The Cattle (Al-An‘am)
Verses 7-11 GROUP_202 6.7-11
7
وَلَوْ نَزَّلْنَا عَلَيْكَ كِتَابًا فِي قِرْطَاسٍ فَلَمَسُوهُ بِأَيْدِيهِمْ لَقَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ إِنْ هَـذَا إِلاَّ سِحْرٌ مُّبِينٌ
But even if We had sent down to you a Book written on parchment, and they had touched it with their own hands—those who deny the truth would still have said, ‘This is mere magic.’
8
وَقَالُواْ لَوْلا أُنزِلَ عَلَيْهِ مَلَكٌ وَلَوْ أَنزَلْنَا مَلَكًا لَّقُضِيَ الأمْرُ ثُمَّ لاَ يُنظَرُونَ
They ask, ‘Why has an angel not been sent down to him?’ If We did send down an angel, the matter would be settled and they would not have been granted any respite.
9
وَلَوْ جَعَلْنَاهُ مَلَكًا لَّجَعَلْنَاهُ رَجُلاً وَلَلَبَسْنَا عَلَيْهِم مَّا يَلْبِسُونَ
Indeed, if We had sent an angel as messenger, We would have made him in the form of a man as well, and would have thus added to their confusion.
10
وَلَقَدِ اسْتُهْزِىءَ بِرُسُلٍ مِّن قَبْلِكَ فَحَاقَ بِالَّذِينَ سَخِرُواْ مِنْهُم مَّا كَانُواْ بِهِ يَسْتَهْزِؤُونَ
Messengers have been mocked before you, but those who scoffed were overtaken by the very thing they scoffed at.
11
قُلْ سِيرُواْ فِي الأَرْضِ ثُمَّ انظُرُواْ كَيْفَ كَانَ عَاقِبَةُ الْمُكَذِّبِينَ
Say, ‘Travel about the land and see what was the end of the deniers.’
No class discussions published for this verse group yet.
Commentary
(a) The reason for a man going astray in this world is that here he has complete freedom to reject the Truth. He even has the opportunity to give fine justifications for erroneous thoughts, words and deeds. Man enjoys full freedom in this world of trial to accept or reject the Truth as he pleases. If the preacher of God’s word appears in the shape of an ordinary man, the ‘reason’ given for ignoring him could be that his effectiveness hinges on a talent for leadership and has nothing to do with Truth or righteousness. Similarly, if a book complete in every detail, comes down from the sky, he will say, ‘This is mere magic,’ to justify his rejection of it. The people of Makkah used to ask, if the Prophet was appointed to convey God’s message, why God’s angels were not with him to testify. A man talks like this because he is not serious about the call of God’s message. If he is serious, he will immediately come to know that this world is a place of trial. The test can be carried out only when realities are hidden behind a curtain. If the hidden realities were revealed and God and His angels made their appearance, there would be no question of prophethood or of giving the call of Truth, because thereafter nobody would dare to deny the realities. In the present world, because of their devotion to externals, people are unable to recognise the Messenger of God from the importance of his message. God’s Messenger appears to them like an ordinary man suddenly emerging and claiming very high status. They assess him on the basis of his outward appearance and, finding him insignificant in that respect, they deny him.