centuries of effort to destroy the faith and moral values of the Muslims. Thus, these regimes do the work of the Zionists and Christian missionaries and deprive the Muslims of their first source of power, namely, conducting their lives on the basis of their faith.
 
A minority of people in the vast area of the Muslim world, nevertheless, remain undeluded and cannot be brought round to accept unfaith as an image of Islam. They reject the deception that paints transgression and permissiveness as progress and civilisation. All sorts of false accusations are levelled at this minority. It is subjected to a war of extermination while international news agencies and the mass media remain deaf, dumb and blind. Even simple, well-meaning Muslims may think that it is only a clash of personalities or a sectarian battle that has nothing to do with the unabating fight against the religion of Islam. Those of them who are perturbed to see the weakening of religious and moral values are naively preoccupied with trying to correct some minor offences, thinking that they fulfil their task by speaking up against them. They are fully preoccupied with side issues when the foundations of this faith are being destroyed, God’s authority is being usurped and human life is governed by false gods that they have been ordered to reject.
 
The Zionist Jews and Christian neo-Crusaders are pleased with themselves for having pulled off this trick. They had long despaired of managing to undermine Islam by spreading atheism or converting Muslims through missionary work.

At the beginning of the sūrah, the evidence of creation and life is placed in a powerful confrontation with atheism. When it is put to atheists, they find themselves driven to false and devious arguments.
 
When we consider the existence of this universe and the system that governs it, we are bound to conclude that, naturally and logically, it is the work of a Creator who has devised its elaborate system. It is impossible for us to perceive that something comes into existence out of nothing, unless we acknowledge the existence of a deity who creates, originates and brings into existence. By contrast, atheists try to mend the flaws in their argument by saying that it is not necessary to suppose that non- existence preceded existence. One of them even became known as the philosopher of spiritualism, as he defends it against materialism. Some naïve Muslims may speak highly of him and quote him in support of their faith as if they want to support the faith God has revealed by a statement of one of His servants. This philosopher was a Jew named Bergson who claimed that the existence of the universe was not preceded by non-existence.
 
What basis does he provide for his claims? Does he rely on human intellect? Certainly not. He himself admits that the human mind can only perceive of existence coming after non-existence. Does he rely on inspiration from God? He makes no such claim, although he says that by intuition, mystics have always come to the conclusion of the existence of a deity. Hence, we must accept this intuition, which has been so consistent. [The deity Bergson talks about is not God, as we conceive of Him. The deity, to him, is life.] Upon what other source does he rely, then, to prove his theory? We simply do not know.
 
We must always come back to acknowledging the existence of a creator who has made this universe and brought it into existence. We simply cannot explain the existence of the universe without resorting to this concept. The point, however, is not merely that the universe exists, but rather that it operates according to laws and measures which never fail. Every possibility is calculated accurately in devising these laws. After long contemplation, the human mind can still only comprehend a small portion of them.
 
The same applies to life. We cannot explain how the gulf between life and matter — whatever definition we give to matter, including radioactivity — is crossed unless we admit it to be the work of a deity who creates according to a deliberate and elaborate scheme. He has created the universe in a condition which allows the emergence and sustainability of life. With all the remarkable characteristics distinguishing human life, it has to be classified as higher than animal life. However, man has been created of clay, which means that he is made of the same material as this earth. There must then have been a will that gave him life as well as his human characteristics according to a definite purpose.
 
All attempts by atheists to explain the emergence of life have failed, even by the standards of the human mind itself. The latest I have read in this field was an attempt by the American philosopher Durant who tries to draw some sort of analogy between the type of movement within the nucleus, which he calls a degree of life, and the type of life which we know. He, indeed, makes a great effort to bridge the gap between dull matter and active life, only to be in a position of denying the concept of the creator who gives life to what is lifeless.
 
His tireless efforts have not availed him or other materialists of anything. If we were to presume that life is an innate quality within matter, and that there is no other power endowed with a will to originate life, we have to explain why life, which is within matter, manifests itself in several degrees, some of which are higher and more sophisticated than others. Why does life manifest itself in a mechanical, unintelligent movement in the nucleus, while it appears in an organic form in plants and in a more sophisticated organic form in other living things? If all matters have an innate quality of life, how is it that some matters take of this quality more than others, in the absence of a will and elaborate planning? How is it that life has several degrees? We can only understand this gradation if it is the work of a conscious will which plans and chooses. If it is left to matter, assuming that it has life, to do according to its own designs, our human intellect cannot understand or explain this gradation.
 
The Islamic view of the origin of life in its different grades is the only acceptable explanation of this phenomenon which cannot be explained by the materialists no matter how hard they try. In this commentary, we do not move away from the Qur’ānic method. Hence, we confine ourselves to confronting the fallacies of atheism by the evidence of creation, life and deliberate planning. The Qur’ān does not consider the question of God’s existence as its main question because God knows that human nature rejects the premises of atheism. The real question is that of God’s oneness and the establishment of His authority on human life. This is the basic question elaborated in this sūrah, as we have seen in its opening verses.