Appearance
Verses 106–113
اتَّبِعْ ما أُوحِيَ إِلَيْكَ مِنْ رَبِّكَ لا إِلهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ وَ أَعْرِضْ عَنِ الْمُشْرِكِينَ ١٠٦ وَ لَوْ شاءَ اللَّهُ ما أَشْرَكُوا وَ ما جَعَلْناكَ عَلَيْهِمْ حَفِيظاً وَ ما أَنْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ بِوَكِيلٍ ١٠٧ وَ لا تَسُبُّوا الَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ فَيَسُبُّوا اللَّهَ عَدْواً بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ كَذلِكَ زَيَّنَّا لِكُلِّ أُمَّةٍ عَمَلَهُمْ ثُمَّ إِلى رَبِّهِمْ مَرْجِعُهُمْ فَيُنَبِّئُهُمْ بِما كانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ ١٠٨ وَ أَقْسَمُوا بِاللَّهِ جَهْدَ أَيْمانِهِمْ لَئِنْ جاءَتْهُمْ آيَةٌ لَيُؤْمِنُنَّ بِها قُلْ إِنَّمَا الْآياتُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ وَ ما يُشْعِرُكُمْ أَنَّها إِذا جاءَتْ لا يُؤْمِنُونَ ١٠٩ وَ نُقَلِّبُ أَفْئِدَتَهُمْ وَ أَبْصارَهُمْ كَما لَمْ يُؤْمِنُوا بِهِ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ وَ نَذَرُهُمْ فِي طُغْيانِهِمْ يَعْمَهُونَ ١١٠ وَ لَوْ أَنَّنا نَزَّلْنا إِلَيْهِمُ الْمَلائِكَةَ وَ كَلَّمَهُمُ الْمَوْتى وَ حَشَرْنا عَلَيْهِمْ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ قُبُلاً ما كانُوا لِيُؤْمِنُوا إِلاَّ أَنْ يَشاءَ اللَّهُ وَ لكِنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ يَجْهَلُونَ ١١١ وَ كَذلِكَ جَعَلْنا لِكُلِّ نَبِيٍّ عَدُوًّا شَياطِينَ الْإِنْسِ وَ الْجِنِّ يُوحِي بَعْضُهُمْ إِلى بَعْضٍ زُخْرُفَ الْقَوْلِ غُرُوراً وَ لَوْ شاءَ رَبُّكَ ما فَعَلُوهُ فَذَرْهُمْ وَ ما يَفْتَرُونَ ١١٢ وَ لِتَصْغى إِلَيْهِ أَفْئِدَةُ الَّذِينَ لا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْآخِرَةِ وَ لِيَرْضَوْهُ وَ لِيَقْتَرِفُوا ما هُمْ مُقْتَرِفُونَ ١١٣
- Follow what is revealed to you from your Lord; there is no god but He; and withdraw from the polytheists.
- And if Allah had willed, they would not have set up others (with Him) and We have not appointed you a keeper over them, and you are not their guardian.
- And do not abuse those whom they call upon besides Allah, lest exceeding the limits they should abuse Allah out of ignorance. Thus have We decorated for every people their deeds; then to their Lord shall be their return, so He will inform them of what they used to do.
- And they swear by Allah with the strongest of their oaths that if a sign came to them they would most certainly believe in it. Say: Signs are only with Allah; and what should make you know that when it comes, they will not believe?
- And We will turn their hearts and their sight, even as they did not believe in it the first time, and We will leave them in their inordinacy, blindly wandering on.
- And even if We had sent down to them the angels and the dead had spoken to them and We had brought together all things before them face to face, they would not believe unless Allah wills, but most of them are ignorant.
- And thus did We appoint for every prophet an enemy, devils of humankind and jinn, some of them suggesting to others flashy words to deceive (them), and had your Lord willed they would not have done it. Therefore leave them and that which they forge.
- And that the hearts of those who do not believe in the hereafter may incline to it and that they may be well pleased with it and that they may earn what they are going to earn (of evil).
Commentary
The connection between these verses and the previous verses is clear, without any ambiguity. The theme of discussion is tawḥīd (monotheism, God’s oneness).
اتَّبِعْ ما أُوحِيَ إِلَيْكَ مِنْ رَبِّكَ لا إِلهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ وَ أَعْرِضْ عَنِ الْمُشْرِكِينَ ١٠٦
(6:106) Follow what is revealed to you from your Lord; there is no god but He; and withdraw from the polytheists.
Here the Prophet is ordered to follow what has been revealed to him from his Lord with respect to monotheism and the principles of religion. The arrogant defiance of the polytheists against submitting to the word of truth and their aversion to the religious call should not block him from delivering God’s message.
Referring to God as “your Lord”—where “your” is made in exclusive reference to the Prophet—shows God’s special care and attention for him.
If the verse had not clarified that there is no god but He, it could give the following impression: “Follow the revelation, serve your Lord, and leave them on their own to worship their lords.” However, this would be an implicit approval of their polytheistic path. That is why there is an addition before and withdraw to prevent this misconception, where the verse says: there is no god but He. This clarifies what is intended by the rest of the verse: and withdraw….
The meaning is: “Follow what is revealed to you from your Lord Who has utter care for you and has encompassed you in His mercy by choosing you with His revelation and assisting you with the spirit of compliance [with His revelation]. You should withdraw from these polytheists, but not in the sense that you leave them with their gods with an approving silence, because that would be an endorsement of their idolatry. Rather, there is only one god, which is the very Lord Who has revealed to you that there is no god but He!” Thus, what is meant by withdraw from them is: “Do not strain yourself in order to force monotheism down their throats. Do not pick up a burden that is beyond your ability. What is incumbent on you is only to convey the message. You are not a guardian or keeper over them, but their guardian and keeper is only God, and He has not willed that they shall be monotheists. Had He willed so, they would not have associated partners with Him. He has left them in their error because they turned away from the truth and proudly refused to be submit to it.”
وَ لَوْ شاءَ اللَّهُ ما أَشْرَكُوا وَ ما جَعَلْناكَ عَلَيْهِمْ حَفِيظاً وَ ما أَنْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ بِوَكِيلٍ ١٠٧
(6:107) And if Allah had willed, they would not have set up others (with Him) and We have not appointed you a keeper over them, and you are not their guardian.
This verse comforts the Prophet by saying that he should not trouble or upset himself because of their polytheism and his failure to guide them. They will never thwart God by their polytheism, for the matter is entirely up to God’s will. Had He willed, they would not have set up partners with Him, but would have embraced faith willingly and voluntarily, just like how others were blessed with faith. The thing is that they waxed proud in the land, were arrogant before God and plotted schemes against Him—only to kill themselves! God returned their evil plots to themselves by depriving them of His mercy and aid which are necessary in order for one to believe and be guided.
God’s established custom is to manage the universe through a system of means and causes. The world of creation (takwīn) is governed by the universal law of causality, meaning that God’s will applies to the existence of a being or occurrence of an event whenever its causes are present, its conditions are met, and its impediments are removed. True, God’s will is unconditionally effective—meaning that if He wills something it happens, and if He does not will something it does not happen—but this is how He has willed things to work.
The same custom applies to the field of legislation (tashrīʿ) and guidance: it is also governed by a system of causes and effects. If one seeks God’s mercy, then God will show mercy to him; and if one turns away from God’s mercy, then God will deprive him of His mercy. God’s guidance—in the sense of showing the way to salvation—is available to everyone. It is a divine breeze of mercy that embraces anyone who exposes himself to it. It brings the best and happiest life to those who do not cut off themselves from it through iniquity, disbelief and defiance. But if one follows his own desires, opposes the truth, defies God, and starts plotting against Him and mocking His communications, then God will deprive him of felicity. In that case God will send misfortune upon the person, lead him to error despite his knowledge [of the right way], and seal his heart [against accepting the truth]. As a result, such a person will never be saved. If the divine will did not follow this custom, then the entire system of means and the law of causality would collapse. That would mean that God’s will was random and vain, without any benefit, wisdom, or end. Corruption in the system of legislation would boil down to corruption in the system of creation, because legislation is ultimately rooted in creation in one way or another. Thus if there is some inconsistency in how God’s legislative will works, it would trace back to some inconsistency in its root.
If God were to force the polytheists to believe, it would mean that people were no longer at the crossroad of belief and disbelief, did not have the free will required for the realization of īmān (believe, faith), were placed from the outset of their existence on the throne of perfection, where every person would enjoy an equal share of divine proximity and merit. In that case, education, discipline, and the message of religions would be meaningless because people would no longer differ in terms of their levels and degrees of perfection. This means that everyone would be the same in terms of traits, actions, personality and psychological capacity. The net effect would be a total transformation of the reality, environment and actions of human beings from their current state of existence to another system in which there is no human being or anything close to it. The reader should reflect on this.
Given the above explanation, there is no need to interpret if Allah had willed as forcing them to believe involuntarily. The verse is not saying that if God had willed, He would have forced them to abandon polytheism without their own volition. Rather, the verse is talking about them believing just as the believers have believed: God has willed for the believers to believe voluntarily. This idea is in fact more consonant with the two objectives of the verse: (1) to show God’s absolute power; and (2) to comfort and assure the Prophet.
The meaning is: “Turn away from them and have no grudge or sorrow because of their polytheism, because God is indeed capable of decreeing belief for them. Then they would believe just as the believers believe, for God has willed so for them. In addition, you are not responsible for whether they actually believe or not, so take it easy on yourself.”
The above should clarify that the last two statements in the verse—We have not appointed you a keeper over them and, and you are not their guardian—are meant to solace the Prophet. Apparently “keeper” (ḥafīẓ) means one who is in charge of things pertaining to their existence, such as their life, growth or sustenance. Then “guardian” (wakīl) means one who directs the affairs of his client on his behalf by looking after his interest and protecting him against loss. Thus, the two statements mean: “Neither their existential affairs nor their religious affairs are up to you, so that their rejection and aversion should upset you.”
Some have said that “keeper” (ḥafīẓ) means one who attracts benefits for one who is under his protection, and “guardian” (wakīl) means one who deflects loss from his client. This is unlikely because what springs to mind from the term ḥafīẓ is specifically protecting the existence of something, while wakīl is more general than that. At the same time, it is not logical to interpret one as pertaining to existential protection and the other as including both existential and other affairs. Instead, it makes more sense to interpret one as pertaining to one aspect, and the other as pertaining to another aspect.
وَ لا تَسُبُّوا الَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ فَيَسُبُّوا اللَّهَ عَدْواً بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ كَذلِكَ زَيَّنَّا لِكُلِّ أُمَّةٍ عَمَلَهُمْ ثُمَّ إِلى رَبِّهِمْ مَرْجِعُهُمْ فَيُنَبِّئُهُمْ بِما كانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ ١٠٨
(6:108) And do not abuse (tasubbū, from sabb) those whom they call upon besides Allah, lest exceeding the limits (ʿadwan) they should abuse Allah out of ignorance. Thus have We decorated for every people their deeds; then to their Lord shall be their return, so He will inform them of what they used to do.
The meaning of sabb is well known (to abuse, to curse, to revile, to blaspheme). Al-Rāghib says in al-Mufradāt:
ʿAdw means tajāwuz (to transgress, to violate, to outdo). It is the opposite of iltiyām (to agree, to conform). Sometimes it is used with respect to the heart as ʿadāwah and muʿādāh (enmity, hostility). Sometimes it is used with respect to walking as ʿadw (to run, to walk fast). Sometimes it is used with respect to deviation from fairness in interactions and transactions as ʿudwān and ʿadw (injustice, aggression), as God says: lest exceeding the limits (ʿadwan) they should abuse Allah out of ignorance. Sometimes it is used with respect to one’s position, as it is said makān dhū ʿadwāʾ, meaning “a place with uneven parts.”
This verse admonishes us of an element of religious courtesy that serves to protect the honor and sanctity of holy affairs in a religious society against the defilement of sacrilege, insult, foul speech, swearing, derision and the like. Humans have an instinctive sensitivity to protect the honor of what they hold in holiness. They would take action against any infringement in this regard because they see it as a trespass on their territory. This may lead them at times to retaliate out of anger by cursing and abusing what the other side holds in highest esteem. Thus if the believers abuse the gods of the polytheists, their imprudent prejudice and ignorant bigotry would lead them to retaliate against the believers by abusing what they honor as god, which is Allah. Hence, insulting their gods would facilitate them to describe God in a way that does not befit His Precinct of Holiness and Grandeur.
… Thus have We decorated for every people their deeds …: This universal justification implies a universal prohibition. That is, one should refrain from all negative and blasphemous talk that would lead to any negative mention of what is sacred in Islam in any possible way.
… Thus have We decorated (zayyannā, from zīnah) to every people their deeds; then to their Lord shall be their return, so He will inform them of what they used to do: Zīnah means “something beautiful and desirable that is added to an object in order to make it more attractive and loveable to those who are interested in it.” It motivates them to move toward that adornment and eventually reach the adorned object. One example is a beautiful dress that one wears in order to be stylish, but also protects the body from heat and cold.
God has willed an active life for humankind as they pursue their course on earth and experience different aspects of life in this world. They are made to recognize what is beneficial and harmful to them using their physical senses, then use their outward and inward faculties to acquire what is beneficial and deflect what is harmful. For example, people take specific steps in order to clothe themselves, find shelter, mate, eat and drink. All of these activities involve some pleasure that is tied to the desired objective of that act. The ultimate goal in all these activities is to have a happy life for which one been created—or a life that the person thinks to be one’s true happiness. In these activities, people aim the pleasure that is associated with the act, such as carnal pleasures in eating, drinking and mating, or mental pleasures in admiration, pride, fame, vengeance, wealth, security, socializing, curing someone and surpassing others.
These pleasures are the zīnah (decorations, adornments) of one’s actions. God has fashioned humankind in such a way that they pursue certain activities and endeavors for the sake of these pleasures. Meanwhile, the world is designed in such a way that the achievement of these pleasures is concomitant with the achievement of God’s goal in the creation of humankind, such as the subsistence of the individual [through eating] and the subsistence of the human race [through mating]. For example, had it not been that there is some desirable pleasure in eating, drinking and mating, humankind would not bother themselves to endure the physical and psychological difficulties associated with these acts. That would disturb the order of life, make the individual perish, and the human race would become extinct. That would certainly ruin the wisdom behind creation.
Among these pleasures and adornments, those that are physical are qualities which are found in the nature and essence of things, such as the various tastes of foods and the pleasure of sexual intercourse. This means that they are really [not metaphorically] attributable to God because they are part of the creation of things. They are fashioned in a way that leads to their purpose in creation, which is how God drives them to their goals. He is the One Who gave to everything its creation, then guided it (to its goal) ().
The same can be said about the mental pleasures that serve human life in this world and do not harm it in the hereafter. They are also attributable to God because they are based on the sound innate nature (fiṭrah) made by Allah in which He has made people; there is no altering of Allah’s creation (). Similarly He says: but Allah has endeared the faith to you and has decorated it in your hearts ().
There are also some mental pleasures which are based on one’s base desires. They ruin a good human life, lead people away from servitude to God in this world, and cause misfortune in the hereafter. These are pleasures that deviate from sound fiṭrah (innate human nature), because fiṭrah is the divine creation of humankind. It is the innate formation that God has given to human beings in order to lead them to [eternal] felicity. The thoughts and desires that emanate from the fiṭrah would certainly not contravene their root. Hence, if something goes against this divine formation and fails to secure felicity, it means that it is not rooted in God’s creation, but has grown out of the temptations of the devils and the desires of the ego. Such are illusory satanic pleasures of various forms of sin inasmuch as they are sins. These pleasures are decorations that are made by Satan, not by God, although they are by God’s leave. He says: but Satan decorated their deeds for them () and He relates from Satan: I will certainly decorate (evil) for them on earth, and I will certainly cause them all to deviate ().
These adornments cannot be directly ascribed to God because He has designed the world of creation and guided all things toward their goal and perfection. He has equipped human nature with a mental capacity to lead them to happiness and protect them against misfortune and failure. Given this initial creation and setup, God is far more exalted and holier than to come and command people to indecency, prohibit them from good and urge them to deplorable acts. That would mean commanding all people to both good and evil, and prohibiting all people from both good and evil. That would ruin the entire system of religious duty, legislation, reward and punishment. Then how would it make sense for Him to describe such a religion as being an upright religion according to the innate nature made by Allah in which He has made people ()? Our divine human nature does not accept such contradiction and the likes of it. It cannot accept the ascription of such folly and irrationality to itself.
Here one may object as follows: What is wrong with saying that God is the One Who calls people to both obedience and disobedience, in the sense that: (1) He makes those individuals that are adorned by piety and have a pure conscience do righteous deeds and obey Him; and (2) He leads those souls that are defiled by the filth of iniquity and covered by an evil conscience to sin and wrongdoing? Each would be according to the person’s individual capacity and potential, but in both cases it is God Who inspires and drives the person to good or evil, obedience or disobedience.
The answer is: This is a different angle of discussion than our discussion above. This is about the intermediating causes that facilitate obedience and disobedience as mediators between God [Who is the ultimate agent behind any movement] and one’s action. Certainly a person’s spiritual and psychological conditions—whether good or bad—have an impact on one’s obedience or disobedience. Thus obedience and disobedience would be directly attributable to these conditions, and indirectly attributable to God through His idhn (permission, leave, authorization). Indeed God is the One Who lets and authorizes any cause to bring about its relevant effect [whether good or evil].
Our discussion above, however, pertains to legislation of acts and what people have been called to, irrespective of the other factors that are involved in obedience and disobedience. The question is, does it make sense to say that God has instructed both belief and disbelief, or has urged people to both obedience and disobedience? He has described His religion as something upright for human societies; something that is founded on the divine nature of humankind. Religious injunctions—and psychological motivations which match them—are all according to this innate nature, while the other psychological motivations that contravene religious injunctions are against the innate human nature. These evil inclinations and motivations cannot be attributed to the sound divine nature of humankind, which means that it is impossible to attribute them to God. He says: And when they commit an indecency they say: We found our fathers doing this, and Allah has enjoined it on us. Say: Surely Allah does not enjoin indecency; do you say against Allah what you do not know? Say: My Lord has enjoined justice ().
Meanwhile, it is certainly true that God’s permission (idhn) is behind all these, because God’s kingdom is universal and His dominion is absolute. It is impossible for anyone to do anything in God’s kingdom except by His leave. Therefore, whatever Satan adorns in the heart of his followers—such as polytheism, sin and anything else that leads to God’s wrath in one form or another—happens with God’s permission. He lets this occur to complement His custom of test and trial, which is a necessary component of His system of religious legislation and call to guidance. He says: There is no intercessor except after His permission (); And that He may purge those who believe and blot out the disbelievers. (). It should thus be clear that the decoration and adornment of actions can be attributed to God at a more encompassing level if we also include attribution through giving permission. In fact, the expression in the current verse—Thus have We decorated for every people their deeds ()—refers to this universal and encompassing meaning. A closer match for this meaning can be seen in the verse: Surely We have made whatever is on the earth an embellishment for it, so that We may try them (as to) which of them is best in works ().
Exegetes have offered various interpretations for this verse according to their view about the ascription of actions to God. Here is a list of their views, along with our evaluation:
(1) “Decoration” here means giving commands and prohibitions, or describing what is good and evil. The meaning would be: “Just as We have beautifully explained to you what you should do—O believers—We also explained beautifully for every nation before you. We told them that they should call others to God in a fair manner, should refrain from abusing the idols, and should not do things that would drive the disbelievers away from accepting the truth.”
Evaluation: The problem with this interpretation is that the verse is apparently more universal than the offered meaning here, as we discussed above. There is no evidence to narrow down the meaning to what they have suggested.
(2) It means that We have decorated for every people their deeds in the sense that they naturally incline to these acts, albeit We have made the truth known to them so that they may go after the truth and refrain from falsehood.
Evaluation: The problem with this view is that it is not sufficient to declare God clear from legislating both belief and disbelief, or obedience and disobedience. In addition to this, we must also consider Him clear from being the direct creational cause of both good and evil inclinations. These inclinations of people cannot be equally attributed to Him without any intermediary. Therefore, it is not acceptable to distinguish between takwīnī (existential, created) and tashrīʿ (legislative, commanded) inclinations, where we ascribe the former to God uniformly, but do not do so for the latter.
(3) “Decoration” here means describing rewards [for belief and good deeds]. Thus the verse is similar to His words: but Allah has endeared the faith to you and has decorated it in your hearts, and He has made hateful to you disbelief and transgression and disobedience (). The meaning is: “He has made belief dear to you by mentioning its reward and praising those who have it, and has made disbelief detestable to you by mentioning its punishment and criticizing those who have it.”
Evaluation: The problem with this interpretation is that it implicitly takes “deeds” to mean “good deeds,” while there is no basis for this qualification. Moreover, this meaning is unlikely given the context of the verses and also the apparent meaning of the term tazyīn (decoration, adornment). Finally, “decoration” in this sense [that is, describing rewards and punishments] is not exclusive to the believers.
(4) This verse applies to all actions, both good and evil, without any qualification or intermediation. God is the One Who calls to both obedience and disobedience from the beginning, on the basis that humankind is compelled (mujbar, majbūr) in what it does.
Evaluation: The problem with this interpretation is that the verse is actually more compatible with ikhtiyār (free will, choice) than ijbār (compulsion, determinism) because it talks about “decoration.” Something is decorated in order to attract someone toward it. In other words, decoration tilts the scale of one’s decision in favor of one choice over another. If humans did not have the choice to do an act or refrain from it, then it would not make sense to talk about the preference of one side due to decoration. Decoration of an act is in fact a means or mechanism that is employed to make it happen by inclining the actor toward it. In Islamic nomenclature, when this decoration is used in a context of obedience and good deeds, it is called hidāyah (guidance) and tawfīq (reconciliation, divine help, God-given success). When used in a context of disobedience and sin, it is called God’s iḍlāl (misguidance, misleading, leaving in error) and makr (plot, scheme, contrivance, ruse). There is no problem in ascribing misguidance and ruse to God as long as He does not initially begin to do so but only does so as a retribution for their misdeeds. We have discussed these concepts in various parts of this book, and we also had a discussion on jabr (compulsion, determinism), tafwīḍ (delegation, entrustment) and amr bayn al-amrayn (the intermediate position between the two) under verses .
… then to their Lord shall be their return, so He will inform them of what they used to do: This confirms what we said above: that God’s decoration is a universal principle which applies to all actions, whether they are good or evil, and whether they are inward acts like belief and disbelief, or outward deeds like what is done physically. The verse is apparently saying that when people rise to perform an act, they are primarily motivated by its beautiful aspect (zīnah) which has been decorated in their eyes. They are inattentive of the hidden reality that lies under these adornments because of the veil of heedlessness that covers them. Then, when they return to their Lord, He will inform them of the reality of what they did, and they will see what was veiled from them before. At that point, God’s friends will find things that they could never imagine: what is hidden for them of that which will refresh the eyes (). As with Satan’s friends, what they never thought of shall become plain to them from Allah (). The realities of deeds will appear on the Day of Resurrection for both groups of people and for both types of deeds, whether good or evil.
وَ أَقْسَمُوا بِاللَّهِ جَهْدَ أَيْمانِهِمْ لَئِنْ جاءَتْهُمْ آيَةٌ لَيُؤْمِنُنَّ بِها قُلْ إِنَّمَا الْآياتُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ وَ ما يُشْعِرُكُمْ أَنَّها إِذا جاءَتْ لا يُؤْمِنُونَ ١٠٩
(6:109) And they swear by Allah with the strongest (jahd) of their oaths (aymānihim) that if a sign came to them they would most certainly believe in it. Say: Signs are only with Allah; and what should make you know that when it comes, they will not believe?
Jahd means ṭāqah (ability, power, capacity). Aymān is the plural of yamīn, which means qasam (oath, vow, pledge). Jahd al-aymān means “to swear as much of one is capable of; to the point of one’s capacity.” It means that they took exaggerated oaths and stressed as much as they could.
… Signs are only with Allah…: This means that the signs are subject to God’s kingdom and dominion. No one can reach and bring them except by His leave.
The meaning is: “They swore by God and exaggerated in doing so, saying that if they receive some signs from Him showing the truth of the Prophet’s claim, then they will believe in that sign.” Such an oath is equivalent to requesting a miracle. Then the Prophet is told to say: “Signs are only with God; He is the One Who controls and encompasses them; nothing in this regard it is up to me so that I may respond to you on my own.”
… and what (mā) should make you know that (anna-hā) when it comes, they will not believe?: The last part has been recited in two ways: “they will not believe (lā yuʾminūna)” and “you will not believe (lā tuʾminūna).” According to the first recitation, the address is directed at the believers, which implies a switch of audience for rhetorical purpose. In the second recitation the address is made to the polytheists. Needless to say, the entire sentence is a continuation of what the Prophet is ordered to say.
The particle mā (what) in what should make you know is interrogative. The meaning is: “What is it that would make you know the fact of the matter, which is that they will not believe even if God’s signs come to them?” In other words: “These people swear by God that if they see God’s signs, then they would believe in them. Perhaps you [believers] believe them and deem them to be telling the truth. However, you have no idea that even if the signs came to them, they would not believe in them, because God has not willed that they shall believe.” This means that the verse makes a prediction and informs of a secret from the unseen.
Some exegetes have said that the particle anna (that) in that when it comes means laʿalla (maybe, perhaps). However, even if one can show that “maybe” is one of the lexical meanings of anna, it would be a very rare and uncommon meaning, and one cannot interpret God’s Book according to such definitions.
وَ نُقَلِّبُ أَفْئِدَتَهُمْ وَ أَبْصارَهُمْ كَما لَمْ يُؤْمِنُوا بِهِ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ وَ نَذَرُهُمْ فِي طُغْيانِهِمْ يَعْمَهُونَ ١١٠
(6:110) And We will turn their hearts and their sight, even as they did not believe in it the first time, and We will leave them in their inordinacy, blindly wandering on.
Given the tone and thread of the verses, this verse interprets and explains why they will not believe (). Therefore, the conjunction “and” shows that this verse is a continuation of the last verse. The first time means before the signs are sent, as opposed to a conceivable “second time” which would be after the signs are sent.
The meaning is: “Even if some signs and miracles are sent to them, they will still not believe. This is because We overturn their hearts so that they cannot comprehend with them as they should, and We overturn their eyes so that they cannot see with them what they should. Hence they will not believe in the signs as they did not believe in the Qur’an the first time—before these hypothetical signs and miracles were sent. We shall leave them in their transgression, wandering around in hesitation.”
This is what we can say given the theme and context of the verse. Exegetes have many strange interpretations of the verse that are not worth addressing and assessing. Interested readers should refer to their appropriate sources.
وَ لَوْ أَنَّنا نَزَّلْنا إِلَيْهِمُ الْمَلائِكَةَ وَ كَلَّمَهُمُ الْمَوْتى وَ حَشَرْنا عَلَيْهِمْ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ قُبُلاً ما كانُوا لِيُؤْمِنُوا إِلاَّ أَنْ يَشاءَ اللَّهُ وَ لكِنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ يَجْهَلُونَ ١١١
(6:111) And even if We had sent down to them the angels and the dead had spoken to them and We had brought together all things before them face to face, they would not believe unless Allah wills, but most of them are ignorant.
Above we read that the polytheists claimed: if a sign came to them they would most certainly believe in it (), and God responded by saying: signs are only with Allah (). This verse is an explanation and elaboration of God’s response. It means that their claim is rather a false statement which they only make because of being ignorant of God. They suppose that signs and miracles can be independent causes of creating belief in their hearts, planting the seeds of faith in their souls, and transforming them into believers. However, signs can only do so by God’s will.
The above meaning shows that the verse involves some implied omission and concision. The verse can be elaborated as follows: “And if We were to accept their request and bring to them wonderful signs—such as: (1) sending angels upon them so that they can see them; (2) bringing the dead back to life for them so that they can meet them, talk to them, and verify the truth of what they are being called to; (3) gathering and bringing everything to them in groups, or facing them so that they can testify either verbally or existentially—then they would still not believe, and none of these would make them embrace faith unless God willed so.”
Nothing can be a cause or means of faith in anyone except by God’s will. Even though the law of causality is a universal principle that runs through the entire realm of creation with all its vastness, the causes and means in the universe are themselves needy and dependent on their Lord. They are not independent factors in any aspect of their own existence or anything that ensues from them. Anything that appears from them is necessarily by God’s will, and any effect that they have can only be by His leave.
The problem was that most polytheists—perhaps not out of defiance, but due to lack of education—were ignorant of their Lord. That is why they clung to the apparent means as sufficient causes that work independently of their Lord. Thus they supposed that if their requested signs—which are a means of belief—were granted, then they would automatically believe and follow the truth. Even though all means are needy of God, the polytheists viewed them as complete causes that exist and operate independently of Him. This is where they missed and confused the fact of the matter.
وَ كَذلِكَ جَعَلْنا لِكُلِّ نَبِيٍّ عَدُوًّا شَياطِينَ الْإِنْسِ وَ الْجِنِّ يُوحِي بَعْضُهُمْ إِلى بَعْضٍ زُخْرُفَ الْقَوْلِ غُرُوراً وَ لَوْ شاءَ رَبُّكَ ما فَعَلُوهُ فَذَرْهُمْ وَ ما يَفْتَرُونَ ١١٢
(6:112) And thus did We appoint for every prophet an enemy, devils (shayāṭīn) of humankind and jinn (al-jinn), some of them suggesting (yūḥī, from waḥy) to others flashy words (zukhruf al-qawl) to deceive (them) (ghurūran), and had your Lord willed they would not have done it. Therefore leave them and that which they forge.
Shayāṭīn is the plural of shayṭān. Its lexical meaning is “evil being” (sharīr), but it is mostly used in the Qur’an for Iblīs (Satan) and his descendants. Jinn is from the root jann, which means “to cover, to hide, to conceal.” In the Qur’an’s nomenclature, it refers to a kind of creatures which are intelligent, have free will, and are hidden from our senses because of their nature. According to the Qur’an, Satan (Iblīs) is one of them, and they are different from the angels..
Waḥy means “indirect speech or communication through hinting, intimation and the like.” Zukhruf means “decoration” or “something that is adorned.” Therefore, zukhruf al-qawl means “speech that is embellished but misguiding; words that resemble the truth but are not true.” Ghurūran (to deceive, deceptively) is an absolute object (mafʿūl muṭlaq) for an implied omitted verb of the same root, or an intended object (mafʿūl lahu).
The meaning is: “Not only for you, but for all prophets did We appoint some enemy from the humankind and jinn. Some of them hint to others with decorated speech and misleading words, and thus they deceive them—or in order to deceive and mislead them.” The hints of jinn devils to human devils would be their whispers, insinuations and temptations. The hints of human devils among themselves would be their mutual enticements and their secret exchange of plots.
… and had your Lord willed they would not have done it…: This sentence refers to the universality of God’s will (mashiyyah, mashīʾah). Just as signs and miracles cannot have any impact in one’s belief except by God’s will [as mentioned in the last verse], the enmity of devils against the prophets and their hinting of decorated, deceiving words to one another are also all by God’s permission. Had God willed otherwise, they would not have shown any enmity and would not have suggested anything to one another, in which case they would not be the enemies of the prophets. This sentence connects the verse to the previous verse because both of them state that all affairs hinge on God’s will and leave.
Therefore leave them and that which they forge: This is a conclusion that is drawn from the supremacy of God’s will. It means: “Given that their enmity, mischief and whispers are all by God’s leave, that they cannot thwart God’s dominating and authoritative will. Hence do not let their mischief and disruption [against your call] upset you, but leave them with whatever they forge against God such as the claim that He has partners.”
Given the above, and had your Lord willed they would not have done it. Therefore leave them and that which they forge () is equivalent to what was said before: and withdraw from the polytheists. And if Allah had willed, they would not have set up others (with Him) ().
And thus did We appoint for every prophet an enemy, devils of humankind and jinn …: This statement apparently ascribes the assignment of the prophets’ enemies to God. These enemies are the means that facilitate evil, sin and polytheism, while God is clear from all evil. Similarly, the next verse says and that the hearts of those who do not believe in the hereafter may incline to it… (), which introduces certain sins and aberrations as part of God’s objectives in His call to truth. These statements are similar to ascribing the decoration of deeds to God in the verse: Thus have We decorated for every people their deeds (). We presented the correct interpretation of this above.
For these two verses [], exegetes have offered various interpretations based on their belief about the ascription of actions to God, much like the verse about God’s decoration of deeds []. The reader should know by now that the Qur’an clearly states that anything that can be called a “thing” (shayʾ) belongs to God and is attributable to Him, without any exception. Yet, there are some verses that declare God’s Holy Precinct to be clear and free from every wrong and evil. Therefore, it can be concluded that:
All blessings and good deeds depend on God’s will and are ascribable to Him either directly or indirectly [that is, either with or without intermediaries].
Evil and sin are directly attributable to other-than-Him, such as Satan or the ego.
Evil and sin are indirectly attributable to God, through His [existential and creational] permission.
In other words, it is by God’s permission that evil exists and sins occur. He gives permission to these events as necessary implications of His trial of humankind, so that the divine call which comprises of commands, prohibitions, rewards and punishments may be complete. Otherwise, God’s custom would be void and inconsistent. His custom is to direct humankind toward their growth just as He directs all other beings toward their perfection, in a world where growth and perfection can only be achieved through a gradual process.
وَ لِتَصْغى إِلَيْهِ أَفْئِدَةُ الَّذِينَ لا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْآخِرَةِ وَ لِيَرْضَوْهُ وَ لِيَقْتَرِفُوا ما هُمْ مُقْتَرِفُونَ ١١٣
(6:113) And that the hearts of those who do not believe in the hereafter may incline to it and that they may be well pleased with it and that they may earn (li-yaqtarifū, from iqtirāf) what they are going to earn (of evil).
Iqtirāf means iktisāb (to earn, to acquire). The singular pronoun “it” in incline to it refers to waḥy (suggestion, hint) which was mentioned in the last verse [in some of them suggesting to others]. “That the hearts may incline” is mentioned as an end and objective [for what was said in the last verse]. The conjunction “and” at the beginning of the verse shows that this objective is joined to some other omitted objective. The implied meaning is: “We did what We did and willed what We willed—that is, We did not prevent the enemies of the Prophets from hinting embellished, misleading words to each other—for four purposes: (1) some secret objectives which are not mentioned; (2) that the hearts of those who do not believe in the hereafter may incline to those words; (3) that they may accept those words and be pleased with them; and (3) that they may acquire what they shall acquire.” All of these results in their wretchedness in the hereafter, which is what they call for by how they have prepared themselves. Indeed God aids both people of salvation and people of wretchedness to fill their capacity and complete their journey toward the destinations which they are heading for. He gives them what they request by their readiness and disposition (lisān al-istiʿdād). He says: All do We aid—these as well as those—out of the bounty of your Lord, and the bounty of your Lord is not confined ().
Examining Narrations
- Al-Suddī says: When Abū Ṭālib was about to die, the people of the Quraysh [tribe] said to each other: “Let us go to this man [Abū Ṭālib] and order him to tell his nephew [Muḥammad] to keep away from us. It will be disgraceful for us to kill him [Muḥammad] after Abū Ṭālib’s death, because the Arabs would then say that the man used to defend his nephew, but as soon as he died they killed him.”
Thus a group of them—including Abū Sufyān, Abū Jahl, al-Naḍr b. al-Ḥārith, Umayyah b. Khalaf, Ubayy b. Khalaf, ʿUqbah b. Abī Muʿayṭ, ʿAmrw b. al-ʿĀṣ and al-Aswad b. al-Bakhtarī—went there. They sent one of them named al-Muṭṭalib to ask permission from Abū Ṭālib for them to see him. He went to Abū Ṭālib and said, “The chiefs of your people have come to see you.” Abū Ṭālib gave them permission to enter.
They entered and said to him, “O Abā Ṭālib! You are our elder and master! Indeed Muḥammad has caused trouble for us and insulted our gods. We would like you to call him and forbid him from mentioning our gods any more. In return, we will also leave him to have his god.”
Abū Ṭālib summoned the Prophet. When he came, Abū Ṭālib told him, “These are your people and cousins.”
The Messenger of God said, “What do they want?”
“We want you,” they replied, “to leave us with our gods, and we shall leave you with your god.”
The Prophet said, “If I give you this, would you give me a speech that would make you rule over Arabs and would make non-Arabs yield to you and pay you tribute?”
Abū Jahl replied, “By your father we shall certainly give you that speech and ten more like it! What is it?”
He said, “Say: there is no god but Allah!”
Upon hearing this, they refused and grimaced in disgust.
Abū Ṭālib said [to Muḥammad], “Ask something else! Your people are appalled by this.”
He replied, “My uncle! I am not a person who would ever say something else—unless they bring the sun and place it in my hand.” Then he added, wanting to disappoint them from their request: “Even if they bring the sun and put in my hand I shall not say anything else.”
They were incensed and said, “Either you stop swearing at our gods or else we shall swear at you and the One Who commands you.”
Thus God revealed: And do not abuse those whom they call upon besides Allah, lest exceeding the limits they should abuse Allah out of ignorance ().
Author’s comment: As one can see, the last part of this narration does not match its first part. Their request was that the Prophet should “keep away from their gods,” which means that he should not prohibit the people from seeking favor with these gods, and should not urge them to abandon the idols. Then, when they despaired of his concession, they threatened him by saying that they would swear at his god if he swears at their gods. However, for their speech to be consistent and have a natural connection, they should have threatened him for not stopping his mission, not to leave his mission aside and talk about swearing and intimidating him for it. Moreover, the verse makes no mention of the first part of this account which is the main part. Furthermore, given the Prophet’s gravity and magnificent ethics in his interactions, he would never use profanity.
It is true that according to some accounts, he did laʿn (curse, imprecation) with respect to some chiefs of Quraysh by saying, “O God, curse so-and-so and so-and-so.” Likewise, there are many imprecations in the Book of God, such as: Allah has cursed them because of their disbelief (); May he be cursed how he plotted (); Cursed be man (); Fie on you and on what you serve besides Allah (). However, all of these are prayers and supplications (duʿāʾ), not swearing in the sense of obscene and offensive words that one utters in order to insult someone. Swearing is rather a description that reflects one’s imagination. Even when God says things like forbidder of good, outstepping the limits, sinful, coarse-grained, besides ignoble (), what is meant is not to be insulting, but to describe a reality.
Instead, what seems more likely is that the ordinary believers in the Prophet’s message sometimes engaged in debates and quarrels with the polytheists, and sometimes this led them to insult and abuse their gods, which is something that commonly occurs in the debates of ordinary people. Thus God forbade them from doing so. This can be seen in the next narration.
- Once Imam al-Ṣādiq was asked about the Prophet’s hadith: “Indeed polytheism is more hidden than the walking of an ant on a black smooth rock in a pitch-dark night.” The Imam said: “[Some] believers used to abuse what the polytheists worshiped besides God, which led the polytheists to abuse what the believers worshiped. Then God forbade the believers from abusing their gods so that the infidels would not abuse the God of believers. Otherwise the believers would have fallen into polytheism unknowingly. Thus He revealed: And do not abuse those whom they call upon besides Allah, lest exceeding the limits they should abuse Allah out of ignorance ().
- ʿAmrw al-Ṭayālisī says: Once I asked Imam al-Ṣādiq about the verse And do not abuse… (). He said, “O ʿAmrw! Have you ever seen anyone abuse God?”
I said, “So what does it mean? May I be your ransom!”
He explained, “One who abuses a friend (walī) of God has indeed abused God.”
- Muḥammad b. Kaʿb al-Quraẓī says: Once when the Messenger of God was talking to the Quraysh they told him, “O Muḥammad! You tell us that Moses had a staff with which he would strike the rock [and it would give water]; Jesus used to bring the dead back to life; and Thamūd had a she-camel [as a miracle]. Bring one of these signs for us so that we accept what you say.”
The Messenger of God said, “What would you like me to bring for you?”
They answered, “We want you to turn Mount Ṣafā into gold for us.”
“If I do so,” he said, “will you then believe in me?”
They replied, “Of course! By God if you do this, we will all follow you.”
So the Messenger of God got up to pray for this, but then Gabriel came to him and said, “If you wish, the Mount will turn into gold, but if they then do not believe in you, we will surely punish them [by destroying them]. And if you want, you can leave them so that the repenters among them may repent.”
He replied, “I would rather let their repenters repent.”
Then God revealed: And they swear by Allah with the strongest of their oaths… but most of them are ignorant ().
Author’s comment: Given the content of these verses, the above account cannot be the cause of their revelation. As we said above, the verses are apparently saying that these people will not believe in any sign and miracle that is shown to them. They will not put polytheism away even if they receive every possible miracle—unless God wills that they would believe, but He has not willed so [because of their insolence]. Given this sense, how could it comply with the part of the above narration where Gabriel says, “If you wish the Mount will turn into gold, but if they then do not believe in you, we will surely punish them [by destroying them]. And if you want, you can leave them so that the repenters among them may repent”?
Instead, these verses are apparently equivalent to the verse: Surely those who disbelieve, it is alike whether you warn them, or do not warn them—they will not believe (). They suggest that there were some chief polytheists who demanded miracles other than the Qur’an, and solemnly swore that if they received such miracles, they would believe in the Prophet. God refutes their claim in these verses and says that they will never believe because God has not willed this for them—as a punishment [for their misdeeds].
- Concerning verse (And We will turn their hearts and their sight…) Imam al-Bāqir said: It means that We overturn their hearts such that the bottom will be on top, and We turn their sight blind so that they will be unable to discern guidance.
- ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib said: Indeed the first form of jihad (struggle, battle) in which you will be defeated is jihad by your hands, then jihad by your tongues, and then jihad by your hearts. At that point, if one’s heart does not appreciate good and does not reject evil, [it means that] his heart has been overturned such that its bottom has come on the top. Then he will never accept any good.
Author’s comment: What is meant here is the overturning of psychological cognition, where one follows an exactly opposite path: he follows his desires and turns away from sound reason which is supposed to control and balance surges of bestial faculties.
- It is narrated from Imams al-Bāqir and al-Ṣādiq that even as they did not believe in it the first time () refers to when God made a covenant with the people.
Author’s comment: We shall have a separate chapter on the covenant (mīthāq) under the verse: And when your Lord brought forth from the children of Adam, from their backs, their descendants… (). It should be noted here that as we explained above, the apparent meaning of not believing the first time is not believing in the Qur’an the first time that it was presented to them.
In other words, the apparent means and causes are no rivals to God’s will, but are themselves a result of His will. They exist and work because this is how God has willed. (Trans.) ↩︎
In other words, ḥafīẓ means “being in charge of their life and subsistence,” while wakīl means “being responsible for their belief and actions.” If wakīl also includes ḥafīẓ, then the mention of ḥafīẓ would be redundant. Therefore, a mutually exclusive interpretation is preferred. (Trans.) ↩︎
See volume 1 (1st ed.) of the English translation, pp. 162ff. (Trans.) ↩︎
The verbs in the verse are in the past tense but they can also be interpreted in the present tense. The past tense would refer to a specific incident of requesting miracles, while the present tense would refer to a general and ongoing attitude of defiance. (Trans.) ↩︎
In other words, the particle mā introduces a question. The other possibility here is that mā is a negative particle, where the meaning would be: “and you do not know that when it comes….” Both interpretations reduce to the same meaning because in the interrogative case the implied question would be rhetorical, as can be seen in the author’s interpretation below. (Trans.) ↩︎
The meaning would be: “And what should make you know? Perhaps when it comes they will not believe.” (Trans.) ↩︎
This is based on the Qur’anic meaning and usage of “heart” (qalb), which is the cognitive faculty or the rational soul. (Trans. ↩︎
This implies that the particle “it” (bihi) in as they did not believe in it the first time refers to the Qur’an, as the miracle and/or message of the Prophet’s call. (Trans.) ↩︎
Here the author is offering two possible meanings for the term qubulan: (1) in groups, in arrays (qabīlan); (2) face to face, manifestly, before their very eyes. (Trans.) ↩︎
Verbal testimony would be through physical voices emanating from the beings miraculously, called lisān al-qāl (language of words). Existential testimony would be their showing the truth through their very state and mode of existence, called lisān al-ḥāl (language of condition or state). (Trans.) ↩︎
The current translation is according to the second possibility. Based on the first possibility the implied meaning would be: “deceiving them a deception.” (Trans.) ↩︎
In other words, they “request” damnations because their state of being—which is determined by their beliefs and actions—is only compatible with wretchedness in the hereafter. This is their lisān al-ḥāl (language of condition or state). (Trans.) ↩︎
Al-Durr al-manthūr, on the authority of Ibn Abī Ḥātim. ↩︎
Given the literal meaning of laʿn, this means: “O God, keep him far from your mercy. Do not show mercy to him.” (Trans.) ↩︎
The difference is that in swearing, one employs offensive and insulting words in order to express his resentment. The words are not meant as a literal description of an external reality, but only reflect the speaker’s disgust and feeling. However, the Qur’anic words, albeit bitter, are a description of a base quality or deviation. When a physician says to to someone how ill they are, he does not intend to insult the person, but he says it out of compassion and sincerity. Nor does the person feel offended or take it personally. Another example is saying “donkey” to refer to a donkey or to refer to a human being. The former is an impartial observation while the latter is an insult. (Trans.) ↩︎
This shows that polytheism here is not meant as merely associating partners with God, but is meant in a more general sense that also includes insulting God. (Trans.) ↩︎
Tafsīr al-Qummī, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Masʿadat b. Ṣadaqah. ↩︎
Tafsīr al-ʿAyyāshī. ↩︎
Al-Durr al-manthūr, on the authority of Ibn Jarīr. ↩︎
Tafsīr al-Qummī, on the authority of Abū Jārūd. ↩︎
Tafsīr al-Qummī. ↩︎
Tafsīr al-ʿAyyāshī, on the authority of Zurārah, Ḥumrān and Muḥammad b. Muslim. ↩︎