Tafsir of Surah Al-An'am - Verse 69

The Invitation to the Truth is Guidance Without Coercion

Allah said,

وَكَذَّبَ بِهِ

(But have denied it) denied the Qur'an, guidance and clear explanation that you (O Muhammad ) have brought them,

قَوْمُكَ

(your people) meaning, Quraysh,

وَهُوَ الْحَقُّ

(though it is the truth.) beyond which there is no other truth.

قُل لَّسْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ بِوَكِيلٍ

(Say: "I am not responsible for your affairs.") meaning, I have not been appointed a guardian or watcher over you. Allah also said;

وَقُلِ الْحَقُّ مِن رَّبِّكُمْ فَمَن شَآءَ فَلْيُؤْمِن وَمَن شَآءَ فَلْيَكْفُرْ

(And say: "The truth is from your Lord." Then whosoever wills, let him believe, and whosoever wills, let him disbelieve.) 18:29, This means, my duty is to convey the Message and your duty is to hear and obey. Those who follow me, will acquire happiness in this life and the Hereafter. Those who defy me will become miserable in this life and the Hereafter. So Allah said;

لِّكُلِّ نَبَإٍ مُّسْتَقَرٌّ

(For every news there is a reality...) meaning, for every news, there is a reality, in that, this news will occur, perhaps after a while, according to Ibn `Abbas and others. Allah said in other Ayat,

وَلَتَعْلَمُنَّ نَبَأَهُ بَعْدَ حِينِ

(And you shall certainly know the truth of it after a while.) 38:88 and,

لِكُلِّ أَجَلٍ كِتَابٌ

((For) each and every matter there is a decree (from Allah).) 13:38. This, indeed, is a warning and a promise that will surely occur,

وَسَوْفَ تَعْلَمُونَ

(and you will come to know.) Allah's statement,

وَإِذَا رَأَيْتَ الَّذِينَ يَخُوضُونَ فِى ءَايَـتِنَا

(And when you see those who engage in false conversation about Our verses (of the Qur'an)), by denying and mocking them.

The Prohibition of Sitting with Those Who Deny and Mock Allah's Ayat

فَأَعْرِضْ عَنْهُمْ حَتَّى يَخُوضُواْ فِى حَدِيثٍ غَيْرِهِ

(stay away from them till they turn to another topic.) until they talk about a subject other than the denial they were engaged in.

وَإِمَّا يُنسِيَنَّكَ الشَّيْطَـنُ

(And if Shaytan causes you to forget...) This command includes every member of this Ummah. No one is to sit with those who deny and distort Allah's Ayat and explain them incorrectly. If one forgets and sits with such people,

فَلاَ تَقْعُدْ بَعْدَ الذِّكْرَى

(then after the remembrance sit not you) after you remember,

مَعَ الْقَوْمِ الظَّـلِمِينَ

(in the company of those people who are the wrongdoers.). A Hadith states,

«رُفِعَ عَنْ أُمَّتِي الْخَطَأُ وَالنِّسْيَانُ وَمَا اسْتُكْرِهُوا عَلَيْه»

(My Ummah was forgiven unintentional errors, forgetfulness and what they are coerced to do.) The Ayah above 6:68 is the Ayah mentioned in Allah's statement,

وَقَدْ نَزَّلَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِى الْكِتَـبِ أَنْ إِذَا سَمِعْتُمْ ءَايَـتِ اللَّهِ يُكَفَرُ بِهَا وَيُسْتَهْزَأُ بِهَا فَلاَ تَقْعُدُواْ مَعَهُمْ حَتَّى يَخُوضُواْ فِى حَدِيثٍ غَيْرِهِ إِنَّكُمْ إِذاً مِّثْلُهُمْ

(And it has already been revealed to you in the Book that when you hear the Verses of Allah being denied and mocked at, then sit not with them, until they engage in a talk other than that; (but if you stayed with them) certainly in that case you would be like them.) 4:140, for, if you still sit with them, agreeing to what they say, you will be just like them. Allah's statement,

وَمَا عَلَى الَّذِينَ يَتَّقُونَ مِنْ حِسَابِهِم مِّن شَىْءٍ

(There is no responsibility for them upon those who have Taqwa,) means, when the believers avoid sitting with wrongdoers in this case, they will be innocent of them and they will have saved themselves from their sin. Allah's statement,

وَلَـكِن ذِكْرَى لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَّقُونَ

(but (their duty) is to remind them, that they may avoid that.), means, We commanded you to ignore and avoid them, so that they become aware of the error they are indulging in, that they may avoid this behavior and never repeat it again.

When the verse cited above was revealed, the noble Companions submitted: Ya Rasul Allah, if this absolute prohibition of going in their gatherings remained in force, we shall be deprived of offering Salah and Tawaf in al-Masjid al-Haram because these people keep sitting there all the time (before Hijrah and the Conquest of Makkah) doing nothing but fault-finding and ill-speaking. Thereupon, revealed was the next verse (69): وَمَا عَلَى الَّذِينَ يَتَّقُونَ مِنْ حِسَابِهِم مِّن شَيْءٍ وَلَـٰكِن ذِكْرَ‌ىٰ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَّقُونَ ﴿69﴾. It means when people who observe restraint go to al-Masjid al-Haram for their own rightful purpose, then, they are not responsible for the evil deeds of those wicked people present there. However, it does remain their duty that they should tell them what is right and true which may perhaps help them take the right path.

‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas says that God fixed a religious festival day (‘Id) for every community, the purpose being that on that day they should glorify God, offer prayers to Him and fill the whole day with His remembrance. Those who came later made their religious festival (‘Id) a day of fun and frolic. (Tafsir Kabir). There is a purpose behind every religious activity and then there is its outward aspect too. The purpose of ‘Id’ is the collective demonstration of the glorification of God and His remembrance. But too much attention is paid to the externals of ‘Id—for example, the wearing of good clothes, arrangements for group activities, etc. Now, making ‘Id a mere event of fun and frolic amounts to neglecting its real purpose, which becomes forgotten in the fuss which is made about its outward and material aspects, such as a show of good clothes and possessions, the hustle and bustle of shopping, arrangements for entertainment, and the pomp which goes with a show of one’s position, etc.