6-155 And this is a Book We have revealed, full of blessings; so follow it and keep your duty that mercy may be shown to you,a
وَهَـٰذَا كِتَـٰبٌ أَنزَلۡنَـٰهُ مُبَارَكٌ۬ فَٱتَّبِعُوهُ وَٱتَّقُواْ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تُرۡحَمُونَ (١٥٥)
6-155a: As this chapter draws to a close, two things are mentioned in this last section. First, although the knowledge about Divine Unity has been coming to humanity in past ages as well, as for example in the Book of Moses mentioned in the previous section, and every nation became a recipient of this knowledge in its own time to complete Allah’s favor to it, but the perfect knowledge that is to last forever in the world is in the Quran. It is a blessed Book whose benefits are eternal and not subject to termination. See note 6-92a. Second, the Holy Prophet is held up as the perfect example of Divine Unity in practice. Thus, it is conveyed that if the perfect theoretical knowledge of Divine Unity is present in the Quran, then its practical implementation is to be found in the life of Prophet Muhammad.
6-156 Lest you should say that the Book was revealed only to two parties before us and we were truly unaware of what they read,a
أَن تَقُولُوٓاْ إِنَّمَآ أُنزِلَ ٱلۡكِتَـٰبُ عَلَىٰ طَآٮِٕفَتَيۡنِ مِن قَبۡلِنَا وَإِن كُنَّا عَن دِرَاسَتِہِمۡ لَغَـٰفِلِينَ (١٥٦)
6-156a: The Arabs are the primary addressees here. The connection of أَن تَقُولُوٓاْ is with أَنزَلۡناہ, that is if the Book had not been revealed, then the Arabs could have said that they were unaware of what was in the Torah and Gospel. Only two parties are mentioned here because these two parties lived in Arabia, and they had put in some effort to reform the Arabs. History testifies that first the Jews and then the Christians tried their best to convert the Arabs to Judaism and Christianity respectively, but they were unsuccessful. The statement we were truly unaware is put in because the scriptures of Jews and Christians were not in Arabic and the Jews and Christians considered it heretical to translate their scriptures into other languages. In fact, the thinking among the Jews and Christians was that only men of religion are supposed to read these Books. The Jews still believe this, but it is only after the formation of the Protestant sect in the Christians that the translation of their scriptures into other languages started.
6-157 Or, lest you should say: If the Book had been revealed to us, we would have been better guided than they. So indeed there has come to you clear proof from your Lord, and guidance and mercy. Who is then more unjust than he who rejects Allah’s messages and turns away from them? We reward those who turn away from Our messages with an evil chastisement because they turned away.a
أَوۡ تَقُولُواْ لَوۡ أَنَّآ أُنزِلَ عَلَيۡنَا ٱلۡكِتَـٰبُ لَكُنَّآ أَهۡدَىٰ مِنۡہُمۡۚ فَقَدۡ جَآءَڪُم بَيِّنَةٌ۬ مِّن رَّبِّڪُمۡ وَهُدً۬ى وَرَحۡمَةٌ۬ۚ فَمَنۡ أَظۡلَمُ مِمَّن كَذَّبَ بِـَٔايَـٰتِ ٱللَّهِ وَصَدَفَ عَنۡہَاۗ سَنَجۡزِى ٱلَّذِينَ يَصۡدِفُونَ عَنۡ ءَايَـٰتِنَا سُوٓءَ ٱلۡعَذَابِ بِمَا كَانُواْ يَصۡدِفُونَ (١٥٧)
6-157a: The indication in this is that the people on whom this Book has been revealed will follow it more fervently than the Jews and the Christians. The followers of the Holy Prophet will not show the kind of weakness that was exhibited by the companions of Moses and the disciples of Jesus. At the end of the verse those who reject this message are cautioned.
6-158 They wait not aught but that the angels should come to them, or that thy Lord should come, or that some of the signs of thy Lord should come. On the day when some of the signs of thy Lord come, its faith will not profit a soul which believed not before, nor earned good through its faith. Say: Wait; we too are waiting.a
هَلۡ يَنظُرُونَ إِلَّآ أَن تَأۡتِيَهُمُ ٱلۡمَلَـٰٓٮِٕكَةُ أَوۡ يَأۡتِىَ رَبُّكَ أَوۡ يَأۡتِىَ بَعۡضُ ءَايَـٰتِ رَبِّكَۗ يَوۡمَ يَأۡتِى بَعۡضُ ءَايَـٰتِ رَبِّكَ لَا يَنفَعُ نَفۡسًا إِيمَـٰنُہَا لَمۡ تَكُنۡ ءَامَنَتۡ مِن قَبۡلُ أَوۡ كَسَبَتۡ فِىٓ إِيمَـٰنِہَا خَيۡرً۬اۗ قُلِ ٱنتَظِرُوٓاْ إِنَّا مُنتَظِرُونَ (١٥٨)
6-158a: Stipulations regarding the Hour: As an explanation of this verse, there is a hadith narrated in Bukhari and other books of hadith which has several versions and occurs in different ways. Some versions have these words: لاَ تَقُومُ السَّاعَةُ حَتَّى تَطْلُعَ الشَّمْسُ مِنْ مَغْرِبِهَا، فَإِذَا طَلَعَتْ فَرَآهَا النَّاسُ آمَنُوا أَجْمَعُونَ، فَذَلِكَ حِينَ لا يَنْفَعُ نَفْسًا إِيمَانُهَا لَمْ تَكُنْ آمَنَتْ مِنْ قَبْلُ (The Hour will not come until the sun rises from the west, and when it rises (from the west) and people see it, they will all believe (in Allah). But that will be the time when belief will be of no benefit to those who did not believe before). In another version, the words are that when three signs are manifested then no person will benefit from believing unless they believe from before or did not do some good through their faith. The three signs are: The sun rising from the west, the appearance of the antichrist (Dajjal) and the creature from the earth (Dabat Al Ard). In another version, it is stated that the Hour will not come to pass until ten signs are manifested. The ten signs are: the sun rising from the west, the smoke, creature of the earth, the emergence of Gog and Magog, coming of Jesus son of Mary, the appearance of Dajjal and land slides in three places, one in the east, one in the west and one in the Arabian peninsula and a fire that will burn forth from Yemen.
The first thing is that this hadith has no relevance to this verse except that the statement a soul will not profit by its faith appears both in this verse and in the hadith, but merely on this basis the signs of the Hour cannot be said to be an explanation of بَعۡضُ ءَايَـٰتِ رَبِّك (some of the signs of thy Lord). The reason for this is that there is a mention in the verse of the coming of the angels and the Lord and some of the signs of the Lord but there is no mention of this in the hadith which gives some other signs. What is meant by the coming of the angels and the Lord has been explained in 2-210a. The second thing is that in the signs stipulated in hadith, there is mention of the Antichrist and the coming of Jesus. There is also clear testimony from other ahadith that the Promised Messiah will slay the Antichrist and many non-Muslims will become believers through the Promised Messiah. If their belief will not profit them then wherein lies the benefit of sending the Messiah. It follows that the meaning of this hadith may be something else and some of the signs may be metaphorical, but this is not the place for a detailed discussion of this. It is only necessary here to show what is meant by بَعۡضُ ءَايَـٰتِ رَبِّك (some of the signs of thy Lord). So, keeping in view the explanation given in 2-210a as to what is meant by the coming of the angels and the Lord, namely that by the coming of the angels is meant punishment through wars and by the coming of the Lord is meant the extirpation of the opponents, it becomes clear that the meaning of بَعۡضُ ءَايَـٰتِ رَبِّك is the coming of death. A man’s death is in one sense also his resurrection, as is also stated in a hadith: من مات فقد قامت قیامتهٗ (Whoever dies, his resurrection comes to pass). There is no doubt that when the signs of impending death appear then belief cannot help a non-believer, and neither can belief help a person who verbally commits to belief but does not act according to it. This also goes to show that belief without action does not benefit a person. The punishment that is mentioned in the first verse is further elucidated in this verse and this is a warning to those who give the lie to religion which is also indicated by فانتظِرُوۡا (so wait).
6-159 As for those who split up their religion and became sects, thou hast no concern with them. Their affair is only with Allah, then He will inform them of what they did.a
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ فَرَّقُواْ دِينَہُمۡ وَكَانُواْ شِيَعً۬ا لَّسۡتَ مِنۡہُمۡ فِى شَىۡءٍۚ إِنَّمَآ أَمۡرُهُمۡ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ ثُمَّ يُنَبِّئُہُم بِمَا كَانُواْ يَفۡعَلُونَ (١٥٩)
6-159a: شِيَعً۬ا – The meaning of شیاع is to disperse and to strengthen. Derived from it is شائع (to publish) as in news was published. شِیۡعَة are those who are a source of strength for a person and as a result of which they spread (R). A group of people who are joined around a common purpose are called شِیۡعَة and Azhari states that some of them follow others but they lack unanimity. The purport here is sects that call each other disbelievers (LA).
Most commentators consider the reference here to be to the Jews and Christians but according to one tradition in Tirmazi, the reference is to Muslims who introduce innovations in religion, and this appears to be correct. There is a mention in the previous verse of those who do not earn goodness despite being believers and so another similar class of people are introduced who create innovations.
6-160 Whoever brings a good deed will have tenfold like it, and whoever brings an evil deed, will be recompensed only with the like of it, and they shall not be wronged.a
مَن جَآءَ بِٱلۡحَسَنَةِ فَلَهُ ۥ عَشۡرُ أَمۡثَالِهَاۖ وَمَن جَآءَ بِٱلسَّيِّئَةِ فَلَا يُجۡزَىٰٓ إِلَّا مِثۡلَهَا وَهُمۡ لَا يُظۡلَمُونَ (١٦٠)
6-160a: The reward for good deeds and the punishment for evil that is mentioned here is not inconsistent with what is stated elsewhere in the Quran. Every good deed is rewarded ten times or more and every evil is punished by its like or less than that, and if Allah chooses, He may forgive completely.
6-161 Say: As for me, my Lord has guided me to the right path — a right religion, the faith of Abraham, the upright one, and he was not of the polytheists.
قُلۡ إِنَّنِى هَدَٮٰنِى رَبِّىٓ إِلَىٰ صِرَٲطٍ۬ مُّسۡتَقِيمٍ۬ دِينً۬ا قِيَمً۬ا مِّلَّةَ إِبۡرَٲهِيمَ حَنِيفً۬اۚ وَمَا كَانَ مِنَ ٱلۡمُشۡرِكِينَ (١٦١)
6-162 Say: My prayer and my sacrifice and my life and my death are surely for Allah, the Lord of the worlds—a
قُلۡ إِنَّ صَلَاتِى وَنُسُكِى وَمَحۡيَاىَ وَمَمَاتِى لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلۡعَـٰلَمِينَ (١٦٢)
6-162a: Testimony that the Holy Prophet is the first of those who submit: This verse explains what is meant by perfect Divine Unity in practical terms. A person who believes in the oneness of God reaches the pinnacle of his perfection when his every action is an act of worship or an act of sacrifice, when his life and death are not for his own sake but for God. The indication in everything is for the Lord of the worlds is that just as Allah nurtures the worlds, the monotheist also engages in nurturing the creation. Thus, the practical aspect of belief in the oneness of God is nurturing the creation of God. The most important nurturing is the spiritual nurturing of the best of creation, the humans, which is entrusted to the prophets. The highest station in spiritual nurturing among all the prophets was achieved by the Holy Prophet because no other prophet came even close to the amount of work done by the Holy Prophet to reform a fallen humanity. Hence, he rightly stands first in the entire creation among those who submit.
Because the real discussion in this surah is on the oneness of God, it is concluded by stating that the Holy Prophet has achieved perfection and the highest station in professing and advocating Divine Unity and that the practical manifestation of Divine Unity is to get engrossed in the betterment of God’s creation.
The objective of every Muslim: If one deliberates, it becomes apparent that as one’s actions deviate away from satisfying one’s own desires the person’s moral station keeps on getting elevated. One person does something for his own self, another does something for his family, another does something for his community, another does something for his nation; these actions are progressively getting better and improving the moral status of the person performing these actions, but the highest status is of a person who does something for the creation of God. In this, and the next verse, it is not just the Holy Prophet who is presented as the perfect example of the practical aspect of Divine Unity but the real purpose in presenting him in this manner is that this should be the objective of every Muslim to elevate himself to this status. This is the reason why the prayer that is taught to be recited before the Fatihah has these words: إِنَّ صَلَاتِى وَنُسُكِى وَمَحۡيَاىَ وَمَمَاتِى لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلۡعَـٰلَمِينَ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ ۥۖ وَبِذَٲلِكَ أُمِرۡتُ وَأَنَا۟ من ٱلۡمُسۡلِمِينَ . The only difference in the wording is that the words أَوَّلُ ٱلۡمُسۡلِمِينَ which are special for the Holy Prophet have been replaced by من ٱلۡمُسۡلِمِينَ for ordinary Muslims. The purpose of teaching this prayer is that every Muslim should try to achieve this practical station of Divine Unity.
6-163 No associate has He. And this am I commanded, and I am the first of those who submit.
لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ ۥۖ وَبِذَٲلِكَ أُمِرۡتُ وَأَنَا۟ أَوَّلُ ٱلۡمُسۡلِمِينَ (١٦٣)
6-164 Say: Shall I seek a Lord other than Allah, while He is the Lord of all things? And no soul earns (evil) but against itself. Nor does a bearer of burden bear another’s burden. Then to your Lord is your return, so He will inform you of that in which you differed.
قُلۡ أَغَيۡرَ ٱللَّهِ أَبۡغِى رَبًّ۬ا وَهُوَ رَبُّ كُلِّ شَىۡءٍ۬ۚ وَلَا تَكۡسِبُ ڪُلُّ نَفۡسٍ إِلَّا عَلَيۡہَاۚ وَلَا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ۬ وِزۡرَ أُخۡرَىٰۚ ثُمَّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكُم مَّرۡجِعُكُمۡ فَيُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا كُنتُمۡ فِيهِ تَخۡتَلِفُونَ (١٦٤)
6-164a: وَازِرَةٌ۬ – وَزَر is a place of refuge in the mountains, as in: كَلَّا لَا وَزَرَ (No! There is no refuge!) (75:11). The actual meaning of وِزۡر is burden (R). Imam Raghib has written in the explanation of لِيَحۡمِلُوٓاْ أَوۡزَارَهُمۡ كَامِلَةً۬ يَوۡمَ ٱلۡقِيَـٰمَةِ (That they may bear their burden in full on the day of Resurrection) (16:25) that this is similar to وَلَيَحۡمِلُنَّ أَثۡقَالَهُمۡ وَأَثۡقَالاً۬ مَّعَ أَثۡقَالِهِمۡۖ (And they will certainly bear their own burden, and other burdens besides their own burdens) (29:13). Its meaning parallels what is stated in this hadith: مَنۡ سَنّ سُنَّة سیئة کان له وِزرھا ووزر من عمل بھا (He will also bear the burden of leading someone to an evil path).
This golden rule is a necessary appendage to the law of Divine Unity: Every person is responsible for his actions. No one can take on the responsibility of another. This is the central rule of Islam. This is such an efficacious weapon against the Christian doctrine of atonement that the Christians have no answer to it. However, they have crafted a strange reply which is that according to the Quran no sinner can bear the burden of another but a non-sinner can bear the burden of another’s sin. This logic is in no way inferior to the logic of the Trinity! Any person who bears the sin of another no longer remains a non-sinner and becomes وَازِرَةٌ۬ . This is a strange burden that the burden is lifted but there is no burden. There is no conflict in this Quranic teaching that no bearer of burden can bear the burden of another and the statement that the chiefs and leaders will also bear the burden of others as has been shown above. The purport there is that they will bear the burden of establishing an evil movement and not that those who participate in the evil movement will be exempt from the evil consequences of their participation. They will have to bear the burden of what they did as part of that movement. The burden of pointing out an evil way is separate and will be borne by the one who points, and the burden of doing evil is separate and will be borne by the doer of evil.
6-165 And He it is Who has made you successors in the land and exalted some of you in rank above others, that He may try you by what He has given you. Surely thy Lord is Quick in requiting (evil), and He is surely the Forgiving, the Merciful.a
وَهُوَ ٱلَّذِى جَعَلَڪُمۡ خَلَـٰٓٮِٕفَ ٱلۡأَرۡضِ وَرَفَعَ بَعۡضَكُمۡ فَوۡقَ بَعۡضٍ۬ دَرَجَـٰتٍ۬ لِّيَبۡلُوَكُمۡ فِى مَآ ءَاتَٮٰكُمۡۗ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ سَرِيعُ ٱلۡعِقَابِ وَإِنَّهُ ۥ لَغَفُورٌ۬ رَّحِيمُۢ (١٦٥)
6-165a: The Muslim kingdom was the result of spiritual perfection: This Surah is concluded with the statement that Allah gives sovereignty in the land to persons who attain excellence in pursuing Divine Unity in a practical sense because then they deserve to rule the creation of God. Only he deserves to become a ruler who has no other consideration except the betterment of others. The kingdom granted is a trial and the kingdom survives as long as its rulers are capable and worthy of governance. This condition is, in fact, observable in the history of Islam. This verse is almost a very brief history of Islam. The Muslims did not get a kingdom because of their strength and armament but because they were well-wishers of God’s creation. When they achieved the station of perfect Divine Unity and became capable of treating all nations equally, and the purpose of their life became service of humanity, Allah made them king of the world. These are facts that are admitted by Christians, but when they fell from these high ideals and began to desire kingship for their personal benefit, the kingship was taken away from them and another nation was placed in their stead. Evil is punished but the attribute of forgiveness and mercy dominates everything.
Bayan-ul-Quran 