Surah al-An`am (The Cattle) 6 : 157

أَوْ تَقُولُوا۟ لَوْ أَنَّآ أُنزِلَ عَلَيْنَا ٱلْكِتَٰبُ لَكُنَّآ أَهْدَىٰ مِنْهُمْ ۚ فَقَدْ جَآءَكُم بَيِّنَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ وَهُدًى وَرَحْمَةٌ ۚ فَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّن كَذَّبَ بِـَٔايَٰتِ ٱللَّهِ وَصَدَفَ عَنْهَا ۗ سَنَجْزِى ٱلَّذِينَ يَصْدِفُونَ عَنْ ءَايَٰتِنَا سُوٓءَ ٱلْعَذَابِ بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَصْدِفُونَ

Translations

 
 Muhsin Khan
 Pickthall
 Yusuf Ali
Quran Project
Or lest you say, "If only the Book had been revealed to us, we would have been better guided than they." So there has [now] come to you a clear evidence from your Lord and a guidance and mercy. Then who is more unjust than one who denies the verses of Allāh and turns away from them? We will recompense those who turn away from Our verses with the worst of punishment for their having turned away.

1. Lessons/Guidance/Reflections/Gems

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Explanatory Note

God forestalls the Arabs’ argument should they say that Moses and Jesus were sent to their own people, while they, i.e. the Arabs, were oblivious of what the Jews and the Christians studied in their Books. They might have argued that had they received a book in their own language, addressed to them and providing guidance and warnings, they would have been better guided than the Jews and the Christians. Now this Book has been revealed and given to them by a Messenger from among them, even though he is a Messenger to all mankind. The Book he brings is, in itself, a clear proof of its truth. It gives them some very clear, unambiguous and unequivocal information. It provides them with guidance out of the error in which they live, and ensures God’s grace will be bestowed on them in this life as well as in the life to come.

Who could be more in the wrong than one who denies God’s revelations and turns his back on them when they show him the way to goodness and success? Who is more unjust to himself and to mankind by denying himself and others all these blessings, and by spreading corruption on earth through upholding ignorant concepts and laws? Those who turn away from the truth have a malignant nature, just like the disease that affects a camel’s hoof, causing it to become lop-sided. They are lop-sided in the sense that they cannot maintain a straight path to the truth. Their attitude qualifies them for the worst punishment: “We shall punish those who turn away from Our revelations in disdain with grave suffering for so turning away.” 

The Qur’an uses this particular expression, borrowed from a physical condition to describe a mental one, so that the original sense imparts an added connotation. This is frequently employed in the Qur’an. It describes an arrogant person as one who `turns his cheek away from people’ (31: 18). This is borrowed from the image of a disease affecting camels and humans, giving them a stiff neck, so that they lift their cheeks and turn them away. It also describes the useless deeds of the unbelievers as swelling and coming to nothing, giving an image of a camel grazing in a poisoned area. Its belly swells then it dies. In all this, the physical image is used to describe a mental situation in a highly vivid and inspiring manner.

2. Linguistic Analysis

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Frequency of Root words in this Ayat used in this Surah *


3. Surah Overview

4. Miscellaneous Information

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5. Connected/Related Ayat

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6. Frequency of the word

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7. Period of Revelation

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According to Ibn Abbas, the whole of the Surah was revealed at one sitting at Makkah [during the night]. Asma bint Yazid says, ‘During the revelation of this Surah the Prophet was riding on a she-camel and I was holding her nose-string. The she-camel began to feel the weight so heavily that it seemed as if her bones would break under it.’ We also learn from other narrations that it was revealed during the last year before the migration (Hijrah) and that the Prophet dictated the whole of the Surah the same night that it was revealed. [Mawdudi]

8. Reasons for Revelation

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After determining the period of its revelation it is easier to visualize the background of the Surah. Twelve years had passed since the Prophet had been inviting the people to Islam. The antagonism and persecution by the Quraysh had become most savage and brutal and the majority of the Muslims had to migrate to Abyssinia. Additionally, the two great supporters of the Prophet, Abu Talib and his wife Khadijah were no longer there to help him, so he was deprived of all worldly support. In spite of this he carried on his mission. As a result of this all the good people of Makkah and the surrounding clans gradually began to accept Islam but there the community as a whole was still bent on obstinacy and rejection. Therefore if anyone showed an inclination towards Islam they were subjected to taunts and derision, physical violence and social boycott.

It was in these dark circumstances that a ray of hope gleamed from Yathrib, where Islam began to spread freely by the efforts of some influential people of the tribes of Aws and Khazraj, who had embraced Islam at Makkah. At that time, none but God knew the great hidden potential in this.

To a casual observer it appeared as if Islam was a weak movement, with no material backing, except for some limited support from the Prophet's own family and a few poor followers. Obviously the latter could not give much help because they themselves were being persecuted.

9. Relevant Hadith

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10. Wiki Forum

Comments in this section are statements made by general users – these are not necessarily explanations of the Ayah – rather a place to share personal thoughts and stories…

11. Tafsir Zone

 


12. External Links

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