The Cattle (Al-An‘am) الأنعام 114–117
114
أَفَغَيْرَ اللّهِ أَبْتَغِي حَكَمًا وَهُوَ الَّذِي أَنَزَلَ إِلَيْكُمُ الْكِتَابَ مُفَصَّلاً وَالَّذِينَ آتَيْنَاهُمُ الْكِتَابَ يَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّهُ مُنَزَّلٌ مِّن رَّبِّكَ بِالْحَقِّ فَلاَ تَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْمُمْتَرِينَ
Should I seek a judge other than God, when it is He who has revealed the Book, clearly explained. Those to whom We gave the Book earlier know that it is the truth revealed by your Lord. Therefore, have no doubts.
115
وَتَمَّتْ كَلِمَتُ رَبِّكَ صِدْقًا وَعَدْلاً لاَّ مُبَدِّلِ لِكَلِمَاتِهِ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ
The Word of your Lord is perfected in truth and justice. None can change His words. He is the All Hearing, the All Knowing.
116
وَإِن تُطِعْ أَكْثَرَ مَن فِي الأَرْضِ يُضِلُّوكَ عَن سَبِيلِ اللّهِ إِن يَتَّبِعُونَ إِلاَّ الظَّنَّ وَإِنْ هُمْ إِلاَّ يَخْرُصُونَ
If you obey the majority of those on earth, they will lead you astray from God’s way. They follow nothing but conjecture. They are only guessing.
117
إِنَّ رَبَّكَ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ مَن يَضِلُّ عَن سَبِيلِهِ وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِالْمُهْتَدِينَ
Your Lord knows best who has strayed from His Way and He knows best those who are guided.
No class discussions published for this verse group yet.
(a) Rules about the sacrifice of animals were given in the Quran, it being specified where sacrificed animals might be eaten. There was also a ban on eating animals which had died of natural or other causes. On this some people commented, ‘The religion of Muslims is strange; they consider animals sacrificed by their hands as permitted and consider dead animals, i.e. those killed by God, as prohibited.’ In this statement there is no argument—only verbal gymnastics. But many people were deceived by it and started looking at Islam with suspicion. This always happens. In every age there are only a few people who can place matters in their true perspective. Many people become lost in a verbal labyrinth. They take illusory things to be real, only because these are described in beautiful words. But this is a world in which God has made Himself clear about all basic realities. So, going astray on the pretext of ignorance is not pardonable. God’s discourse is a clear touchstone by which every man can test all statements and ascertain whether they are mere verbal tricks or are based on facts. God has made true statements about all the essential matters of the past, present and future. He has shown the way of perfect justice in regard to all aspects of human relations. If a man is really serious, it is not at all difficult for him to know what is right and what is wrong. Only those whose thinking processes work under the influence of something other than God’s revelation will have doubts. For one who brings his thinking in line with Divine realities, there is no possibility of deviance of thought Even after this Divine explanation, if a man goes astray, God knows his condition very well. He knows that person who, in order to maintain his status, attaches no significance to any reality beyond himself; that person whose bias has deprived him of any capacity to understand godly matters; that person who, due to his inclination for cheap display, pays no attention to the voice of Truth; that person who, being a prey to feelings of jealousy, remains a stranger to the Truth.