Surah al-An`am (The Cattle) 6 : 161

Overview (Verses 161 - 165)

A Heart-Felt Appeal

At the end of the sūrah with its long discourse on legislation and sovereignty we have a devotional glorification of God which carries with it a pleasant rhythm and a decisive verdict. The beat is repeated in each verse as it starts with the same word, ‘Say’. Each verse touches the heart, where the core of oneness lies: the oneness of the creed, goal, Lord and worship. It also provides a total look at the universe and its laws: “Say: ‘My Lord has guided me to a straight way, to an ever-true faith; the way of Abraham, who turned away from all that is false, and was not of those who associate partners with God’. Say: ‘My prayers, my worship, my living and my dying are for God alone, the Lord of all the worlds. He has no partner. Thus have I been commanded, and I shall be the first of those who surrender themselves to Him.’ Say: ‘Am I, then, to seek a lord other than God, when He is the Lord of all things? Whatever wrong any human being commits rests upon himself alone. No one shall be made to bear the burden of another. In time, to your Lord you all must return; and then He will tell you the truth of all that over which you were in dispute. He it is who has made you inherit the earth and has raised some of you by degrees above others, so that He might try you by means of what He has bestowed upon you. For certain, your Lord is swift in retribution; yet, He is indeed much- forgiving, merciful.” (Verses 161-165)

This long and final comment, together with the opening of the sūrah, plays a fascinating, perfectly harmonious tune. Yet it is a comment which concludes the discourse on animal slaughtering, offerings, agricultural produce and all the regulations alleged by the people of ignorance to be laid down by God. All that they say is a shameless lie. So, what do we make of this comment? In fact we do not need to make any further explanation after all that we have already said on the subject. “Say: ‘My Lord has guided me to a straight way, to an ever-true faith; the way of Abraham, who turned away from all that is false, and was not of those who associate partners with God.’” (Verse 161) This declaration expresses gratitude and trust, and overflows with certainty. We see the certainty in both the verbal expression in worship and its mental effect. The trust is derived from the bond with the Lord who guides and takes care of His servants. The gratitude is felt for being guided to a straight way that is free of diversion and crookedness. This straight way is the `ever true faith’ of Abraham, the father of this community who submitted himself to God in total devotion: “the way of Abraham, who turned away from all that is false, and was not of those who associate partners with God.” (Verse 161)

“Say: ‘My prayers, my worship, my living and my dying are for God alone, the Lord of all the worlds. He has no partner. Thus have I been commanded, and I shall be the first of those who surrender themselves to Him.’” (Verses 162-163) This expresses complete dedication, with every pulse and every life movement. It is a form of glorification of God and submission to Him in the most absolute of terms: it combines obligatory and voluntary prayer, life and death. All is dedicated to God alone, the Lord of all the worlds, who controls and sustains them all and conducts and determines all their affairs. It is the sort of submission to God that leaves out nothing within oneself, one’s conscience or in life, without dedicating it totally to God. “Thus have I been commanded”, and I understood and obeyed, and “I shall be the first of those who surrender themselves to Him.” (Verse 163)

“Say: ‘Am I, then, to seek a lord other than God, when He is the Lord of all things? Whatever wrong any human being commits rests upon himself alone. No one shall be made to bear the burden of another. In time, to your Lord you all must return; and then He will tell you the truth of all that over which you were in dispute.” (Verse 164) This is a word that encompasses all the heavens and earth as well as all that is in or on them, every creature known or unknown to man, everything to be done or to take place in public or private. It puts them all under the umbrella of God’s Lordship of everything in the universe. They must all submit to God’s absolute sovereignty in faith, worship and law.

This verse asks rhetorically and in amazement: “Am I, then, to seek a lord other than God, when He is the Lord of all things?” (Verse 164) Am I to seek a lord other than God to be my master who conducts my affairs and determines my course in life, when I am accountable to God for my intentions and actions, and will be rewarded for whatever obedience or disobedience to God I do? Am I to seek a lord other than God when this whole universe is in His hand, and both you and I are sustained by Him?

Am I to seek a lord other than God when everyone will be requited for his or her sins? No one shall bear responsibility for anyone else’s actions. “Whatever wrong any human being commits rests upon himself alone. No one shall be made to bear the burden of another.” (Verse 164) Am I to seek a lord other than God when to Him you must all return and face His reckoning of all that over which you are in dispute?

Am I to seek a lord other than God when it is He who has placed human beings on earth to inherit it, and placed some of them above others in their mental and physical abilities and in the provisions they receive. He does all this to test them, so that they may prove whether they are grateful or ungrateful to Him.

Am I to seek a lord other than God when He is swift in retribution, and He is the One who grants grace and forgiveness to all those who repent of their misdeeds? Am I to seek a lord other than God so as to replace his law, orders and rulings for those of God, when I have all these indications, inspirations and evidence pointing to the truth of God being the only Lord of the universe?

As we have said, these verses are a devotional prayer and a glorification of God’s oneness, reflecting the splendid image of pure faith as God’s Messenger (peace be upon him) feels it in his heart. It is an image the splendour of which cannot be expressed in human terms. Only the Qur’ān, God’s own word, can express it fully in its unique style.

And as we have said, this last beat in the sūrah addressing the question of sovereignty and legislation is in full harmony with the early part of the sūrah where the issue addressed was that of faith. We see this clearly in verses like these: “Say: ‘Am I to take for my master anyone but God, the Originator of the heavens and the earth, who gives nourishment to all and Himself needs none?’ Say: ‘I am commanded to be the first of those who surrender themselves to God, and not to be among those who associate partners with Him.’ Say: ‘Indeed I would dread, were I to disobey my Lord, the suffering of an awesome day. He who is spared that shall have received His grace. This will be a manifest triumph.’” (Verses 14-16)

A Final Word
 
We do not need to repeat here what we have said time and again about the significance of such pairs of thoughts, expressions and rhythms that occur in both the early and later parts of the sūrah. They are simply different facets of the same truth, reflected at one time as a belief and faith, and at another as a code of living.
 
Now that the sūrah is completed, if we look back at its great dimensions, the wide range it covers and the profound depths it goes into, we are overwhelmed. It all takes a small number of pages, 165 verses and a limited number of clauses and sentences. Had this space been used by a human being, it would not have covered one- hundredth of this great panorama of scenes, truths, inspirations and indications, let alone the sublime level it attains and the superb expression it uses.
 
The sūrah has taken us on a fascinating and breathtaking journey, to look at the great truths of existence. It is a journey that covers the major and fundamental Islamic concepts.
 
It portrays the truth of Godhead in all its awesome glory, majesty, splendour and beauty. It holds in front of our eyes the truths of the universe, life and what lies beyond life which we cannot perceive with our limited faculties. It shows us the truth of God’s will and how it initiates and obliterates, gives life and causes death, and runs the universe and all living things. It reflects the truth of the human soul: its depths, apparent and hidden pathways, desires and leanings, the guidance it follows and the errors it commits, how it reacts to the whispers of evil humans and jinn, as well as how it is led along the right or wrong way.
 
It portrays scenes of the Day of Judgement, the gathering of all creatures, their moments of great distress and moments of hope and happiness. It gives us scenes of human history on earth, and shots of the history of life and the universe.
 
The panorama it shows us is vast and extensive. We cannot sum it up in words. It can only be seen through the sūrah itself, with its surpassing excellence and inimitable style of expression. No wonder it is part of this blessed book. All praise is due to God, the Lord of all the worlds. He it is who has made you inherit the earth and has raised some of you by degrees above others, so that He might try you by means of what He has bestowed upon you. For certain, your Lord is swift in retribution; yet, He is indeed much forgiving, merciful.” (Verse 165)