Tafsir of Al-An'am 6:151

"Come" (ta‘āla): This is a term that was specific and became general. Its origin is for one who is in a high place to say it to one who is below him, then it became frequent and expanded in usage until it became general.

"What your Lord has forbidden" (mā ḥarrama): It is in the accusative case (manṣūb) as the object of the verb "recite" (atlu). That is: "I will recite to you what your Lord has forbidden." Or, it is in the sense of "ask": "Ask what your Lord has forbidden," because recitation is a form of speech.

"That" (an) in "that you do not associate" (allā tushrikū): It is explanatory (mufassirah), and "no" (lā) is for prohibition.

If you ask: Why did you not say it is the particle that makes the verb accusative (an al-maṣdariyyah), and consider "that you do not associate" as a substitute (badal) for "what He has forbidden"?

I say: It is necessary that "do not associate," "do not approach," "do not kill," and "do not follow the paths" be prohibitions, because the commands are conjoined to them. These are: "and to parents, do good" (meaning: and do good to parents), "and fulfill," "and when you speak, be just," and "and fulfill the covenant of Allah."

If you ask: What do you do with His saying, "And that this is My path, straight, so follow it" (v. 153), for those who read it with a fatḥah (anna), when it only makes sense to conjoin it to "that you do not associate" if you make an the particle that makes the verb accusative, so that the meaning is: "I will recite to you the negation of association and the affirmation of oneness, and I will recite to you that this is My path, straight"?

I say: I make His saying, "And that this is My path, straight," a reason for the command to follow, with the implied preposition lam (for). It is like His saying, "And that the mosques are for Allah, so do not call upon anyone with Allah" (al-Jinn: 18), meaning: "And because this is My path, straight, so follow it." The proof for this is the reading with a kasrah (inna), as if it were said: "Follow My path because it is straight," or "Follow My path; it is straight."

If you ask: If you make "that" (an) explanatory of the act of recitation, and it is linked to "what your Lord has forbidden," then everything that follows must be forbidden—like association and what follows it, which are preceded by the letter of prohibition. What do you do with the commands?

I say: Since these commands came alongside the prohibitions, and the verb of prohibition preceded them all, and they all entered under its ruling, it is known that the prohibition refers to their opposites: mistreating parents, cheating in weights and measures, failing to be just in speech, and breaking the covenant of Allah.

"Out of poverty" (min imlāq): Due to poverty and the fear of it, like His saying, "for fear of poverty" (al-Isrā’: 31).

"What is apparent of it and what is hidden": Like His saying, "the apparent of sin and the hidden" (al-An‘ām: 120).

"Except by right": Such as legal retribution (qiṣāṣ), killing for apostasy, and stoning.

"Except in the way that is best": Except for the manner that is best regarding what is done with the orphan’s wealth, which is preserving it and making it grow. The meaning is: Preserve it for him until he reaches his maturity, then hand it over to him.

"With justice": With equality and fairness.

"We do not charge any soul except [with that within] its capacity": Except what it can bear and is not incapable of. The command to fulfill the measure and weight was followed by this because observing the exact limit of justice—without increase or decrease—is something in which hardship occurs, so He commanded the limit of capacity, and what is beyond that is pardoned.

"Even if it concerns a near relative": Even if the one spoken to or spoken about in testimony or otherwise is a relative of the speaker, one should not add to the speech or subtract from it. It is like His saying, "even if it be against yourselves or parents and relatives" (an-Nisā’: 135).