Tafsir of Surah Al-An'am - Verse 162

Islam is the Straight Path

Allah commands His Prophet , the chief of the Messengers, to convey the news of being guided to Allah's straight path. This path is neither wicked, nor deviant,

دِينًا قِيَمًا

(a right religion...) that is, established on firm grounds,

مِلَّةَ إِبْرَهِيمَ حَنِيفًا وَمَا كَانَ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ

(The religion of Ibrahim, Hanifan and he was not of the Mushrikin.) Allah said in similar Ayat,

وَمَن يَرْغَبُ عَن مِّلَّةِ إِبْرَهِيمَ إِلاَّ مَن سَفِهَ نَفْسَهُ

(And who turns away from the religion of Ibrahim except him who deludes himself) 2:130, and,

وَجَـهِدُوا فِى اللَّهِ حَقَّ جِهَـدِهِ هُوَ اجْتَبَـكُمْ وَمَا جَعَلَ عَلَيْكمْ فِى الدِّينِ مِنْ حَرَجٍ مِّلَّةَ أَبِيكُمْ إِبْرَهِيمَ

(And strive hard in Allah's cause as you ought to strive. He has chosen you, and has not laid upon you in religion any hardship: it is the religion of your father Ibrahim.) 22:78, and,

إِنَّ إِبْرَهِيمَ كَانَ أُمَّةً قَـنِتًا لِلَّهِ حَنِيفًا وَلَمْ يَكُ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ - شَاكِراً لانْعُمِهِ اجْتَبَـهُ وَهَدَاهُ إِلَى صِرَطٍ مُّسْتَقِيمٍ - وَءاتَيْنَـهُ فِى الْدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَإِنَّهُ فِى الاٌّخِرَةِ لَمِنَ الصَّـلِحِينَ - ثُمَّ أَوْحَيْنَآ إِلَيْكَ أَنِ اتَّبِعْ مِلَّةَ إِبْرَهِيمَ حَنِيفًا وَمَا كَانَ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ

(Verily, Ibrahim was an Ummah (or a nation), obedient to Allah, a Hanif, and he was not one of the Mushrikin. (He was) thankful for His (Allah's) favors. He (Allah) chose him (as an intimate friend) and guided him to a straight path. And We gave him good in this world, and in the Hereafter he shall be of the righteous. Then, We have sent the revelation to you (saying): "Follow the religion of Ibrahim, (he was a) Hanif, and he was not of the Mushrikin") 16:120-123. Ordering the Prophet to follow the religion of Ibrahim, the Hanifiyyah, does not mean that Prophet Ibrahim reached more perfection in it than our Prophet . Rather, our Prophet perfectly established the religion and it was completed for him; and none before him reached this level of perfection. This is why he is the Final Prophet, the chief of all the Children of Adam who holds the station of praise and glory, the honor of intercession on the Day of Resurrection. All creation (on that Day) will seek him, even Ibrahim the friend of Allah, peace be upon him to request the beginning of Judgement. Imam Ahmad recorded that Ibn `Abbas said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was asked, `Which religion is the best with Allah, the Exalted' He said,

«الْحَنِيفِيَّةُ السَّمْحَة»

(Al-Hanifiyyah As-Samhah (the easy monotheism))"

The Command for Sincerity in Worship

Allah said next,

قُلْ إِنَّ صَلاَتِى وَنُسُكِى وَمَحْيَاىَ وَمَمَاتِى للَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَـلَمِينَ

(Say: "Verily, my Salah, my sacrifice, my living, and my dying are for Allah, the Lord of the all that exists.") Allah commands the Prophet to inform the idolators who worship other than Allah and sacrifice to something other than Him, that he opposes them in all this, for his prayer is for Allah, and his rituals are in His Name alone, without partners. Allah said in a similar statement,

فَصَلِّ لِرَبِّكَ وَانْحَرْ

(Therefore turn in prayer to your Lord and sacrifice.) 108:2, meaning, make your prayer and sacrifice for Allah alone. As for the idolators, they used to worship the idols and sacrifice to them, so Allah commanded the Prophet to defy them and contradict their practices. Allah, the Exalted, commanded him to dedicate his intention and heart to being sincere for Him alone. Mujahid commented,

إِنَّ صَلاَتِى وَنُسُكِى

(Verily, my prayer and my Nusuk...) refers to sacrificing during Hajj and `Umrah.

Islam is the Religion of all Prophets

The Ayah,

وَأَنَاْ أَوَّلُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ

(and I am the first of the Muslims.) means, from this Ummah, according to Qatadah. This is a sound meaning, because all Prophets before our Prophet were calling to Islam, which commands worshipping Allah alone without partners. Allah said in another Ayah,

وَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَا مِن قَبْلِكَ مِن رَّسُولٍ إِلاَّ نُوحِى إِلَيْهِ أَنَّهُ لا إِلَـهَ إِلاَّ أَنَاْ فَاعْبُدُونِ

(And We did not send any Messenger before you but We revealed to him (saying): "None has the right to be worshipped but I, so worship Me.") 21:25 Allah informed us that Nuh said to his people,

فَإِن تَوَلَّيْتُمْ فَمَا سَأَلْتُكُمْ مِّنْ أَجْرٍ إِنْ أَجْرِىَ إِلاَّ عَلَى اللَّهِ وَأُمِرْتُ أَنْ أَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ

(But if you turn away, then no reward have I asked of you, my reward is only from Allah, and I have been commanded to be of the Muslims.) 10:72 Allah said,

وَمَن يَرْغَبُ عَن مِّلَّةِ إِبْرَهِيمَ إِلاَّ مَن سَفِهَ نَفْسَهُ وَلَقَدِ اصْطَفَيْنَـهُ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَإِنَّهُ فِى الاٌّخِرَةِ لَمِنَ الصَّـلِحِينَ - إِذْ قَالَ لَهُ رَبُّهُ أَسْلِمْ قَالَ أَسْلَمْتُ لِرَبِّ الْعَـلَمِينَ - وَوَصَّى بِهَآ إِبْرَهِيمُ بَنِيهِ وَيَعْقُوبُ يَـبَنِىَّ إِنَّ اللَّهَ اصْطَفَى لَكُمُ الدِّينَ فَلاَ تَمُوتُنَّ إَلاَّ وَأَنتُم مُّسْلِمُونَ

(And who turns away from the religion of Ibrahim except him who deludes himself Truly, We chose him in this world and verily, in the Hereafter he will be among the righteous. When his Lord said to him, "Submit (i.e. be a Muslim)!" He said, "I have submitted myself (as a Muslim) to the Lord of the all that exists." And this was enjoined by Ibrahim upon his sons and by Ya`qub (saying), "O my sons! Allah has chosen for you the (true) religion, then die not except as Muslims.")2:130-132. Yusuf, peace be upon him, said,

رَبِّ قَدْ آتَيْتَنِى مِنَ الْمُلْكِ وَعَلَّمْتَنِى مِن تَأْوِيلِ الاٌّحَادِيثِ فَاطِرَ السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ أَنتَ وَلِىِّ فِى الدُّنُيَا وَالاٌّخِرَةِ تَوَفَّنِى مُسْلِمًا وَأَلْحِقْنِى بِالصَّـلِحِينَ

(My Lord! You have indeed bestowed on me of the sovereignty, and taught me something of the interpretation of dreams -- the (Only) Creator of the heavens and the earth! You are my Wali (Protector) in this world and in the Hereafter. Cause me to die as a Muslim, and join me with the righteous.) 12:101 Musa said,

وَقَالَ مُوسَى يقَوْمِ إِن كُنتُمْ ءامَنْتُمْ بِاللَّهِ فَعَلَيْهِ تَوَكَّلُواْ إِن كُنْتُم مُّسْلِمِينَ - فَقَالُواْ عَلَى اللَّهِ تَوَكَّلْنَا رَبَّنَا لاَ تَجْعَلْنَا فِتْنَةً لِّلْقَوْمِ الظَّـلِمِينَ - وَنَجِّنَا بِرَحْمَتِكَ مِنَ الْقَوْمِ الْكَـفِرِينَ

(And Musa said: "O my people! If you have believed in Allah, then put your trust in Him if you are Muslims." They said: "In Allah we put our trust. Our Lord! Make us not a trial for the folk who are wrongdoers. And save us by your mercy from the disbelieving folk") 10:84-86 Allah said,

إِنَّآ أَنزَلْنَا التَّوْرَاةَ فِيهَا هُدًى وَنُورٌ يَحْكُمُ بِهَا النَّبِيُّونَ الَّذِينَ أَسْلَمُواْ لِلَّذِينَ هَادُواْ وَالرَّبَّانِيُّونَ وَالاٌّحْبَارُ

(Verily, We did send down the Tawrah, therein was guidance and light, by which the Prophets, who submitted themselves to Allah's will, judged for the Jews. And the rabbis and the priests did also.) 5:44, and,

وَإِذْ أَوْحَيْتُ إِلَى الْحَوَارِيِّينَ أَنْ ءَامِنُواْ بِى وَبِرَسُولِى قَالُواْ ءَامَنَّا وَاشْهَدْ بِأَنَّنَا مُسْلِمُونَ

(And when I (Allah) inspired Al-Hawariyyun (the disciples) of `Isa to believe in Me and My Messenger, they said: "We believe. And bear witness that we are Muslims.") 5:111 Therefore, Allah states that He sent all His Messengers with the religion of Islam, although their respective laws differed from each other, and some of them abrogated others. Later on, the Law sent with Muhammad ﷺ abrogated all previous laws and nothing will ever abrogate it, forever. Certainly, Muhammad's ﷺ Law will always be apparent and its flags raised high, until the Day of Resurrection. The Prophet said, C

«نَحْنُ مَعَاشِرُ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ أَوْلَادُ عَلَّاتٍ دِينُنَا وَاحِد»

(We, the Prophets, are half brothers, but our religion is one.) Half brothers, mentioned in the Hadith, refers to the brothers to one father, but different mothers. Therefore, the religion, representing the one father, is one; worshipping Allah alone without partners, even though the laws which are like the different mothers in this parable, are different. Allah the Most High knows best. Imam Ahmad recorded that `Ali said that when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to start the prayer with Takbir saying, "Allahu Akbar" (Allah is the Great) he would then supplicate,

«وَجَّهْتُ وَجْهِيَ لِلَّذِي فَطَرَ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ حَنِيفًا وَمَا أَنَا مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ، إِنَّ صَلَاتِي وَنُسُكِي وَمَحْيَايَ وَمَمَاتِي للهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِين»

(I have directed my face towards He Who has created the heavens and earth, Hanifan and I am not among the Mushrikin. Certainly, my prayer, sacrifice, living and dying are all for Allah, Lord of the worlds.)

«اللَّهُمَّ أَنْتَ الْمَلِكُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ، أَنْتَ رَبِّي وَأَنَا عَبْدُكَ ظَلَمْتُ نَفْسِي وَاعْتَرَفْتُ بِذَنْبِي فَاغْفِرْ لِي ذُنُوبِي جَمِيعًا لَا يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ، وَاهْدِنِي لِأَحْسَنِ الْأَخْلَاقِ لَا يَهْدِي لِأَحْسَنِهَا إِلَّا أَنْتَ، وَاصْرِفْ عَنِّي سَيِّئَهَا لَا يَصْرِفُ عَنِّي سَيِّئَهَا إِلَّا أَنْتَ، تَبَارَكْتَ وَتَعَالَيْتَ، أَسْتَغْفِرُكَ وَأَتُوبُ إِلَيْك»

(O Allah! You are the King, there is no deity worthy of worship except You. You are my Lord and I am Your servant. I have committed wrong against myself and admitted to my error, so forgive me all my sins. Verily, You, only You forgive the sins. (O Allah!) Direct me to the best conduct, for none except You directs to the best conduct. Divert me from the worst conduct, for only You divert from the worst conduct. Glorified and Exalted You are. I seek Your forgiveness and repent to You.) This Hadith, which was also recorded by Muslim in the Sahih, continues and mentions the Prophet's supplication in his bowing, prostrating and final sitting positions.

In the first verse it has been said: قُلْ إِنَّنِي هَدَانِي رَ‌بِّي إِلَىٰ صِرَ‌اطٍ مُّسْتَقِيمٍ (As for me, my Lord has guided me to a straight path). The hint given here is that he has not taken this path prompted like them by their own ideas or under the weight of ancestral customs. Instead of that, this is a way to which he has been directed by his Lord. Then, by using the word: رَبّ (Rabb, the essential nurturer, benefactor and carer under all conditions, unfortunately not expressed through any equivalent in English), it was indicated that it is the very dictate of His beneficence that He guides to the right path. Those who look for guidance will have guidance from Him.

In the second verse (162), it was said: دِينًا قِيَمًا مِّلَّةَ إِبْرَ‌اهِيمَ حَنِيفًا ۚ وَمَا كَانَ مِنَ الْمُشْرِ‌كِينَ (the straight religion, the faith of Ibrahim, the upright; and he was not of those who associate partners with Allah). Here, the word: قِیَم (qiyam) is a verbal noun in the sense of: قِیَام (qiyam) meaning what stands established on strong and secure foundation. In other words, this religion is fortified. It stands on God-sent basics. This is no compendium of someone's personal ideas. Then, it is not some strange new religion either lending itself to doubting eyebrows. This has been the religion of all past prophets, may peace be upon them all. That the name of Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) has been particularly mentioned here is because all religions in the world admit his greatness and religious patriarchy. Among the groups of the time, the Jews, the Christians and the disbelievers of Arabia - no matter how different from each other they may be - they were still unanimous in paying homage to the great spiritual station of Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) . And this spiritual-station of leadership has been given to him by Allah Ta` ala as a special reward: إِنِّي جَاعِلُكَ لِلنَّاسِ إِمَامًا (I am going to make you an Imam for the people - 2:124).

Then, every sect from them tried to prove that they were staunch adherents of the religion of Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) and were part of his Community. To remove their misgiving, it was said that Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) had the distinction of always abstaining from bowing before anyone other than Allah and he had a distaste for all kinds of Shirk which led people to associate partners in His pristine Divinity. This conduct was the greatest achievement of his life. In sharp contrast to him, here you are all soaked in Shirk. Everyone took someone as partners with Allah - the Jews did that with Sayyidna ` Uzayr ؓ the Christians with Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) . and the disbelievers of Arabia were so liberal that they took thousands of rocks to be partners in the Divinity of Allah. In this state of affairs, no one had the right to claim that they were adhering to the ideal of the spiritual community of Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) - except Muslims. They shun Shirk and Kufr.

In the third verse (163), it was said: قُلْ إِنَّ صَلَاتِي وَنُسُكِي وَمَحْيَايَ وَمَمَاتِي لِلَّـهِ رَ‌بِّ الْعَالَمِينَ ﴿162﴾ (Say, "My prayer, my offering, my life and my death are all for Allah, the Lord of all the worlds). The word:' نُسُكِ (nusuk) in this verse means sacrifice. Everything one does in Hajj is also called: Nusuk. So, the rites of Hajj are known as مَنں اسِک Manasik, the plural of Nusuk. Then, this word is also used for ` Ibadah or worship of Allah in the absolute sense.

Therefore, Nasik is used in the sense of ` Abid (one who worships Allah). At this place, any of the meanings given above can be applied. Tafsirs to that effect have been reported from commentators among the Sahabah and Tabi` In. But, ` Ibadah or offering of acts of worship devoted to Allah, taken in the absolute sense, appears to be the more appropriate meaning at this place. In that case, the meaning of the verse would be: ` My prayer, my offerings in ` Ibadah, my life and my death are all for Allah, the Lord of all the worlds.'

Out of the subsidiaries of deeds, the first to be mentioned here was Salah because that is the moving spirit of all good deeds and is, of course, the pillar of the religion. Mentioned briefly after that were all deeds and acts of worship. Then, rising to a wider level, everything done or faced in a lifetime was pointed to. The last to be mentioned was death. After having identified all these, it was admitted that they are only for Allah who is the Lord of all the worlds and who has no associate or partner in His Divinity. And this is the outcome of perfect faith and perfect sincerity. This leads one to think, care and keep in sight, in all states of life and in everything one does, that: ` my Rabb, and the Rabb of the whole wide world is One Rabb. I am His servant. I am in His sight - all the time. Let not my heart, my mind, my eyes, my ears, my tongue, and hands, and feet, nor my pen or step, move in any direction against His pleasure.' This is a simple meditation (Muraqabah) of the highest order, something which, if one trains himself to keep present in one's heart and mind, then, there is no doubt that he or she will become a human being in the real sense. Things like sin and disobedience and crimes will be scared to come anywhere even close to a person that strong.

In Tafsir Ad-Durr Al-Manthur, under the commentary on this verse, it has been reported that the well-known Sahabi, Sayyidna Abu Musa Al-Ash` ari ؓ used to say: "I honestly wish that every Muslim would keep reciting this verse time and again, almost making it the constant formula of his or her life."

In this verse, the statement - that the prayers and the rest of acts of worship are for Allah - very obviously means that these should be free from any Shirk or hypocrisy or any other worldly interest. As for life and death being for Allah, it could also mean : ` When my very life and death are in His control, then, what I do in my physical and spiritual life (a` mal and 'ibadat), has to be for Him alone.' And it could also mean: ` Whatever deeds are tied with life are for Allah alone - such as, Salah, Sawm, rights and duties involved in dealings with people etc. Then, deeds which relate to death - such as, a will (wasiyyah) and the concept of an ideal life one longs for - then, they too are for Allah, the Lord of all the worlds, and subordinate to what He has commanded.'

After that it was said: وَبِذَٰلِكَ أُمِرْ‌تُ وَأَنَا أَوَّلُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ (And this I have been commanded and I am the first one to submit). It means that ` in this Ummah, I am the first Muslim' - because the first Muslim (one who submits) in every Ummah is the Nabiyy (prophet) or Rasul (Messenger) himself to whom the Shari'ah (religious code of guidance) is revealed through Wahy (revelation).

There could be a hint in the expression ` first Muslim,' towards the saying that the first to be created was the blessed Nur (light) of the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، after which the heavens and the earth and the rest of creation came into existence - as it appears in a Hadith with the words: اَوَّل مَا خَلَقَ اللہُ تعالیٰ نُورِی (Ruh a1-Ma` ani).

In the pages of the Quran, God has revealed His religion in the uncorrupted state in which He had given it to Abraham and other prophets. Now, one who wants to be blessed by the Grace of God and His support should adopt this religion. He should dedicate his prayers to God; he should have a relation with God at the level of sacrifice; if he lives, he should live for the sake of God, and when he is overtaken by death, he should by that time have unreservedly become a subject of God, in body and soul. The vast universe with its heavenly bodies follows this religion of obedience to God. Then, how can a man adopt a path other than this? In the world of obedience to God, how can arrogance directed against God lead to success? This is a matter which concerns every individual. Nobody can share another’s reward or suffer another’s punishment. The individual should be as serious about this as he is about all matters which concern him personally.