Al-An'am (The Cattle): Verse 93

It is known that after Allah (Exalted is He) explained that the Qur'an is a book revealed from Him, and clarified its attributes of majesty, honor, and loftiness, He immediately followed this by mentioning a severe warning for those who falsely claim prophethood and messengership through fabrication. He said: {And who is more unjust than one who invents a lie about Allah}?

In this verse, there are several issues:

Issue 1: The Gravity of Lying Against Allah

Allah has greatly magnified the warning for those who commit any of three specific acts:

First: Inventing a lie against Allah. The exegetes mentioned that this verse was revealed concerning Musaylimah the Liar of Yamamah and Al-Aswad al-'Ansi of Sana'a, as both falsely claimed prophethood and messengership from Allah. Musaylimah used to say, "Muhammad is the Messenger of Quraysh, and I am the Messenger of Banu Hanifa."

Al-Qadi stated that whoever lies against Allah is included in this, but the meaning is not restricted to those who falsely claim messengership, because the ruling is based on the generality of the wording, not the specificity of the occasion. Thus, everyone who attributes to Allah what He is innocent of—whether concerning His Essence, His Attributes, or His Actions—falls under this severe warning.

Al-Qadi further said: Lying against Allah regarding His Attributes includes the Corporealists (Mujassimah), and lying concerning His Justice includes the Determinists (Mujbirah), because these groups have committed the greatest injustice by fabricating lies against Allah.

My Commentary:

1. Regarding the Corporealists fabricating lies against Allah: This is true. However, stating that this is a lie concerning His Attributes is not entirely correct. Being a body (jism) or being localized in space (tahayyuz) is not an attribute, but rather a characteristic of the specific Essence itself. Therefore, whoever claims that the God of the universe is not a body means that all bodies and localized entities are created, and they all have a Creator who is not localized. The Corporealist denies this Essence, so the disagreement between the strict Monotheist (who affirms this Essence) and the Corporealist (who denies it) is not about an attribute, but about the Essence itself.

2. Regarding the Determinists fabricating lies against Allah concerning His Attributes: This is also not correct. The Determinists only assert that a contingent being (mumkin) must have a preponderating factor (murajjih). If they are lying in this proposition, how could they possibly know the existence of God? If they are truthful in this, they must admit that the occurrence of an action is contingent upon the realization of the inciting cause, which Allah creates. This is precisely what we call Jabr (compulsion). Therefore, what Al-Qadi described as a fabrication against Allah is false. Rather, the one who truly fabricates against Allah is the one who claims that a contingent being's preference for one outcome over another is not dependent on the realization of a preponderating factor. If one holds this view, it necessitates denying the Creator entirely, and even denying effects and causes altogether.

The Second Type: Among the things Allah described as fabrication is His statement: {Or says, 'It has been revealed to me,' when nothing has been revealed to him}. The difference between this statement and the first is that in the first case (claiming prophethood), the person did not deny the revelation coming down to Muhammad (PBUH). In this second case, however, the person affirms revelation for himself while denying it for Muhammad (PBUH). This combines two major types of falsehood: affirming what does not exist and denying what does exist.

The Third Type: His statement: {I will reveal the like of what Allah has revealed}. The exegetes interpreted this as the statement of Al-Nuḍr ibn al-Ḥārith, who said: {If We willed, We could say the like of this} (Al-Anfāl: 31), and claimed that the Qur'an was merely "tales of the ancients," and that anyone could produce the like of it. In essence, this person claims to rival the Qur'an.

It is also narrated that 'Abdullāh ibn Sa'd ibn Abi Sarḥ used to write down revelation for the Messenger (PBUH). When the verse {And We have certainly created man from an extract of clay} (Al-Mu'minūn: 12) was revealed, the Prophet dictated it to him. When he reached the part about the drop of semen becoming a clinging clot, 'Abdullāh marveled and said, "Blessed is Allah, the best of creators!" The Prophet replied, "It was revealed just like this." 'Abdullāh fell silent and thought: If Muhammad is truthful, then revelation has come to me; if he is a liar, then I have rivaled him. This is what is meant by {I will reveal the like of what Allah has revealed}.

The State of the Unjust at Death

Regarding Allah's statement: {And if you could but see when the wrongdoers are in the throes of death}. The beginning of the verse, {And who is more unjust than one who invents a lie about Allah}, conveys a general, immense threat. The subsequent statement, {And if you could but see when the wrongdoers are in the throes of death}, serves as a detailed explanation of that general threat.

The "wrongdoers" (al-ẓālimūn) mentioned here are those previously described. "The throes of death" (ghamarāt al-mawt) is the plural of ghamrah, meaning the intensity/severity of death. Ghamrah of anything means its abundance and overwhelming nature, like the deep part of water (ghamrat al-mā’) or the thick of battle (ghamrat al-ḥarb). It is said that something ghamara-hu if it covers and overwhelms it. Al-Zajjāj said that anyone overwhelmed by a large quantity of something is said to be ghamara-hu. Debt, when it becomes excessive, is also described this way.

The response to the conditional particle law (if) is omitted, meaning: you would see a tremendous matter.

{And the angels stretching forth their hands}: Ibn 'Abbās said this means the angels of punishment stretching out their hands to strike and torment them, as one says, "He extended his hand to him with harm."

{Bring out your souls}: There is an omission here; the meaning is: They say, "Bring out your souls."

This raises two issues:

The question is: Since they have no power to extract their own souls from their bodies, what is the benefit of this statement?

There are several interpretations for this phrase:

First View: If the meaning refers to the Hereafter, when the wrongdoers enter Hellfire, the "throes of death" refer to the intense suffering and torment they experience there. The angels stretch out their hands to them with punishment, rebuking them and saying, "Bring out your souls from this intense torment, if you are able!"

Second View: The meaning refers to the moment of death in this world. The angels stretch out their hands to seize their souls and say, "Bring out your souls from these hardships and save them from these afflictions and pains."

Third View: {Bring out your souls} means: Bring them out to us from your bodies. This is an expression of harshness and severity in taking the soul, without respite or delay. The angels act like a relentless creditor who extends his hand to the debtor, presses him severely in demanding payment, and does not grant him reprieve, saying, "Give me what you owe me right now, and I will not leave you until I tear it from your very eyes."

Fourth View: This phrase is a metaphor for the severity of their condition, indicating they have reached such a level of affliction that they should, by themselves, extract their own souls.

Fifth View: The phrase {Bring out your souls} is not a command but a threat and a reprimand, like one saying, "Go now, and see what will befall you." The exegetes explained that the soul of the believer is eager to depart to meet its Lord, while the soul of the disbeliever detests it, finding its exit difficult because it is heading toward the severest punishment. This aligns with the Prophet's saying: "Whoever desires to meet Allah, Allah desires to meet him, and whoever hates to meet Allah, Allah hates to meet him," which occurs at the moment of soul extraction. Thus, these disbelievers are forced by the angels to have their souls extracted.

Those who maintain that the human soul is something distinct from this physical structure and body used this verse as evidence. They argue that {Bring out your souls} clearly means "Bring your souls out of your bodies," which proves the soul is distinct from the body. However, if we adopt the first two interpretations mentioned above, this line of reasoning is not fully established.

The Punishment of Humiliation

Then Allah states: {Today you will be recompensed with the punishment of humiliation ('adhāb al-hūn)}. Al-Zajjāj explained that 'adhāb al-hūn means the punishment that brings about intense degradation (hawān). Allah says elsewhere: {Does he keep it in humiliation or crush it into dust?} (An-Naḥl: 59). The meaning here is that Allah combines both pain (īlām) and degradation (ihānah) in this punishment. Just as reward requires benefit coupled with honor, punishment requires harm coupled with humiliation.

Some scholars said that al-hūn (in this context) means al-hawān (humiliation), while al-hūn (in other contexts, like Surah Al-Furqan: 63, "walk upon the earth humbly") means gentleness and ease.

{Because you used to say about Allah untruths and were arrogant toward His signs}. This indicates that this severe punishment resulted from the combination of two things: fabricating lies against Allah and being arrogant toward His signs. I observe that these two types of affliction and calamity are found deeply entrenched in most who claim to be knowledgeable. May Allah protect us from it and its consequences.

Al-Wāḥidī mentioned that being arrogant toward His signs means they did not prostrate to Him. The Prophet (PBUH) said: "Whoever prostrates to Allah with a sincere intention has absolved himself of arrogance."

Verse 94

{And certainly have you come to Us individually just as We created you the first time, and you have left behind what We provided you beyond your backs. And We do not see with you your intercessors whom you claimed were partners with Us. [The link] between you has been severed, and what you used to claim has gone astray from you.}