6. Al-An'aam

And do not eat from that over which God’s Name has not been invoked where it has died or been sacrificed to other than His Name — otherwise what a Muslim sacrifices and does not invoke God’s Name over whether intentionally or forgetfully is lawful as was stated by Ibn ‘Abbās and this is the opinion of al-Shāfi‘ī — verily it the eating thereof is wickedness a contravention of what is lawful. And truly the devils inspire whisper to their friends the disbelievers to dispute with you in deeming carrion lawful; and if you obey them in this matter you are truly idolaters.

The following was revealed regarding Abū Jahl and others Why is he who was dead through unbelief and We gave him life through guidance and appointed for him a light by which to walk among people distinguishing thereby the truth from falsehood — this light being faith — as him whose likeness ka-man mathaluhu mathal ‘likeness’ is extra; in other words read ka-man huwa ‘as him who’ is in darkness whence he cannot emerge? — and this is the disbeliever — No! So in the same way that faith has been adorned for believers what the disbelievers have been doing in the way of disbelief and acts of disobedience has been adorned for them.

And thus in the same way that We have made the wicked folk of Mecca its leaders We have made in every city its sinners great ones that they may plot therein to impede the faith; but they plot only against themselves because the evil consequences thereof will befall them though they do not perceive this.

Whomever God desires to guide He expands his breast to Islam by casting into his heart a light which it the heart expands for and accepts as reported in a hadīth; and whomever He God desires to send astray He makes his breast narrow read dayqan or dayyiqan unable to accept it and constricted extremely tight read harijan ‘constricted’ as an adjective or harajan as a verbal noun by which it the heart of the misguided one is described hyperbolically as if he were engaged in ascent yassa‘‘ad is also read as yassā‘ad in both forms the original tā’ has been assimilated with the sād; a third variant reading has yas‘ad to the heaven when he is charged with the obligations of the faith because of the hardship for him therein. So like this making of the breast narrow God casts ignominy chastisement or He casts Satan that is He gives him authority over those who do not believe.

And this path that you follow O Muhammad (s) is the path of your Lord a straight one with no crookedness therein mustaqīman ‘straight’ is in the accusative because it is a circumstantial qualifier emphasising the previous statement and it is operated by the import of the demonstrative noun hādhā ‘this’. We have detailed We have elucidated the signs for a people who remember yadhdhakkarūn the original tā’ has been assimilated with the dhāl that is to say a people who heed admonition — such people are singled out for mention because they are the ones to profit from the signs.

Theirs will be the abode of peace namely Paradise with their Lord and He will be their Friend because of what they used to do.

And mention the day when He God shall gather them yahshuruhum may also read nahshuruhum ‘We shall gather them’ that is creatures all together and it will be said to them ‘O assembly of jinn you have garnered much of mankind’ by your misleading them. Then their friends those who obeyed them from among mankind will say ‘Our Lord we enjoyed one another mankind enjoyed what the jinn adorned for them of passions while the jinn enjoyed mankind’s obedience to them; but now we have arrived at the term which You have appointed for us’ that is the Day of Resurrection — this statement expresses extreme regret on their part. He exalted be He will say to them by the tongues of the angels ‘The Fire is your lodging your abode to abide therein’ — except what God wills of those times when they will exit from it in order to drink boiling water which is located outside it as God exalted be He has said Then they shall return to the Hell-fire Q. 3768; according to Ibn ‘Abbās this proviso pertains to those whom God knows will believe mā ‘what’ thus has the sense of man ‘whom’. Surely your Lord is Wise in His actions Knowing of His creatures.

So just as We let the rebels from among mankind and jinn enjoy one another We let some of the evildoers have power over others because of what they are wont to earn of acts of disobedience.

‘O assembly of jinn and mankind did not messengers come to you from among you that is from among both of your number — which holds true in the case of mankind since messengers came from among them or by ‘messengers’ if the jinn are meant those messengers among the jinn who are their warners the ones who listen to the speech of the human messengers and convey it to their kind — to recount to you My signs and to warn you of the encounter of this Day of yours?’ They shall say ‘We bear witness against ourselves’ that all this was conveyed to us. God exalted be He says And the life of this world deluded them and so they did not believe. And they bear witness against themselves that they were disbelievers.