6. Al-An'aam

The Cattle · Meccan · 165 ayahs

سُورَةُ الأَنۡعَامِ

Reading Kashf al-Asrar (alternate text) by Rashid al-Din Maybudi

Ayahs 161–165 of 165

قُلْ إِنَّنِى هَدَىٰنِى رَبِّىٓ إِلَىٰ صِرَٰطٍۢ مُّسْتَقِيمٍۢ دِينًۭا قِيَمًۭا مِّلَّةَ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ حَنِيفًۭا ۚ وَمَا كَانَ مِنَ ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ

Say, "Indeed, my Lord has guided me to a straight path - a correct religion - the way of Abraham, inclining toward truth. And he was not among those who associated others with Allah."

Say: “As for me, my Lord has guided me to a straight path.” The straight path has a beginning and an end. The beginning is the Sunnah and the congregation, and the end is the intimacy of finding and the continuity of contemplation. The Sunnah and the congrega- tion are that you accept the verses and reports about the unperceived attributes with spirit and heart. You come forward with assent and surrender and you stand with the name and the outwardness. You do not wander around it with imagination. You avoid self-exertion, interpretation, and reflective thinking about it. You stipulate it in its entirety, without addition or subtraction, without judgment, declaring similarity, or concealment. And you convey it exactly as you received it. The Pir of the Tariqah said, “Everyone who enters by the door of surrender and assent is given one of three drinks: Either he is given the drink of recognition, so his heart comes to life through the Real, or he is given poison through which the commanding soul is slain beneath his own severity, or he is given a wine through the finding of which the spirit becomes drunk and per- plexed. From here begins the finding of the Haqiqah and the intimacy of companionship. He finds the pleasure of service and the sweetness of obedience. He joins with the joy of recognition and reaches the repose of whispered prayer. Then he falls into an occupation that cannot be expressed until he becomes all life in that.” O life of the spirit, what is it with me that I know nothing of my state? The spirit from You fills me, but my heart's blood is empty of You. * You are not empty of me, but I do not see Your face, You are a spirit with me, but I do not see You.

Al-An'aam 6:161Listen in Qur'an →

162

قُلْ إِنَّ صَلَاتِى وَنُسُكِى وَمَحْيَاىَ وَمَمَاتِى لِلَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلْعَٰلَمِينَ

Say, "Indeed, my prayer, my rites of sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allah, Lord of the worlds.

Say: “My prayer and my sacrifice, my life and my death, belong to God.” He who knows that he is in God knows that he belongs to God. When he knows that his soul belongs to God, no portion of him remains for other than God. He surrenders to God's decree, he does not protest against God's predetermination, he does not oppose God's chosen ones, and he does not turn away from embracing God's command. This verse about MuṣṬafā alludes to the station of union. Union is joining with the Real and being released from oneself. The mark of this work is a heart alive through meditation and a tongue loosed in remembrance. One becomes a loan to the creatures, a stranger to oneself, at ease from attachment, at rest with the Real. The Pir of the Tariqah said, “O God, ever since You called me, I have been alone in the crowd. When You said 'Come!,' my seven bodily parts heard. What comes forth from the Adamite? The Adamite's worth is clear: His purse is empty, he treads on air. “This work was before Adam and Eve, a bestowal before fear and hope, but the Adamite undergoes trials because of seeing. He alone is joyful who is free of seeing causes and disloyal toward his own self. Though the millwheel of the states is turning, so what? The pivot of His will is in place.” O friend, I have become all yours. In truth these words have no lying, no deceit. Were you to jump right out of your own selfhood, I would likely be there in your place, my dear.

Al-An'aam 6:162Listen in Qur'an →

163

لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُۥ ۖ وَبِذَٰلِكَ أُمِرْتُ وَأَنَا۠ أَوَّلُ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ

No partner has He. And this I have been commanded, and I am the first [among you] of the Muslims."

Explained together with ayah 162

Al-An'aam 6:163Listen in Qur'an →

164

قُلْ أَغَيْرَ ٱللَّهِ أَبْغِى رَبًّۭا وَهُوَ رَبُّ كُلِّ شَىْءٍۢ ۚ وَلَا تَكْسِبُ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ إِلَّا عَلَيْهَا ۚ وَلَا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌۭ وِزْرَ أُخْرَىٰ ۚ ثُمَّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّكُم مَّرْجِعُكُمْ فَيُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا كُنتُمْ فِيهِ تَخْتَلِفُونَ

Say, "Is it other than Allah I should desire as a lord while He is the Lord of all things? And every soul earns not [blame] except against itself, and no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another. Then to your Lord is your return, and He will inform you concerning that over which you used to differ."

Explained together with ayah 162

Al-An'aam 6:164Listen in Qur'an →

165

وَهُوَ ٱلَّذِى جَعَلَكُمْ خَلَٰٓئِفَ ٱلْأَرْضِ وَرَفَعَ بَعْضَكُمْ فَوْقَ بَعْضٍۢ دَرَجَٰتٍۢ لِّيَبْلُوَكُمْ فِى مَآ ءَاتَىٰكُمْ ۗ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ سَرِيعُ ٱلْعِقَابِ وَإِنَّهُۥ لَغَفُورٌۭ رَّحِيمٌۢ

And it is He who has made you successors upon the earth and has raised some of you above others in degrees [of rank] that He may try you through what He has given you. Indeed, your Lord is swift in penalty; but indeed, He is Forgiving and Merciful.

Explained together with ayah 162

Al-An'aam 6:165Listen in Qur'an →

Commentary: Kashf al-Asrar (alternate text) by Rashid al-Din Maybudi. Qur'an text and translation via AlQuran Cloud.