Al-An'am 6:36
The Cattle · Juz 7 · Page 132
۞ إِنَّمَا يَسۡتَجِيبُ ٱلَّذِينَ يَسۡمَعُونَۘ وَٱلۡمَوۡتَىٰ يَبۡعَثُهُمُ ٱللَّهُ ثُمَّ إِلَيۡهِ يُرۡجَعُونَ ٣٦
Only those who hear will respond. But the dead1 - Allāh will resurrect them; then to Him they will be returned.
1 translator’s note
- i.e., the dead of heart, meaning the disbelievers. ↩
Tafsir · in English
Tazkirul Quran
Brief · Short modern reflections on each passage.
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Commentary on 6:33–36
Abu Jahl said to the Prophet, ‘O, Muhammad! By God, we do not reject you. Only we deny that which you have brought.’ That is, the people of Makkah who had not embraced the faith nevertheless admitted that he was a righteous person. But, to say of a person that his utterances were marked by Truth and reality amounted to glorifying him, and they were not prepared to give him such high honour. When they called him, ‘truthful and honest’ they had the mental satisfaction that he was a man of their own level, but admitting that God’s own discourse emanated from his lips amounted to according him a status higher than their own, and such an admission is the most difficult one for any man to make. In the present world, God does not appear directly in His original shape. He appears before man in the shape of arguments, signs and symbols. Therefore, not accepting arguments in support of the Truth, or turning a blind eye to the signs in its favour amounts to a refusal to accept God, or to turning one’s eyes away from the face of God. However, it is not part of God’s plan to appear along with compelling miracles, for if His call were to be presented in this context, freedom of action would come to an end; for the purpose of maintaining test conditions, an atmosphere of freedom of action must be perpetuated. The da‘i should not be put out by the fact that he has only the weight of arguments to offer or that he possesses no extraordinary powers of control. Instead of being worried on this account, he should exercise patience. The making of efforts in connection with the mission of truth, is on the one hand, a test of the da‘i ’s patience and, on the other, a test of the addressees as to whether they are able to see a glimpse of God’s representative in a man like themselves. Are they able to recognise the majesty of God’s message in the words coming out of a man’s mouth; do they bow down before arguments that are devoid of material strength, as they will bow down before a strong and powerful God? For those who have life in them, the whole universe is full of God‘s signs, but those who have extinguished the fire of their sensitivities will not be able to learn a lesson from anything except the terrors of Doomsday.
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6:36
۞ إِنَّمَا يَسۡتَجِيبُ ٱلَّذِينَ يَسۡمَعُونَۘ وَٱلۡمَوۡتَىٰ يَبۡعَثُهُمُ ٱللَّهُ ثُمَّ إِلَيۡهِ يُرۡجَعُونَ ٣٦
Only those who hear will respond. But the dead1 - Allāh will resurrect them; then to Him they will be returned.
1 translator’s note
- i.e., the dead of heart, meaning the disbelievers. ↩
6:37
وَقَالُواْ لَوۡلَا نُزِّلَ عَلَيۡهِ ءَايَةٞ مِّن رَّبِّهِۦۚ قُلۡ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ قَادِرٌ عَلَىٰٓ أَن يُنَزِّلَ ءَايَةٗ وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكۡثَرَهُمۡ لَا يَعۡلَمُونَ ٣٧
And they say, "Why has a sign not been sent down to him from his Lord?" Say, "Indeed, Allāh is Able to send down a sign, but most of them do not know."
6:38
وَمَا مِن دَآبَّةٖ فِي ٱلۡأَرۡضِ وَلَا طَٰٓئِرٖ يَطِيرُ بِجَنَاحَيۡهِ إِلَّآ أُمَمٌ أَمۡثَالُكُمۚ مَّا فَرَّطۡنَا فِي ٱلۡكِتَٰبِ مِن شَيۡءٖۚ ثُمَّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِمۡ يُحۡشَرُونَ ٣٨
And there is no creature on [or within] the earth or bird that flies with its wings except [that they are] communities like you. We have not neglected in the Register1 a thing. Then unto their Lord they will be gathered.
1 translator’s note
- The Preserved Slate (al-Lawḥ al-Maḥfūẓ), in which all things are recorded. ↩
6:39
وَٱلَّذِينَ كَذَّبُواْ بِـَٔايَٰتِنَا صُمّٞ وَبُكۡمٞ فِي ٱلظُّلُمَٰتِۗ مَن يَشَإِ ٱللَّهُ يُضۡلِلۡهُ وَمَن يَشَأۡ يَجۡعَلۡهُ عَلَىٰ صِرَٰطٖ مُّسۡتَقِيمٖ ٣٩
But those who deny Our verses are deaf and dumb within darknesses. Whomever Allāh wills - He sends astray; and whomever He wills - He puts him on a straight path.
6:40
قُلۡ أَرَءَيۡتَكُمۡ إِنۡ أَتَىٰكُمۡ عَذَابُ ٱللَّهِ أَوۡ أَتَتۡكُمُ ٱلسَّاعَةُ أَغَيۡرَ ٱللَّهِ تَدۡعُونَ إِن كُنتُمۡ صَٰدِقِينَ ٤٠
Say, "Have you considered:1 if there came to you the punishment of Allāh or there came to you the Hour - is it other than Allāh you would invoke, if you should be truthful?"
1 translator’s note
- The meaning is understood to be "Tell me..." ↩
6:41
بَلۡ إِيَّاهُ تَدۡعُونَ فَيَكۡشِفُ مَا تَدۡعُونَ إِلَيۡهِ إِن شَآءَ وَتَنسَوۡنَ مَا تُشۡرِكُونَ ٤١
No, it is Him [alone] you would invoke, and He would remove that for which you invoked Him if He willed, and you would forget what you associate [with Him].
6:42
وَلَقَدۡ أَرۡسَلۡنَآ إِلَىٰٓ أُمَمٖ مِّن قَبۡلِكَ فَأَخَذۡنَٰهُم بِٱلۡبَأۡسَآءِ وَٱلضَّرَّآءِ لَعَلَّهُمۡ يَتَضَرَّعُونَ ٤٢
And We have already sent [messengers] to nations before you, [O Muḥammad]; then We seized them with poverty and hardship that perhaps they might humble themselves [to Us].
6:43
فَلَوۡلَآ إِذۡ جَآءَهُم بَأۡسُنَا تَضَرَّعُواْ وَلَٰكِن قَسَتۡ قُلُوبُهُمۡ وَزَيَّنَ لَهُمُ ٱلشَّيۡطَٰنُ مَا كَانُواْ يَعۡمَلُونَ ٤٣
Then why, when Our punishment came to them, did they not humble themselves? But their hearts became hardened, and Satan made attractive to them that which they were doing.
6:44
فَلَمَّا نَسُواْ مَا ذُكِّرُواْ بِهِۦ فَتَحۡنَا عَلَيۡهِمۡ أَبۡوَٰبَ كُلِّ شَيۡءٍ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا فَرِحُواْ بِمَآ أُوتُوٓاْ أَخَذۡنَٰهُم بَغۡتَةٗ فَإِذَا هُم مُّبۡلِسُونَ ٤٤
So when they forgot that by which they had been reminded,1 We opened to them the doors of every [good] thing until, when they rejoiced in that which they were given, We seized them suddenly, and they were [then] in despair.
1 translator’s note
- i.e., their trial by poverty and hardship or the warnings of their prophets. ↩