6-31 They are losers indeed who reject the meeting with Allah, until when the hour comes upon them suddenly, they will say: O our grief for our neglecting it! And they bear their burdens on their backs. Now surely evil is that which they bear!
قَدۡ خَسِرَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَذَّبُواْ بِلِقَآءِ ٱللَّهِۖ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا جَآءَتۡہُمُ ٱلسَّاعَةُ بَغۡتَةً۬ قَالُواْ يَـٰحَسۡرَتَنَا عَلَىٰ مَا فَرَّطۡنَا فِيہَا وَهُمۡ يَحۡمِلُونَ أَوۡزَارَهُمۡ عَلَىٰ ظُهُورِهِمۡۚ أَلَا سَآءَ مَا يَزِرُونَ (٣١)
6-31a: ٱلسَّاعَةُ – Literally ساعة can be any one of the various periods into which time is divided. It is also a synonym for Doomsday. When used as a synonym for Doomsday, there are three connotations in which it can be used, namely as the waking of the dead for the final judgment called ساعة کبریٰ or the great doomsday, the destruction of a generation or a nation, called as ساعة وسطیٰ or the middle doomsday, and the death of a person called in the hadith as قیامت صغریٰ or the minor doomsday as in the following hadith: من مات فقد قامة قیامته‘ (Whoever dies his resurrection has commenced). See 2-85a.
بَغۡتَةً۬ – The meaning of بغت is for a thing to come suddenly from an unexpected direction (R).
فَرَّطۡنَا – فَرَطَ means moved forward with resolve and فارِط or فَرَط is one who precedes or moves forward, as the Holy Prophet said: انا فَرَطُکم علی الحوض (I will reach the Cistern ahead of you) (Bukhari and Muslim) or as it occurs in the funeral prayer of a child اللّٰھُمَّ اجعله لنا فرطًا (O Allah! Make him a cause of recompense for us in the world to come) and افراط is to be excessive in moving forward and تفریط is to be negligent in moving forward as in: مَا فَرَّطتُ فِى جَنۢبِ ٱللَّهِ (…fell short of my duty to Allah) (39:56) and مَا فَرَّطتُّمۡ فِى يُوسُفَ (fell short of your duty towards Joseph before) (12:80).
أَوۡزَارَ – It is the plural of وزۡر which means a burden and the purport is burden of sin. The meaning of وزَرَ is a place of safety in the mountains.
Meeting with Allah: The meeting with Allah known as لقاء اللّٰه is the pinnacle of the spiritual ascendancy of a person and to deny such a meeting is to deny the perfection of the spiritual progress of man. The higher the goal that a person sets for himself the greater is the effort he puts in with his God given powers to achieve the goal and there can be no greater goal of a person’s life than to strive for لقاء اللّٰه (meeting with Allah) or coloring oneself in the virtues of Allah. Anybody who abandons this goal restricts the purpose of his life to this world and renders his higher powers redundant. He then must carry a far greater burden than the burden of striving in the way of Allah that he sought not to carry in this life.
6-32 And this world’s life is naught but a play and an idle sport. And certainly the abode of the Hereafter is better for those who keep their duty. Do you not then understand?
وَمَا ٱلۡحَيَوٰةُ ٱلدُّنۡيَآ إِلَّا لَعِبٌ۬ وَلَهۡوٌ۬ۖ وَلَلدَّارُ ٱلۡأَخِرَةُ خَيۡرٌ۬ لِّلَّذِينَ يَتَّقُونَۗ أَفَلَا تَعۡقِلُونَ (٣٢)
6-32a: لَهۡو – It is a thing that detracts a person’s attention from a thing that is necessary and important for him to something that makes him busy elsewhere (R).
Difference between لَهۡو and لَعِب : The difference between لَهۡو and لَعِب (See note 5-58a) is that in لَعِب the desire is to seek immediate gratification and لَهۡو is something that stops one from reaching the real purpose even if there is no immediate pleasure in the distraction.
حَيَوٰةُ ٱلدُّنۡيَآ – The meaning of حَيَوٰةُ ٱلدُّنۡيَآ or life of this world here and in other similar places is that part of this life that is devoid of the higher goal of لقاء اللّٰه and is just restricted to eating, drinking and fulfilling physical desires. For this reason, it has been compared with the life Hereafter. All those actions in which the purpose is to please Allah, even if they include eating and drinking, are not part of حَيَوٰةُ ٱلدُّنۡيَآ but are part of دَارُ ٱلۡأَخِرَةُ (abode of the Hereafter).
Attention is drawn here that there is no connection between eating, drinking, and fulfilling physical desires and the Hereafter. The former is part of the animal life of man. So, as far as the preparedness for the Hereafter is concerned, and as far as the keeping of the high goal of لقاء اللّٰه is concerned, the fulfilment of physical desires has no impact on achieving that goal. They are just play and a thing of no substance becausethey are لَهۡو that is that which keeps one away from the high goal of meeting Allah. If only one uses his God given intelligence, he would understand how damaging the abandonment of this goal is for him.
6-33 We know indeed that what they say grieves thee, for surely they give not thee the lie, but the wrongdoers give the lie to Allah’s messages.a
قَدۡ نَعۡلَمُ إِنَّهُ ۥ لَيَحۡزُنُكَ ٱلَّذِى يَقُولُونَۖ فَإِنَّہُمۡ لَا يُكَذِّبُونَكَ وَلَـٰكِنَّ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ بِـَٔايَـٰتِ ٱللَّهِ يَجۡحَدُونَ (٣٣)
6-33a: يَجۡحَدُونَ – جحود is to negate that which the heart affirms and to affirm that which the heart negates, as in: وَجَحَدُواْ بِہَا وَٱسۡتَيۡقَنَتۡهَآ أَنفُسُہُمۡ (And they denied while their souls were convinced of them (27:14).
This verse clearly evidences that even the opponents were convinced of the truthfulness of the Holy Prophet. Events that bear testimony to this are recorded in history. Thus, Hars said to the Holy Prophet: ماکذبتنا قط (You have never spoken a lie to us); and Abu Jahl said: ان محمد الصادق و ما کذب قط (Muhammad is truthful and has never lied), and all the people of Arabia called him by the name الامین . Here, when it is mentioned that they deny the meeting with Allah, it is stated that they cannot call the Holy Prophet a liar because he has never lied and no one has even alleged that he spoke a lie, then their denial is only about rejecting the signs of Allah. It is not a rejection of the truthfulness of the Holy Prophet but a rejection of the message of Allah that is vouchsafed to the Holy Prophet from Allah.
6-34 And messengers indeed were rejected before thee, but they were patient when rejected and persecuted, until Our help came to them. And there is none to change the words of Allah. And there has already come to thee some information about the messengers.a
وَلَقَدۡ كُذِّبَتۡ رُسُلٌ۬ مِّن قَبۡلِكَ فَصَبَرُواْ عَلَىٰ مَا كُذِّبُواْ وَأُوذُواْ حَتَّىٰٓ أَتَٮٰهُمۡ نَصۡرُنَاۚ وَلَا مُبَدِّلَ لِكَلِمَـٰتِ ٱللَّهِۚ وَلَقَدۡ جَآءَكَ مِن نَّبَإِىْ ٱلۡمُرۡسَلِينَ (٣٤)
6-34a: لَا مُبَدِّلَ لِكَلِمَـٰتِ ٱللَّهِ – The Christian priests, totally ignoring the context, have tried to grasp at this phrase much like the drowning man grasps at a straw. It is obvious that solace is being provided to the Holy Prophet at his rejection and he is told that previous prophets too were rejected but they remained patient until the help of Allah arrived. This will be the case with him as well. The obvious meaning of لَا مُبَدِّلَ لِكَلِمَـٰتِ ٱللَّهِ (there is none to change the word of Allah) is that this prophecy will be fulfilled. Further, it is stated next: وَلَقَدۡ جَآءَكَ مِن نَّبَإِىْ ٱلۡمُرۡسَلِينَ (And there has already come to thee some information about the messengers), meaning that what happened with the opponents of previous Messengers will happen with the Holy Prophet’s opponents as well. The Christian clergy, however, say that what is meant here is that no one can tamper and alter Divine Books. However, the Quran claimed that previous Divine scriptures had been tampered with over thirteen hundred years ago and today events and research have proven this to be the case.
6-35 And if their turning away is hard on thee, then, if thou canst, seek an opening into the earth or a ladder to heaven, to bring them a sign! And if Allah pleased, He would certainly have gathered them all to guidance, so be not of the ignorant.a
وَإِن كَانَ كَبُرَ عَلَيۡكَ إِعۡرَاضُہُمۡ فَإِنِ ٱسۡتَطَعۡتَ أَن تَبۡتَغِىَ نَفَقً۬ا فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ أَوۡ سُلَّمً۬ا فِى ٱلسَّمَآءِ فَتَأۡتِيَہُم بِـَٔايَةٍ۬ۚ وَلَوۡ شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ لَجَمَعَهُمۡ عَلَى ٱلۡهُدَىٰۚ فَلَا تَكُونَنَّ مِنَ ٱلۡجَـٰهِلِينَ (٣٥)
6-35a: سُلَّم – Its root is also سَلۡم or peace and its meaning is taken to be a thing that enables one to reach a higher level safely, that is a ladder. Derived from this, every such thing that enables a person to achieve a higher object is also called سُلَّمً۬, such as resources (R), as in: أَمۡ لَهُمۡ سُلَّمٌ۬ يَسۡتَمِعُونَ فِيهِ (Or have they the means by which they listen) (52:38).
The address here is general but even if it is taken to be to the Holy Prophet there is no harm in it. The Holy Prophet desired fervently with all his heart for people to believe in the Message he had brought and so naturally he felt the pain of people’s indifference and rejection of his message. He desired that signs may be manifested in the heaven and earth that would make the people believe. So Allah makes it known that the showing of signs is not in the hands of the the prophet. It is only when Allah wants, that He shows some miracle through the prophet.
If Allah desires, He will gather them to guidance. This is a prophecy that was fulfilled. If it is translated as: If Allah had wanted, He would have guided them, the meaning would be that He would have created them so that they would not have been given the choice to use their intellect to choose between good and evil. A person who is not familiar with a special matter can also be called ignorant. The meaning is that one should not remain unaware of this prophecy or this law.
6-36 Only those accept who listen. And (as for) the dead, Allah will raise them, then to Him they will be returned.a
إِنَّمَا يَسۡتَجِيبُ ٱلَّذِينَ يَسۡمَعُونَۘ وَٱلۡمَوۡتَىٰ يَبۡعَثُہُمُ ٱللَّهُ ثُمَّ إِلَيۡهِ يُرۡجَعُونَ (٣٦)
6-36a: By بعث is meant their spiritual resurrection: One use of بعث is for the raising of the dead on the Day of Judgment for the purpose of requital, and the other is for a spiritual raising manifested through the Holy Prophet which is a raising of the spiritually dead (See 2-56a). There is no mention here of the Day of Judgment and hence the reference here is to the spiritual resurrection. The meaning is that these people who are totally dead and do not listen will also one day wake up, but currently only those accept the message who listen. In another place, it is stated: ٱعۡلَمُوٓاْ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُحۡىِ ٱلۡأَرۡضَ بَعۡدَ مَوۡتِہَا (Know that Allah gives life to the earth after its death) (57:17). The death of the earth is the spiritual death of the Holy Prophet’s opponents.
6-37 And they say: Why has not a sign been sent down to him from his Lord? Say: Surely Allah is Able to send down a sign, but most of them know not.a
وَقَالُواْ لَوۡلَا نُزِّلَ عَلَيۡهِ ءَايَةٌ۬ مِّن رَّبِّهِۦۚ قُلۡ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ قَادِرٌ عَلَىٰٓ أَن يُنَزِّلَ ءَايَةً۬ وَلَـٰكِنَّ أَڪۡثَرَهُمۡ لَا يَعۡلَمُونَ (٣٧)
6-37a: By sign here is meant a destructive punishment. The nunnation over ءَايَةٌ۬ is for respect. They are told that Allah will breathe a spirit in these spiritually dead people. Instead of taking advantage of this, they, in line with their permanent habit of opposing the truth, ask for punishment. Accordingly, in the last verse of this section, there is a clear mention of this punishment. There is no refusal here to show signs or miracles but by simply stating that Allah has power over this, it is conveyed that the punishment will overtake them finally.
6-38 And there is no animal in the earth, nor a bird that flies on its two wings, but (they are) communities like yourselves.a We have not neglected anything in the Book. Then to their Lord will they be gathered.b
وَمَا مِن دَآبَّةٍ۬ فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ وَلَا طَـٰٓٮِٕرٍ۬ يَطِيرُ بِجَنَاحَيۡهِ إِلَّآ أُمَمٌ أَمۡثَالُكُمۚ مَّا فَرَّطۡنَا فِى ٱلۡكِتَـٰبِ مِن شَىۡءٍ۬ۚ ثُمَّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّہِمۡ يُحۡشَرُونَ (٣٨)
6-38a: What is meant by animals and birds being communities like humans: The context here is a discussion about the disbelievers whose sights are firmly set only on this world. They give the lie to لقاء اللّٰه , the meeting with the Lord, and consider this earthly life to be everything. Their sight does not extends beyond eating, drinking and physical desires. They are told that in this respect, there is no difference between them and animals. In another place, it is stated: أُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ كَٱلۡأَنۡعَـٰمِ بَلۡ هُمۡ أَضَلُّۚ (They are as cattle; nay, they are more astray). Another interpretation of this similitude can be that the address is to the entire humanity, and they are told that other living creatures are like them. They function in accordance with the nature that Allah has given them but humans disregard the light that Allah has provided in their nature, as is stated in: إِن مِّن شَىۡءٍ إِلَّا يُسَبِّحُ بِحَمۡدِهِ (And there is not a single thing but glorifies Him with His praise, but you do not understand their glorification) (17:44). A third interpretation is that attention is drawn to the two kinds of people, one who like the quadrupeds keep bent towards the ground and the other who like a bird soar into the spiritual world. These two kinds form two groups, that is believers and disbelievers.
6-38b: ٱلۡكِتَـٰبِ – By ٱلۡكِتَـٰبِ is here meant the Quran. There is nothing essential left out in it and everything has been explained in detail.
ثُمَّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّہِمۡ يُحۡشَرُونَ – The literal meaning of حشر is to gather together. Is the reference here to the gathering on the Day of Judgment? According to a narration from Ibn Abbas the حشر of animals is their death (IJ). Some have said that what is meant is the gathering on the Day of Judgment. There is a hadith that states that Allah will do justice even with animals, but this requires the animals to be responsible. Further there is not even the slightest hint in the Quran or in the Hadith that there are messengers raised among animals. Proponents who hold the view that the animals will be gathered have even been called infidels or atheists. Holding animals responsible under the human shariah is against the Quran which lays great stress on the use of intellect and reflection which have not been given to animals. So, either the interpretation of Ibn Abbas is correct and an animal’s death is the end of its life or a better explanation is that the pronouns in رَبِّہِمۡ and يُحۡشَرُونَ stand for the people who are the subject of discussion in previous verses and not to the animals whose mention in the verse is only as an example. Further, the pronoun in رَبِّہِمۡ is for a rational being and this further substantiates this interpretation. Thus, the meaning is that the example of humans is like that of other creatures that have life as far as the physical aspects of life are concerned such as eating and drinking but there is an additional feature with them that they will be raised again and gathered towards their Lord for requital. In the next verse, those who give the lie to this second life are called صُمٌّ۬ وَبُكۡمٌ۬ (deaf and dumb), that is like animals who can neither understand nor speak. Thus their condition is: بِمَا لَا يَسۡمَعُ إِلَّا دُعَآءً۬ وَنِدَآءً (who calls out to that which hears no more than a call and a cry) (2:171).
6-39 And those who reject Our messages are deaf and dumb, in darkness. Whom Allah pleases He leaves in error. And whom He pleases He places on the right way.
وَٱلَّذِينَ كَذَّبُواْ بِـٴَـايَـٰتِنَا صُمٌّ۬ وَبُكۡمٌ۬ فِى ٱلظُّلُمَـٰتِۗ مَن يَشَإِ ٱللَّهُ يُضۡلِلۡهُ وَمَن يَشَأۡ يَجۡعَلۡهُ عَلَىٰ صِرَٲطٍ۬ مُّسۡتَقِيمٍ۬ (٣٩)
6-40 Say: See, if the chastisement of Allah overtake you or the hour come upon you, will you call on others than Allah, if you are truthful?a
قُلۡ أَرَءَيۡتَكُمۡ إِنۡ أَتَٮٰكُمۡ عَذَابُ ٱللَّهِ أَوۡ أَتَتۡكُمُ ٱلسَّاعَةُ أَغَيۡرَ ٱللَّهِ تَدۡعُونَ إِن كُنتُمۡ صَـٰدِقِينَ (٤٠)
6-40a: أَرَءَيۡتَكُمۡ – (رائ in the sense of knowledge or knowing) is in the place of اَخۡبِرنی and its meaning is tell me. If in اَرَأیۡتَ the hamza (ء) is interrogative then it has the same meaning as اَخۡبِرنی and if qaf (ک) is the pronoun for addressing then tau (ت ) remains unchanged and the changes for conjugation are made in qaf instead of tau and the conjugated forms become ارأیتك – ارءیتکم etcetera. Wherever اَرَأیۡتَ and ارءیتکم occur in the Quran in their real meaning, they convey a warning or admonition.
6-41 Nay, Him you call upon, so He removes that for which you pray, if He pleases, and you forget what you set up (with Him).a
بَلۡ إِيَّاهُ تَدۡعُونَ فَيَكۡشِفُ مَا تَدۡعُونَ إِلَيۡهِ إِن شَآءَ وَتَنسَوۡنَ مَا تُشۡرِكُونَ (٤١)
6:41a: Chastisement and hour (سَّاعَةُ ) mentioned separately: Here chastisement and hour have been mentioned separately because by hour or سَّاعَةُ is meant the hour of their destruction or the time when their power and might will dissipate. This will be the hour of their reckoning in this world. By chastisement is meant smaller punishments. The calling out to Allah at the time of the chastisement or the hour and abandoning those that they had set up as partners with Allah (تَنسَوۡنَ مَا تُشۡرِكُونَ ) is borne out by facts. The same is stated elsewhere in the Quran as well: دَعَوُاْ ٱللَّهَ مُخۡلِصِينَ لَهُ ٱلدِّينَ (Then they pray to Allah, being sincere to Him in obedience) (10:22). It is conveyed in: فَيَكۡشِفُ مَا تَدۡعُونَ إِلَيۡهِ (so he removes that for which you pray) that when a person calls Allah sincerely in a situation of extreme distress, Allah removes such distress as he pleases. The use of the term إِن شَآءَ shows that sometimes Allah’s decree is that when the destructive chastisement strikes, it will not be lifted as stated in وَمَا دُعَآءُ ٱلۡكَـٰفِرِينَ إِلَّا فِى ضَلَـٰلٍ۬ (And the prayer of the disbeliever is only wasted) (13:14). It is for this reason that it is stated in the first verse of the next section that the purpose of sending small chastisements is for people to turn to Allah.
Bayan-ul-Quran 