The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 2) — Page 428
CH. 6 AL-AN'ĀM PT. 7 وَكَذلِكَ فَتَنَّا بَعْضَهُمْ بِبَعْضٍ لِيَقُولُوا And in like manner have We. 54 tried some of them by others, b اَ هَؤُلَاءِ مَنَ اللهُ عَلَيْهِمْ مِنْ بَيْنِنَا that they may say, “Is it these أَلَيْسَ اللهُ بِأَعْلَمَ بِالشَّكِرِينَ whom Allah has favoured from among us?' Does not Allah know best those who are grateful?799 55. And when those وَإِذَا جَاءَكَ الَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِايْتِنَا فَقُلْ who believe in Our Signs come to سلمٌ عَلَيْكُمْ كَتَبَ رَبُّكُمْ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ !thee, say: Peace be unto you الرَّحْمَةَ أَنَّهُ مَنْ عَمِلَ مِنْكُمْ سُوءًا bYour Lord has taken it upon Himself to show mercy, so that a11:28. 6:13; 7:157. Holy Prophet, whose kindness to the poor is so well-known, but in order to shatter the hopes of the proud. The words, Thou art not at all accountable for them nor are they at all accountable for thee, are also meant to point to the same great truth. Though the Prophet could not turn the poor out on account of the humbleness of their position, yet it might be thought that he might turn them out on account of some weakness on their part in respect of actions, but, besides the fact that in this respect the poor and the rich stand on the same footing, the Law does not hold the Prophet responsible for their actions, hence he cannot turn them out on this score either, unless of course when some serious offence is committed by them. 799. Commentary: The words, We have tried some of them by others, refer to God's trying 868 the rich and the great by admitting the poor and the humble into the society of the followers of the Holy Prophet. The presence of the poor in the community of the believers served as a stumbling-block in the way of the rich and hindered the more haughty among them from entering into the fellowship of Islam. The rich and the great ask whether God had chosen those poor men for His favours, as if saying, "We are wealthy and rich, but God has preferred the poor to us and has bestowed His favour upon them rather than upon us. " God answers the question by saying, "I gave them little, but they have been thankful to Me even for that and have accepted My Messenger. I gave you much, but you have not been grateful and have rejected My Messenger. Do not the poor then deserve to be chosen for My favour in preference to you?" See also the preceding verse.