6:134 Al-An'aam (The Cattle)

{ إِنَّ مَا تُوعَدُونَ لَآتٍ وَمَا أَنْتُمْ بِمُعْجِزِينَ } لله، فارين من عقابه، فإن نواصيكم تحت قبضته، وأنتم تحت تدبيره وتصرفه.

وقوله تعالى "إن ما توعدون لآت وما أنتم بمعجزين" أى أخبرهم يا محمد أن الذي يوعدون به من أمر المعاد كائن لا محالة "وما أنتم بمعجزين" أي ولا تعجزون الله بل هو قادر على إعادتكم وإن صرتم ترابا رفاتا وعظاما هو قادر لا يعجزه شيء وقال ابن أبي حاتم في تفسيرها: حدثنا أبي حدثنا محمد بن المصفى حدثنا محمد بن حسين عن أبي بكر بن أبي مريم عن عطاء بن أبي رباح عن أبي سعيد الخدري رضي الله عنه عن النبي صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم أنه قال يا بني آدم إن كنتم تعقلون فعدوا أنفسكم من الموتى والذي نفسي بيده إن ما توعدن لآت وما أنتم بمعجزين.

If They Disobey, They Will Perish

Allah said,

وَرَبُّكَ

(And your Lord...), O Muhammad,

الْغَنِىُّ

(is Al-Ghani) Rich, free from needing His creatures in any way or form, while they stand in need of Him in all situations,

ذُو الرَّحْمَةِ

(full of mercy;) towards creation. Allah said in another Ayah,

إِنَّ اللَّهَ بِالنَّاسِ لَرَءُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ

(Truly, Allah is full of kindness, the Most Merciful towards mankind.) 2:143

إِن يَشَأْ يُذْهِبْكُمْ

(if He wills, He can destroy you.) if you defy His commandments,

وَيَسْتَخْلِفْ مِن بَعْدِكُم مَّا يَشَآءُ

(And in your place make whom He wills as your successors,) who behave obediently,

كَمَآ أَنشَأَكُمْ مِّن ذُرِّيَّةِ قَوْمٍ ءَاخَرِينَ

(As He raised you from the seed of other people.) and surely, He is able to do this, and it is easy for Him. And just as Allah has destroyed the earlier nations and brought their successors, He is able to do away with these generations and bring other people in their place. Allah has also said;

إِن يَشَأْ يُذْهِبْكُمْ أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ وَيَأْتِ بِـاخَرِينَ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ عَلَى ذلِكَ قَدِيراً

(If He wills, He can take you away, O people, and bring others. And Allah is Ever Capable over that.) 4:133,

يأَيُّهَا النَّاسُ أَنتُمُ الْفُقَرَآءُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ هُوَ الْغَنِىُّ الْحَمِيدُ - إِن يَشَأْ يُذْهِبْكُـمْ وَيَأْتِ بِخَلْقٍ جَدِيدٍ وَمَا ذَلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ بِعَزِيزٍ

(O mankind! It is you who stand in need of Allah. But Allah is Rich (free of all needs), Worthy of all praise. If He willed, He could destroy you and bring about a new creation. And that is not hard for Allah.) 35:15-17, and,

نَّفْسِهِ وَاللَّهُ الْغَنِىُّ وَأَنتُمُ الْفُقَرَآءُ وَإِن تَتَوَلَّوْاْ يَسْتَبْدِلْ قَوْماً غَيْرَكُمْ ثُمَّ لاَ يَكُونُواْ

(But Allah is Rich (free of all needs), and you are poor. And if you turn away, He will exchange you for some other people and they will not be your likes.) 47:38. Muhammad bin Ishaq said that Ya`qub bin `Utbah said that he heard Aban bin `Uthman saying about this Ayah,

كَمَآ أَنشَأَكُمْ مِّن ذُرِّيَّةِ قَوْمٍ ءَاخَرِينَ

(As He raised you from the seed of other people. ) "`The seed' means the offspring and the children." Allah's statement,

إِنَّ مَا تُوعَدُونَ لأَتٍ وَمَآ أَنتُم بِمُعْجِزِينَ

(Surely, that which you are promised, will verily, come to pass and you cannot escape.) means, tell them, O Muhammad, that what they have been promised of Resurrection will surely occur,

وَمَآ أَنتُم بِمُعْجِزِينَ

(and you cannot escape.) from Allah. Rather, He is able to resurrect you even after you become dust and bones. Certainly, Allah is able to do all things and nothing ever escapes His power. Allah said;

قُلْ يَـقَوْمِ اعْمَلُواْ عَلَى مَكَانَتِكُمْ إِنِّى عَامِلٌ فَسَوْفَ تَعْلَمُونَ

(Say: "O my people! Work according to your way, surely, I too am working and you will come to know.") This contains a stern warning and a sure promise, saying; remain on your way, if you think that you are rightly guided, for I will remain on mine. Allah said in another Ayah,

وَقُل لِّلَّذِينَ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ اعْمَلُواْ عَلَى مَكَانَتِكُمْ إِنَّا عَامِلُونَ - وَانْتَظِرُواْ إِنَّا مُنتَظِرُونَ

(And say to those who do not believe: "Act according to Makanatikum, We are acting (in our way). And you wait! We (too) are waiting.") 11:121-122. `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn `Abbas said that,

عَلَى مَكَانَتِكُمْ

(according to Makanatikum...) means, your way.

فَسَوْفَ تَعْلَمُونَ مَن تَكُونُ لَهُ عَـقِبَةُ الدَّارِ إِنَّهُ لاَ يُفْلِحُ الظَّـلِمُونَ

(And you will come to know for which of us will be the (happy) end in the Hereafter. Certainly the wrongdoers will not be successful) 6:135, You will come to know if the happy end will be mine (Muhammad's) or yours (the disbelievers). Allah has indeed kept His promise and allowed Muhammad ﷺ to prevail in the land and rise above those who defied him. He conquered Makkah for him and made him triumphant over his people who rejected and showed enmity towards him. The Prophet's rule soon spread over the Arabian Peninsula, Yemen and Bahrain, and all this occurred during his lifetime. After his death, the various lands and provinces were conquered during the time of his successors, may Allah be pleased with them all. Allah also said,

كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لاّغْلِبَنَّ أَنَاْ وَرُسُلِى إِنَّ اللَّهَ قَوِىٌّ عَزِيزٌ

(Allah has decreed: "Verily, it is I and My Messengers who shall be the victorious." Verily, Allah is All-Powerful, Almighty.) 58:21

إِنَّا لَنَنصُرُ رُسُلَنَا وَالَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ فِى الْحَيَوةِ الدُّنْيَا وَيَوْمَ يَقُومُ الاٌّشْهَـدُ - يَوْمَ لاَ يَنفَعُ الظَّـلِمِينَ مَعْذِرَتُهُمْ وَلَهُمُ الْلَّعْنَةُ وَلَهُمْ سُوءُ الدَّارِ

(Verily, We will indeed make victorious Our Messengers and those who believe in this world's life and on the Day when the witnesses will stand forth. The Day when their excuses will be of no profit to the wrongdoers. Theirs will be the curse, and theirs will be the evil abode.) 40:51-52 and,

وَلَقَدْ كَتَبْنَا فِى الزَّبُورِ مِن بَعْدِ الذِّكْرِ أَنَّ الاٌّرْضَ يَرِثُهَا عِبَادِىَ الصَّـلِحُونَ

(And indeed We have written in the Zabur after the Dhikr that My righteous servants shall inherit the land.) 21:105

Truly that which you are promised of the Hour and chastisement will surely come to pass inevitably and you cannot escape you cannot elude Our chastisement.

After having established in the first verse that Allah is All-Independent (Ghaniyy), Master of Mercy (Dhur-Rahmah) and All-Powerful too, the text carries a warning given to disobedient people: إِنَّ مَا تُوعَدُونَ لَآتٍ ۖ وَمَا أَنتُم بِمُعْجِزِينَ ﴿134﴾: Surely what you are promised [ that is, the Divine punishment ] is bound to come, and you cannot frustrate [ it ].'

Another method to awaken them from their heedlessness was adopted in the third verse (135) where it was said: قُلْ يَا قَوْمِ اعْمَلُوا عَلَىٰ مَكَانَتِكُمْ إِنِّي عَامِلٌ ۖ فَسَوْفَ تَعْلَمُونَ مَن تَكُونُ لَهُ عَاقِبَةُ الدَّارِ‌ ۗ إِنَّهُ لَا يُفْلِحُ الظَّالِمُونَ ﴿135﴾ (Say, "0 my people, do at your place (whatever you do) I am to do (in my way). So, you will know for whom is the ultimate abode. Surely, the unjust shall not be successful). This is addressed to the Holy Prophet ﷺ . He is being asked to tell those people of his in Makkah that the choice of not accepting what he is saying is theirs. Let them not accept it, stay as they are and keep on doing what their belief and hostility tell them to do - and he too will keep on doing what his belief tells him to do. In that, there was no loss for him. But, very soon, they will be the ones to find out who will be blessed with the ultimate salvation and success of the Hereafter. And, in this, let them not forget that the Zalim, the unjust, the usurpers of rights, never succeed.

Surely what you are promised will come. Take what is to come as come, take what is to go as gone, take this bright day as dark, and take this world's delusion as a day that has ended. A chevalier was seen limping without a cause. They asked him, “Why are you limping?” He said, “Tomorrow I am going to the thorn-field.” They said, “Then tomorrow!” He said, “Take tomorrow as come, take this curtain as torn, and take the disgrace as arrived!” How long making the abode of delusion an abode of joy? How long making the abode of flight an abode of lodging? [DS 182] O chevalier! The life of this world is wind-as soon as you look, it's gone. This world is like a mad man's laughter and a drunkard's weeping. The mad man laughs without happiness, and the drunkard weeps without grief. This world is like ice placed in the sun, and it passes in anguish. Or it is like a sugar cube put in the mouth, and it falls apart. Yes, the taste is so sweet, but the body melts away. As soon as you put it in your mouth, it melts. This world is a pleasant gazing place, a verdant disclosure, but as soon as you look, it passes. As soon as you bind your heart to it, it goes. “If not for death, every man would claim lordhood.” Were it not for the abasement of death, from all sides of the world would rise up the call, “I am your Lord the most high” [79:24]. You will see all these seats of honor emptied of chiefs. They bloomed like roses on the wall, then they dropped from the wall and slept in the dust. Why do you not take heed and think about your final end? The Lord of the Worlds says, “You shall surely know whose outcome shall be the Abode” [6:135]. Yes, know what this world will reach and who shall have the house of triumph and foreverness! See how the poor and broken will be brought on steeds of generosity, and the chieftains empty of meaning will be driven by whips of severity! Wait-you'll find those you see as parts today are wholes. Wait-you'll see those you see as thorns today are roses. The exalted ones who'll be good fortune's garden there- don't take and treat them like lowly thorns here. The rosebush that yesterday's cruelty makes appear to you like firewood- wait till the hand of Spring's justice brings it to display! [DS 185]