Surah Al-An'aam (6) — Ayah 12

(Ayah 12) ➊ {قُلْ لِّمَنْ مَّا فِي السَّمٰوٰتِ وَ الْاَرْضِ … :} After admonition, advice, and warning, evidence is established to prove these same three principles (the beginning of the universe, resurrecting it, and the prophethood of the prophets). The Prophet (peace be upon him) was commanded to ask these disbelievers: Who is the owner of the heavens and the earth? The purpose of this question is rebuke and reproach. Then Allah commanded you (peace be upon him) to answer yourself: Who else can it be except Allah? And this sentence was also uttered by the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him): Say that Allah has made mercy obligatory upon Himself for His servants; He accepts repentance and seeking forgiveness, and it is the demand of this attribute of mercy that He has given you respite in this world, He does not seize you immediately, but on the Day of Resurrection He will gather you all together. Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "When Allah created the creation, He wrote in a book with Him above the Throne: 'My mercy prevails over My wrath.'" [ بخاری، التوحید، باب قول اللہ تعالٰی: «ویحذرکم اللہ نفسہ…» : ۷۴۰۴ ]
But this mercy on the Day of Resurrection will be only for the believers; for the disbelievers, Allah will be extremely wrathful. In this world, both Muslims and disbelievers, the righteous and the wicked, all benefit from this mercy. Allah said: «وَ رَحْمَتِيْ وَ سِعَتْ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ فَسَاَكْتُبُهَا لِلَّذِيْنَ يَتَّقُوْنَ وَ يُؤْتُوْنَ الزَّكٰوةَ وَ الَّذِيْنَ هُمْ بِاٰيٰتِنَا يُؤْمِنُوْنَ» [ الأعراف : ۱۵۶] "And My mercy encompasses all things, so I will surely decree it for those who fear Me and give zakah and those who believe in Our verses." See also Surah Al-Baqarah (218). As for this world, Allah the Exalted said: «كُلًّا نُّمِدُّ هٰۤؤُلَآءِ وَ هٰۤؤُلَآءِ مِنْ عَطَآءِ رَبِّكَ وَ مَا كَانَ عَطَآءُ رَبِّكَ مَحْظُوْرًا» [ بنی إسرائیل : ۲۰ ] "We help all, these and those, from the bounty of your Lord, and the bounty of your Lord is never restricted."

➋ {لَيَجْمَعَنَّكُمْ اِلٰى يَوْمِ الْقِيٰمَةِ لَا رَيْبَ فِيْهِ …:} That is, the coming of the Resurrection is a reality that no sensible person can deny; if anyone can deny it, it is only one who does not use his intellect and nature and is stubborn upon a losing bargain, who does not even desire a profitable bargain, even though Allah has said: «فَمَنْ زُحْزِحَ عَنِ النَّارِ وَ اُدْخِلَ الْجَنَّةَ فَقَدْ فَازَ» [ آل عمران : ۱۸۵ ] "So whoever is removed from the Fire and admitted to Paradise, he has certainly succeeded."

12. 1. Just as in the hadith the Prophet ﷺ said, when Allah Almighty created the creation, He wrote upon the Throne: اِنَّ رَحمَتِی تَغْلِبُ غَضَبِیْ — "Indeed, My mercy prevails over My wrath." But this mercy on the Day of Resurrection will be only for the people of faith; for the disbelievers, the Lord will be extremely wrathful. The meaning is that in this world, His mercy is certainly general, from which believers and disbelievers, the righteous and the wicked, the obedient and the disobedient, all are benefiting. Allah Almighty does not withhold anyone’s provision due to disobedience, but this arrangement of His mercy is only up to the limits of this world. In the Hereafter, which is the abode of recompense, there will be the perfect manifestation of Allah’s attribute of justice, as a result of which the people of faith and security will find a place in mercy, and the people of disbelief and wickedness will become deserving of the eternal punishment of Hell. That is why it is stated in the Quran: (وَرَحْمَتِيْ وَسِعَتْ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ ۭ فَسَاَكْتُبُهَا لِلَّذِيْنَ يَتَّقُوْنَ وَيُؤْتُوْنَ الزَّكٰوةَ وَالَّذِيْنَ هُمْ بِاٰيٰتِنَا يُؤْمِنُوْنَ) 7:156 And My mercy encompasses all things, so I will surely decree it for those who fear Allah and give zakah and those who believe in Our verses.

12. Ask them, "To whom belongs all that is in the heavens and the earth?" Say, "It all belongs to Allah." He has made mercy [13] obligatory upon Himself. He will surely gather you on the Day of Resurrection, about which there is no doubt. But those who have chosen to lose themselves [14]—they will not believe.

[12] Allah Almighty Himself has given the answer to this question because the polytheists did not want to answer it. The reason was that, as a matter of belief, they believed that Allah Almighty is the Owner of everything. Now, if they admitted this, the argument from this admission would go against them, and if they denied it, it would be against their own belief. Therefore, when they chose to remain silent instead of answering, Allah Himself gave the answer. And this answer was such that it was also accepted by them.

[13] In reality, even the upbringing and nurturing of a human being is not possible without Allah’s mercy. Only when Allah’s mercy accompanies him at every step can he remain alive. Furthermore, He sees the polytheists committing shirk. He sees the disbelievers denying His signs and acting stubbornly. Yet He does not destroy them. Rather, He also provides them with sustenance, and the only reason for this is His mercy. Thus, in a Hadith Qudsi, Allah Almighty said, “My mercy has prevailed over My wrath.” [بخاري۔ كتاب التوحيد۔ باب قوله وكان عرشه على الماء]

In the previous verse, Allah Almighty mentioned the destruction of disobedient nations, so in this verse, He mentioned His attribute of mercy in such a manner that the attribute of mercy, in any case and in most times, has prevailed over the attribute of severity. Moreover, in this verse, Allah Almighty, in a very subtle way, first presented evidence for His own Being, then for His most important attribute—mercy—and finally for the Hereafter.

[14] That is, they have stopped using both reason and sound nature, therefore they themselves are bent on remaining in loss.