Tafsir of Surah Al-An'am - Verse 109

Asking for Miracles and Swearing to Believe if They Come

Allah states that the idolators swore their strongest oaths by Allah,

لَئِن جَآءَتْهُمْ ءَايَةٌ

(that if there came to them a sign...) a miracle or phenomenon,

لَّيُؤْمِنُنَّ بِهَا

(they would surely believe therein.) affirming its truth,

قُلْ إِنَّمَا الاٌّيَـتُ عِندَ اللَّهِ

(Say: "Signs are but with Allah.") 6:109 meaning: Say, O Muhammad - to those who ask you for signs out of defiance, disbelief and rebellion, not out of the desire for guidance and knowledge - "The matter of sending signs is for Allah. If He wills, He sends them to you, and if He wills, He ignores your request." Allah said next,

وَمَا يُشْعِرُكُمْ أَنَّهَآ إِذَا جَآءَتْ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ

(And what will make you perceive that (even) if it came, they will not believe) It was said that `you' in `make you preceive' refers to the idolators, according to Mujahid. In this case, the Ayah would mean, what makes you -- you idolators -- preceive that you are truthful in the vows that you swore Therefore, in this recitation, the Ayah means, the idolators will still not believe if the sign that they asked for came. It was also said that `you' in, `what will make you preceive', refers to the believers, meaning, what will make you preceive, O believers, that the idolators will still not believe if the signs come. Allah also said,

مَا مَنَعَكَ أَلاَّ تَسْجُدَ إِذْ أَمَرْتُكَ

("What prevented you (O Iblis) that you did not prostrate, when I commanded you") 7:12 and,

وَحَرَامٌ عَلَى قَرْيَةٍ أَهْلَكْنَـهَآ أَنَّهُمْ لاَ يَرْجِعُونَ

(And a ban is laid on every town (population) which We have destroyed that they shall not return (to this world again).) 21:95 These Ayat mean: `What made you, O Iblis, refrain from prostrating, although I commanded you to do so, and, in the second Ayah, that village shall not return to this world again. In the Ayah above 6:109, the meaning thus becomes: What makes you perceive, O believers, who wish eagerly for the disbelievers to believe, that if the Ayat came to them they would believe Allah said next,

وَنُقَلِّبُ أَفْئِدَتَهُمْ وَأَبْصَـرَهُمْ كَمَا لَمْ يُؤْمِنُواْ بِهِ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ

(And We shall turn their hearts and their eyes away, as they refused to believe therein for the first time,) Al-`Awfi said that Ibn `Abbas said about this Ayah, "When the idolators rejected what Allah sent down, their hearts did not settle on any one thing and they turned away from every matter (of benefit)." Mujahid said that Allah's statement,

وَنُقَلِّبُ أَفْئِدَتَهُمْ وَأَبْصَـرَهُمْ

(and We shall turn their hearts and their eyes away, ) means, We prevent them from the faith, and even if every sign came to them, they will not believe, just as We prevented them from faith the first time. Similar was said by `Ikrimah and `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam. `Ali bin Abi Talhah said that Ibn `Abbas said, "Allah mentions what the servants will say before they say it and what they will do before they do it. Allah said;

وَلاَ يُنَبِّئُكَ مِثْلُ خَبِيرٍ

(And none can inform you like Him Who is the All-Knower.) 35:14 and,

أَن تَقُولَ نَفْسٌ يحَسْرَتَى عَلَى مَا فَرَّطَتُ فِى جَنبِ اللَّهِ

(Lest a person should say, "Alas, my grief that I was undutiful to Allah.") 39:56 until,

لَوْ أَنَّ لِى كَـرَّةً فَأَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ

("If only I had another chance, then I should indeed be among the doers of good.") 39:58. So Allah, glory be to Him, states that if they were sent back to life, they would not accept the guidance,

وَلَوْ رُدُّواْ لَعَـدُواْ لِمَا نُهُواْ عَنْهُ وَإِنَّهُمْ لَكَـذِبُونَ

(But if they were returned, they would certainly revert to that which they were forbidden. And indeed they are liars.) 6:28 Allah said,

وَنُقَلِّبُ أَفْئِدَتَهُمْ وَأَبْصَـرَهُمْ كَمَا لَمْ يُؤْمِنُواْ بِهِ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ

(And We shall turn their hearts and their eyes away (from guidance), as they refused to believe therein for the first time,) meaning: `If they were sent back to this life, they would be prevented from embracing the guidance, just as We prevented them from it the first time, when they were in the life of this world." Allah said,

وَنَذَرُهُمْ

(and We shall leave them...) and abandon them,

فِي طُغْيَـنِهِمْ

(in their trespass...) meaning, disbelief, according to Ibn `Abbas and As-Suddi. Abu Al-`Aliyah, Ar-Rabi` bin Anas and Qatadah said that `their trespass' means, `their misguidance'. m

يَعْمَهُونَ

(to wander blindly) or playfully, according to Al-A`mash. Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, Abu Al-`Aliyah, Ar-Rabi`, Abu Malik and others commented, "to wander in their disbelief."

On Signs and Miracles

The previous verses had mentioned how obstinate people failed to benefit from clear signs of Allah and open miracles of His Messenger and kept on denying the message of truth. The present verses mention how they took a new turn, and demanded particular miracles from the Holy Prophet ﷺ . As reported by Ibn Jarir, the Quraysh chiefs asked that they be shown the miracle of turning the Mount of Safa into solid gold; if so, they would accept that he was a prophet and messenger, and that they would embrace Islam. The Holy Prophet ﷺ said: All right, make a solid agreement that, if this miracle is shown, all of you will become Muslims. They took solemn oaths. The Holy Prophet ﷺ stood up to pray that Allah turns the Mount into gold. Sayyidna Jibra'il (علیہا السلام) came with Wahy which said: If you wish, We shall make this whole Mount a Mount of gold, but the consequence will be that, according to the customary Divine Law, all of them - if they still fail to believe - shall be destroyed through a mass punishment, as has been happening with past communities who demanded a miracle which was shown, yet they reverted back to denial when the wrath and punishment of Allah overtook them. Since the Holy Prophet ﷺ was aware of their habitual obstinacy, and because he was in mercy the foremost, he said that he was not going to pray for that miracle anymore. Thereupon, the following verse was revealed: وَأَقْسَمُوا بِاللَّـهِ جَهْدَ أَيْمَانِهِمْ (And they swore by Allah on eloquent oaths - 109). Reported here is the sworn saying of the disbelievers that they would embrace Islam if they can see the miracle demanded by them. After that, in the sentence which follows immediately, it was said: إِنَّمَا الْآيَاتُ عِندَ اللَّـهِ (Signs are, definitely, with Allah - 109). This contains an answer to their saying. It has been declared here that all signs and miracles are within the power and control of Allah Ta` a1a. As for the miracles already manifested, they too were from Him - and those being demanded now, they too lie within His absolute control. But, according to the dictate of reason and justice, they had no right to make such a demand - because, the Holy Prophet ﷺ claims to be a Messenger of Allah, in support of which, he has already presented proofs and evidences in the form of miracles. Now, the other party does have the right to question these proofs and evidences by showing the proofs of their being false. But, the attitude of not cross-examining evidences presented and yet demanding some other evidences would be like the scenario in a law court where the respondent would avoid cross-examining the witness presented by the plaintiff and take the plea that he does not accept the evidence of these witnesses and that he would accept what is said particularly by such and such a person in his statement. Obviously, no court would consider this plea worth hearing.

Similar is the case of the veracity of a prophet or Rasul of Allah. To that end there are many clear signs and miracles before those who disbelieve. Now, unless they prove that these signs and miracles are false, they have no right to say that they would rather like to see a miracle of this or that kind before they could believe.

After that, upto the end of the cited verses, Muslims have been directly instructed that their duty is to stay firm on the true faith in their individual capacity, as well as convey it to others correctly and properly. If they, even then, show signs of rigidness and obstinacy, one should not worry about them because no one has to be forced into becoming a Muslim. If this was what could be done by force, who can claim to have greater coercive power than Allah Ta` ala. He Himself would have made everyone a Muslim. And in order to give Muslims their peace of heart, it was also explained in the verse that these people will not believe even if Allah were to show them the miracles of their choice openly and clearly. The reason was that their denial was not based on any misunderstanding or lack of awareness. In fact, it was due to their hostility and obstinacy - a disease which cannot be treated by miracles. In verse 111 وَلَوْ أَنَّنَا نَزَّلْنَا إِلَيْهِمُ الْمَلَائِكَةَ , it has been said that these people, if they were shown all miracles demanded by them, in fact, even if they were made to meet with angels and talk to the dead, they would still not believe. In the two verses that follow (112 113), the Holy Prophet ﷺ has been comforted by saying that the hostility of such people against him is nothing surprising. Past prophets too had their enemies - so, let him not be sad about it.

The truth may be laid before a man with all its supporting arguments and he will still reject it. There is just one reason for this, i.e. his looking at things perversely instead of looking at them in a straightforward manner. An argument may be most rational and based on sound reasoning, but if one is not inclined to accept it, he will find some words or the other to reject it. For example, instead of viewing the arguments of a preacher as definitive, he will start discussing whether all the previous great men were all wrong and strangers to the Truth, and will go on to raise other similar points. It is extremely difficult for one who has developed such a temperament to arrive at the right path. He can give the wrong colour to any subject and seek an excuse to reject it. In order to contradict theoretical arguments, he will find the excuse that they were against the creed of his ancestors. Similarly, in order to allege the falsity of physical observations, he will voice the opinion that they are optical illusions or mere conjuring tricks. This attitude, which impedes the acceptance of theoretical arguments, will likewise obstruct the acceptance of physical facts in support of the truth. One who is determined to remain unreceptive to the truth will, as always, have to go without guidance. Such deniers are arrogant in nature. They want to see themselves set above others at any cost. When a preacher appears before them with a message of Truth, it frequently happens that he is a stranger in those surroundings and has none of the elegant trappings of the times. So, forming any connection with him amounts to degrading one’s position. Those with a superiority complex are therefore unable to accept him. Offering a variety of excuses, they reject him.