Surah Al-An'aam (6) — Ayah 82

(Ayah 82) ➊ {اَلَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا وَ لَمْ يَلْبِسُوْۤا … :} This verse may be the statement of Allah Almighty, or it may be the concluding part of the words of Ibrahim (peace be upon him).

➋ Tanween is often for indefiniteness, by which the word becomes general and every individual of it is included, as in this verse, if the tanween of {’’ بِظُلْمٍ ‘‘} is taken for indefiniteness, the meaning will be: "Those who believed and did not mix their faith with any injustice." And sometimes it is for other meanings as well, one of which is for greatness, by which the major individual of the word is meant. As in this very verse, if the tanween of {’’ بِظُلْمٍ ‘‘} is taken for greatness, the meaning will be: "Those who believed and did not mix their faith with a very great injustice." Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) says that when this verse was revealed: «اَلَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا وَ لَمْ يَلْبِسُوْۤا اِيْمَانَهُمْ بِظُلْمٍ» [ الأنعام : ۸۲ ] the content of this verse was hard on the noble Companions (may Allah be pleased with them). They said: "Who among us has not wronged himself (i.e., committed a sin)?" The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It is not as you think. Have you not heard the saying of Luqman, when he was advising his son: «اِنَّ الشِّرْكَ لَظُلْمٌ عَظِيْمٌ» [ لقمان : ۱۳ ] 'Indeed, shirk is a great injustice.'" [ بخاری، التفسیر، باب : «ولم یلبسوا إیمانھم بظلم» : ۴۶۲۹۔ مسلم : ۱۲۴ ]

You see, even though the noble Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) were people of the language, they understood the tanween of {’’ بِظُلْمٍ ‘‘} as indefiniteness and became worried that who is there who has not committed any sin, so the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned the saying of Luqman and informed them that this tanween is for greatness, not for indefiniteness, and the meaning is not that they did not mix it with any injustice, but rather that they did not mix it with a very great injustice, i.e., shirk. This clearly shows that knowing the Arabic language alone is not sufficient to understand the Qur'an; in many places, the explanation of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is also necessary. Therefore, those who claim to understand the Qur'an without hadith are clearly misguided.

➌ From this blessed verse, it is proven that peace, tranquility, and guidance can only be attained through such pure faith in which no kind of shirk is mixed with tawheed. The nation that is deprived of pure faith and pure tawheed and is involved in any kind of shirk can never attain peace, tranquility, or guidance. Unfortunately, Muslims abandoned pure tawheed and began worshipping graves and shrines (except whom Allah wills), as a result of which the entire Muslim world has become a target of humiliation and misery. Now there is neither peace nor guidance anywhere, which is the name of the rule of Allah Almighty's tawheed and His commands. The only remedy is that the Muslim Ummah returns once again to pure tawheed and remains steadfast only at the threshold of its Lord.

82. 1. In this verse, "zulm" means shirk, as is clear from the translation. In the hadith, it is mentioned that when this verse was revealed, the companions understood "zulm" in its general sense (shortcomings and mistakes, sins and excesses, etc.), which made them worried, and they came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said, "Who among us has not committed zulm?" He ﷺ said, "This zulm does not mean what you think; rather, it means shirk, just as Luqman (peace be upon him) said to his son (اِنَّ الشِّرْكَ لَظُلْمٌ عَظِيْمٌ) 31. Luqman:13) Indeed, shirk is a great zulm (Sahih Bukhari)."

82. Those who believe [85] and do not mix their faith with injustice (shirk), it is they who will have security, and they are rightly guided.

[85]
The Meaning of Zulm is Shirk:

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud ؓ says that when this verse was revealed, it was very burdensome for the Companions (because they understood zulm in its general meaning, i.e., sin or injustice) and they said to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, "Who among us has never committed zulm?" The Prophet ﷺ informed them that here the word zulm is used in its specific meaning, i.e., shirk, as it is mentioned in Surah Luqman that Luqman advised his son, "O my son, never commit shirk, for shirk is the greatest zulm." [بخاري۔ كتاب التفسير، نيز كتاب الايمان باب ظلم دون ظلم نيز كتاب الانبياء۔ باب قول الله تعالىٰ : __QUR_0__ ]

Refutation of the Rejecters of Hadith and the People of the Quran:

From this hadith, it is understood that although the language of the noble Companions ؓ was Arabic and the Quran was also revealed in Arabic, sometimes they faced difficulty in understanding the correct meaning of a verse. And this is the meaning of ﴿وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ الْكِتٰبَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَيُزَكِّيْهِمْ﴾. However, there are some people among the Muslims who, disregarding the hadith of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, try to determine the meaning of the Quran solely with the help of the dictionary; they should consider the outcome of their belief. There are two opinions regarding this verse: one is that this sentence is also the statement of Sayyiduna Ibrahim ؑ and is part of his discussion with his people, because in the previous verse, peace and security are also mentioned, and in this verse as well. And this peace and security is only for those who avoid shirk. The second opinion is that this is the statement of Allah Ta'ala Himself, which, as a reality, has been mentioned here in the midst of the story of Sayyiduna Ibrahim ؑ.