Surah al-An`am (The Cattle) 6 : 112

Overview (Verses 112 - 113)

Enemies of the Prophets
 
The first two verses complement the passage discussed in the previous chapter. They also serve as a prelude to the important issues that relate to authority, law and sovereignty which take up the remaining part of this sūrah.
 
Thus We have set up against every prophet enemies: the evil ones among human beings and the jinn, who inspire each other with varnished and deluding falsehood. Had your Lord willed otherwise, they would not have done it. Therefore, leave them to their own inventions, so that the hearts of those who do not believe in the life to come may be inclined to what they say and, being pleased with it, persist in their erring ways. (Verses 112-113)
 
The first word here reminds us that God has ruled that those unbelievers who demand miracles in order to believe and who turn away from the pointers to faith which are present everywhere around them do not actually ever come to accept the faith, even though they may be shown every miracle they can possibly imagine. By God’s same free-will, He has assigned to every prophet enemies who are the evil ones among human beings and the jinn. Those evil ones inspire each other with varnished falsehoods, half-truths and delusive whispers in order to resist God’s guidance and combat His messengers. It is God’s will also that those who do not believe in the hereafter shall listen attentively to such deceptive falsehood and half- truths and be pleased with what they hear. This enables them to continue with their opposition to God’s messengers and the truth they preach, endeavouring to spread corruption on earth.
 
All this occurs as God has determined and according to His freewill. Had he willed otherwise, they would not have done so. His will is accomplished in the manner which pleases Him, leading to different results. In a nutshell, nothing of what happens in the universe comes about as mere coincidence, or through human power or authority. When we realize that everything that takes place on earth actually happens according to God’s will, including the unabating fight between truth and falsehood, God’s messengers and evil forces, then we should try to understand God’s purpose in so letting it take place: “Thus We have set up against every prophet enemies: the evil ones among human beings and the jinn, who inspire each other with varnished and deluding falsehood.” (Verse 112)
 
It was God’s will and planning that every prophet faced enemies, and that those enemies were the evil ones among the human race and jinn. The Arabic term used here for `the evil ones’ is ‘satans’. From a linguistic point of view, to be a satan is to rebel, to follow every error and to give oneself up completely to evil. This can be true of human beings as well as the jinn. If such rebellion and dedication to evil by anyone from the jinn makes him a satan, the same title is given to any human being who does likewise. Indeed, this description can be applied to an uncontrollable animal that causes endless harm. It is said in Arabic: “The black dog is a Satan.”
 
Those satans, be they human or jinn, whom God has made enemies to every prophet, deceive one another by falsehood that is given a bright and unreal glitter. Thus, they urge one another to continue in their rebellion, evil and disobedience to God. Evil human beings are easily identifiable; and their work is familiar.
 
All the different patterns of their hostility towards prophets, the truth they preach and to the believers who follow them are well known. The satans among the jinn, and indeed all the jinn, are creatures about whom we know only what God, who knows all, has chosen to tell us. In principle, we accept without hesitation what God has told us about the existence of creatures other than man and the living species known to man. We accept God’s statement as it is, within the limits He has set for it. Those who claim to follow a scientific approach and who use this in order to deny what God has stated in this regard do not base their argument on any solid foundation. They do not claim that their knowledge is aware of every type of living species on this planet, let alone what exists on other planets. All that human science can assume is that the type of life which exists on earth may or may not exist on other planets and stars. Even if these assumptions prove to be true, they cannot preclude the possibility that other types of life and beings may inhabit other parts of the universe which remain totally unknown to man. Therefore, it is far too arrogant for anyone to deny the existence of such a living world on the basis of human knowledge or science.
 
The nature of the jinn, some of whom like Iblīs and his offspring give themselves up totally to evil, remains unknown to us except in as far as God tells us in the Qur’ān and His Messenger in the ĥadīth. On the basis of these accurate statements we know that the jinn have been created out of fire and that they are able to live on the face of the earth, inside it or even outside it. They can move much more swiftly than human beings. They include some who are good believers and some who reject the faith totally. They can see human beings, while human beings cannot see them in their original form. This is not surprising, because there are numerous species that see man while man does not see them. We know also that satans have access to human beings and that they tempt them to stray. We do not know how this is done, but we know that these satans have no power over true believers. A Satan constantly remains with a believer: when the believer remembers God, the satan shrinks and disappears, but when the believer is absorbed with worldly matters, the satan tries to tempt him. All satanic scheming is hollow and weak if the believer continues to remind himself of God. The jinn will also be resurrected at the same time as human beings, and all will be held to account. The jinn will either be rewarded with heaven or punished in hell, in the same way as human beings. Compared to angels, the jinn are very weak and powerless.
 
From this verse we learn that God has set up enemies for every prophet from among the evil ones, human and jinn alike. Had it been God’s will, they would have done nothing of this. They would not have rebelled, given themselves up to evil, fought against the prophets, harmed the believers and tried to turn people away from God’s path. God could have compelled them to follow His guidance, or made it easy for them to follow it, should they have shown the inclination to do so. Furthermore, He could have made them totally incapable of standing up to the prophets and the believers. He has, however, left them this measure of free choice, and enabled them to cause His servants harm in order to test them. Likewise, He tests His enemies by the choice He has given them. They certainly can cause no servant of God any harm beyond what God has willed. “Had your Lord willed otherwise, they would not have done it.” (Verse 112)
 
The Limits of Evil Power
 
What conclusions can we draw from the statements made in this verse? The first is that those who are hostile to every prophet and who try to cause harm to those who follow the prophets are evil whether they belong to the human race or to the jinn. They all work for the same end. Some of them may deceive others, but they all rebel against God’s guidance, follow evil ways and maintain their hostility towards the believers.
 
Second, these devils cannot do any of this through any inherent ability of their own. They are subject to God’s will. He uses them to test those who believe in Him for a definite purpose of His own. He puts the believers to such a test so that they may show how determined they are to defend the truth entrusted to them. He also wants their hearts to be purged of anything that is unacceptable to Him. When they come through the test with their heads raised high, He stops their enemies from harming them any further. These enemies, who are indeed God’s own enemies, find themselves powerless, humiliated, shouldering their heavy burdens and lacking the support of others.
 
Third, it is God’s wisdom that has allowed these evil ones to give themselves up totally to evil. God tests them within the limits of the ability and choice He has allowed them, and He leaves them, for a while at least, with some ability to harm the believers. By the same process, He tests believers so that they show their perseverance and dedication to the cause of the truth they serve. When falsehood seems to have complete power over them, are they able to show that they have completely dedicated themselves to God and that they are willing to sacrifice their all for His cause? Those who persevere in times of both hardship and ease can thus distinguish themselves. All this is part of God’s purpose. Otherwise, He is always able to prevent anything from happening.
 
Lastly, those devils, be they human or jinn, and the scheming and harm they cause are not to be given any great importance. They have no independent power of their own. Indeed, they cannot exceed the limits God has allowed them. When a believer realizes that it is his Lord who has all the power and who determines everything according to a definite measure, he should look down upon the devils who set themselves up in hostility to Him whatever power and authority they claim to command. Hence, the divine instruction to God’s Messenger (peace be upon him): “Therefore, leave them to their own inventions.” (Verse 112) Let them do whatever they want, because I, the Lord of the universe, am able to smite them whenever I wish. Their retribution is kept in store for them.
 
There is another purpose for this enmity, which differs from testing both the believers and the evil ones. This is stated clearly in the second verse in this passage: “So that the hearts of those who do not believe in the life to come may be inclined to what they say and, being pleased with it, persist in their erring ways.” (Verse 113) This means that those who do not believe in the hereafter will listen to such glittering and deluding falsehood. Such people attach all importance to the life of this world. As they see the devils standing up to every prophet, inflicting harm and hardship on their followers and deluding one another with sweet words and deceptive action, they are ready to follow these devils wherever they lead them. They admire their power, unreal as it is, and they are impressed by their deception. They thus commit sin and error, and indulge in disobedience and corruption.
 
This is also something that God has willed and has allowed to happen because of what it involves of testing people. Thus, everyone has a chance to prove himself, do what he likes and earn his reward or punishment in all fairness. Human life is thus maintained, the truth is shown distinctly, and goodness is identified through perseverance in times of hardship. The evil ones will shoulder all their burdens on the Day of Judgement. Everything takes place in accordance with God’s will whether it is a matter that relates to God’s enemies or to His obedient servants.
 
The scene painted in the Qur’ān showing the battle between the evil ones, human and jinn, on the one side and the prophets and their followers on the other, as well as God’s overpowering will, is certainly worth contemplating. It is a battle in which the universal forces of evil combine, with determined cooperation and coordination, to achieve a definite objective. Their uniting force is their enmity to the truth, which is represented by the messages God has sent down through His prophets. To achieve their objective, they have a well-defined plan in which they employ specific methods: they “inspire each other with varnished and deluding falsehood.” (Verse 112) They supply one another with the means of temptation, and at the same time they try to cause one another to yield to temptation. This phenomenon applies to every evil force which aims to suppress the truth and subdue its advocates. The evil ones cooperate among themselves and they help one another to persist in error. They never try to guide one another to the truth. Indeed, they always counsel each other to persist with their hostility to the truth.
 
But nothing of this scheming is free of restraints. It remains within the realm of God’s will. The evil ones cannot accomplish any part of it beyond the extent that God’s will allows. Great and overpowering as their scheming may seem, mustering the combined forces of evil, it remains constrained, unable to have a free rein. It cannot help anyone, nor can it escape questioning or being held to account. Indeed, dictators and tyrants try to convince their subjects that they are not accountable to anyone so that their subjects remain submissive towards them. This, however, is false. These tyrants’ will and power are indeed subject to God’s will and can operate only within the limits God has allowed them. They cannot cause any of God’s servants any harm except within the limits God has allowed them in order to test that servant. Eventually, all power belongs to God.
 
The advocates of the truth are well advised to look carefully at the scene which portrays the evil ones working together to carry out a unified plan, so that they can realize the nature of that plan and its method. They also should contemplate that scene which portrays God’s controlling power and His overpowering will because this should give them confidence and reassurance. They should always look up to God’s will, which cannot be resisted, and His authority to which the whole universe submits. When they do so, they will not care for what the evil ones desire. The believers will then be able to continue along the way God has chosen for them. They continue to establish the truth in their everyday life after having established it in their hearts. The hostility of the evil ones does not worry them, because they leave it all to God who will certainly take care of it: “Had your Lord willed otherwise, they would not have done it. Therefore, leave them to their own inventions.” (Verse 112)