| Al-An'am (The Cattle): (165) And He it is Who has made you...

Know that there are several interpretations regarding His statement: {He has made you successors (khalā'if) in the earth}:

1. First: He made them successors because Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the Seal of the Prophets, so his Ummah succeeded all previous nations.
2. Second: He made them succeed one another (generation after generation).
3. Third: They are successors (vicegerents) of God upon His earth, possessing and disposing of it.

Then He said: {and has raised some of you above others in degrees (darajāt)} in honor, intellect, wealth, status, and provision. The manifestation of this difference is not due to inability, ignorance, or stinginess—as God is exalted above these attributes—but rather for the purpose of trial and testing (ibtila' and imtiḥān). This is what is meant by His statement: {that He may test you in what He has given you} (Al-Ma'idah: 48).

We have previously mentioned that the reality of trial and testing is impossible for God (as He is not ignorant of the outcome). Rather, what is meant is Taklīf (religious obligation/accountability). This obligation is an act such that if it were issued by one of us, it would resemble a trial or test; thus, it is named by this term due to that resemblance.

This accountable person is either deficient in what he was commanded to do, or he is complete/fulfilled in it.

• If he is the former (deficient), his portion is one of warning and intimidation, which is His statement: {Indeed, your Lord is swift in penalty} (Al-An'am: 165). The penalty is described as swift because what is coming is near.
• If he is the latter (fulfilled in those acts of obedience), his portion of honor and encouragement is His statement: {And indeed, He is Forgiving, Merciful}. This means He forgives sins and conceals faults in this world through the covering of His grace, generosity, and mercy, and in the Hereafter by showering him with various kinds of blessings.

This discourse has reached the utmost limit in explaining excuses, warnings, encouragement, and intimidation, such that no addition is possible.

This is the end of the commentary on Sūrat Al-An'ām. Praise be to God, the Sovereign, the All-Knowing.