Surah al-An`am (The Cattle) 6 : 91
Translations
Pickthall
Yusuf Ali
Qur'an Dictionary
Explanatory Note
The surah continues with the theme of God’s messengers and their messages, and denounces those who deny the divine messages, describing them as having no true understanding of God, His wisdom, grace and justice. It states that the final message follows the same pattern of earlier messages, and that the Qur’an, the last of the Books revealed by God, endorses earlier scriptures. All this fits beautifully with the procession of the faithful, led by the noble prophets, which was the subject matter of the preceding verses.
“No true understanding of God have they when they say: ‘God has never revealed anything to any human being.’“ This claim by the ignorant unbelievers in Makkah is reiterated by unbelievers in every period of history. It is even reiterated nowadays by those who claim that religions where invented by human beings and that they developed and became more sophisticated with the progress of human civilization. Such people make no distinction between man-made ideologies, such as idolatrous and pagan beliefs past and contemporary, which are indeed influenced by the stage of progress of their adherents, and divine religions preached by God’s messengers. They ignore the fact that the main principles of these divine religions are the same, and that they are elaborated by every messenger. In each case, the divine religion was accepted by a community of believers and rejected by other people. As time passed, deviation occurred and distortion crept in. Thus, people reverted to their days of ignorance, awaiting the appearance of a new messenger to preach the divine faith.
This claim is reiterated in all ages by people who do not have any clear and true understanding of God and who are blind to God’s grace, mercy and justice. They may say, as the Arabs at the time of the Prophet used to say, that God would not send a human messenger. Had He willed to send anyone, He would have chosen an angel for a messenger. Or they may say that the creator of this vast and great universe would not pay any attention to man, an insignificant creature in an exceedingly small planet called earth, to the extent of sending him messengers and revelations to guide him in his small world. This view was advanced by some philosophers in the past as also in modern times. Or they may say with the atheists that there is neither God nor a message to be revealed to anyone. They claim all this is the product of human fancies to enable some people to deceive others using the guise of religion.
All this betrays a shameful lack of understanding of God: His justice, mercy, wisdom, knowledge and grace. For it does not fit with God’s grace to abandon man completely, when it is God who has created him and who knows his abilities and weaknesses. When it is God who knows his need for a proper standard by which to evaluate his concepts, notions, views, actions, traditions and systems, in order to choose what is right of all these and abandon what is bad or false. God also knows that the human mind is subjected to enormous pressures from a whole host of desires, whims and ambitions. Besides, man has been placed in charge of the earth, which God has made subservient to him. It is not his task to formulate an absolute concept of the universe or the essential principles of life. This is part of the domain of faith which God gives him so that he can formulate a proper concept of life and existence.
Since the message of Moses and the people of earlier scriptures were known to the Arabs, God instructs His Messenger, Muhammad (peace be upon him), to confront the unbelievers who denied revelation altogether with these facts. Thus, he asks them: “Who, then, revealed the Book which Moses brought to people as a light and a guidance? You transcribe it on sheets to show around, while you suppress much. You have been taught [by it] what neither you nor your forefathers had ever known.” The Jews show of it only some parts but suppress others in order to achieve their own selfish ends. The Prophet is further instructed to remind them that God has taught them much that they did not know. It behoves them, then, to show their gratitude to God for revealing the Qur’an, not to deny its truth by claiming that God has not sent down any revelations to His messengers.
They have not been given a chance to answer the question. God instructs His messenger to put a decisive end to this argument, in order not to allow it to become protracted. “Say: ‘God, and leave them to their play and foolish chatter.’” It is God who has revealed it. The Prophet is instructed not to pay any attention to their arguments, described here as play and foolish chatter. This description implies a contemptuous look at their arguments and a serious threat. When foolishness is carried so far as to cause people to make such claims, the appropriate course of action is to make a final and decisive statement that leaves no room for any further argument.
3. Surah Overview
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]
Reasons for Revelation
One interpretation suggests that this particular verse was revealed in Madinah and was addressed to the Jews. Another interpretation, which the present author prefers,28 maintains that this verse was, like the rest of the surah, revealed in Makkah. It addresses the unbelievers among the Arabs, telling them how the Jews used to play games with the Torah, showing only certain parts of it, which endorsed their treacherous methods and allowed them to change divine rulings. They suppressed much which censured their behaviour. The Arabs knew only a little of that, but God has told them in the Qur’an much of what they did not know. Although this reference is made in the form of an address, another authentically reported reading of it makes it in the form of a reported speech, which endorses the view we prefer.
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Overview (Verses 91 - 92) Acknowledgement of God’s Glory |
Ibn Kathir (English)
Sayyid Qutb
Sha'rawi
Al Jalalain
Mawdudi
الطبري - جامع البيان
ابن كثير - تفسير القرآن العظيم
القرطبي - الجامع لأحكام
البغوي - معالم التنزيل
ابن أبي حاتم الرازي - تفسير القرآن
ابن عاشور - التحرير والتنوير
ابن القيم - تفسير ابن قيّم
السيوطي - الدر المنثور
الشنقيطي - أضواء البيان
ابن الجوزي - زاد المسير
الآلوسي - روح المعاني
ابن عطية - المحرر الوجيز
الرازي - مفاتيح الغيب
أبو السعود - إرشاد العقل السليم
الزمخشري - الكشاف
البقاعي - نظم الدرر
الهداية إلى بلوغ النهاية — مكي ابن أبي طالب
القاسمي - محاسن التأويل
الماوردي - النكت والعيون
السعدي - تيسير الكريم الرحمن
عبد الرحمن الثعالبي - الجواهر الحسان
السمرقندي - بحر العلوم
أبو إسحاق الثعلبي - الكشف والبيان
الشوكاني - فتح القدير
النيسابوري - التفسير البسيط
أبو حيان - البحر المحيط
البيضاوي - أنوار التنزيل
النسفي - مدارك التنزيل
ابن جُزَيّ - التسهيل لعلوم التنزيل
علي الواحدي النيسابوري - الوجيز
السيوطي - تفسير الجلالين
المختصر في التفسير — مركز تفسير
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Overview (Verses 91 - 92) Acknowledgement of God’s Glory |