Surah 6. Al-An'am

Nay, but it is Him alone that you will invoke - whereupon He may, if He so wills, remove that [ill] which caused you to call unto Him; and you will have forgotten all that to which you [now] ascribe divinity side by side with Him."

  - Mohammad Asad

No, on Him Alone you will call, and forget those whom you have set up as His partners; then if He pleases, He relieves you from the affliction about which you have prayed to Him.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Nay, but unto Him ye call, and He removeth that because of which ye call unto Him, if He will, and ye forget whatever partners ye ascribed unto Him.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And, indeed, We sent Our messages unto people before thy time, [O Prophet,] and visited them with misfortune and hardship so that they might humble themselves:

  - Mohammad Asad

We did send Rasools before you to other nations and afflicted them with suffering and adversities so that they might learn humility.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

We have sent already unto peoples that were before thee, and We visited them with tribulation and adversity, in order that they might grow humble.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

yet when the misfortune decreed by Us befell them, they did not humble themselves, but rather their hearts grew hard, for Satan had made all their doings seem goodly to them.

  - Mohammad Asad

Why did they not humble themselves when the sufferings overtook them? On the contrary their hearts became hardened and Shaitan made their sinful acts seem fair to them.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

If only, when our disaster came on them, they had been humble! But their hearts were hardened and the devil made all that they used to do seem fair unto them!

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Then, when they had forgotten all that they had been told to take to heart, We threw open to them the gates of all [good] things,³³ until - even as they were rejoicing in what they had been granted - We suddenly took them to task: and lo! they were broken in spirit;³⁴

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., to test them by happiness after the test by misery.

The verb ablasa signifies "he despaired of all hope" or "became broken in spirit". (For the linguistic connection of this word with the name of Iblis, the Fallen Angel, see surah {7}, note [10].)

When they neglected the warning they had received, then, instead of punishment, We opened the gates of every kind of prosperity for them; but just as they were rejoicing in what they were given, We suddenly seized them; lo! They were plunged into despair!

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Then, when they forgot that whereof they had been reminded, We opened unto them the gates of all things till, even as they were rejoicing in that which they were given, We seized them unawares, and lo! they were dumbfounded.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

and [in the end,] the last remnant of those folk who had been bent on evildoing was wiped out.³⁵ For all praise is due to God, the Sustainer of all the worlds.

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "cut off". The above passage illustrates a phenomenon well known in history: namely, the inevitable social and moral disintegration of communities which have lost sight of spiritual truths.

Thus We cut off the roots of the wrongdoers. All praises are due to Allah the Rabb of the worlds.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

So of the people who did wrong the last remnant was cut off. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds!

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Say: "What do you think? If God should take away your hearing and your sight and seal your hearts - what deity but God is there that could bring it all back to you?" Behold how many facets We give to Our messages - and yet they turn away in disdain!

  - Mohammad Asad

Ask them: "Just think, if Allah takes away your hearing and your sight and seals up your hearts, is there any deity other than Allah who could restore them to you?" See how We present Our revelations over and over again and yet they turn away.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Say: Have ye imagined, if Allah should take away your hearing and your sight and seal your hearts, who is the God who could restore it to you save Allah? See how We display the revelations unto them? Yet still they turn away.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Say: "Can you imagine what your condition will be³⁶ if God's chastisement befalls you, either suddenly or in a [gradually] perceptible manner? [But then - ] will any but evildoing folk [ever] be destroyed?³⁷

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "Can you see yourselves".

I.e., the righteous will never be really "destroyed" - for, even if they should suffer physical destruction, they are bound to attain to spiritual bliss and cannot, therefore, be said to have been "destroyed" like the evildoers, who, by their actions, lose their happiness both in this world and in the life to come (Razi).

Say: "Just think if the punishment of Allah comes to you whether suddenly or openly, would any be destroyed other than the wrongdoers?"

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Say: Can ye see yourselves, if the punishment of Allah come upon you unawares or openly? Would any perish save wrongdoing folk?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And We send [Our] message-bearers only as heralds of glad tidings and as warners: hence, all who believe and live righteously - no fear need they have, and neither shall they grieve;

  - Mohammad Asad

We have sent the Rasools only to give good news and to warn: then whoever believe and mend their ways shall have nothing to fear or to regret.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

We send not the messengers save as bearers of good news and warners. Whoso believeth and doeth right, there shall no fear come upon them neither shall they grieve.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

whereas those who give the lie to Our messages - suffering will afflict them in result of all their sinful doings.

  - Mohammad Asad

But those who deny Our Revelations shall be punished for their transgression.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

But as for those who deny Our revelations, torment will afflict them for that they used to disobey.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Say [O Prophet]: "I do not say unto you, 'God's treasures are with me'; nor [do I say], 'I know the things that are beyond the reach of human perception'; nor do I say unto you, 'Behold, I am an angel': I but follow what is revealed to me."³⁸ Say: "Can the blind and the seeing be deemed equal?³⁹ Will you not, then, take thought?"

  - Mohammad Asad

This denial on the part of the Prophet of any claim to supernatural powers refers, primarily, to the demand of the unbelievers mentioned in verse {37} that he should prove his prophetic mission by causing a "miraculous sign" to be bestowed on him. Beyond this specific reference, however, the above passage is meant to prevent any deification of the Prophet and to make it clear that he - like all other prophets before him - was but a mortal human being, a servant whom God had chosen to convey His message to mankind. See also 7:188 .

I.e., "Can those who remain blind and deaf to God's messages find their way through life equally well as those who have achieved a spiritual vision and guidance through God's revelation?"

Say: "I do not claim that I possess the treasures of Allah, or that I know the unseen nor do I claim that I am an angel. What I say is, that I follow only that which is revealed to me." Ask them: "Are the blind and the seeing alike? Why don't you think?"

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Say (O Muhammad, to the disbelievers): I say not unto you (that) I possess the treasures of Allah, nor that I have knowledge of the Unseen; and I say not unto you: Lo! I am an angel. I follow only that which is inspired in me. Say: Are the blind man and the seer equal? Will ye not then take thought?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And warn hereby those who fear lest they be gathered unto their Sustainer with none to protect them from Him or to intercede with Him, so that they might become [fully] conscious of Him.⁴⁰

  - Mohammad Asad

It is obvious from the context that this verse refers to followers of earlier scriptures - such as the Jews and the Christians - who share with the followers of the Qur'an the belief in life after death (Zamakhshari), as well as to agnostics who, without having definite beliefs on this point, admit the possibility of life after death.

O Muhammad, admonish with this (The Qur'an), those who have the fear of being assembled before their Rabb in such a condition that there will be no one to protect them or intercede on their behalf other than Him. It may be that, by this admonition, they may become righteous.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Warn hereby those who fear (because they know) that they will be gathered unto their Lord, for whom there is no protecting friend nor intercessor beside Him, that they may ward off (evil).

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Hence, repulse not [any of] those who at morn and evening invoke their Sustainer, seeking His countenance.⁴¹ Thou art in no wise accountable for them - iust as they are in no wise accountable for thee⁴² - and thou hast therefore no right to repulse them: for then thou wouldst be among the evildoers.⁴³

  - Mohammad Asad

According to Traditions, this and the next verse were revealed when, several years before the Muslims' exodus to Medina, some of the pagan chieftains at Mecca expressed their willingness to consider accepting Islam on the condition that the Prophet would dissociate himself from the former slaves and other "lowly" persons among his followers - a demand which the Prophet, of course, rejected. This historical reference does not, however, provide a full explanation of the above passage. In accordance with the Qur'anic method, allusions to historical events - whether relating to contemporary occurrences or to earlier times - are always made with a view to expressing ethical teachings of a permanent nature; and the passage under consideration is no exception in this respect. As the wording shows, it relates not to "lowly" followers of Islam but to people who, while not being Muslims in the current sense of this word, believe in God and are always ("at morn and evening") "seeking His countenance" (i.e., His grace and acceptance): and thus, verses {52-53} connect logically with verse {51}. Although primarily addressed to the Prophet, the exhortation voiced in this passage is directed to all followers of the Qur'an: they are enjoined not to repulse anyone who believes in God - even though his beliefs may not fully answer to the demands of the Qur'an - but, on the contrary, to try to help him by means of a patient explanation of the Qur'anic teachings.

I.e., for whatever in their beliefs or actions does not coincide with the teachings of the Qur'an, and vice-versa. In other words, all are accountable to God alone.

Lit., "so that thou shouldst repulse them and thus be of the evildoers".

Do not drive away those (poor people like Bilal, Ammar and Suhaib) who call on their Rabb morning and evening, seeking only to gain His favor. You are in no way accountable for their deeds nor they are in any way accountable for yours. So if you drive them away you shall be counted among the wrongdoers.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Repel not those who call upon their Lord at morn and evening, seeking His countenance. Thou art not accountable for them in aught, nor are they accountable for thee in aught, that thou shouldst repel them and be of the wrong-doers.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

For it is in this way⁴⁴ that We try men through one another - to the end that they might ask, "Has God, then, bestowed His favour upon those others in preference to us?"⁴⁵ Does not God know best as to who is grateful [to Him]?

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., by endowing man with the power of reasoning and thus, indirectly, giving rise to a multiplicity of faiths.

Lit., "Is it those upon whom God has bestowed His favour from among us (min baynina)?" As mentioned by Zamakhshari, the expression min baynina is here equivalent to min dunina, which, in this context, may suitably be rendered as "in preference to us". This would seem to be an allusion to the sarcastic incredulity with which, as a rule, non-Muslims receive the claim of the Muslims that the Qur'an is the final formulation of God's message to man. The "trial" referred to above consists in the unwillingness of people of other faiths to accept this claim as valid, and so to renounce the prejudice against Islam to which their cultural and historical environment has made them, consciously or subconsciously, predisposed.

That's how We have made some of them (poor and slaves who accepted Islam) a means for testing the others (the chiefs of Qureysh), so that they should say: "Are these the people whom Allah favors among us (the poor, indigent and low class)?" Well, does Allah not know best those who are grateful?

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And even so do We try some of them by others, that they say: Are these they whom Allah favoureth among us? Is not Allah best aware of the thanksgivers?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And when those who believe in Our messages come unto thee, say: "Peace be upon you. Your Sustainer has willed upon Himself the law of grace and mercy⁴⁶ - so that if any of you does a bad deed out of ignorance, and thereafter repents and lives righteously, He shall be [found] much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace."

  - Mohammad Asad

See note [10] above. Regarding the word salam, which has been translated here as "peace", see surah {5}, note [29]. The "peace" referred to in the above expression - which occurs many times in the Qur'an and has become the standard form of Muslim greeting - has a spiritual connotation comprising the concepts of ethical soundness, security from all that is evil and, therefore, freedom from all moral conflict and disquiet.

When those who believe in Our revelations come to you, say: "Peace be upon you. Your Rabb has decreed mercy upon Himself. If anyone among you commits evil because of ignorance and thereafter repents and mends his ways; you will find Allah Forgiving, Merciful."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And when those who believe in Our revelations come unto thee, say: Peace be unto you! Your Lord hath prescribed for Himself mercy, that whoso of you doeth evil and repenteth afterward thereof and doeth right, (for him) lo! Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And thus clearly do We spell out Our messages: and [We do it] so that the path of those who are lost in sin might be distinct [from that of the righteous].

  - Mohammad Asad

Thus, We spell out Our revelations, so that the way of the culprits may become evident.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Thus do We expound the revelations that the way of the unrighteous may be manifest.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall