The Cattle (Al-An‘am)
Verses 40-41 GROUP_210 6.40-41
40
قُلْ أَرَأَيْتُكُم إِنْ أَتَاكُمْ عَذَابُ اللّهِ أَوْ أَتَتْكُمُ السَّاعَةُ أَغَيْرَ اللّهِ تَدْعُونَ إِن كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ
Say, ‘Tell me if the punishment of God came upon you or the Hour overtook you, would you call upon any other than God, if you are truthful?’
41
بَلْ إِيَّاهُ تَدْعُونَ فَيَكْشِفُ مَا تَدْعُونَ إِلَيْهِ إِنْ شَاء وَتَنسَوْنَ مَا تُشْرِكُونَ
Indeed, it is on Him that you would call, and He could remove that [affliction] which made you call on Him, if He will, and then you would forget [the false deities] which you associate with Him!’
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Commentary
(a) History bears witness to the fact that a man starts invoking the name of God in crucial moments; even one who relied on beings other than God or did not believe in God’s existence at all. This is nature’s testament to God’s existence and His being the absolute authority. Under extraordinary circumstances, when the outward veils are removed and when man dismisses all superficial thoughts, he does not remember anything except God. In other words, on reaching the point of helplessness, every man admits the existence of God. But the Quran demands that man should follow a course of acceptance and obedience at a time when there is no apparent compulsion to do so. All animals other than man instinctively lead realistic lives. But what pushes man towards realism and the admission of the truth is the psychology of fear. In the world of animals all things are accomplished by instinct. The same role is played by fear of God (taqwa) in the world of human beings.