The Cattle (Al-An‘am)
Verses 12-16 GROUP_203 6.12-16
12
قُل لِّمَن مَّا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ قُل لِلّهِ كَتَبَ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ الرَّحْمَةَ لَيَجْمَعَنَّكُمْ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ لاَ رَيْبَ فِيهِ الَّذِينَ خَسِرُواْ أَنفُسَهُمْ فَهُمْ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ
Say, ‘To whom belongs all that is in the heavens and earth?’ Say, ‘To God. He has taken it upon Himself to be merciful. That He will gather you on the Day of Resurrection is beyond all doubt. Those who have forfeited their souls will never have faith.’
13
وَلَهُ مَا سَكَنَ فِي اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ
To Him belongs all that dwells in the night and the day. He is the All Hearing and the All Knowing.
14
قُلْ أَغَيْرَ اللّهِ أَتَّخِذُ وَلِيًّا فَاطِرِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ وَهُوَ يُطْعِمُ وَلاَ يُطْعَمُ قُلْ إِنِّيَ أُمِرْتُ أَنْ أَكُونَ أَوَّلَ مَنْ أَسْلَمَ وَلاَ تَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكَينَ
Say, ‘Shall I take as my protector someone other than God, Creator of the heavens and the earth, who feeds all and is fed by none?’ Say, ‘I have been commanded to be the first of those who submit. Do not be one of the polytheists.’
15
قُلْ إِنِّيَ أَخَافُ إِنْ عَصَيْتُ رَبِّي عَذَابَ يَوْمٍ عَظِيمٍ
Say, ‘I will never disobey my Lord, for I fear the punishment of a dreadful Day.’
16
مَّن يُصْرَفْ عَنْهُ يَوْمَئِذٍ فَقَدْ رَحِمَهُ وَذَلِكَ الْفَوْزُ الْمُبِينُ
Anyone from whom punishment is averted on that Day has been shown great mercy by God. That is a supreme achievement.
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Commentary
(a) In this world communicating the Word of God is a task of some complexity. This is because God has ordained that the Truth be veiled in doubt, so that man may find reasons for rejecting it alongside arguments in support of its acceptance. The real test of man is that he should be able to tear down the veil of doubt and raise himself to the position of certainty. He should eschew doubt in all its guises and take a firm hold of the divine Truth. Believing without seeing is the real test of man. When reality is made visible, its acceptance has no value. Man denies the obvious truth. On obtaining power, he degrades others. One man makes another the victim of his tyranny. Why is this so? Does man wield absolute power in this world? Is there nobody here to stay his hand? Is there a combination of opposites in God’s regime, given that He seems to have filled man’s world with oppression and injustice and the rest of the world with mercy and meaningfulness? No, it is not so. God, who is the Lord of Heaven and earth, is also the Lord of that creature who toils during the day and rests at night. Just as God’s grace is given unstintingly to the universe, so also is it given to human beings. The difference is that for the rest of the world, His grace is fully in evidence right from the first day, whereas for the world of human beings, His grace will be fully shown on the Day of Judgement. (a) Man is a creature with a will of his own and that is why voluntary worship is required of him. Those who do not choose to exercise their will rightly, do not deserve a share in God’s bounties, not having fulfilled the purpose of their creation. After the period of trial is over, all human beings will be gathered in a new world. On that Day God will take into His hands the direct control of the rest of the world. On that Day God’s scale of justice will be operative. On that Day those who admitted the reality and surrendered themselves to God will come to the fore and those who did not, having led a life of arrogance and obstinacy in the world, will be the losers. Whenever a man adopts an arrogant stance, it is on the basis of some backing. But the things on which his arrogance depends for support have no value in this universe. Nothing has any power here, for the sole possessor of power is God. All are dependent on Him and He is not dependent on anyone. So, on the Day of Judgement, only those who had sought out the real support, who had made the true faith the religion of their lives, will be successful.