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.