Tafsir of Al-An'am 6:106-107

Surah Al-An'am 6:107

ﲌ ﲍ ﲎ ﲏ ﲐ ﲑ ﲒ ﲓ ﲔ ﲕ ﲖ ﲗ ﲘ ﲙ ﲚ

But if Allah had willed, they would not have associated. And We have not appointed you over them as a guardian, nor are you a manager over them.

Tafsir

Mafatih al-Ghayb

Verse range: 6:106-107

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Surah Al-An'am: (106 - 107) Follow what has been revealed to you...

Verse 106:

{Follow what has been revealed to you from your Lord; there is no god but He—and turn away from the polytheists.}

Know that when the Almighty recounted the polytheists' claims—that the Prophet (PBUH) fabricated this Qur'an, or that he learned it from people and then claimed it was revealed to him—He immediately followed this by saying: {Follow what has been revealed to you from your Lord}.

This was done so that their accusations would not cause him to falter in conveying the message and the Prophethood. The purpose is to strengthen his heart and remove the distress caused by hearing such doubts.

By saying {there is no god but He}, He alerts him that since the Almighty is One in Divinity, obedience to Him is obligatory. It is not permissible to turn away from His commands due to the ignorance of the ignorant or the deviation of the deviators.

As for the statement {and turn away from the polytheists}:

  1. It has been said that this means abandoning retaliation (confrontation). Therefore, some scholars claim this verse is abrogated. This view is weak because an order to cease confrontation in the present moment does not imply an obligation to cease it perpetually. If that were the case, establishing abrogation would not be necessary.
  2. It is also said that the meaning is to abandon confronting them regarding their foolish statements, and instead, the Prophet (PBUH) should turn his prayers toward the path that is closer to acceptance and further from repulsion and harshness.

Verse 107:

{And had Allah willed, they would not have associated others with Him. And We have not made you a guardian over them, nor are you a trustee over them.}

(The explanation for this verse follows in the subsequent section of the Tafsir.)