Tafsir of Al-An'am 6:14

(Say) to the polytheists, after having reproached them with what preceded, (Shall I take other than Allah as a guardian?) This is an act of denial against taking other than Allah Almighty as a guardian, not against taking a guardian in an absolute sense. For this reason, the first object was brought forward, and the hamza was placed before the negation and the like, as in: "Is it other than Allah that you command me to worship?" The term "guardian" here refers to the "object of worship," because it is a rebuttal to those who called upon him, peace be upon him. It is said that the people of Mecca said to him: "O Muhammad, you have abandoned the religion of your people, and we know that nothing has driven you to this except poverty. Return [to us], and we will gather from our wealth for you until you become one of the wealthiest among us." Then this was revealed.

Al-Qadi raised an objection, stating that the polytheist does not restrict his worship to other than Allah Almighty; therefore, the rebuttal would only be valid if it were said: "Shall I take other than Allah as a guardian?" The response to this is that whoever associates with Allah Almighty another [deity] has not taken Allah Almighty as an object of worship, because His worship, Glory be to Him, cannot coexist with the worship of another, as the saying goes: "If your friend befriends your enemy, then he has taken you as an enemy." The speech ceases here.

It is also said that "guardian" means "helper," as this is one of its famous meanings. From the denial of taking other than Allah as a helper, it is known a fortiori that one does not take Him as an object of worship. It is possible that the speech, as some have said, is an act of expression contrary to the apparent meaning, intending pure sincerity of counsel so that it may be more conducive to acceptance, as in His saying: "And why should I not worship He who created me, and to Him you shall return?"

(The Originator of the heavens and the earth) that is, their Creator, as Ibn Abi Hatim recorded from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with both of them. Abu Ubaydah, Ibn Jarir, and Ibn al-Anbari recorded from him, may Allah be pleased with him, saying: "I did not know what the 'Originator' (Fatir) of the heavens and the earth meant until two Bedouins came to me disputing over a well. One of them said: 'I fatartuha (originated it),' meaning: I initiated it." This is an adjective describing the Majestic Name, emphasizing the denial. It is correct for it to occur as an adjective for a definite noun because it carries the meaning of the past tense, whether the speech is directly from Allah Almighty initially or is a narration from the Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, since the time of the ruling is what matters, not the time of speaking. The indication that the past tense is intended is that al-Zuhri read it as (Fatara). The separation between them by the sentence does not harm, because it is not extraneous, as it is a grammatical factor acting upon the agent of the described. It is also said that it is a substitute for the Majestic Name, which Abu Hayyan deemed more probable, stating that the separation is easier in that case. It has been read in the nominative and accusative cases as an expression of praise—that is, "He is the Originator" or "I praise the Originator." It is permitted that the accusative case is a substitute for "a guardian," not an adjective, because the definite noun—yes, it is permitted on the reading of al-Zuhri that the sentence be an adjective for it.

(And He feeds and is not fed) meaning: He provides sustenance and is not provided with sustenance, as Ibn Jarir and others recorded from al-Suddi. Thus, the "feeding" intended is sustenance in its linguistic sense, which is everything from which one benefits, as evidenced by its being placed in contrast in His saying: "I do not want from them any provision, nor do I want them to feed Me." The specific was used for the general metaphorically because it is the greatest and most frequent of [provisions] due to the intense need for it. It is also possible that mentioning it sufficed to imply the negation of everything else, in which case it is literal. The sentence is in the position of a state (hal).

From Abu Amr, al-A'mash, and Ikrimah, it is reported that they read it (wa-la yut'am) with the fatha on the ya and the ayn, meaning: "And He does not eat," and the pronoun refers to Allah Almighty. Similar to this is the reading of 'Abla with the fatha of the ya and the kasra of the ayn. Ya'qub read the opposite of the first reading—that is, making the first [verb] passive and the second active; in this case, the pronouns for both verbs refer to other than Allah Almighty, meaning: "Shall I take as a guardian one who is provided for and does not provide?" Even though the speech comes from idolaters, it looks toward the generality of "other than Allah" and gives preference to those with intellect, such as 'Isa, peace be upon him, because it contains a denial that idols are fit for divinity a fortiori. It is sometimes said that the speech is a metonymy for Him being a creature and not a creator, like His saying: "They do not create anything, and they are created." The verb is taken to mean "benefit," and nothing is rejected fundamentally.

Al-Ashhab read (wa-huwa yut'imu wa-la yut'amu) with both as active. This is explained either by af'ala meaning istafta'ala (to seek), as al-Azhari mentioned—that is, "He feeds and is not sought for food," meaning He does not request food or take it from others—or that the meaning is "He feeds at one time and does not feed at another," like His saying: "He withholds and He bestows." Both pronouns refer to Allah Almighty; the return of the second pronoun to other than Allah is an affectation that requires an assumption.

(Say) after explaining that taking other than Him as a guardian is something that the fundamental intellects judge to be false, (Indeed, I have been commanded) by the Presence of my Lord, the Majesty of His affair, that I be the first of those who submit their faces to Allah, the Exalted, sincere to Him. For the Prophet, peace be upon him, is commanded with what he legislated, except for those things which were his own specificities, and he is the leader of his nation and their role model. Every person who commands should be the first to act upon what he commands so that it is more conducive to compliance. From this is what Allah Almighty recounted about Musa, peace be upon him: "Glory be to You, I have turned in repentance to You, and I am the first of the believers." It is said that what was mentioned is for incitement, just as a king commands his subjects to do something then says, "And I am the first to do that," to urge them to comply; otherwise, no refusal of that ever occurred from him, peace be upon him, such that he needed to be commanded to do it. There is consideration in this.

(And do not ever be of the polytheists) meaning: in any matter of religion. In the speech, there is an assumed saying: "And it was said to me: Do not be..." They said that "and" in the narration is conjunctive, linking the assumed saying to "I have been commanded." The essence of the meaning is: I have been commanded to submit and forbidden from polytheism. It is also said that it is linked to the "saying" of "Say" in terms of meaning, since it is in the sense of "Say: It has been said to me: Be the first to submit, and do not be [of the polytheists]"; thus the waw is part of the narrated speech. It is also said that it is a conjunction to "Say," in the sense that he, peace be upon him, was commanded to say such and forbidden from such. This is countered by the argument that the fluidity of the composition refuses the separation of the declarative addresses from one another by an address that is not among them. It is permitted that it be linked to "I have been commanded," entering into the scope of "Say," and the address is to all the polytheists; the affectation, forced nature, and invalidity of linking it to "I be" in this, is obvious, as there is no room for a turn [in address] and no meaning for saying: "I have been commanded that you [plural] should not be..."