Surah Al-An'aam (6) — Ayah 151

(Ayah 151) ➊ { قُلْ تَعَالَوْا اَتْلُ مَا حَرَّمَ رَبُّكُمْ عَلَيْكُمْ:} Now Allah Almighty explains in detail that forbidden is not what you have declared forbidden by your own will, but rather what your Creator and Sustainer at every moment has made forbidden for you. Come! I Myself will explain it to you. These are ten commandments which are the essence of Islam.

➋ { اَلَّا تُشْرِكُوْا بِهٖ شَيْـًٔا: } Here, what was to be mentioned were the things that Allah Almighty has forbidden, but what is mentioned are those things which are commanded with great emphasis. The meaning is that the commands which are established for you with emphasis by Allah’s forbidding are these. As if this is included within the meaning of {’’ حَرَّمَ رَبُّكُمْ عَلَيْكُمْ ‘‘}, that here {’’ وَصَّاكُمْ بِهِ ‘‘} is omitted, i.e., He has emphatically commanded you not to associate anything with Him. The evidence is the last words of all three verses mentioned here: «ذٰلِكُمْ وَصّٰىكُمْ بِهٖ » meaning, this is what He has emphatically commanded you. If the meaning was that these things are forbidden, then at the end the words should have been: {’’ ذٰلِكُمْ حَرَّمَ عَلَيْكُمْ ‘‘ } meaning, these are the things He has made forbidden for you. Allah Almighty gave the very first emphatic command that you do not associate anything with Him—not any human, nor any jinn, nor any angel, nor any mountain, stone, river, or tree. In short, no matter how great a thing is, do not make it a partner with Allah in anything, because all are created by Allah. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The greatest sin is that you associate a partner with Allah, while He created you.” [ بخاری، التفسیر، باب : ۴۴۷۷ ]

Allah Almighty said: “Indeed, Allah does not forgive that a partner be associated with Him, and He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills.” [ النساء : ۱۱۶ ] And Allah Almighty mentioned the saying of the Messiah (peace be upon him) that whoever associates a partner with Allah, then surely Allah has made Paradise forbidden for him. [ المائدۃ : ۷۲ ]

➌ { وَ بِالْوَالِدَيْنِ۠ اِحْسَانًا: ’’ اِحْسَانًا ‘‘} The omitted verb, {’’ اَحْسِنُوْا ‘‘ }, is an absolute object, which is meant for emphasis, so the translation is “do good excellently.” In many verses of the Noble Qur’an, where the command to worship Allah and to avoid shirk is given, there is also an emphasis on treating parents well, because Allah Almighty has made parents the means of birth through enduring hardship after hardship and nurturing with heartfelt love. From these verses, it is clear that after Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), among the rights of the servants, the foremost right upon a person is that of his parents. See Surah Bani Isra’il (23) and Surah Luqman (14, 15).

➍ {وَ لَا تَقْتُلُوْۤا اَوْلَادَكُمْ مِّنْ اِمْلَاقٍ …… : } After they have been born or while they are in their mothers’ wombs, for example, by giving some medicine to induce an abortion before its time. The same command is given in Surah Bani Isra’il (31), but there and here are two differences: here it is {’’مِنْ اِمْلَاقٍ‘‘} (because of poverty), and there it is {’’ خَشْيَةَ اِمْلَاقٍ ‘‘ } (for fear of poverty). Similarly, here it is {’’ نَحْنُ نَرْزُقُكُمْ وَ اِيَّاهُمْ ‘‘} (We provide for you and for them), and there it is { ’’ نَحْنُ نَرْزُقُهُمْ وَ اِيَّاكُمْ ‘‘} “We provide for them and for you.” The reason seems to be that at this place, it is about those people who are already afflicted with poverty. It is said: do not kill them in this poverty; We will provide for you even in poverty, and for them as well. Whereas in Bani Isra’il, it is about those who are not afflicted with poverty but fear poverty upon the birth of children. It is said: do not fear, We will provide for them as well; We are providing for you too. In summary, your thinking that you are the owners of sustenance is completely wrong; this is Our work and Our responsibility. (See Hud: 6) As for the disbelievers, that is another matter, but even now Muslim governments, under the pretext of birth control or family planning, are systematically committing the crime of killing children, saying that our resources are limited, we cannot provide food for a large population, whereas this is a statement of disbelief. The provision of food is the responsibility of Allah Almighty; in fact, all the luxury of these rulers is the result of the labor of these poor people, for whose food they are claiming responsibility. Allah Almighty sends every child with a mouth to eat and two hands to earn, and as the population increases, the treasures of the earth are being opened up. See Surah Hijr (19 to 22).

➎ {وَ لَا تَقْرَبُوا الْفَوَاحِشَ …… : ’’ اَلْفَاحِشَةُ ‘‘}, {’’ اَلْفَحْشَاءُ ‘‘}, and {’’ اَلْفَحْشُ‘‘} mean every word or deed that is extremely abominable, such as adultery, severe miserliness, etc. (Raghib) Therefore, it is translated as “indecency.” Allah Almighty has forbidden every such act, whether open, such as committing adultery in public or the acts of the people of Lot, or hidden, such as committing adultery or theft in secret, all of these have been declared forbidden. At this place, even approaching any such act has been declared forbidden, as in Surah Bani Isra’il (32), approaching adultery is also forbidden, because approaching is itself a cause for committing the sin. Ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “No one is more protective than Allah, and for this reason He has forbidden all forms of open and hidden indecency.” [ بخاری، التفسیر، باب قولہ تعالٰی : «ولا تقربوا الفواحش …… » : ۴۶۳۴ ]

➏ {وَ لَا تَقْتُلُوا النَّفْسَ …… :} Abdullah ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “The blood of a Muslim, who testifies that there is no god but Allah and that I am the Messenger of Allah, is not lawful except in three cases: (1) life for life, (2) a married adulterer, (3) one who leaves his religion and separates from the community.” [ بخاری، الدیات، باب قول اﷲ تعالٰی : « إن النفس بالنفس والعين بالعين…… » : ۶۸۷۸ ] Or, apart from these three, anyone whose killing is clearly commanded in the Qur’an or Hadith, such as a highway robber (bandit, rebel) or one who marries a mahram, killing them is not unjust but is a right.

➐ {لَعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُوْنَ:} So that you may understand, use your intellect, because these are such acts that committing them is a sign of the weakness of intellect, and the intellect also perceives their abomination. The admonition is so that you act according to the demands of reason.

151. 1 That is, forbidden are not those things which you, without any evidence, have declared forbidden merely on the basis of your false notions and corrupt assumptions. Rather, forbidden are those things which your Lord has declared forbidden, because He is your Creator and your Sustainer, and all knowledge of everything is with Him. Therefore, only He has the right to declare whatever He wills as lawful or unlawful. Thus, I am telling you in detail about those matters which your Lord has emphasized.

151. 2 Before ان لا تشرکوا, اوصاکم is omitted, meaning Allah has commanded you not to associate anything with Him. Shirk is the greatest sin, for which there is no forgiveness; Paradise is forbidden for the polytheist and Hell is obligatory. All these matters have been repeatedly mentioned in various ways in the Noble Quran. And the Prophet ﷺ has also explained them in detail and with clarity in hadith. Despite this, it is a fact that people, being misled by Satan, commonly commit shirk.

151. 3 After the command of monotheism and obedience to Allah, here (and in other places in the Quran as well), the command to treat parents well is given, which makes it clear that after obedience to the Lord, obedience to parents is of great importance. If someone does not fulfill the requirements of this minor lordship (i.e., obedience to parents and good conduct towards them), then he will also fail to fulfill the requirements of the greater lordship.

151. 4 This vile act of the age of ignorance is today being carried out all over the world with great fervor under the name of birth control or family planning. May Allah protect us from it.

151. 5 That is, as retribution, not only is it permissible, but if the heirs of the murdered do not forgive, then this killing is absolutely necessary. (وَلَكُمْ فِي الْقِصَاصِ حَيٰوةٌ) 2. Al-Baqarah:179) 'In retribution, there is life for you.'

151. Say, "Come, let me recite to you what your Lord has forbidden to you: that you do not associate anything with Him; and be good to parents; and do not kill your children for fear of poverty—We provide for you and for them; and do not approach immoralities, whether open or hidden; and do not kill the soul which Allah has forbidden, except by right. This He has instructed you, so that you may use reason."

[165] That is, the self-made law you have created for yourselves and the unnecessary restrictions you have imposed upon yourselves—there is no scholarly or rational proof for them with you. Now I will tell you and recite from the Book of Allah what Allah has actually made unlawful for you and what restrictions He has imposed, which are necessary for the welfare of mankind and have always been a part of Allah’s Shariah. It is noteworthy that the commands Allah has mentioned at this place were violated by both the polytheists and the Jews.

[166]
All Types of Shirk Were Found Among the Polytheists of Makkah:

The very first and foremost thing is that you should not associate anyone as a partner with Allah. There are three major types of shirk:
(1) Shirk in the Essence (2) Shirk in the Attributes (3) Shirk in Worship
And all three types were present among these polytheists and Jews. The polytheists considered the angels to be the daughters of Allah. Then they made the entire lineage of their goddesses and gods as the lineage of Allah and associated them with Him. The Jews called ‘Uzair ؑ the son of Allah, meaning according to their belief, Allah had indwelled in the body of ‘Uzair ؑ. Shirk in the Attributes is to consider any other being, like Allah, as the fulfiller of needs and remover of difficulties—that is, someone who can both rectify one’s affairs and entangle one in difficulties. And this is only possible if that being is also considered All-Knowing of the unseen, ever-present, and possessing authority and power. This type of shirk was also common among those people. And shirk in worship is to call upon the being whom one considers a remover of difficulties or fulfiller of needs, to offer sacrifices and vows to them, and to worship and revere them in the same way as Allah is worshipped.

[167]
Good Treatment of Parents:

In several places in the Quran, immediately after the rights of Allah, good treatment of parents is mentioned—at this place, in Surah Bani Isra’il verse 23, and in Surah Luqman verse 14 as well. The reason is that the true nurturer of man is Allah, Who created the needs of the human body, created air and water, and then made all of man’s nutritional needs dependent on the earth. After that, apparently, the responsibility for a person’s upbringing falls upon his parents. Furthermore, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ counted disobedience to parents or causing them distress as the third among the major destructive sins. [بخاري۔ كتاب الادب۔ بابعقوق الوالدين من الكبائر]
For more on good treatment of parents, see [سورة بني اسرائيل آيت نمبر 23، 24 كے حواشي نمبر 25 تا 28].

[168]
Killing of Children:

That is, if you yourselves have food to eat, then be sure that your children will also have food to eat and they will not die of hunger. Killing children out of fear of poverty is not only a sign of lack of trust and reliance upon Allah, but it is a direct attack on His attribute of being the Provider (Razzaq)—as if He creates the creation but does not provide for their nourishment. That is why the Messenger of Allah counted this sin as the second among the major sins. [بخاري۔ كتاب التفسير۔ باب __QUR_0__]

Killing of Children and the Malthusian Theory of Population:

The fact is that man only considers the apparent causes and factors that exist at the time, while the hidden causes that are not present at the time or will arise in the future are hidden from his sight. Superficial economists often fall into error on this issue. The famous British economist, Malthus [1766۔ 1834ء], in 1798 wrote a book “Principles of Population” and presented the theory that human population increases geometrically, i.e., in the ratio of 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, while the means of production increase arithmetically, i.e., in the ratio of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Based on this theory, he calculated the population and means of production of Britain at the time and predicted that if the situation remained the same, Britain would fall into poverty within fifty years. As a solution, he suggested that human birth should be controlled and marriage should be delayed as much as possible. But history proved Malthus’s theory of poverty wrong. Despite not controlling births, Britain’s prosperity continued to increase. The real reason is what we have already mentioned: that Allah, as much creation as He brings into existence, also arranges their sustenance accordingly. The apparent reason was that the Industrial Revolution occurred in Britain, the beginning of which Malthus himself mentioned, and this was the very cause that was hidden from Malthus but known to Allah. Thus, later economists referred to Malthus as the “false prophet,” because Britain, due to the Industrial Revolution, became even more prosperous than before. Malthus’s purely materialistic theory also brought with it another evil, which was the curse of immorality and debauchery, mentioned immediately in this verse. According to Malthus, birth control—that is, terminating pregnancy through medicines—was a great necessity of the time. This became a major cause of indulgence, immorality, and debauchery. After Malthus, a movement arose whose basic principle was that the desires of the self, i.e., sexual desires, should be fulfilled freely, but the natural consequence—childbirth—should be prevented by scientific means. In the literature of this group, the line of reasoning emphasized is that every human being naturally faces three strong needs: food, rest, and sexual desire. And only by fulfilling all three does a person find satisfaction and special pleasure. Now, reason and logic demand that man should strive to fulfill them. Regarding the first two, this is indeed man’s behavior, but strangely, in the matter of the third, man’s behavior is entirely different. Social morals have imposed the restriction that this desire should not be fulfilled outside of marriage, and further, that childbirth should not be prevented. These restrictions are considered entirely absurd, contrary to reason and logic, and producing the worst results for humanity. When these ideas became popular, a tremendous flood of immodesty, obscenity, and debauchery swept in. Then, ironically, these very things began to be considered symbols of civilization and progress. And all countries impressed by the West and Western civilization began to import these ideas into their own countries so as not to lag behind the West in the pace of civilization and progress. To the extent that hijab, chastity, and divine commands began to be mocked, and today the situation is that the media all over the world is actively engaged in spreading this immodesty, shamelessness, obscenity, and debauchery.

Family Planning:

Like other countries, in Pakistan too, a government department for birth control was established and given attractive and pleasant names. First, the department was named “Family Planning.” Then its name was changed to “Population Welfare Department.” But since the act of preventing pregnancy through medicines is a war against nature, its results began to turn out contrary to expectations. Previously, the average number of children per person was four, and now this average is considered to be up to eight children, and after the establishment of this department in Pakistan, the birth rate has increased much more than before. The second result was that women using such contraceptive medicines began to suffer from various dangerous diseases.

The Results of Waging War Against Nature:

Now, if you look at the economy of the people, the government’s fears have also proved to be baseless and false. When Pakistan was created, its population was between fifty and sixty million, and today, after 51 years, it is one hundred and thirty million, i.e., more than double. Now, everyone should look at their own circumstances and see what their economic condition was at the time of Pakistan’s creation and what it is today. Today, everyone is much more prosperous than at that time, and during this period, Allah has granted Pakistan many earthly treasures that no one could have even imagined. After these eyewitness and personally experienced events, is there any room left for doubt in Allah’s attribute of being the Provider, His vast knowledge, and His perfect power?

[169] That is, do not even adopt such means that bring you close to acts of indecency and stimulate sexual desires in a person, such as immodesty, looking at non-mahram women, watching spectacles, cinema, TV, reading sexual literature, widespread publication of women’s pictures—all of this falls under this category. Thus, the Prophet ﷺ said, “The adultery of the eyes is (looking at non-mahram women), the adultery of the ears is (listening to indecent talk), the adultery of the tongue is (speaking indecently), the adultery of the hands is (touching), and the adultery of the feet is (walking towards it), and the adultery of the heart is desiring and wishing for it. Then the private part either confirms all of this or denies it.” [مسلم۔ كتاب القدر۔ باب قدر على ابن آدم حظه الزنا]
Also, the Prophet ﷺ said, “No one is more possessive than Allah. That is why He has made all acts of indecency unlawful.” Also, Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that the Prophet ﷺ said, “O Muhammad ﷺ! Allah is most possessive when He sees any of His male or female servants committing adultery.” [بخاري۔ كتاب النكاح۔ باب الغيرة]

[170]
Cases Where Killing is Justified:

According to the Quran, there are three cases in which killing is justified and lawful:
(1) In the case of retribution for intentional murder (2) Killing disbelievers on the battlefield (3) Killing a rebel, i.e., one who spreads disorder in the land of Islam and seeks to overthrow the Islamic government.
And according to the Sunnah, there are two cases: (1) A married person who commits adultery, and (2) A person who commits apostasy, i.e., leaves Islam and adopts another religion. These are a total of five cases. In any other case, killing someone is considered unlawful killing. And the Prophet ﷺ counted this sin as the third among the seven major destructive sins. [بخاري۔ كتاب المحاربين۔ باب رمي المحصنات]