O Muhammad already were messengers ridiculed before YOU
And already were messengers ridiculed before YOU, but those who mocked them were enveloped by that which they used to ridicule
[ وَلَقَدِ اسْتُهْزِئَ بِرُسُلٍ مِّن قَبْلِكَ فَحَاقَ بِالَّذِينَ سَخِرُوا مِنْهُم مَّا كَانُوا بِهِ يَسْتَهْزِئُونَ ]
[ الانعام الاية 10 ]
[ And already were messengers ridiculed before YOU, but those who mocked them were enveloped by that which they used to ridicule ]
[ And already were messengers ridiculed before YOU, but those who mocked them were enveloped by that which they used to ridicule ]
[ The Quran 6 : 10 ]
YOU : Muhammad Peace Be Upon Him
1. Remember that, although polytheists, the Arabs to whom these verses
are addressed did acknowledge God as the Creator of the heavens and the earth,
Who causes day to alternate with night, and Who has brought into existence the
sun and the moon. None of them attributed any of these acts to either al-LAt,
al-Hubal, al-'UzzA or any other deities. Why, then,'should they prostrate
themselves before others beside the Creator? Why should they offer their
prayers and supplicatiom to any but God? (See Towards Understanding the Qur'an,
vol. I, (Surah1, n.2), and (Surah2, n.163) The actual word that has been used in the original text for
'darkness' is in the plural. The contrast with the singular 'light' is
significant: whereas light is one, there can be innumerable degrees of
darkness, which is the absence of light.
(6:2)
He it is Who has created
you out of clay,2 and then decreed a term (of life), and has also
appointed another term, a term determined with Him.3 Yet you are in doubt!
2. The elements composing the human organism are all, without exception,
derived from the earth. Hence it is said that man has been created out of clay.
3. This alludes to the Hour of Judgement when human beings,
regardless of the age in which they lived, will be broought back to life and
summoned to render an account before their Lord.
(6:3)
And He it is Who is One
True God in the heavens and in the earth. He knows your deeds - both secret and
open - and knows fully whatever you earn.
(6:4)
Yet every time a sign of
their Lord comes to them, they turn away from it,
(6:5) and thus they
gave the lie to the Truth that has now come to them. Soon they will come upon
some news concerning what they had mocked at.4
4. The allusion is to the Migration (Hijrah) and the numerous
victories destined to follow it in quick succession. When this allusion was
made, the unbelievers could not have guessed what kind of news they would
receive, and even the Muslims could not have imagined those developments.
Infact, the Prophet himself (peace be on him) was not fully aware of the
posibilities which lay in store.
(6:6) Have they not
seen how many a people We have destroyed before them? People whom We had made
more powerful in the earth than you are and upon them We showered from the
heavens abundant rains, and at whose feet We caused the rivers to flow? And
then (when they behaved ungratefully) We destroyed them for their sins, and
raised other peoples in their place.
(6:7)
(O Messenger!) Had We sent
down to you a book incribed on parchment, and had they even touched it with
their own hands, the unbelievers would still have said: 'This is nothing but
plain magic.'
(6:8) They also say:
'Why has no angel been sent down to this Prophet?'5 Had We sent down an angel, the matter would
surely have long been decided and no respite would have been granted them.6
5. The unbelievers were saying that if Muhammed (peace be on
him) had indeed been endowed with prophethood, an angel should have been sent
down from heaven to announce that he was the Messenger of God, and that that
people would be punished if they did not follow his directives. It was
atonishing to these ignorant objectors that the Creator of the heavens and the
earth should appoint someone as His Messenger and then leave him without
protection against the physical hurts and insults that were flung at him. They
would have expected the envoy of a Sovereign as great as the Creator of the
universe to be accomplied by at least some heavenly constable, if not a large
retinue, to protect him!
6. The unbelievers' objection is refuted by this remark. it
warns them that the time available for accepting the true faith and bringing
about the required reform in their lives will last only as long as Ultimate
Reality remains concealed from human perception by the wheel of the Unseen.
Once that wheel is removed, there will be no more respite: the summons to God's
rekoning will have come. This earthly life is a test of whether a man is able
to recognize the Ultimate Reality - even though it lies hidden from his sence
perception - by the correct excecise of his reason and intelect and of whether,
having once recognized it, he is able to behave in conformity with that Reality
by exercising control over his animal self and its lusts. This test necessarily
requires that the Reality should remain concealed. Thereafter man will be
confronted with the result of the test rather than by any further test. Until
God has decided to bring the term of their test to a close, it is not possible
to respond to such requests by sending angels to them in their true form. (See
also Towards Understanding the Qur'an, vol. I, (Surah2, n.228.)
(6:9)
Had We appointed an angel,
We would have sent him down in the form of a man - and thus We would have
caused them the same doubt which they now entertain.7
7. This is the second point in response to the unbelievers' objection.
One possible form in which the angel could have appeared is in its true,
non-terrestrial form. It has already been pointed out that the time for this
has not arrived. Alternatively, angels could have come down in human form. But
this would have left the unbelievers facing the same difficulty as they faced
with regard to whether the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) had been
designated by God or not.
(6:10) And indeed
before your time (O Muhammad!) many a Messenger has been scoffed at; but those
who mocked at them were encompassed by the Truth they had scoffed at.
(6:11) Say: 'Go about journeying the earth, and behold the end of those
who gave the lie (to the Truth).'8
8. The archaeological remains and historical records of the ancient
nations testify to how they met their tragic ends through turning away from
truth and honesty and stubbornly persisting in their devotion to falsehood.
(6:12) Ask thern: 'To whom
belongs all that is in the heavens and on the earth?'9 Say:
'Everything belongs to Allah.' He has bound Himself to the exercise of mercy
(and thus does not chastise you for your disobedience and excesses instantly).
Surely He will gather you all together on the Day of Resurrection - the coming
of which is beyond doubt; but those who have courted their own ruin are not
going to believe.
9. The subtlety of this expression should not go unnoticed. The
unbelievers are asked to whom belongs whatever exists in either the heavens or
on the earth. The inquirer then pauses to wait for the answer. Those questioned
are themselves convinced that all belongs to God, yet while they dare not
respond falsely, they are nevertheless not prepared to give the correct answer.
Fearing that their response may be used as an argument against their
polytheistic beliefs, they keep quiet. At this, the inquirer is told to answer
the question himself and to say that all belongs to God.
(6:13) And to Him belongs all
that dwells in the night and the day. He is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.
(6:14) Say: 'Shall I take for my guardian
anyone other than Allah - the Originator of the heavens and earth; He Who feeds
and Himself is not fed?'10 Say: 'Surely I have been commanded
to be the first among those who submit (to Allah) and not to be one of those
who associate others with Allah in His divinity (even though others may do
so).'
10. This remark contains a subtle sarcasm. Far from providing
sustenance to their followers, the beings whom the polytheists set up as
deities beside the true God were dependent upon them for their sustenance. No
Pharaoh can maintain the pomp and splendour connected with his godhead unless
his subjects pay their tax dues and make him other offerings. No deity can attract
worshippers unless some of its devotees make an idol, place it in some
magnificent temple, and decorate it lavishly. All these counterfeit gods are
totally dependent upon their own servants. It is the Lord of the Universe alone
Who is the True God, Whose godhead rests solely upon His.own power; Who needs
the help of no one, whereas no one can dispense with His.
(6:15) Say: 'Surely do I fear, if
I disobey my Lord, the chastisement of an awesome Day.
(6:16) Whosoever has been spared chastisement
on that Day, Allah has bestowed His mercy upon him. That is the manifest
triumph.
(6:17) Should Allah touch you with affliction,
there is none to remove it but He; and should He touch you with good, He has
the power to do everything.
(6:18) He has the supreme hold over His
servants. He is All-Wise, All-Aware.
(6:19) Ask them: 'Whose testimony is the
greatest?' Say: 'Allah is the witness between me and you;11 and
this Qur'an was revealed to me that I should warn you thereby and also whomsoever
it may reach.' Do you indeed testify that there are other gods with Allah?12 Say:
'I shall never testify such a thing.' 13 Say: 'He is the
One God and I am altogether averse to all that you associate with Him in His
divinity.'
11. God Himself witnesses that the Prophet (peace be on him) has
been designated by Him and that what he communicated was by His command.
12. In order to bear witness to something, mere guesswork and
imagination are not sufficient. What is required is knowledge on the basis of
which a person can state something with full conviction. Hence. the question
means: Did they really have knowledge of anyone other than God who could lay
claim to man's worship and absolute service by dint of being the omnipotent
sovereign, the one whose will prevailed throughout the universe?
13. The interlocutor is instructed to tell people that if they wanted to
bear false witness and testify without knowledge, they could do so, but that he
himself could not do something so unreasonable.
(6:20) Those whom We have given
the Book will recognize this just as they recognize their own ofspring;14 but
those who have courted their own ruin will not believe.
14. Those who have knowledge of the Scriptures know for sure
that God is One alone and that no one shares His godhead with Him. It is true
that one can spot one's own child even in the midst of a large crowd of
children. The same can be said about those well-versed in the Scriptures. Even
if the true concept of godhead were interspersed among numerous false beliefs
and concepts about God, those well-versed in the scriptural lore would be able
to recognize without doubt which doctrine was true.
