Surah Al An'aam Notes (111-114)

(111)And even if We had sent down to them the angels [with the message] and the dead spoke to them [of it] and We gathered together every [created] thing in front of them, they would not believe unless Allah should will. But most of them, [of that], are ignorant.

(112)And thus We have made for every prophet an enemy - devils from mankind and jinn, inspiring to one another decorative speech in delusion. But if your Lord had willed, they would not have done it, so leave them and that which they invent.

(113)And [it is] so the hearts of those who disbelieve in the Hereafter will incline toward it and that they will be satisfied with it and that they will commit that which they are committing.

(114)[Say], "Then is it other than Allah I should seek as judge while it is He who has revealed to you the Book explained in detail?" And those to whom We [previously] gave the Scripture know that it is sent down from your Lord in truth, so never be among the doubters.

(6:111) Their hostility is not surprising.

Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala says had He accepted what the unbelievers asked for by swearing with their strongest oaths they would still not have believed unless Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala willed it for them. One of the miracles mentioned in the Ayah include sending down the angels with the affirmation that indeed Muhammad sallAllahu `alayhi wa sallam is the Messenger of Allah. This was a miracle demanded by the unbelievers as we read in Surah Al-Isra Ayah 92, “…or you bring Allah and the angels before [us] face to face.”

Other miracles included speaking of the dead and gathering of all creations before them. Even if the dead return to this world to convey the truth of what the Messengers brought them or all the nations were gathered before them, one after the other, and each one testified to the truth of what the Messengers came with they would not have believed. This is because guidance is with Allah. Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala guides whom He wills and misguides whom He wills, and He does what He wills.

As studied earlier, this does not mean Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala purposely misguides people. Rather it is because of people’s disinterest in knowing Allah or finding about the truth that He leaves the in their misguidance.

(6:112 – 113)  Every Prophet has Enemies

Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala comforts His Messenger by informing him that just like today there are enemies for him, in the past other Messengers and Prophets also had enemies from the mankind and the Shayateen. They incited other people to oppose and rebel against the Truth that was brought to them. Therefore, do not be saddened by this fact.

When Prophet’s first wife, Khadeeja bint Khuwaylid radhiAllahu `anha took the Prophet sallAllahu `alayhi wa sallam to her cousin Waraqah ibn Nawfal he said,“None came with what you came with but he was the subject of enmity.”

From this we gather that the Prophets have had enemies among the devils of mankind and the Jinns. Ibn Katheer writes in his tafseer: The word, Shaytan used in the Ayah describes one who is dissimilar to his kind due to his or her wickedness. Indeed, only the Shayateen, may Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala humiliate and cursed them, from among mankind and the Jinns oppose the Messengers. They inspire each other with beautified, adorned speech that deceives the ignorant who hear it. Again, this happens because Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala “allowed it to happen”. It is part of His plan to test the Prophets.

[“…so leave them and that which they invent,”] 

This Ayah orders patience in the face of the harm of the wicked and to trust in Allah against their enmity, for, Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala shall suffice the Prophet and aid him against his enemies.

The word walitasgha [وَلِتَصْغَى] used in the Ayah means “incline to it” as per Ibn `Abbas’s statement. Only those that deny the Hereafter will be inclined towards the deceiving speech of the Shayateen among mankind and jinns.

[“…and that they will be satisfied with it and that they will commit that which they are committing.”] 

It means they are satisfied with their actions therefore let them earn whatever they are earning or let them do whatever they are doing.

 (6:114) 

The Prophet is being told to convey to the polytheists if he should seek another judge besides Allah while Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala has sent down a Book that contains everything.

Mufti Muhammad Shafi Usmani writes in his tafseer Maroof-ul-Qur’an that this could mean: My being a Prophet has already been decided by Allah, so should I go and seek another judge besides Him when it was He Who chose me as a Prophet? The Qur’an in itself is a proof of the truth of my claim.

Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala is Hakam – the One Who always judges according to the truth. His judgment is always correct. He has sent down us a Book which contains every detail. 

The Book is mufassala [مُفَصَّلا]. Mufassala is from fasalawhich means “to separate”. Meaning each point in the Book is so detailed that I don’t need anything else. The People of the Book were informed about Qur’an being the Word of Allah and hence being true. 

Therefore, never be of the الْمُمْتَرِينَ  [doubters].

As we delve deeper into the Ayah, we learn four qualities of the Qur’an:

• أَنَزَلَ It has been revealed from Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala
• مُفَصَّلاً All matters of principle have been given in clear details
• ءَاتَيْنَـهُمُ الْكِتَـبَ يَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّهُ مُنَزَّلٌ مِّن رَّبِّكَ بِالْحَقِّ Even before the Qur’an was revealed, the People of the Book, the Jews and the Christians knew for sure that the Qur’an is true Word of Allah. [Then those that had regard for truth said so while those that were hostile opposed it.]
• مُمْتَرِينَ It is perfect, miraculous, unchallenged and inimitable

Lessons to learn:

– People that demand miracles are not serious. They are not going to believe. They are lying. If the moon was split before their eyes and they disbelieved, would they believe now?

– Any person that calls to Allah will definitely face opposition. It is inevitable that you call people to Allah and you are not opposed.

– Those that recognize the truth yet deny it become enemies of Prophet Muhammad sallAllahu `alayhi wa sallam.

– Sometimes the jinns inspire humans and sometimes humans inspire other humans. Negative thinking comes from the Shayateen and other people. Therefore, we should seek Allah’s refuge from the Shayateen as well as negative people. 

– When a person faces opposition from people such that they are spreading rumors about him, then such a person should simply ignore them. It is a plot of Shaytan. Don’t even bother to respond to them. If you get tangled up in justifying yourself you won’t be able to do your work. Remember that you are in the protection of Allah if you are doing the good. Allah will take care of them.

– One should really be careful of what they are reading or listening to. There is a lot of information out there most of them being untrue beautified with fanciful words. If one starts hearing or reading all that he might get deviated from the right path. Have a filter. Don’t accept everything out there. Be really particular about his sources of information.

– There are people that come and talk on religion as if they are great authorities. While talking to someone we must keep in mind what the Book of Allah says about the matter. We should not accept other people’s judgment when the Book of Allah says something else.

– At any time when there is an issue we should look at what is the Book of Allah saying about it. So often we say such and such scholar said this and that. He might be a big scholar but the Book of Allah is superior.

– No matter how much people oppose you by beautifying their speech and using false argument, don’t listen to them and never doubt what Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala has said.