Tafsir of Al-An'am 6:108

{And do not insult those}—the idols—{whom they call upon besides Allah, so that they insult Allah}.

This is because when the Almighty’s saying was revealed: {Indeed, you and what you worship other than Allah are the firewood of Hell} (Al-Anbiya: 98), they said: "You must cease insulting our gods, or we will surely satirize your God." It is also said that the Muslims used to insult their idols, so they were forbidden from doing so, lest their insults become a cause for insulting Allah Almighty.

If you ask: Insulting idols is a truth and an act of obedience, so how can the prohibition of it be valid, given that prohibitions are only valid for acts of disobedience?

I say: Sometimes an act of obedience is known to lead to corruption, in which case it ceases to be an act of obedience and must be prohibited because it becomes an act of disobedience—not because it is an act of obedience. Just as forbidding evil is one of the greatest acts of obedience, if it is known that it will lead to an increase in evil, it turns into an act of disobedience, and the prohibition of that act of forbidding becomes mandatory, just as the prohibition of evil is mandatory.

If you ask: It is narrated that Al-Hasan and Ibn Sirin attended a funeral, and Muhammad [Ibn Sirin] saw women there and turned back. Al-Hasan said: "If we were to abandon an act of obedience because of an act of disobedience, that would hasten the decline of our religion."

I say: This is not the same as the matter at hand. The presence of men at a funeral is an act of obedience, and it is not the cause of the women's presence, for they attend whether men are present or not. This is unlike the insulting of idols, which is the direct cause of the insult to Allah. It merely occurred to Muhammad that it was similar, until Al-Hasan pointed out the distinction.

{Out of enmity}—meaning out of injustice and aggression. It is also recited as ‘uduwwan (with a damma on the ‘ayn and a shadda on the waw), meaning the same. It is said: "This is so-and-so, ‘aduwwan and ‘uduwwan and ‘udwanan and ‘ada’an." Ibn Kathir recited it as ‘aduwwan (with a fatha on the ‘ayn), meaning "as enemies."

{Without knowledge}—in ignorance of Allah and what is due to Him in terms of reverence.

{And thus We have made fair-seeming to every nation}—just as We made that fair-seeming, We have made the evil of their deeds fair-seeming to every nation of the disbelievers. That is, We left them to their own devices and did not restrain them until their evil deeds appeared good to them. Or, We gave respite to Satan until he made it fair-seeming to them, or We made it fair-seeming in their own estimation. And their claim: "Allah commanded us to do this and made it fair-seeming to us."

{Then He will inform them}—He will rebuke them for it, reproach them, and punish them.

{And they swore by Allah their strongest oaths that if a sign came to them, they would surely believe in it. Say: "The signs are only with Allah." And what will make you realize that even if it came, they would not believe?}