Al-An'am (The Cattle): (51) And warn therewith those who fear...

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Know that when the Almighty described the Messengers as bearers of good tidings and warners, He commanded the Messenger in this verse to warn: {And warn therewith those who fear that they will be gathered to their Lord}.

In this verse, there are several issues:

The meaning of "warning" (al-indhār) is to inform someone about a matter of fear.

Regarding the pronoun {therewith} (bihi):

• Ibn Abbas and Al-Zajjaj said it refers to the Qur'an.
• The evidence for this is the preceding verse: {I only follow what is revealed to me} (Al-An'am: 50).
• Al-Dahhak said {And warn therewith} means "warn by God."
• The first opinion (the Qur'an) is stronger because warning and instilling fear occur through speech and words, not through the essence of God Almighty Himself.

Regarding the phrase {those who fear that they will be gathered to their Lord}: There are several opinions:

1. They are the disbelievers previously mentioned. This is because the Prophet (PBUH) used to warn them about the punishment of the Hereafter. Some of them were affected by this warning, and a thought entered their hearts that what Muhammad was saying might indeed be true. Thus, this statement is fitting for them. It cannot be applied to the believers because believers know they will be gathered to their Lord; knowledge contradicts fear and assumption.
   • Counter-argument: It is not impossible for believers to be included. Although they are certain of the gathering, they are not certain of the punishment they fear. They allow for the possibility that they might die without being on faith and good deeds, or that they might not die in that state. For this reason, they fear the gathering, as they allow for the possibility of punishment and fear it.

2. They are the believers, as they are the ones who affirm the truth of the gathering, resurrection, and the Day of Judgment, and thus they fear the punishment of that Day.

3. It encompasses everyone, because every rational person fears the gathering, whether they are certain of its occurrence or doubtful about it, as its nullification is not necessarily self-evident. Therefore, this fear exists for everyone. Furthermore, the Prophet (PBUH) was sent to everyone and commanded to deliver the message to everyone. However, those who fear the gathering are specified here because the benefit they derive from this warning is more complete, as their fear drives them to prepare provisions for the Day of Return.

The Anthropomorphists (Mujassimah) rely on the Almighty's saying: {that they will be gathered to their Lord}. They argue that the preposition (to) (ilā) implies that God is confined to a specific place and direction (since "to" denotes the termination of a journey).

The Response: What is meant is to the place that their Lord has designated for their assembly and judgment.

{They will have no protector besides Him, nor any intercessor}.

Al-Zajjaj stated that the position of {no} (laysa) is accusative (mansub) as an adverbial state (Hāl), as if it means: "while being devoid of a protector or intercessor." The operative verb for this state is {fear} (yakhāfūn).

Here is a discussion point:

• If {those who fear that they will be gathered to their Lord} refers to the disbelievers, the statement is clear, as they have no intercessors with God. This is because the Jews and Christians claimed, {We are the sons of God and His beloved ones} (Al-Ma'idah: 18), which God refuted. He also mentioned elsewhere: {The wrongdoers will have no close friend, nor any intercessor whose plea will be accepted} (Ghafir: 18), and {So no intercession of intercessors will benefit them} (Al-Muddaththir: 48).
• If it refers to the Muslims, then the statement {They will have no protector besides Him, nor any intercessor} does not contradict our doctrine of affirming intercession for the believers. This is because the intercession of angels and Messengers for believers only occurs by the permission of God, according to His saying: {Who is it that can intercede with Him except by His permission?} (Al-Baqarah: 255). Since that intercession is by God's permission, it is, in reality, from God Almighty.

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{That they may become righteous (or fear)} (la'allahum yattaqūn).

Ibn Abbas said: It means, "Warn them so that they may fear in this world and refrain from disbelief and sins."

The Mu'tazila said: This indicates that the Almighty intended righteousness and obedience from the disbelievers. The discussion regarding this type of inference has been previously mentioned many times.

Verse 52

{And do not drive away those who call upon their Lord morning and evening, seeking His countenance. Nothing is required of you from their account, and nothing is required of you from their account, that you should drive them away, lest you be among the wrongdoers.}