6:3 Al-An'aam (The Cattle)

أي: وهو المألوه المعبود في السماوات وفي الأرض، فأهل السماء والأرض، متعبدون لربهم، خاضعون لعظمته، مستكينون لعزه وجلاله، الملائكة المقربون، والأنبياء والمرسلون، والصديقون، والشهداء والصالحون. وهو تعالى يعلم سركم وجهركم ويعلم ما تكسبون، فاحذروا معاصيه وارغبوا في الأعمال التي تقربكم منه، وتدنيكم من رحمته، واحذروا من كل عمل يبعدكم منه ومن رحمته.

وقوله تعالى "وهو الله في السموات وفي الأرض يعلم سركم وجهركم" اختلف مفسرو هذه الآية على أقوال بعد اتفاقهم على إنكار قول الجهمية الأول القائلين تعالى عن قولهم علوا كبيرا بأنه في كل مكان حيث حملوا الآية على ذلك فالأصح من الأقوال أنه المدعو الله في السموات وفى الأرض أي يعبده ويوحده ويقر له بالإلهية من في السموات ومن في الأرض ويسمونه الله ويدعونه رغبا ورهبا إلا من كفر من الجن والإنس وهذه الآية على هذا القول كقوله تعالى "وهو الذي في السماء إله وفي الأرض إله" أي هو إله من في السماء وإله من في الأرض وعلى هذا فيكون قوله "يعلم سركم وجهركم" خبرا أو حالا. "والقول الثاني" أن المراد أنه الله الذي يعلم ما في السموات وما في الأرض من سر وجهر فيكون قوله يعلم متعلقا بقوله "في السموات وفي الأرض" تقديره وهو الله يعلم سركم وجهركم في السموات وفي الأرض ويعلم ما تكسبون والقول الثالث أن قوله "وهو الله في السموات" وقف تام ثم استأنف الخبر فقال "وفي الأرض يعلم سركم وجهركم" وهذا اختيار ابن جرير وقوله "ويعلم ما تكسبون" أي جميع أعمالكم خيرها وشرها.

Which was revealed in Makkah

The Virtue of Surat Al-An`am and When it Was Revealed

Al-`Awfi, `Ikrimah and `Ata' said that Ibn `Abbas said, "Surat Al-An`am was revealed in Makkah" At-Tabarani recorded that Ibn `Abbas said, "All of Surat Al-An`am was revealed in Makkah at night, accompanied by seventy thousand angels, raising their voices in glorification of Allah" As-Suddi said that Murrah said that `Abdullah said, "Surat Al-An`am was revealed in the company of seventy thousand angels."

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

All Praise is Due to Allah for His Glorious Ability and Great Power

Allah praises and glorifies His Most Honorable Self for creating the heavens and earth, as a dwelling for His servants, and for making the darkness and the light to benefit them in the night and the day. In this Ayah, Allah describes darkness in the plural, Zulumat where Zulmah is singular for darkness, while describing the light in the singular, An-Nur, because An-Nur is more honored. In other Ayat, Allah said,

ظِلَـلُهُ عَنِ الْيَمِينِ

(To the right and to the lefts.) 16:48 Near the end of this Surah (chapter 6), Allah also said;

وَأَنَّ هَـذَا صِرَطِي مُسْتَقِيمًا فَاتَّبِعُوهُ وَلاَ تَتَّبِعُواْ السُّبُلَ فَتَفَرَّقَ بِكُمْ عَن سَبِيلِهِ

(And verily, this is my straight path, so follow it, and follow no (other) ways, for they will separate you away from His way.) 6:153 Allah said next,

ثْمَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ بِرَبِّهِمْ يَعْدِلُونَ

(Yet those who disbelieve hold others as equal with their Lord.) meaning, in spite of all this, some of Allah's servants disbelieve in Him and hold others as partners and rivals with Him. Some of Allah's servants claimed a wife and a son for Allah, hallowed be He far above what they attribute to Him. Allah's statement,

هُوَ الَّذِى خَلَقَكُمْ مِّن طِينٍ

(He it is Who has created you from clay,) refers to the father of mankind, Adam, from whom mankind originated, multiplied in numbers and spread about, east and west. Allah said,

ثُمَّ قَضَى أَجَلاً وَأَجَلٌ مُّسمًّى عِندَهُ

(Then has decreed a stated term. And there is with Him another determined term...) His saying;

ثُمَّ قَضَى أَجَلاً

(Then has decreed a stated term,) refers to death, while,

وَأَجَلٌ مُّسمًّى عِندَهُ

(And there is with Him another determined term...) refers to the Hereafter, according to Sa`id bin Jubayr who reported this from Ibn `Abbas. Similar statements were narrated from Mujahid, `Ikrimah, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Al-Hasan, Qatadah, Ad-Dahhak, Zayd bin Aslam, `Atiyyah, As-Suddi, Muqatil bin Hayyan and others. Ibn `Abbas and Mujahid said that,

ثُمَّ قَضَى أَجَلاً

(And then has decreed a stated term,) is the term of this earthly life, while,

وَأَجَلٌ مُّسمًّى عِندَهُ

(And there is with Him another determined term) refers to man's extent of life until he dies as mentioned in Allah's statement;

وَهُوَ الَّذِى يَتَوَفَّـكُم بِالَّيْلِ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا جَرَحْتُم بِالنَّهَارِ

(It is He, Who takes your souls by night (when you are asleep), and has knowledge of all that you have done by day, then He raises (wakes) you up again that a term appointed (life) be fulfilled.) 6:60 The meaning of Allah's statement,

عِندَهُ

(With Him) is that none but Him knows when it will occur. Allah said in other Ayat,

إِنَّمَا عِلْمُهَا عِنْدَ رَبِّي لاَ يُجَلِّيهَا لِوَقْتِهَآ إِلاَّ هُوَ

(The knowledge thereof is with my Lord. None can reveal its time but He.) 7:187, and,

يَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ السَّاعَةِ أَيَّانَ مُرْسَـهَا - فِيمَ أَنتَ مِن ذِكْرَاهَا - إِلَى رَبِّكَ مُنتَهَـهَآ

(They ask you about the Hour -- when will be its appointed time You have no knowledge to say anything about it. To your Lord belongs (the knowledge of) the term thereof.) 79:42-44 Allah said,

ثُمَّ أَنتُمْ تَمْتَرُونَ

(Yet you doubt.) the coming of the (last) Hour, according to As-Suddi. Allah said next,

وَهُوَ اللَّهُ فِى السَّمَـوَتِ وَفِى الاٌّرْضِ يَعْلَمُ سِرَّكُمْ وَجَهْرَكُمْ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا تَكْسِبُونَ

(And He is Allah in the heavens and the earth, He knows what you conceal and what you reveal, and He knows what you earn.) Meaning, it is He Who is called Allah, throughout the heavens and the earth, that is, it is He who is worshipped, singled out, whose divinity is believed in by the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth. They call Him Allah, and they supplicate to Him in fear and hope, except those who disbelieve among the Jinns and mankind. In another Ayah, Allah said;

وَهُوَ الَّذِى فِى السَّمآءِ إِلَـهٌ وَفِى الاٌّرْضِ إِلَـهٌ

(It is He Who is God in the heavens and the earth.)43:84 meaning, He is the God of those in heaven and those on earth, and He knows all affairs, public and secret.

وَيَعْلَمُ مَا تَكْسِبُونَ

(And He knows what you earn) all the good and bad deeds that you perform.

He is God the One worthy of being worshipped in the heavens and in the earth. He knows your secrets and your utterance what you keep secret and what you utter openly among yourselves and He knows what you earn what you do of good and evil.

The third verse contains the consequential outcome of what was said in the first two verses. It declares that Allah is the only Being who is worthy of worship and obedience in all the heavens and the earth, and He is the One who knows everything human beings conceal or reveal and, particularly, everything they say or do.

And He is God in the heavens and in the earth. One can say that He is in heaven through Essence, everywhere through knowledge, in the spirit through companionship, and in the soul through proximity. The soul comes to nothing in Him, and He takes the place of the spirit that comes to nothing in Him. He is in finding where found, and in recognition where recognized. Reports do not spoil the Haqiqah, nor does the Haqiqah nullify the reports. Say “He sat” [7:54], for He is upon the Throne through sitting. Recite “He is with you” [57:4], for He is with you wherever you are. He does not take up place through need, but rather displays places through mercy. He built the Throne for the God-seekers, not for the God-recognizers. If the God-recognizer should take one breath without Him, he would have bound the sash of unbelief. O boast of my tongue in the two worlds and delight of my spirit in tomorrow's vision! O my occupation in the two worlds, remake my situation's occupation with Yourself! I have no spirit to scatter before the finding of You, no tongue to acknowledge Your favors. He who sees You is concealed in vision, and he who seeks You is neither on earth nor in heaven.