Surah al-An`am (The Cattle) 6 : 137

Explanatory Note

The surah says that in the same way as the evil ones made it acceptable for people to assign part of their crops and cattle in a particular fashion, they also made the killing of their own children seem goodly to them. This is a reference to what people in Arabia used to do, when they buried their daughters alive for fear of poverty or shame. They even went beyond this and killed some of their sons in fulfilment of pledges they made to their deities. It is well known that `Abd al-Muttalib, the Prophet’s grandfather, pledged to slaughter one of his sons, if God would favour him with ten sons.

It is clear that all these practices were accepted as normal in the ignorant society of Arabia. These were traditions established by human beings and followed by human beings. The partners mentioned in this verse are the evil ones among human beings and jinn, including the priests, the guards of temples and tribal chiefs as well as the evil ones among the jinn who whisper to their partners. The surah makes the purpose of all this deception very clear: “Seeking to bring them to ruin and to confuse them in their faith.” Thus, they not only bring them to ruin but they also place them in utter confusion with regard to their faith, so that they lack a clear concept.

The ruin is evident. They kill their own children and they corrupt their own social life. As a result, people become like animals led by corrupt shepherds in whichever way those shepherds find their interest. The evil ones are thus able to exercise complete authority over the lives, the children and the property of the masses, killing and ruling them, while the masses are forced to submit with humility. This is the result of the mutual effects produced by confused concepts of faith and their influence on human beings and the prevalent social traditions. Together those concepts and traditions exercise enormous pressure to which people have to submit, unless they seek protection in a clearly outlined faith and unless they place all their affairs within a consistent standard.

Wicked as their schemes against the divine message are, and heavy as the pressures on it are, the Qur’an makes little of the might of jahiliyyah. It exposes its reality, something which could easily be overlooked because of its apparent strength. The fact remains that these evil ones and their patrons and supporters are within God’s grasp and subject to His authority. They have no power of their own to enable them to do what they want. They can only do it because God has enabled them to play their game for a while in order to accomplish His purpose in putting His servants to a test. Had God willed otherwise, they would not have been able to do or achieve anything. Hence, the Prophet and the believers should pay little attention to those evil ones and should pursue their own objectives. As for the evil ones, the believers should leave them to God to punish them for their invented falsehood: “Had God willed otherwise, they would not have done so. Leave them, then, to their false inventions.” 

We need to mention here that they dare not admit that they originated these concepts and practices. Instead, they lie to God, alleging that He originated them, asserting that these concepts and practices were derived from the religion preached by the Prophets Abraham and Ishmael.