Essence of the Holy Qur’an — Page 17
17 Chapter 6 Al-An‘ a m (Revealed before Hijrah) Date of Revelation and Context This S u rah belongs to the Meccan period. According to most accounts, the whole of it was revealed in one portion; and as reported by some traditionists, as many as 70,000 angels stood guard when it was being revealed, which points to the special protection which was afforded to its subject-matter. The S u rah probably derives its title from vv. 137-139 where the An‘ a m have been condemned as one of the causes of idolatry. Subject-Matter In this S u rah there is a change in the treatment of the subject-matter from that adopted in the previous S u rahs. It contains a refutation of non- Israelite religions and starts with the refutation of the Zoroastrian Faith, which believes in the duality of Godhead—in two separate gods of good and evil. The Qur’ a n exposes this doctrine by declaring that both the powers of doing good and evil are, in reality, two links of the same chain, one remaining incomplete without the other; so they cannot be said to have been created by two different gods. Light and darkness are indeed Divine creation of the same God, and instead of pointing to the duality of the Godhead, they really constitute a strong argument in favour of Oneness of God and possess a peculiar affinity with the creation of man and his natural powers and faculties. The S u rah proceeds to discuss the important subject that evil is born of the wrong use of God-given faculties, and that whenever men cease to make right use of them God raises a Prophet to teach them their right use. After this it is stated that the delay in Divine punishment overtaking disbelievers often emboldens them all the more, though the delay is always due to God’s mercy. They persecute their Prophet and his followers, entertaining a false hope that in this way they would succeed in weakening the faith of the believers, but the faith of believers remains unflinching and steadfast under severest trials and tribulations, while disbelievers at once disown their own idolatrous beliefs whenever they are overtaken by misfortunes. Further, light is shed on the subject that irreligiousness is born of lack of faith in Life after death or in the failure of disbelievers to establish real connection with God. This dual lack of faith makes them bold in the rejection of truth. Opposition to the Prophets by the disbelievers appears to be not quite unnatural, since only those people seek God who possess some natural kinship with spiritual matters, for the spiritually deaf cannot hear the Voice of God. They see Sign after Sign and yet continue