'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful'

Tafsir of Surah 'Al-An'am'

It is said: All of it is Meccan. Ibn Abbas - may Allah be pleased with him - said: It was revealed in Mecca; at night; all at once; except for six verses; and they are: "Say, 'Come, I will recite what your Lord has forbidden to you'" [Al-An'am: 151]; and His saying, "And they did not appraise Allah with true appraisal" [Al-An'am: 91]; and His saying, "And who is more unjust than one who fabricates against Allah a lie or says, 'It has been revealed to me'" [Al-An'am: 93]; and His saying, "And if you could see when the wrongdoers are in the agonies of death, and the angels are extending their hands" [Al-An'am: 93]; and His saying, "And those to whom We gave the Scripture know that it is revealed from your Lord" [Al-An'am: 114]; and His saying, "Those to whom We gave the Scripture recognize it" [Al-An'am: 20].

Al-Kalbi said: 'Al-An'am' is all Meccan; except for two verses; which were revealed in Medina in the context of Finhas the Jew; and they are: "Say, 'Who sent down the Scripture which Moses brought'" [Al-An'am: 91]; along with what is related to this verse; and that is because Finhas said, "Allah has not sent down anything upon a human being."

Ibn Abbas said: The Surah of Al-An'am was revealed while around it were seventy thousand angels; they had a chant; they were crying out in glorification.

Ka'b said: The opening of the Torah is the opening of Al-An'am: "All praise is due to Allah"; up to: "they are equal"; and the conclusion of the Torah is the conclusion of Hud: "And your Lord is not unaware of what you do" [Hud: 123]; and it is said: Its conclusion is: "And say, 'Praise is due to Allah, who has not taken a son and has no partner in dominion'" [Al-Isra: 111]; up to: "exaltation" [Al-Isra: 111].

And Umar ibn Al-Khattab - may Allah be pleased with him - said: 'Al-An'am' is from the finest parts of the Quran.

And Ali ibn Abi Talib - may Allah be pleased with him - said: Whoever recites Surah 'Al-An'am' has reached the pleasure of his Lord.

His saying - exalted and glorious is He -:

"All praise is due to Allah, who created the heavens and the earth and made darkness and light. Then those who disbelieved in their Lord make equals" "He is the One who created you from clay, then decreed a term, and a term is set with Him. Then you doubt".

This is a declaration that Allah, exalted is He, is the One who deserves all praise; because the definite article in 'Al-Hamd' is for encompassing the genre; for He, exalted is He, has the sublime attributes; and knowledge; and power; and encompassing; and grace; so He is worthy of all praises in all its forms; and to Him is the praise that encompasses gratitude specifically for His blessings.

And when this information was mentioned, it was followed by mentioning some of His attributes that necessitate praise; which are the creation of the heavens and the earth; the sustenance of people and their provisions; and 'the earth' here is for the genre; so mentioning it in the singular is like mentioning it in the plural.

It is evident from this arrangement that the heavens were created before the earth; and this has been narrated by Al-Tabari from Qatadah; and this is not the case because the conjunction does not arrange meanings; and what is derived from the totality of the Quranic verses is that Allah, exalted is He, created the earth and did not spread it; then He turned to the heavens and created it; then He spread the earth after that.

'And 'made' here means 'created'; there is no other meaning. And contemplate: why were the heavens and the earth specified with 'created'; and the darkness and the light with 'made'? Al-Tabari said: 'And made'; this is the one that varies in the ways of speech; as you say: 'I made to do such and such'; so it is as if he said: 'And made its darkness and its light.'

Qadi Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: And this is not good; because 'made'; if it is in this manner; must be connected with another action; just as it is connected in the actions of approximation; like your saying: 'Zayd was about to die'; 'Zayd made to come and go'; and if there is no action connected with it, then it is not correct that what Al-Tabari mentioned is that.

And Al-Suddi; Qatadah; and the majority of the interpreters said: The darkness is the night; and the light is the day; and a group said: The darkness is disbelief; and the light is faith.

Qadi Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: And this is not good; because it is an extraction of a clear word in the language from its apparent reality; to a hidden meaning; without necessity; and this is the way of riddles from which the Qur'an is free; and the light here is also for the genus; so its specification is like its plural.

And His saying, the Exalted: 'Then'; indicates the ugliness of the action of those who disbelieved; because the meaning is that His creation of the heavens and the earth; and others; has been established; and His signs have shone; and His grace in that has become clear; then after all this they turned against their Lord; this is like you say: 'O so-and-so; I gave you; and honored you; and did good to you; then you insult me?' meaning: after a period of time from the occurrence of all this; and if the conjunction had occurred in this and similar cases with 'and', the rebuke would not be as necessary as it is with 'then'.

And those who disbelieved; in this context are everyone who worshiped something other than Allah; Qatadah said: They are the people of polytheism specifically; and those who specified from the interpreters some without others; did not succeed; except that the previous condition of the Prophet - blessings and peace be upon him - is that the reference is to the idol worshipers; due to their proximity to him; and the wording of the verse also indicates the Manichaeans; and it is said: the Manichaeans; those who worship the light; saying: Indeed, good is from the action of the light; and evil is from the action of darkness; and the saying of Ibn Abza: 'Indeed, the intended are the people of the Book' is distant.

'And "they equate"; its meaning is: they make equal; and they represent; and the equivalent of a thing is its companion and counterpart; and the Manawiyyah are the Magians; and there is a narration in the compilation of Abu Dawood; and it is: "The Qadariyyah are the Magians of this nation"; and its meaning is the severity against them; and the blame upon them in likening them to the Magians; and the point of similarity is that the Magians say: The good actions are the creation of light; and the evil actions are the creation of darkness; so they made a creator other than Allah; and the Qadariyyah say: The human creates his actions; so they made a creator other than Allah, the Exalted, by their saying; and Abu al-Maali went to say that the analogy with the Magians is only the saying of the Qadariyyah: Indeed, the good is from Allah; and indeed, the evil is from Him; and He does not will it; and rather we said in the hadith: Indeed, it is a severity; because it has been stated that they are from the nation; and if he had truly made them Magians, he would not have included them in the nation; and all of this is if the hadith is authentic; and Allah is the Grantor of success.

And His saying, the Exalted: ﴿He is the One who created you from clay﴾; the verse; Mujahid, Qatadah, al-Dhahhak, and others said: The meaning is: He created Adam from clay; and mankind from Adam; and for this reason, He said: ﴿He created you from clay﴾; and al-Mahdawi reported from a group that they said: Rather, the meaning is that the sperm from which a human is created originally comes from clay; then Allah transforms it into sperm; and this was mentioned by Makki and al-Zahrawi; and the first saying is more appropriate with the Shari'ah; because the second saying is only based on the saying of those who say that clay returns after birth and many transformations to being sperm; and that is rejected by the Usuli scholars.

And the interpreters differed regarding these two terms; so Al-Hasan ibn Abi al-Hasan, Qatadah, and al-Dhahhak said: "A term": the term of a human from the time of his birth until his death; and "the appointed term with Him": from the time of his death until his resurrection; and he described it as "appointed with Him"; because He has exclusive knowledge of the time of the resurrection; and Ibn Abbas - may Allah be pleased with them - said: "A term": this world; and "an appointed term": the Hereafter; and Mujahid said: "A term": the Hereafter; and "an appointed term": this world; in contrast to the previous one; and Ibn Abbas also said: "A term": the death of a person by sleep; and "an appointed term": his death by death; and Ibn Zayd said: The first term is at the time of taking the covenant from the children of Adam; when He extracted them from the back of Adam; and there remains "one term" appointed in this worldly life; and al-Mahdawi reported from a group: "A term": what people know of the terms of the moons; and the years; and the beings; and "an appointed term": the Day of Judgment; and it was also reported from a group: "A term": what we know that there is no prophet after Muhammad - blessings and peace be upon him -; and "an appointed term": the Hereafter.

The judge Abu Muhammad - may Allah have mercy on him - said: It is necessary to contemplate the word "Qadha" in this verse. It carries two meanings. If it is taken to mean: "He decreed" and "He wrote," then it refers back to His prior knowledge and decree. We say: This - and it must be - occurred before the creation of Adam from clay. The word "Thumma" is excluded from its usual meaning in the arrangement of the timing of the two events. The arrangement of the timing of the reporting about it remains, as if He said: "He informed you that He created you from clay; then He informed you that He decreed a term." And if "Qadha" is taken to mean: "He brought into existence" and "He manifested," then this refers to the attribute of action. It is correct that He created Adam from clay before the manifestation of this term and its declaration. The word "Thumma" would then be in its usual meaning, in the arrangement of the timing of the two events.

And "Tamterun" means: you doubt; and "Al-Miryah" is: doubt.

And His saying: "Then you" is in the manner of His saying: "Then those who disbelieved in their Lord will be equal," in reproaching for the evil deed after a delay from the clarity of the arguments.