سُوْرَةُ الْاَنْعَامِ
Surah Al-An'aam (6) — Ayah 148
سَيَقُولُ ٱلَّذِينَ أَشْرَكُوا۟ لَوْ شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ مَآ أَشْرَكْنَا وَلَآ ءَابَآؤُنَا وَلَا حَرَّمْنَا مِن شَىْءٍ ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ كَذَّبَ ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ حَتَّىٰ ذَاقُوا۟ بَأْسَنَا ۗ قُلْ هَلْ عِندَكُم مِّنْ عِلْمٍ فَتُخْرِجُوهُ لَنَآ ۖ إِن تَتَّبِعُونَ إِلَّا ٱلظَّنَّ وَإِنْ أَنتُمْ إِلَّا تَخْرُصُونَ ﴿148﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
Those who took partners (in worship) with Allâh will say: "If Allâh had willed, we would not have taken partners (in worship) with Him, nor would our fathers, and we would not have forbidden anything (against His Will)." Likewise belied those who were before them, (they argued falsely with Allâh’s Messengers), till they tasted Our Wrath. Say: "Have you any knowledge (proof) that you can produce before us? Verily, you follow nothing but guess and you do nothing but lie."
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
سَيَقُولُ
sayaqūlu
Will say
ٱلَّذِينَ
alladhīna
those who
أَشْرَكُوا۟
ashrakū
associate partners (with Allah)
لَوْ
law
If
شَآءَ
shāa
Had willed
ٱللَّهُ
l-lahu
Allah
مَآ
mā
not
أَشْرَكْنَا
ashraknā
we (would) have associated partners (with Allah)
وَلَآ
walā
and not
ءَابَآؤُنَا
ābāunā
our forefathers
وَلَا
walā
and not
حَرَّمْنَا
ḥarramnā
we (would) have forbidden
مِن
min
[of]
شَىْءٍۢ ۚ
shayin
anything
كَذَٰلِكَ
kadhālika
Likewise
كَذَّبَ
kadhaba
denied
ٱلَّذِينَ
alladhīna
those who
مِن
min
(were from)
قَبْلِهِمْ
qablihim
before them
حَتَّىٰ
ḥattā
until
ذَاقُوا۟
dhāqū
they tasted
بَأْسَنَا ۗ
basanā
Our wrath
قُلْ
qul
Say
هَلْ
hal
Is
عِندَكُم
ʿindakum
with you
مِّنْ
min
[of]
عِلْمٍۢ
ʿil'min
any knowledge
فَتُخْرِجُوهُ
fatukh'rijūhu
then produce it
لَنَآ ۖ
lanā
for us
إِن
in
Not
تَتَّبِعُونَ
tattabiʿūna
you follow
إِلَّا
illā
except
ٱلظَّنَّ
l-ẓana
the assumption
وَإِنْ
wa-in
and not
أَنتُمْ
antum
you (do)
إِلَّا
illā
but
تَخْرُصُونَ
takhruṣūna
guess
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran — Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran (Facilitation of the Quran) is a comprehensive Quran commentary by Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. Known for his eloquent and accessible writing style, Kilani authored this tafsir with a focus on clarity — making Quranic meanings understandable to the common reader. The tafsir provides detailed historical context for verses related to battles and expeditions, and firmly refutes modernist ideologies using strong scriptural evidence. It is widely regarded as an invaluable resource for understanding the Quran and countering deviant interpretations. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
148. The polytheists will say, "If Allah had willed, neither we nor our forefathers would have committed shirk [160], nor would we have made anything unlawful." Likewise, those before them denied until they tasted Our punishment. Say, "Do you have any knowledge that you can present to us? [161] You follow nothing but conjecture, and you do nothing but guess."
[160]
The Difference Between Divine Will and Divine Pleasure:
It is human nature that instead of admitting his shortcomings and faults, he tries to put the blame on someone else and absolve himself, or he seeks some other reason by which no blame comes upon him. And this is not just the case with the Jews, but people before them also used to give the same answer, as is mentioned further in this verse, and people will continue to give such answers in the future as well. And for this purpose, the best excuse is the Divine Will, although the knowledge of Divine Will is not possible for anyone except Allah. It is possible that in the Divine Will, it is decreed that these polytheists, by getting entangled in polytheism and following their forefathers, become deserving of punishment in this world and in the Hereafter as well. Those who use Divine Will as a shield for their own defense usually forget that there is a great difference between Allah’s Will and Allah’s Pleasure. For example, Allah’s Pleasure is that all people become obedient to Him and no one chooses the path of disbelief, polytheism, or oppression and excess, but His Will is that people be tested in this world. That is why Allah has granted man the power of discernment and the power of will and choice, and then made clear to him the paths of Islam and disbelief and polytheism, and of good and evil. Then, whoever, by his own will and choice, becomes obedient to Allah, he will receive a good reward, and whoever chooses the path of disbelief and polytheism, he will receive its punishment. Then, the battle between truth and falsehood among these two groups is also by Divine Will; someone accepting guidance is both Divine Will and Divine Pleasure. And choosing disbelief and polytheism is indeed by Divine Will, but it is never by Divine Pleasure.
Those Who Use Divine Will as an Excuse:
The interesting thing is that man remembers the matter of Divine Will only when he is violating the rights of Allah. But when his own rights are being violated, he never accepts the excuse of Divine Will. For example, if someone’s house is robbed or looted, he will never say that since it was the Divine Will, what fault is there of the thief or robber? Therefore, nothing should be said to him. At that time, he remembers the choice that the criminal exercised while committing the crime, so he considers the criminal guilty and himself oppressed. Whereas, according to the same principle of Divine Will, he should not even consider himself oppressed, because it was the Divine Will.
The Excuse of Divine Will Is Not Valid When the Crime Is One’s Own:
The example of using Divine Will as an excuse is also evident from this incident: Once, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came to the house of Sayyiduna Ali ؓ and sat between Sayyiduna Ali ؓ and Sayyidah Fatimah ؓ and began to converse. During this conversation, the Prophet ﷺ asked Sayyiduna Ali ؓ, “Do you get up for the Tahajjud prayer?” Sayyiduna Ali ؓ replied, “O Messenger of Allah! Our souls are in Allah’s control. If He returns them, we will pray.” Upon this answer, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ stood up. He was striking his thighs with his hands and reciting this verse: ﴿وَكَانَ الْاِنْسَانُ اَكْثَرَ شَيْءٍ جَدَلًا﴾ meaning, man is most contentious in most of his statements. [بخاري۔ كتاب التفسير] Consider this: when Sayyiduna Ali ؓ took recourse to Divine Will, the Prophet ﷺ did not declare his statement wrong. Rather, his regret was that man has been given the power to act; why did he forget that?
[161] That is, do they have any evidence from the Divine Book for their polytheistic customs and traditions, which have been mentioned in the previous verses? And it is obvious that when there is no scholarly evidence, then only conjecture and assumption remain.
[160]
The Difference Between Divine Will and Divine Pleasure:
It is human nature that instead of admitting his shortcomings and faults, he tries to put the blame on someone else and absolve himself, or he seeks some other reason by which no blame comes upon him. And this is not just the case with the Jews, but people before them also used to give the same answer, as is mentioned further in this verse, and people will continue to give such answers in the future as well. And for this purpose, the best excuse is the Divine Will, although the knowledge of Divine Will is not possible for anyone except Allah. It is possible that in the Divine Will, it is decreed that these polytheists, by getting entangled in polytheism and following their forefathers, become deserving of punishment in this world and in the Hereafter as well. Those who use Divine Will as a shield for their own defense usually forget that there is a great difference between Allah’s Will and Allah’s Pleasure. For example, Allah’s Pleasure is that all people become obedient to Him and no one chooses the path of disbelief, polytheism, or oppression and excess, but His Will is that people be tested in this world. That is why Allah has granted man the power of discernment and the power of will and choice, and then made clear to him the paths of Islam and disbelief and polytheism, and of good and evil. Then, whoever, by his own will and choice, becomes obedient to Allah, he will receive a good reward, and whoever chooses the path of disbelief and polytheism, he will receive its punishment. Then, the battle between truth and falsehood among these two groups is also by Divine Will; someone accepting guidance is both Divine Will and Divine Pleasure. And choosing disbelief and polytheism is indeed by Divine Will, but it is never by Divine Pleasure.
Those Who Use Divine Will as an Excuse:
The interesting thing is that man remembers the matter of Divine Will only when he is violating the rights of Allah. But when his own rights are being violated, he never accepts the excuse of Divine Will. For example, if someone’s house is robbed or looted, he will never say that since it was the Divine Will, what fault is there of the thief or robber? Therefore, nothing should be said to him. At that time, he remembers the choice that the criminal exercised while committing the crime, so he considers the criminal guilty and himself oppressed. Whereas, according to the same principle of Divine Will, he should not even consider himself oppressed, because it was the Divine Will.
The Excuse of Divine Will Is Not Valid When the Crime Is One’s Own:
The example of using Divine Will as an excuse is also evident from this incident: Once, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ came to the house of Sayyiduna Ali ؓ and sat between Sayyiduna Ali ؓ and Sayyidah Fatimah ؓ and began to converse. During this conversation, the Prophet ﷺ asked Sayyiduna Ali ؓ, “Do you get up for the Tahajjud prayer?” Sayyiduna Ali ؓ replied, “O Messenger of Allah! Our souls are in Allah’s control. If He returns them, we will pray.” Upon this answer, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ stood up. He was striking his thighs with his hands and reciting this verse: ﴿وَكَانَ الْاِنْسَانُ اَكْثَرَ شَيْءٍ جَدَلًا﴾ meaning, man is most contentious in most of his statements. [بخاري۔ كتاب التفسير] Consider this: when Sayyiduna Ali ؓ took recourse to Divine Will, the Prophet ﷺ did not declare his statement wrong. Rather, his regret was that man has been given the power to act; why did he forget that?
[161] That is, do they have any evidence from the Divine Book for their polytheistic customs and traditions, which have been mentioned in the previous verses? And it is obvious that when there is no scholarly evidence, then only conjecture and assumption remain.
