The Cattle (Al-An‘am)
Verses 51-53 GROUP_213 6.51-53
51
وَأَنذِرْ بِهِ الَّذِينَ يَخَافُونَ أَن يُحْشَرُواْ إِلَى رَبِّهِمْ لَيْسَ لَهُم مِّن دُونِهِ وَلِيٌّ وَلاَ شَفِيعٌ لَّعَلَّهُمْ يَتَّقُونَ
Warn by it those who fear to be gathered before their Lord, when they have no guardian or intercessor besides God, so that they may become God-fearing.
52
وَلاَ تَطْرُدِ الَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ رَبَّهُم بِالْغَدَاةِ وَالْعَشِيِّ يُرِيدُونَ وَجْهَهُ مَا عَلَيْكَ مِنْ حِسَابِهِم مِّن شَيْءٍ وَمَا مِنْ حِسَابِكَ عَلَيْهِم مِّن شَيْءٍ فَتَطْرُدَهُمْ فَتَكُونَ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ
Do not send away those who call upon their Lord in the morning and in the evening, seeking only His grace. You are not by any means accountable for them, nor are they accountable for you. If you turn them away, you yourself will become one of the unjust.
53
وَكَذَلِكَ فَتَنَّا بَعْضَهُم بِبَعْضٍ لِّيَقُولواْ أَهَـؤُلاء مَنَّ اللّهُ عَلَيْهِم مِّن بَيْنِنَا أَلَيْسَ اللّهُ بِأَعْلَمَ بِالشَّاكِرِينَ
In this way We try some of them by means of others, so that they may ask, ‘Are these [lowly ones] whom God has singled out for His favours from among us? Does God not know best who are the grateful ones?’
No class discussions published for this verse group yet.
Commentary
(a) Admonition is effective only for those who live in fear of God. Only one who is concerned about possible danger can be warned about imminent calamity. On the contrary, those who live reckless lives are never serious about admonition, and that is why they are never prepared to heed advice. Recklessness or fearlessness arises from two factors—one is worship of the world and the other is worship of ancestors. Those who are lost in worldly things or are satisfied with worldly success do not even remember that one day, when they die, they shall have to appear before their Creator and Lord, and so do not consider the Hereafter as anything significant. Remembrance of the Hereafter does not, therefore, find a place in their thinking. Their temperament is such that they ignore such things, considering them unimportant. Another category of individuals includes those who consider recommendation the key to Paradise. They presume that the ‘great ones’ for whom they have developed an attachment will be their supporters and commenders in the Hereafter and that no matter how unfavourable the conditions, that will be sufficient for their salvation. Such people live in the fond hope that since they have grasped the hands of some ‘holy’ personalities and since they are with the group which is ostensibly loved and favoured by God, no affair of theirs can go awry. It is this mentality which makes them unafraid of the Hereafter. They are not ready to give serious consideration to anything which may throw doubt on their position in the life to come. (a) Those who have achieved wealth and popularity prefer to give weightage to the considerations of their worldly interests, rather than support the pure and unadulterated call of Truth, because, according to them, supporting the Truth would amount to demolition of the entire structure of their vested interests. Moreover, when they see that Truth is upheld by people of ordinary status, their way of thinking is further strengthened. They feel that by associating with the Truth they will be lowering their own status. Instead of testing the Truth on the touchstone of Truth, they judge it by their own criteria, i.e. by their own private and personal touchstone, and when the Truth does not measure up to this, they ignore it.