Tafsir of Al-An'am 6:133-134

Surah Al-An'am (The Cattle): Verses 133-134

Issue 1: The Meaning of "Your Lord is the Self-Sufficient, the Possessor of Mercy" (وَرَبُّكَ الْغَنِيُّ ذُو الرَّحْمَةِ)

When Allah (Exalted is He) established the reward for the obedient and the punishment for the sinful, mentioning that each group has a specific rank and station, He clarified that this differentiation (rewarding the obedient and punishing the sinful) is not because He needs the obedience of the obedient or is diminished by the sin of the sinners.

Allah is Self-Sufficient by His very essence from all creation. Despite His Self-Sufficiency, His Mercy is comprehensive and perfect. The only way to elevate human souls to the ranks of the fortunate righteous is by establishing a system of encouragement towards obedience and deterrence from prohibitions. Hence, He said: "And your Lord is the Self-Sufficient, the Possessor of Mercy."

It is part of His Mercy upon creation to arrange reward and punishment based on obedience and disobedience. Therefore, two matters require clarification here:

1. Clarifying His Self-Sufficiency (الْغَنِيُّ): Allah is Self-Sufficient in His Essence, Attributes, Actions, and Judgments from everything else. If He required anything, He would be perfected by that thing, and that which is perfected by another is inherently deficient, which is impossible for Allah. Furthermore, any assumed necessity or negation concerning Him must either be inherent in His Essence or dependent on an external cause. If it is inherent, it must perpetually exist with His Essence. If it depends on an external cause (its existence or non-existence), then His Essence is contingent upon that external cause. Since what is contingent upon another is contingent in itself, this would imply that the Necessary Being (Wajib al-Wujud) is contingent (Mumkin al-Wujud), which is impossible. Thus, it is established that Allah is absolutely Self-Sufficient.

The phrase "And your Lord is the Self-Sufficient" implies exclusivity (Hassr). It means: There is no Self-Sufficient being except Him. This is true because the Necessary Being by Essence is singular, and everything else is contingent by Essence and thus needy.

2. Clarifying His Being the Possessor of Mercy (ذُو الرَّحْمَةِ): The proof for this is the undeniable existence of goodness, happiness, pleasures, and comforts, whether physical or spiritual. Since everything other than Allah is contingent by Essence and only comes into existence through His creation and decree, it follows that every good thing that exists—comforts, honors, and happiness—originates from Allah through His creation.

Observation (Istiqra') shows that good generally outweighs evil: the healthy are more numerous than the sick; those who are satiated are more numerous than the hungry; and those with sight are more numerous than the blind. Therefore, we must acknowledge the occurrence of comfort and goodness, and that good predominates over evil and affliction. Since the origin of all these comforts and goods is Allah, it is proven that He is "The Possessor of Mercy."

The phrase "And your Lord is the Self-Sufficient, the Possessor of Mercy" also implies exclusivity: There is no mercy except from Him. This is because existence is either Necessary by Essence (Allah) or contingent by Essence (everything else). Since the Necessary Being is one, everything else originates from Him, and mercy falls under what originates from Him. Thus, there is no mercy except from the Truth (Allah).

Addressing the Objection Regarding Mercy from Others (e.g., Parents): If someone asks how we can deny the mercy of parents to children, or masters to slaves, and other types of mercy, the answer is: In reality, all of it stems from Allah.

• First Proof: If Allah had not instilled the impulse for mercy in the heart of the merciful person, they would not have acted mercifully. Since Allah is the Creator of that impulse, He is the true Merciful One. We see that a person intensely angry with someone might suddenly become kind and compassionate; this transformation is due to the change in those impulses, and Allah is the Transformer of hearts (as proven by logic to avoid infinite regress, and by scripture: وَنُقَلِّبُ أَفْئِدَتَهُمْ وَأَبْصَارَهُمْ).
• Second Proof: Even if a merciful person provides food, clothing, or wealth, these things are useless without physical well-being and the capacity to benefit from them. The One who granted the health and ability to benefit is the true Merciful One.
• Third Proof: Anyone who gives something to another usually seeks compensation—praise in this world, reward in the Hereafter, or the removal of emotional distress. Allah, however, gives without any purpose or need. Therefore, Allah is the truly Generous and Merciful One.

These definitive proofs establish the truth of "And your Lord is the Self-Sufficient, the Possessor of Mercy," meaning there is no Self-Sufficient Being and no Merciful Being except Him.

Since He is established as Self-Sufficient from all things, it is proven that He is neither perfected by the obedience of the obedient nor diminished by the sins of the sinners. Since He is the Possessor of Mercy, it is proven that He established punishment for sins and reward for obedience only out of Mercy, Grace, Generosity, and Benevolence (as stated elsewhere: إِنْ أَحْسَنتُمْ أَحْسَنتُمْ لِأَنفُسِكُمْ وَإِنْ أَسَأْتُمْ فَلَهَا). This general explanation suffices for this section.

Issue 2: The Mu'tazila Interpretation

The Mu'tazila argue that this verse points to the proof of His Justice (being free from doing the ugly/evil) and His Mercy/Benevolence towards His servants.

Proof for His Justice (Freedom from Evil): This is established by three premises:

1. There are ugly acts in created events (e.g., injustice, foolishness, lying, backbiting). (This premise is omitted in the verse due to its obviousness.)
2. Allah is Knower of all things, including the ugly acts. This is alluded to by the preceding verse: وَمَا رَبُّكَ بِغَافِلٍ عَمَّا يَعْمَلُونَ (And your Lord is not heedless of what they do).
3. Allah is Self-Sufficient, free from need. This is alluded to by "And your Lord is the Self-Sufficient" (وَرَبُّكَ الْغَنِيُّ).

If these three premises are established, it proves that Allah knows the ugliness of evil acts and knows He is self-sufficient regarding them. Therefore, it is impossible for Him to commit evil acts. A person commits an ugly act either out of ignorance of its ugliness or out of need. Since Allah knows everything, He cannot be ignorant of the ugliness of evil. Since He is Self-Sufficient, He cannot need to commit evil acts. This proves that Allah is transcendent and pure from committing evil acts. Consequently, it is established that He does not wrong anyone. Since He has obligated difficult deeds upon His servants, He must reward them. Since He ordained punishment for sins, He must be just in that ordination.

Addressing the Objection Regarding Obligation (Taklif): If this path proves the negation of injustice, what is the purpose of imposing obligations (Taklif)? The answer (as established in Kalam texts) is that imposing obligations is an act of benevolence and mercy. Thus, "And your Lord is the Self-Sufficient" points to the first principle (Justice/Purity), and "the Possessor of Mercy" points to the second principle (Benevolence in imposing obligations).

Scholarly Reflection: The author notes that all parties seek to glorify and exalt Allah. His father, Imam Dhiya' al-Din 'Umar ibn al-Husayn, related that Shaykh Abu al-Qasim Sulayman ibn Nasir al-Ansari said: The Ahl al-Sunnah focused their view on glorifying Allah in terms of Power and the execution of His Will, while the Mu'tazila focused on glorifying Allah in terms of Justice and being free from doing what is unbecoming. Upon reflection, one realizes that everyone describes Allah with glorification, majesty, purity, and transcendence, though some err and some are correct. The hope of all is attached to this phrase: "And your Lord is the Self-Sufficient, the Possessor of Mercy."

Meaning: Since Allah described Himself as the Possessor of Mercy, one might assume that His mercy has a specific recipient or locus. Allah clarifies that He is capable of placing mercy upon this creation, but He is also capable of creating other people and placing His mercy upon them. In this sense, His Self-Sufficiency regarding the worlds is more complete. The purpose is to indicate that singling out this current creation for mercy is not because He cannot manifest His mercy except through them.

"If He wills, He can remove you" (إِن يَشَأْ يُذْهِبْكُمْ): The closest meaning is annihilation (destruction). It could also mean causing death, or perhaps not allowing them to reach the stage of accountability (Taklif).

"And cause to succeed you whom He wills" (وَيَسْتَخْلِفْ مِن بَعْدِكُم مَّا يَشَاءُ): This means creating successors after annihilating the current generation, as succession (Istikhlaf) only occurs as a replacement for something that has passed.

"Whom He wills" (مَّا يَشَاءُ): This refers to creating a third or fourth creation. Some scholars said another creation similar to Jinn and Humans, but more obedient. Abu Muslim suggested a third creation fundamentally different from Jinn and Humans. Al-Qadi preferred the latter view, as people already know Allah is capable of creating similar beings. Stating He can create a third or fourth distinct creation is a stronger demonstration of His Power. Thus, Allah indicates that His power is not limited to one type of creation capable of receiving His great mercy (which is succession/vicegerency). He shows that He keeps the present people alive and grants them respite out of mercy for them; otherwise, He could cause them to die and replace them with others.

"Just as He brought you forth from the offspring of other people" (كَمَا أَنشَأَكُم مِّن ذُرِّيَّةِ قَوْمٍ ءَاخَرِينَ): A rational person reflects that Allah created man from a sperm drop containing no trace of his final form. This must have occurred through pure Power and Wisdom. If He was able to form these bodies into this specific shape, He is equally capable of forming them into a different shape.

Note on Recitation: All reciters read ذُرِّيَّةِ (Dhurriyyah) with a dammah on the dhal, except Zayd ibn Thabit, who read it with a kasrah. Al-Kisa'i said they are two dialects.

Meaning: Al-Hasan said: "What you are promised is coming," referring to the Hour (Resurrection), as they used to deny the Hereafter.

Another possibility is that the Promise (Wa'd) is specific to news of reward, while Threat (Wa'id) is specific to news of punishment. Thus, "What you are promised is coming" means everything related to the promise of reward will inevitably arrive. Singling out the Promise with such certainty suggests that the aspect of the Threat is not treated with the same absolute certainty. This is supported by the second part of the verse: "And you cannot frustrate [Us]" (وَمَا أَنتُم بِمُعْجِزِينَ), meaning you cannot escape Our Power or Decree.

The summary is: When the Promise (of reward) was mentioned, certainty was affirmed regarding its arrival. When the Threat (of punishment) was mentioned, nothing more was added than saying, "You cannot frustrate Us." This indicates that the aspect of Mercy and Benevolence is predominant.

Meaning: Say: "O my people, act according to your disposition/way; indeed, I am acting according to mine. Soon you will know whose is the ultimate outcome of the abode. Indeed, the wrongdoers do not succeed."