6-56 Say: I am forbidden to serve those whom you call upon besides Allah. Say: I follow not your low desires, for then indeed I should go astray and should not be of the guided ones.
قُلۡ إِنِّى نُہِيتُ أَنۡ أَعۡبُدَ ٱلَّذِينَ تَدۡعُونَ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِۚ قُل لَّآ أَتَّبِعُ أَهۡوَآءَڪُمۡۙ قَدۡ ضَلَلۡتُ إِذً۬ا وَمَآ أَنَا۟ مِنَ ٱلۡمُهۡتَدِينَ (٥٦)
6-56a: نُہِيتُ – The meaning of نَھۡی is to prohibit or forbid a thing whether verbally or physically. In وَنَهَى ٱلنَّفۡسَ عَنِ ٱلۡهَوَىٰ (…and restrains himself from low desires) (79::40), the purport is not that one should tell one’s soul not to do evil, but the meaning is to divorce oneself from carnal desires and to save oneself from one’s low yearnings. It is for this reason that وَ نَھۡی عَنِ ٱلۡمُنڪَرِ (forbid what is evil) is sometimes by hand, sometimes by tongue, and sometimes by heart. Further, the forbidding by God is partly by the intellect that He has given us and partly by the shariah that He has revealed to us (R)
Holy Prophet kept away from idol worship: It is stated here that the Holy Prophet has been prohibited from worshipping any deity besides Allah. This prohibition by word took place after he received prophethood, but Allah saved him from idol worship by His actions right from his childhood. History bears testimony that the Holy Prophet never indulged in any polytheistic practice, and he was guided in this direction by his intellect and his righteous nature. By classing polytheism as the اھواء (low desire) of the disbelievers, it is made known that nature and intellect granted to humans by Allah guides a person towards the worship of One God.
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6-57 Say: Surely I have manifest proof from my Lord and you call it a lie. I have not with me that which you would hasten. The judgment is only Allah’s. He relates the truth and He is the Best of deciders.a
قُلۡ إِنِّى عَلَىٰ بَيِّنَةٍ۬ مِّن رَّبِّى وَڪَذَّبۡتُم بِهِۦۚ مَا عِندِى مَا تَسۡتَعۡجِلُونَ بِهِۦۤۚ إِنِ ٱلۡحُكۡمُ إِلَّا لِلَّهِۖ يَقُصُّ ٱلۡحَقَّۖ وَهُوَ خَيۡرُ ٱلۡفَـٰصِلِينَ (٥٧)
6-57a: ٱلۡفَـٰصِلِينَ – The meaning of فصل is to separate one thing from another until there is a clear difference between the two. Accordingly, the word is also used for physical separation in space, as in: وَلَمَّا فَصَلَتِ ٱلۡعِيرُ (And when the caravan left) (12:94) and یوم الفصل which is the day that separates truth from falsehood. The word فیصله (judgment) is also derived from it (R).
بَيِّنَة – It is stated in Al Mufradat that بَيِّنَة means a clear testimony whether rational or sensory. Here, the Holy Prophet’s practical aversion to idol worship and his stand on monotheism is said to be because of بَيِّنَة , that is the direction in which revelation and rationality guided him testifies to the validity of this path.
The great mercy of Allah: There has never been a human larger hearted than the Holy Prophet. His practical leniency with his enemies is unrivalled in the life of any other human, but Allah’s mercy and love are much greater than that of the Prophet even. Allah states that the disbeliever’s crimes are so abundant that if it was within the power of a human to punish them, even if that human was the Holy Prophet, the judgment against them would have been given, as is stated clearly in the next verse. However, God is very forbearing and gives a person great respite. The same Divine law is at work today. People desire that a certain nation may be destroyed quickly, but He Who is to make the judgment best knows when the right time for the destruction of a nation is.
A judge under the judgment of Allah: What is meant here by إِنِ ٱلۡحُكۡمُ إِلَّا لِلَّهِ is that the command for the punishment of the enemies is solely in the Hands of Allah and not in the hands of any human, as the context of the verse clearly shows. The meaning is not that there is no one else in the world who gives a command because this is contrary to reality. The argument of the Ahle Quran based on this verse delegitimizing the commands given by the Holy Prophet in the Hadith is contrary to the context of the passage. In addition, even a person of simple intelligence can see that a command given by a person based upon the command of Allah is also part of the command of Allah. All the commands given by the Holy Prophet were given under the command of Allah.
6-58 Say: If that which you would hasten were with me, the matter would have certainly been decided between you and me. And Allah best knows the wrongdoers.
قُل لَّوۡ أَنَّ عِندِى مَا تَسۡتَعۡجِلُونَ بِهِۦ لَقُضِىَ ٱلۡأَمۡرُ بَيۡنِى وَبَيۡنَڪُمۡۗ وَٱللَّهُ أَعۡلَمُ بِٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ (٥٨)
6-59 And with Him are the treasures of the unseen — none knows them but He. And He knows what is in the land and the sea. And there falls not a leaf but He knows it, nor is there a grain in the darkness of the earth, nor anything green or dry, but (it is all) in a clear book.
وَعِندَهُ ۥ مَفَاتِحُ ٱلۡغَيۡبِ لَا يَعۡلَمُهَآ إِلَّا هُوَۚ وَيَعۡلَمُ مَا فِى ٱلۡبَرِّ وَٱلۡبَحۡرِۚ وَمَا تَسۡقُطُ مِن وَرَقَةٍ إِلَّا يَعۡلَمُهَا وَلَا حَبَّةٍ۬ فِى ظُلُمَـٰتِ ٱلۡأَرۡضِ وَلَا رَطۡبٍ۬ وَلَا يَابِسٍ إِلَّا فِى كِتَـٰبٍ۬ مُّبِينٍ۬ (٥٩)
6-59a: مَفَاتِحُ – It is the plural of مَفۡتح which means treasure. But مَفَاتِحُ can also be the plural of مِفۡتح or مِفۡتاح which means a key, but the first meaning which is narrated by Saadi is preferable because it suits the context more. In Al Mufradat, the second meaning is adopted and the translation of وَعِندَهُ ۥ مَفَاتِحُ ٱلۡغَيۡبِ is given as: With Him are the keys of the Unseen, and its explanation is given that by مَفَاتِحُ is meant all those ways, means and resources by which the Unseen is reached which is mentioned in: عَـٰلِمُ ٱلۡغَيۡبِ فَلَا يُظۡهِرُ عَلَىٰ غَيۡبِهِۦۤ أَحَدًا إِلَّا مَنِ ٱرۡتَضَىٰ مِن رَّسُولٍ۬ (The Knower of the Unseen, so He makes His secrets known to none except a messenger whom He chooses) (72:26-27).
كِتَـٰبٍ۬ مُّبِين – By كِتَـٰبٍ۬ مُّبِين is meant Allah’s knowledge as is obvious from the context. After mentioning the knowledge of all kinds of things, in the end are mentioned the words كِتَـٰبٍ۬ مُّبِين which is a substitute for all types of knowledge. According to Al Mufradat by کتاب اللّٰه (The Book of Allah) is also meant His knowledge and His command.
This verse expresses the vastness of the knowledge of Allah because the requital of actions depends on knowledge. Regardless of whether an action is done openly or secretly, Allah is equally in the know of it. In addition, in the mention of a dried-out leaf falling from a tree, there is an indication of a nation whose power is dying out. The seed that lies buried in the darkness of the soil which will grow into a tree is a representation of Islam. The meaning is that all this will happen, but under the Divine law in which the growth takes place incrementally and gradually.
Quranic testimony sometimes serves two purposes: On the one hand, the verse mentions the perfect knowledge of Allah which testifies to His Unity, and on the other it reveals how the rise and fall of nations takes place. The fall of a nation takes place when it becomes bereft of good qualities like a dry leaf and its ascendancy takes place like a seed that is sown in the ground and becomes a tree.
6-60 And He it is Who takes your souls at night, and He knows what you earn by day, then He raises you up therein that an appointed term may be fulfilled. Then to Him is your return, then He will inform you of what you did.a
وَهُوَ ٱلَّذِى يَتَوَفَّٮٰڪُم بِٱلَّيۡلِ وَيَعۡلَمُ مَا جَرَحۡتُم بِٱلنَّہَارِ ثُمَّ يَبۡعَثُڪُمۡ فِيهِ لِيُقۡضَىٰٓ أَجَلٌ۬ مُّسَمًّ۬ىۖ ثُمَّ إِلَيۡهِ مَرۡجِعُكُمۡ ثُمَّ يُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا كُنتُمۡ تَعۡمَلُونَ (٦٠)
6-60a: يَتَوَفَّٮٰڪُم – For توفی see note 3-55a. It is stated in Al Mufradat: قد عُبِّرَ عن الموت و النوم بالتوفی that is, by توفی is meant death or sleep. The literal meaning of توفیٰ is the capture of the spirit. Further, it is used for both the states, the permanent capture of the spirit that takes place at death known as,قبض تام and the temporary capture, known as قبض ناقص . However, this word is specific for the capture of the spirit and is never used for the transfer of a human body from one place to another.
Similarity between sleep and death: There is an indication in the use of the word توفی for both sleep and death that the thing that is confiscated during sleep is the same that is confiscated during death. That thing is the consciousness on which human actions depend, and which is a distinctive feature between human and animals. For this reason, it is stated that after the توفی of the night, He knows what one does during the daytime, that is when the consciousness returns one becomes liable for one’s actions.
جَرَحۡتُم – The meaning of جَرۡح is to effect by a weapon or to wound, and the meaning of جَرَح الشئ is کَسَبَ (to earn or to gain) (LA). جوارح are a person’s limbs with which he eats, and اِجۡتِراح means commission of sin or earning evil (R), as in: أَمۡ حَسِبَ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱجۡتَرَحُواْ ٱلسَّيِّـَٔاتِ (Or do those who do evil deeds think…) (45:21).
In a similar manner to the last verse, on the one hand there is a mention of Divine knowledge which is testimony to the Unity of Allah, and on the other hand, it is conveyed that whatever one does in a state of wakefulness is in the knowledge of Allah and He requits accordingly. How this happens and what is its purpose is the subject of the next section.
Bayan-ul-Quran 