(Revealed before Hijrah)
This Surah belongs to the Meccan period. According to most accounts, the whole of it was revealed in one portion; and as reported by some traditionists, as many as 70,000 angels stood guard when it was being revealed, which points to the special protection which was afforded to its subject-matter. The Surah probably derives its title from vv. 137-139 where the An‘am have been condemned as one of the causes of idolatry.
In this Surah there is a change in the treatment of the subject-matter from that adopted in the previous Surahs. It contains a refutation of non-Israelite religions and starts with the refutation of the Zoroastrian Faith, which believes in the duality of Godhead—in two separate gods of good and evil. The Qur’an exposes this doctrine by declaring that both the powers of doing good and evil are, in reality, two links of the same chain, one remaining incomplete without the other; so they cannot be said to have been created by two different gods. Light and darkness are indeed Divine creation of the same God, and instead of pointing to the duality of the Godhead, they really constitute a strong argument in favour of Oneness of God and possess a peculiar affinity with the creation of man and his natural powers and faculties. The Surah proceeds to discuss the important subject that evil is born of the wrong use of God-given faculties, and that whenever men cease to make right use of them God raises a Prophet to teach them their right use. After this it is stated that the delay in Divine punishment overtaking disbelievers often emboldens them all the more, though the delay is always due to God’s mercy. They persecute their Prophet and his followers, entertaining a false hope that in this way they would succeed in weakening the faith of the believers, but the faith of believers remains unflinching and steadfast under severest trials and tribulations, while disbelievers at once disown their own idolatrous beliefs whenever they are overtaken by misfortunes. Further, light is shed on the subject that irreligiousness is born of lack of faith in Life after death or in the failure of disbelievers to establish real connection with God. This dual lack of faith makes them bold in the rejection of truth. Opposition to the Prophets by the disbelievers appears to be not quite unnatural, since only those people seek God who possess some natural kinship with spiritual matters, for the spiritually deaf cannot hear the Voice of God. They see Sign after Sign and yet continue to repeat parrot-like that no Sign has been shown to them. The opponents of the Holy Prophet have seen many Signs but have not profited by them. They are, therefore, warned that now they will see only the Sign of punishment. But God is not quick to punish. It is when disbelievers wilfully and persistently shut the door of repentance upon themselves and scornfully reject the Divine Message that they are punished. Next, it is stated that only those who have fear of God in their hearts accept the truth, and the Holy Prophet is told to address his appeal only to the God-fearing. For the others, it is necessary that fear of God should first be created in their hearts, then will arguments and reasons benefit them. Further, it is stated that it is essential for the progress of Islam that special attention be paid to the spiritual training of believers, because the Prophet is mortal and must die one day and only the community of believers will remain behind to preach and propagate the Divine Message. Next, the disbelievers are told that they are foolish to find fault with the Holy Prophet merely because the promised punishment has not already overtaken them. They are told that to punish the haughty and boastful rejecters of truth rests entirely in the hand of God Who punishes them as He thinks fit or opportune. It may be that a person, who is today the enemy of truth and seems to deserve Divine punishment, may bring about true reformation in himself tomorrow and deserve Divine mercy. So the infliction of punishment, or deferring thereof, is God’s own work. The Surah then exposes the falsity of polytheistic doctrines by means of an argument which the Patriarch Abraham had with his people; and then mention is made of the favours and blessings which God bestowed upon him and his descendants because they strove hard to establish truth in the world. The Surah proceeds to state that the mission of God’s Messengers never fails. Like rain-water it gives fertility and freshness to a soil spiritually bleak and barren, and as it is not possible to attain true realization of God unless He reveals Himself to men, it is necessary that Divine Messengers should appear time after time as it is through them that God reveals Himself to the world. Then it is stated that for the attainment of true faith a corresponding wholesome change of heart is a sine qua non. Without such a change, even Signs and miracles prove of no avail. Next, a contrast is instituted between Islamic Teaching, which answers and satisfies the demands of reason and justice and the doctrines and practices of idolaters, which are based neither on reason nor on argument. Towards the end of the Surah we are told that the Qur’an has been revealed to raise and honour even those nations to whom no revelation has so far been sent in order that they may not suffer from a feeling of inferiority before the People of the Book. The Message of the Qur’an, unlike that of former revealed Scriptures, is for the whole of mankind, and it seeks to establish real and permanent peace between different sections of humanity as well as between man and his Creator.