Surah 6. Al-An'am

And who could be more wicked than he who attributes his own lying inventions to God or gives the lie to His messages? Verily, such evildoers will never attain to a happy state:

  - Mohammad Asad

Who can be more wicked than a person who forges a lie against Allah or denies His revelations? Surely the wrongdoers shall never get salvation.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Who doth greater wrong than he who inventeth a lie against Allah and denieth His revelations? Lo! the wrong doers will not be successful

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

for one Day We shall gather them all together, and then We shall say unto those who ascribed divinity to aught beside God: "Where, now, are those beings whom you imagined to have a share in God's divinity?"¹⁵

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "those [God-]partners of yours whom you supposed [to exist]". Whenever the term shuraka' (pl. of sharik) is used in the Qur'an with reference to beliefs, it invariably denotes real or imaginary beings or forces to whom one ascribes a share in God's divinity: consequently, this concept - and its utter condemnation in Islam - relates not merely to the worship of false deities but also to the attribution of semi-divine qualities and powers to saints (in the liturgical sense of this word), as well as to abstract notions like wealth, social status, power, nationality, etc., to which men so often ascribe an objective influence on human destinies.

On the Day of Judgement when We shall gather them all together, We shall ask the mushrikin: "Where are those deities whom you ascribed to be My partners?"

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And on the Day We gather them together We shall say unto those who ascribed partners (unto Allah): Where are (now) those partners of your make believe?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Whereupon, in their utter confusion, they will only [be able to] say: "By God, our Sustainer, we did not [mean to] ascribe divinity to aught beside Him!"¹⁶

  - Mohammad Asad

This refers to beliefs which undoubtedly imply shirk ("the ascribing of divinity or divine qualities to beings or forces other than God") in the objective sense of this concept, but which the person concerned does not subjectively visualize as denying God's oneness (Razi): for instance, the mystical dogma of the "Trinity" which, in the Christian view, does not conflict with the principle of God's oneness inasmuch as it is supposed to express a "threefold aspect" of the One Deity, or the attribution of divine or semi-divine qualities to saints as supposed "mediators" between man and God, and so forth. All such beliefs are, of course, emphatically rejected by the Qur'an.

They will have no argument but to say: "By Allah, our Rabb, we were not at all mushrik."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Then will they have no contention save that they will say: By Allah, our Lord, we never were idolaters.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Behold how they have lied to themselves¹⁷ - and [how] their false imagery has forsaken them!

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., by allowing themselves to think, in their lifetime, that their beliefs did not offend against the principle of God's oneness (Razi). But see also 10:28 and the corresponding notes [45] and [46].

See how they will lie against their own souls, and how the deities of their own inventions will leave them in the lurch.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

See how they lie against themselves, and (how) the thing which they devised hath failed them!

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And there are among them such as [seem to] listen to thee [O Prophet]: but over their hearts We have laid veils which prevent them from grasping the truth, and into their ears, deafness.¹⁸ And were they to see every sign [of the truth], they would still not believe in it - so much so that when they come unto thee to contend with thee, those who are bent on denying the truth say, "This is nothing but fables of ancient times!"

  - Mohammad Asad

Regarding the problem of God's "causing" this spiritual blindness and deafness, see 2:7 and the corresponding note, as well as note [4] on 14:4 .

Of them there are some who pretend that they listen to you; but their prejudices have dulled their faculties and We have cast veils over their hearts and deafness in their ears so they are unable to understand. Even if they see every one of Our Signs, they will not believe. So much so, that when they come to you, they argue with you. The unbelievers say: "These are nothing but tales of the old times."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Of them are some who listen unto thee, but We have placed upon their hearts veils, lest they should understand, and in their ears a deafness. If they saw every token they would not believe therein; to the point that, when they come unto thee to argue with thee, the disbelievers say: This is naught else than fables of the men of old.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And they bar others therefrom, and go far away from it: but they destroy none but themselves, and perceive it not.

  - Mohammad Asad

They themselves have turned away from the truth and also forbid other people to believe in it. With such a behavior they harm none but their own souls but they do not perceive it.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And they forbid (men) from it and avoid it, and they ruin none save themselves, though they perceive not.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

If thou couldst but see [them] when they will be made to stand before the fire and will say, "Oh, would that we were brought back [to life]: then we would not give the lie to our Sustainer's messages, but would be among the believers!"

  - Mohammad Asad

If you could witness the scene, when they will be made to stand before the hellfire! They will say: "We wish we could return to earthly life again; then we would not deny the revelations of our Rabb, and we would join the believers!"

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

If thou couldst see when they are set before the Fire and say: Oh, would that we might return! Then would we not deny the revelations of our Lord but we would be of the believers!

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

But nay - [they will say this only because] the truth which they used to conceal [from themselves] in the past will have become obvious to them; and if they were brought back [to life], they would return to the very thing which was forbidden to them: for, behold, they are indeed liars!¹⁹

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., their longing for a "second chance" is not dictated by love of truth for its own sake but rather, by their dread of the evil consequences of their doings; and "faith is useless unless it is desired for its own sake" (Razi).

In fact, they will say this because they had come to know the reality which they were concealing before. As a matter of fact even if they be sent back, they would certainly repeat the same things which they had been forbidden to do. Indeed they are liars.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Nay, but that hath become clear unto them which before they used to hide. And if they were sent back they would return unto that which they are forbidden. Lo! they are liars.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And some [of the unbelievers] say, "There is nothing beyond our life in this world, for We shall not be raised from the dead."

  - Mohammad Asad

Today they say: "There is no other life except the life on this earth and we shall never be raised to life again."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And they say: There is naught save our life of the world, and we shall not be raised (again).

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

If thou couldst but see [them] when they shall be made to stand before their Sustainer [and] He will say, "Is not this the truth?" They will answer: "Yea, indeed, by our Sustainer!" [Whereupon] He will say: "Taste, then, the suffering that comes from²⁰ your having refused to acknowledge the truth!"

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "the suffering [or "chastisement"] because of" or "in consequence of". The particle bi-ma expresses here a causal connection between the denial of the truth and the subsequent suffering, and is best rendered as above.

If you could witness the scene when they will be brought before their Rabb; He will ask, "Is this not a reality?" They will say: "Yes, our Rabb, this is the reality." He will order: "Well, then taste the punishment for denying this reality."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

If thou couldst see when they are set before their Lord! He will say: Is not this real? They will say: Yea, verily, by our Lord! He will say: Taste now the retribution for that ye used to disbelieve.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Lost indeed are they who consider it a lie that they will have to meet God - till the Last Hour suddenly comes upon them, [and] they cry, "Alas for us, that we disregarded it!" - for they shall bear on their backs the burden of their sins:²¹ oh, how evil the load with which they shall be burdened!

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "their burdens". My use of the words "the burden of their sins" rests on the interpretation given by Ibn 'Abbas, as quoted by Razi.

Those people are indeed lost who deny that they will ever meet Allah. When the hour of Doomsday will overtake them all of a sudden, they will exclaim: "Alas! How negligent we have been about this Hour." They will be carrying the burden of their sins on their backs; and evil indeed are the burdens that they carry!

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

They indeed are losers who deny their meeting with Allah until, when the hour cometh on them suddenly, they cry: Alas for us, that we neglected it! They bear upon their back their burdens. Ah, evil is that which they bear!

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And nothing is the life of this world but a play and a passing delight; and the life in the hereafter is by far the better for all who are conscious of God. Will you not, then, use your reason?

  - Mohammad Asad

The life of this world is nothing but play and amusement, but the life of the Hereafter will be better for those who are righteous. Will you not use your common sense?

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Naught is the life of the world save a pastime and a sport. Better far is the abode of the Hereafter for those who keep their duty (to Allah). Have ye then no sense?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Well do We know that what such people say²² grieves thee indeed: yet, behold, it is not thee to whom they give the lie, but God's messages do these evildoers deny.

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "what they say" - i.e., about life after death (which they regard as a "fable") in particular, and about the Qur'anic message in general.

O Muhammad We know it well that what they say grieves you: it is not you that they deny, these wrongdoers actually deny the revelations of Allah.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

We know well how their talk grieveth thee, though in truth they deny not thee (Muhammad) but evil-doers flout the revelations of Allah.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And, indeed, [even] before thy time have apostles been given the lie, and they endured with patience all those charges of falsehood, and all the hurt done to them, till succour came unto them from Us: for there is no power that could alter [the outcome of] God's promises. And some of the histories of those apostles have already come within thy ken.²³

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "some of the information concerning the apostles has already come to thee": a reference to the fact that only a few of the earlier prophets and their histories have been specifically mentioned in the Qur'an (always in connection with a particular moral lesson), while the great majority of them are only alluded to in a general manner, in support of the divine statement that no community or civilization has been left without prophetic guidance.

Many Rasools before you were denied but patiently bore with their denial and persecution until Our help came down to them: for none can change the decrees of Allah. You have already received the news of what happened to those Rasools.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Messengers indeed have been denied before thee, and they were patient under the denial and the persecution till Our succour reached them. There is none to alter the decisions of Allah. Already there hath reached thee (somewhat) of the tidings of the messengers (We sent before).

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And if it distress thee that those who deny the truth²⁴ turn their backs on thee - why, then, if thou art able to go down deep into the earth or to ascend a ladder unto heaven²⁵ in order to bring them a [yet more convincing] message, [do so;] but [remember that] had God so willed, He would indeed have gathered them all unto [His] guidance. Do not, therefore, allow thyself to ignore [God's ways].²⁶

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "that they".

Lit., "to seek out an opening in the earth or a ladder to heaven".

Lit., "be not, therefore, of the ignorant".

If you find their aversion hard to bear, then see if you can make a tunnel in the ground or put a ladder to ascend in the skies by which you can bring them a sign. O Prophet, you know well that if Allah wanted, He would have given guidance to all. So do not be like the ignorant.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And if their aversion is grievous unto thee, then, if thou canst, seek a way down into the earth or a ladder unto the sky that thou mayst bring unto them a portent (to convince them all)! If Allah willed, He could have brought them all together to the guidance So be not thou among the foolish ones.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Only they who listen [with their hearts] can respond to a call; and as for the dead [of heart], God [alone] can raise them from the dead, whereupon unto Him they shall return.²⁷

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "they shall be returned". Most of the classical commentators (e.g., Tabari, Zamakhshari, Razi, as well as the earlier authorities whom they quote) interpret this verse in the metaphorical sense in which it has been rendered by me. As is so often the case with Qur'anic diction, its elliptical meaning can only be brought out by means of interpolations.

Surely those who listen to Our revelations with open mind will accept the Truth. As for the dead (those with closed minds), Allah will bring them back to life, on the Day of Judgement, to be produced in His court.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Only those can accept who hear. As for the dead, Allah will raise them up; then unto Him they will be returned.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And they say, "Why has no miraculous sign been bestowed on him²⁸ from on high by his Sustainer?" Say: "Behold, God has the power to bestow any sign from on high." Yet most human beings are unaware of this²⁹ -

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., on Muhammad, to demonstrate that he is really a bearer of God's message.

Lit., "most of them do not know", i.e., that God manifests Himself always - as the next verse points out - through the ever-recurring miracle of His creation.

They ask: "Why has a sign not been sent down to him from his Rabb?" Tell them: "Allah is surely able to send down a Sign if He wants; but most of them do not understand the wisdom behind it."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

They say: Why hath no portent been sent down upon him from his Lord? Say: Lo! Allah is Able to send down a portent. But most of them know not.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

although there is no beast that walks on earth and no bird that flies on its two wings which is not [God's] creature³⁰ like yourselves: no single thing have We neglected in Our decree. And once again:³¹ Unto their Sustainer shall they [all] be gathered.

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "but they are [God's] creatures (umam)". The word ummah (of which umam is the plural) primarily denotes a group of living beings having certain characteristics or circumstances in common. Thus, it is often synonymous with "community", "people", "nation", "genus" "generation", and so forth. Inasmuch as every such grouping is characterized by the basic fact that its constituents (whether human or animal) are endowed with life, the term ummah sometimes signifies "[God's] creatures" (Lisan al-'Arab, with particular reference to this very Qur'an-verse; also Lane I, 90). Thus, the meaning of the above passage is this: Man can detect God's "signs" or "miracles" in all the life-phenomena that surround him, and should, therefore, try to observe them with a view to better understanding "God's way" (sunnat Allah) - which is the Qur'anic term for what we call "laws of nature".

The particle thumma is mostly used as a conjunction indicating a sequence in time or order ("then", "thereafter" or "thereupon"), and occasionally also as a simple conjunction equivalent to "and". But in yet another usage - of which there are frequent instances in the Qur'an as well as in pre-Islamic Arabian poetry - thumma has the significance of a repetitive stress, alluding to something that has already been stated and is now again emphasized. This particular usage of thumma is best rendered by the words "and once again", followed by a colon.

If you really want to see the signs of Allah, just look at any animal that walks upon the earth and any bird that flies in the air; they too are the communities like you. We have not left out anything from the Book in determining the courses of their lives. They all shall be gathered before their Rabb.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

There is not an animal in the earth, nor a flying creature flying on two wings, but they are peoples like unto you. We have neglected nothing in the Book (of Our decrees). Then unto their Lord they will be gathered.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And they who give the lie to Our messages are deaf and dumb, in darkness deep. Whomever God wills, He lets go astray; and whomever He wills, He places upon a straight way.³²

  - Mohammad Asad

See note [4] on 14:4 .

Those who deny Our Revelations are deaf and dumb, living in many layers of darkness. Allah confounds whom He will, and guides to the Right Way whom He pleases.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Those who deny our revelations are deaf and dumb in darkness. Whom Allah will He sendeth astray, and whom He will He placeth on a straight path.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Say: "Can you see yourselves invoking any but God when God's chastisement befalls you [in this world], or the Last Hour comes upon you? [Tell me this,] if you are men of truth!

  - Mohammad Asad

Ask them to think carefully and answer: "When you face a disaster or the last Hour approaches you, do you call for help anyone other than Allah? Answer me if you are truthful!"

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Say: Can ye see yourselves, if the punishment of Allah come upon you or the Hour come upon you, calling upon other than Allah? Do ye then call (for help) to any other than Allah? (Answer that) if ye are truthful.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall