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.