Tafsir of Surah Al-An'am - Verse 107

The Command to Follow the Revelation

Allah commands His Messenger and those who followed his path,

اتَّبِعْ مَآ أُوحِىَ إِلَيْكَ مِن رَّبِّكَ

(Follow what has been inspired to you from your Lord,) meaning, follow it, obey it and act according to it. What has been revealed to you from your Lord is the Truth, no doubt, and there is no deity worthy of worship except Him,

وَأَعْرِضْ عَنِ الْمُشْرِكِينَ

(and turn aside from the idolators) meaning, forgive them, be forbearing and endure their harm until Allah brings relief to you, supports you and makes you triumphant over them. Know -- O Muhammad -- that there is a wisdom behind misleading the idolators, and that had Allah willed, He would have directed all people to guidance,

وَلَوْ شَآءَ اللَّهُ مَآ أَشْرَكُواْ

(Had Allah willed, they would not have taken others besides Him in worship.) Allah's is the perfect will and wisdom in all decrees and decisions, and He is never questioned about what He does, while they all will be questioned. Allah's statement,

وَمَا جَعَلْنَـكَ عَلَيْهِمْ حَفِيظاً

(And We have not made you Hafiz over them.) means, a watcher who observes their statements and deeds,

وَمَآ أَنتَ عَلَيْهِم بِوَكِيلٍ

(Nor are you set over them to dispose of their affairs. ) or to control their provision. Rather, your only job is to convey, just as Allah said,

فَذَكِّرْ إِنَّمَآ أَنتَ مُذَكِّرٌ - لَّسْتَ عَلَيْهِم بِمُسَيْطِرٍ

(So remind them, you are only one who reminds. You are not a dictator over them.) 88:21-22 and,

فَإِنَّمَا عَلَيْكَ الْبَلَـغُ وَعَلَيْنَا الْحِسَابُ

(Your duty is only to convey and on Us is the reckoning.) 13:40

The reason for this has been given in the fifth verse (107). There it has been said: If Allah Ta` ala had willed - in consideration of His own creational imperative - that the whole human race should become Muslim in faith, then, it would have become impossible for them to associate partners in the Divinity of Allah (Shirk). But, it was because of their misdeeds that Allah willed that they be punished. So, He created the necessary conditions for that end. Now, how could he make them Muslims under these circumstances? In fact, why should he worry about what they choose to do with their lives? Allah has not made him to stand guard over what they do, nor has he been authorized by Allah to bring punishment on them for their misdeeds. Therefore, he should not have any anxiety on account of what they do to themselves or for themselves.

Those who reject the divine message invent different excuses to justify their doing so. In these circumstances, it may occur to the preacher that he should change the way he conveys his message, so that it becomes acceptable to the addressees. But this would not be proper. He should adhere to the style which has been directly taught to him by God, because the real purpose of his activity is to link man with God and not to win people over and draw them into his sphere by hook or by crook. On the other hand, neither is it proper to respond to the addressee’s obduracy with abusive outbursts. The individual develops a bias in favour of the particular traditions to which he is born, or the kind of thinking with which he has become familiar. According to this, he develops a particular frame of mind which affects all his thinking process. This frame of mind presents the greatest impediment to the acceptance of Truth. Unless it can be altered, that door of his mind, through which the voice of Truth might enter, will never open.