Tafsir of Al-An'am 6:165

(And it is He who has made you successors upon the earth): meaning that you succeed one another; whenever one generation passes, another comes until the Hour is established. This can only be the act of a knowledgeable, managing One. Al-Hasan held this view. Or, it means: He has made you trustees of Allah the Exalted on His earth, for you to act therein as you wish. In both interpretations, the address is general. It is also said that the address is specific to this Ummah, and this has been narrated from Al-Suddi, meaning: He has made you successors to the nations that preceded you.

(And raised some of you above others): in virtue and wealth, as narrated from Muqatil.

(In degrees): many and varied.

(To test you in what He has given you): that is, to treat you with the treatment of one who tests you, in order to see what you do of that which pleases Him and that which does not.

(Indeed, your Lord): The isolation of the address to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), while attributing the name "Lord" to him (upon him be peace and prayer), is to manifest additional kindness to him (may Allah bless him and grant him peace).

(Is swift in punishment): meaning His punishment (Exalted is He) in the Hereafter is swift in coming to those who did not observe the rights of what He gave them; for everything that is destined to come is near, or swift in completion when He wills it, due to His transcendence above the need for intermediaries or instruments. It is also permissible to interpret "punishment" as the punishment of this world, such as that which follows negligence—distance from primordial nature (fitra), hardness of the heart, the veiling of vision, the deafness of hearing, and the like.

(And indeed, He is Forgiving, Merciful): to those who observed the rights of what Allah the Exalted gave them as they ought to be observed. The placement of these two descriptors—which are on the pattern of intensification—as the predicate for this sentence, while confirming it with the particle lam, and making the predicate of the first sentence an adjective that continues for someone other than whom it belongs to—all contain an implicit notification that He (Exalted is He) is Forgiving and Merciful in His Essence. His forgiveness and mercy do not depend on anything, as is pointed to by His (Exalted is He) saying in the Hadith Qudsi: "My mercy has preceded My wrath." He is intensive in this, and is the agent of punishment only contingently, after a sin has been committed by the servant that makes him deserving of it. How beautiful is the opening of this surah with praise (al-hamd) and its conclusion with forgiveness and mercy! We ask Allah the Exalted to grant us the greatest share of them; indeed, He is the Master of favor, and to Him belongs praise in every beginning and ending.

(Those who associated partners with Allah the Exalted) and asserted an existence other than His existence, will say: (If Allah had willed, we would not have associated) with Him anything (nor would our fathers) before us, (nor would we have prohibited anything). They said this to deny the Messengers (upon them be peace). (Likewise did those before them deny) and said the same as they said, (until they tasted Our punishment) which befell them due to their denial, which is the veil.

Say, "Do you have any knowledge?"—so that you may present it to us with clarity—(You follow nothing but assumption), because you are veiled in the station of the self (nafs).

Say, "To Allah belongs the conclusive argument": If the matter were as you say, you would have no argument; rather, to Allah belongs the argument against you, for He (Exalted is He) does not will except what He knows in pre-eternity, and He does not know a thing except as it is in itself. If you were not in yourselves polytheists with evil preparedness, Allah the Exalted would not have willed that from you. (If He had willed, He would have guided you all). But He did not will it, as it was not in your eternal preparedness.

(Say, "Come, I will recite what your Lord has prohibited to you: Do not associate anything with Him"): For the assertion of an existing being other than Allah is a great injustice. (And to parents)—meaning the spirit and the heart—(do good) by observing their rights. (And do not kill)—meaning do not destroy—(your children)—your faculties—(by using them for other than what they were intended for)—(out of poverty), meaning because of your deficiency in the Most Holy Overflow (al-fayd al-aqdas). (We provide for you and for them) by overflowing upon you and them with that which you are nourished with of truths, in accordance with your turning toward Us.

And do not approach immorality—shameful deeds, both what is apparent of them, like the actions of the limbs, and what is hidden, like the actions of the heart. And do not kill the soul which Allah has forbidden, except by right—that is, except for a cause, by desiring its turning toward Him, or except for a killing that is attached to it, which is the killing of the soul when it inclines toward "the other."

And do not approach the orphan's property—that is, what has been prepared for the orphan of the heart who is cut off from the attachments of the world and the Hereafter—of the knowledge that is beyond the stage of the intellect, except in a way that is best, which is the general affirmation of that without denying it, until he reaches his maturity; then he becomes strong enough to accept the various manifestations, and at that point, it becomes permissible for you to approach what Allah the Exalted has prepared for him of that knowledge, due to the strength of your hearts and the sanctity of your spirits. Some people have made the "orphan" an allusion to the station of the Message (upon him be peace), and that is as you see.

And fulfill the measure—the measure of the Law—by observing the apparent rights; and the balance—the balance of Truth—by observing the inner rights; with justice—with fairness. And when you speak, be just, meaning: do not speak except the truth. And fulfill the covenant of Allah, which is monotheism. And that this is My path, straight—not leaning to the right or the left—so follow it so that you may reach Allah the Exalted. And do not follow the paths which those who are veiled have described, for they will separate you from His way, so you will go astray and not reach Him (Exalted is He).

(Do they await anything but that the angels should come to them) to take their souls, (or that your Lord should come) with the manifestation of form on the Day of Resurrection, as has been authentically narrated in that hadith, (or that some of the signs of your Lord should come), which is the uncovering of the leg. (The Day that some of the signs of your Lord come)—the aforementioned uncovering—(no soul will its faith benefit) at that time, because the [period of] moral obligation (taklif) has ended.

(Indeed, those who have divided their religion) into scattered whims, like those who were overcome by the attributes of the self, (and become sects)—different factions according to the dominance of those whims—(you are not with them in anything), since they are people of division and veiling through multiplicity; their aspirations do not gather, and their purposes do not unite. (Their affair is only to Allah) regarding the recompense for their division. (Then He will inform them) at the appearance of the states of their various and divided whims (of what they used to do) of evil deeds and following the whim.

(Whoever comes with a good deed, for him is ten like it, and whoever comes with an evil deed, he will not be recompensed except with its like). This is because the evil deed is from the station of the self, which is the rank of ones, while the good deed is the first of the stations of the heart, which is the rank of tens, and its lowest rank is ten. The good deed may be multiplied by more than that if it is from the station of the spirit or the station of the secret. This is the secret in the variance of the recompense of good deeds, which the texts point to.

Say, "Indeed, my Lord has guided me to a straight path"—the way of Essential Monotheism—"a correct religion"—fixed, which religious paths and sects do not abrogate—"the religion of Abraham, inclining away"—turning away from everything other than Him—"as a Hanif"—leaning away from every religion in which there is polytheism. "Say, 'Indeed, my prayer'"—my presence and witnessing with the spirit—"and my sacrifice"—my drawing near with the heart—"and my living"—by the Truth—"and my dying"—with the self—"are for Allah, Lord of the worlds. No partner has He"—in anything at all, for there is no existence other than Him. By that sincerity and the lack of seeing "the other," I was commanded, and I am the first of the Muslims—the ones surrendered to annihilation in Him (Exalted is He).

Say, "Is it other than Allah I should seek as a lord?"—demanding the impossible—(And He is the Lord of everything)—meaning that everything else, considering the details of His attributes (Exalted is He), is a subject. (And every soul earns not [blame/sin] except against itself), since the earning of the self is polytheism in the actions of the Truth (Exalted is He), and everyone who commits polytheism, his burden is upon him. (And no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another), due to the non-transgression of the angels to other than the owner of the sin.

(And it is He who has made you successors upon the earth) by making you a manifestation of His names, (and raised some of you above others in degrees) in that manifestation, because it is according to the preparedness, and that is varied. (To test you in what He has given you) and manifest His knowledge of who performs the observation of what He gave him and who does not. (Indeed, your Lord is swift in punishment) to him who did not observe, (and indeed, He is Forgiving, Merciful) to him who observes that. We ask Allah the Exalted to grant us success in [achieving] what pleases Him and to make the future of our state better than its past.