Surah Al-An'am (The Cattle) • Ayah 42

The Idolators Call On Allah Alone During Torment and DistressAllah states that He does what He wills with His creatures and none can resist His decision or avert what He decrees for them. He is the One Who has no partners, Who accepts the supplication from whomever He wills. Allah said, قُلْ أَرَأَيْتُكُم إِنْ أَتَـكُمْ عَذَابُ اللَّهِ أَوْ أَتَتْكُمْ السَّاعَةُ أَغَيْرَ اللَّهِ تَدْعُونَ إِن كُنتُمْ صَـدِقِينَ (Say: "Tell me if Allah's torment comes upon you, or the Hour comes upon you, would you then call upon any one other than Allah (Reply) if you are truthful!") This means, you -- disbelievers -- will not call other than Allah in this case, because you know that none except He is able to remove the affliction. Allah said, إِن كُنتُمْ صَـدِقِينَ(if you are truthful) by taking gods besides Him. بَلْ إِيَّـهُ تَدْعُونَ فَيَكْشِفُ مَا تَدْعُونَ إِلَيْهِ إِنْ شَآءَ وَتَنسَوْنَ مَا تُشْرِكُونَ (Nay! To Him alone you call, and, if He willed, He would remove that (distress) for which you call upon Him, and you forget at that time whatever partners you joined with Him (in worship)!) for in times of necessity, you only call on Allah and forget your idols and false deities. In another Ayah, Allah said; وَإِذَا مَسَّكُمُ الْضُّرُّ فِى الْبَحْرِ ضَلَّ مَن تَدْعُونَ إِلاَ إِيَّاهُ(And when harm touches you upon the sea, those that you call upon besides Him vanish from you except Him (Allah)) 17:67. Allah said; وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلنَآ إِلَى أُمَمٍ مِّن قَبْلِكَ فَأَخَذْنَـهُمْ بِالْبَأْسَآءِ(Verily, We sent (Messengers) to many nations before you. And We seized them with extreme poverty...) That is, loss of wealth and diminished provisions, وَالضَّرَّآءِ(and loss of health) various illnesses, diseases and pain, لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَضَرَّعُونَ(so that they might believe with humility) and call Allah and supplicate to Him with humbleness and humility. Allah said; فَلَوْلا إِذْ جَآءَهُمْ بَأْسُنَا تَضَرَّعُواْ(When Our torment reached them, why then did they not believe with humility) Meaning: Why do they not believe and humble themselves before Us when We test them with disaster' وَلَـكِن قَسَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ(But their hearts became hardened,) for their hearts are not soft or humble, وَزَيَّنَ لَهُمُ الشَّيْطَـنُ مَا كَانُواّ يَعْمَلُونَ(and Shaytan made fair-seeming to them that which they used to do. ) That is, Shirk, defiance and rebellion. فَلَمَّا نَسُواْ مَا ذُكِّرُواْ بِهِ(So, when they forgot (the warning) with which they had been reminded,) by ignoring and turning away from it, فَتَحْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ أَبْوَابَ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ(We opened to them the gates of everything,) Meaning: `We opened the gates of provisions for them from wherever they wished, so that We deceive them.' We seek refuge with Allah from such an end. This is why Allah said, حَتَّى إِذَا فَرِحُواْ بِمَآ أُوتُواْf(until in the midst of their enjoyment in that which they were given,) such as wealth, children and provisions, أَخَذْنَـهُمْ بَغْتَةً فَإِذَا هُمْ مُّبْلِسُونَ(all of a sudden, We took them to punishment and lo! They were plunged into destruction with deep regrets and sorrows.) They have no hope for any type of good thing. Al-Hasan Al-Basri said, "Whomever Allah gives provision and he thinks that Allah is not testing him, has no wisdom. Whomever has little provision and thinks that Allah will not look at (provide for) him, has no wisdom." He then recited the Ayah, فَلَمَّا نَسُواْ مَا ذُكِّرُواْ بِهِ فَتَحْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ أَبْوَابَ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ حَتَّى إِذَا فَرِحُواْ بِمَآ أُوتُواْ أَخَذْنَـهُمْ بَغْتَةً فَإِذَا هُمْ مُّبْلِسُونَ (So, when they forgot (the warning) with which they had been reminded, We opened to them the gates of every (pleasant) thing, until in the midst of their enjoyment in that which they were given, all of a sudden, We took them to punishment, and lo! They were plunged into destruction with deep regrets and sorrows.) He added, "By the Lord of the Ka`bah! Allah deceived these people, when He gave them what they wished, and then they were punished." Ibn Abi Hatim recorded this statement.

سخت لوگ اور کثرت دولت ٭٭مطلب یہ ہے کہ اللہ تعالیٰ قادر مطلق ہے تمام مخلوق اس کے آگے پست و لاچار ہے جو چاہتا ہے حکم کرتا ہے، اس کا کوئی ارادہ بدلتا نہیں، اس کا کوئی حکم ٹلتا نہیں کوئی نہیں جو اس کی چاہت کے خلاف کر سکے یا اس کے حکم کو ٹال سکے یا اس کی قضاء کو پھیر سکے وہ سارے ملک کا تنہا مالک ہے اس کی کسی بات میں کوئی شریک یا دخیل نہیں جو اسے مانگے وہ اسے دیتا ہے، جس کی چاہے دعا قبول فرماتا ہے۔ پس فرماتا ہے ” خود تمہیں بھی ان تمام باتوں کا علم و اقرار ہے یہی وجہ ہے کہ آسمانی سزاؤں کے آ پڑنے پر تم اپنے تمام شریکوں کو بھول جاتے ہو اور صرف اللہ واحد کو پکارتے ہو، اگر تم سچے ہو کہ اللہ کے ساتھ اس کے کچھ اور شریک بھی ہیں تو ایسے کٹھن موقعوں پر ان میں سے کسی کو کیوں نہیں پکارتے؟ بلکہ صرف اللہ واحد کو پکارتے ہو اور اپنے تمام معبودان باطل کو بھول جاتے ہو “۔ چنانچہ اور آیت میں ہے کہ «وَإِذَا مَسَّكُمُ الضُّرُّ فِي الْبَحْرِ ضَلَّ مَن تَدْعُونَ إِلَّا إِيَّاهُ» [17-الإسراء:67] ‏ ” سمندر میں جب ضرر پہنچتا ہے تو اللہ کے سوا ہر ایک تمہاری یاد سے نکل جاتا ہے “۔ ” ہم نے اگلی امتوں کی طرف بھی رسول بھیجے پھر ان کے نہ ماننے پر ہم نے انہیں فقرو فاقہ میں تنگی ترشی میں بیماریوں اور دکھ درد میں مبتلا کر دیا کہ اب بھی وہ ہمارے سامنے گریہ و زاری کریں عاجزانہ طور پر ہمارے سامنے جھک جائیں، ہم سے ڈر جائیں اور ہمارے دامن سے چمٹ جائیں، پھر انہوں نے ہمارے عذابوں کے آ جانے کے بعد بھی ہمارے سامنے عاجزی کیوں نہ کی؟ مسکینی کیوں نہ جتائی؟ “صفحہ نمبر2588” بلکہ ان کے دل سخت ہو گئے، شرک، دشمنی، ضد، تعصب، سرکشی، نافرمانی وغیرہ کو شیطان نے انہیں بڑا حسن میں دکھایا اور یہ اس پر جمے رہے، جب یہ لوگ ہماری باتوں کو فراموش کر گئے ہماری کتاب کو پس پشت ڈال دیا ہمارے فرمان سے منہ موڑ لیا تو ہم نے بھی انہیں ڈھیل دے دی کہ یہ اپنی برائیوں میں اور آگے نکل جائیں، ہر طرح کی روزیاں اور زیادہ سے زیادہ مال انہیں دیتے رہے یہاں تک کہ مال اولاد و رزق وغیرہ کی وسعت پر وہ بھولنے لگے اور غفلت کے گہرے گڑھے میں اترگئے تو ہم نے انہیں ناگہاں پکڑ لیا، اس وقت وہ مایوس ہو گئے “۔ امام حسن بصری رحمتہ اللہ علیہ کا صوفیانہ مقولہ ہے کہ ”جس نے کشادگی کے وقت اللہ تعالیٰ کی ڈھیل نہ سمجھی وہ محض بےعقل ہے اور جس نے تنگی کے وقت رب کی رحمت کی امید چھوڑ دی وہ بھی محض بیوقوف ہے۔ پھر آپ اسی آیت کی تلاوت فرماتے ہیں، رب کعبہ کی قسم ایسے لوگ بھی ہیں جو اپنی چاہتوں کو پوری ہوتے ہوئے دیکھ کر اللہ کو بھول جاتے ہیں اور پھر رب کی گرفت میں آ جاتے ہیں۔‏“صفحہ نمبر2589حضرت قتادہ رحمہ اللہ کا فرمان ہے کہ ”جب کوئی قوم اللہ کے فرمان سے سر تابی کرتی ہے تو اول تو انہیں دنیا خوب مل جاتی ہے جب وہ نعمتوں میں پڑ کر بد مست ہو جاتے ہیں تو اچانک پکڑ لیے جاتے ہیں لوگو اللہ کی ڈھیل کو سمجھ جایا کرو نافرمانیوں پر نعمتیں ملیں تو غافل ہو کر نافرمانیوں میں بڑھ نہ جاؤ۔ اس لیے کہ یہ تو بدکار اور بے نصیب لوگوں کا کام ہے۔‏“ زہری رحمہ اللہ فرماتے ہیں ”ہر چیز کے دروازے کھول دینے سے مراد دنیا میں آسائش و آرام کا دینا ہے۔‏“ مسند احمد میں ہے رسول اللہ صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم فرماتے ہیں جب تم دیکھو کہ کسی گنہگار شخص کو اس کی گنہگاری کے باوجود اللہ کی نعمتیں دنیا میں مل رہی ہیں تو اسے استدراج سمجھنا یعنی وہ ایک مہلت ہے ۔ پھر حضور صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم نے اسی آیت کی تلاوت فرمائی ۔ [سلسلة احادیث صحیحه البانی:413:حسن] ‏ اور حدیث میں ہے کہ جب کسی قوم کی بربادی کا وقت آ جاتا ہے تو ان پر خیانت کا دروازہ کھل جاتا ہے یہاں تک کہ وہ ان دی گئی ہوئی چیزوں پر اترانے لگتے ہیں تو ہم انہیں ناگہاں پکڑ لیتے ہیں اور اس وقت وہ محض ناامید ہو جاتے ہیں۔ پھر فرمایا ظالموں کی باگ ڈور کاٹ دی جاتی ہے۔ تعریفوں کے لائق وہ معبود بر حق ہے جو سب کا پالنہار ہے ۔ [سلسلة احادیث ضعیفه البانی:2306:ضعیف و منقطع] ‏۔صفحہ نمبر2590

آیت 42 وَلَقَدْ اَرْسَلْنَآ اِلآی اُمَمٍ مِّنْ قَبْلِکَ فَاَخَذْنٰہُمْ بالْبَاْسَآءِ وَالضَّرَّآءِ لَعَلَّہُمْ یَتَضَرَّعُوْنَ یہاں رسولوں کے بارے میں ایک اہم قانون بیان ہو رہا ہے واضح رہے کہ یہاں انبیاء نہیں بلکہ رسول مراد ہیں۔ جب بھی کسی قوم کی طرف کوئی رسول بھیجا جاتا تھا تو اس قوم کو خواب غفلت سے جگانے کے لیے اللہ تعالیٰ کی طرف سے چھوٹے چھوٹے عذاب آتے تھے ‘ لیکن اگر وہ قوم اس کے باوجود بھی نہ سنبھلتی اور اپنے رسول پر ایمان نہ لاتی ‘ تو اللہ تعالیٰ کی طرف سے ان کی رسّی ڈھیلی کردی جاتی تھی ‘ تاکہ جو چند دن کی مہلت ہے اس میں وہ خوب دل کھول کر من مانیاں کرلیں۔ پھر اچانک اللہ کا بڑا عذاب ان کو آ پکڑتا تھا جس سے وہ قوم نیست و نابود کردی جاتی تھی۔ یہ مضمون اصل میں سورة الاعراف کا عمود ہے اور وہاں بڑی تفصیل سے بیان ہوا ہے۔

CommentaryThe verses cited above, if seen in the context of verses appearing immediately previous to them, will show the particular mode in which Shirk and Kufr have been refuted and Tauhid, affirmed. First, the disbelievers of Makkah have been asked: If you are hit by a calamity now, for example, the punishment of Allah descends on you right here in this world or comes death or the very Day of Doom breaks loose, then think and answer who it will be you would call for help to keep this calamity away from you or who it would be you will hope to deliver you from this terrible punishment? Do you think these self-sculpted idols in stone or any others from among the creation of Allah you have given His status would come out to help you in your hour of trial? And then, would you still address your cry of distress to them, or would you rather appeal to none but Allah, the One, the All-Powerful?There can be no better answer from any sensible human being which was given by Allah Ta` ala Himself on behalf of them - that, at a time of such mass calamity, even the greatest Mushrik will forget all about his idols and self-appointed objects of worship and would call none but Allah. If so, the outcome is obvious. These idols of yours, and the objects of worship whom you have given the status of Allah Ta` ala and whom alone you regard as your problem solvers and granters of wishes, in fact, did not come to help you in your distress, nor could you muster the courage to call them up to help you out. Now then, when would it be that your devotion to them as objects of worship and their role of problems solvers assigned to them by you will start working for you?What has been said here is a gist of immediately previous verses. Stated here as a matter of supposition is that punishment could befall them within the life of this world as an outcome of their disbelief and disobedience. And, again as a matter of supposition, if the punishment does not visit them in the present life, then, the coming of the Qiyamah is certain after all when account will be taken from all human beings of their deeds and put in effect shall be the law of reward and punishment against these.` Qiyamah' here could mean the commonly acknowledged Qiyamah or the Day of Doom. It is also possible that, by the particular use of the word, ` As-Sa` ah' (The Hour) -[ 41], the sense could be that of ` The Smaller Doom' (al-Qiyamatus-Sughra) which stands activated for every human being immediately after his or her death - as the saying is: مَن مَّاتَ فَقد قَامَت قِیَامَتُہ (For one who dies, his or her ` Qiyamah' (Doom) stands established right then) because a preliminary sampling of the ultimate reckoning of the Qiyamah will come before the deceased in his or her ` Qabr' (burial place) and in the state of Barzakh (the post-death - pre-Qiyamah state) and the sampling of the ultimate reward and punishment due ` there' would start showing up right from ` here.' (Not too difficult to visualize for those familiar with ` testers' and ` samples' provided on perfume counters in alcoves of major mega stores which are meant to tell the visitor: ` WYSIWYG!' That is, ` what you see is what you get.' - Tr.)But, despite warnings given in these verses to disobedient people against their attitude of complacency - lest there comes upon them some sudden Divine punishment as has come on past communities, or death, or ultimately the very reckoning after Qiyamah about which there is no doubt - such people have a mind of their own. They tend to take the whole world on the analogy of their limited experience in the already limited time of their life which makes them compulsive excuse seekers in such matters. Present before them the warnings and intimations given by blessed prophets and they will bypass them as ambiguous thinking, specially at times, and which reappear in all ages, when there are people around who, in spite of their open disobedience to Allah and His Prophet ﷺ ، keep prospering in wealth, property, influence, recognition and power, almost everything. So, on the one hand, here is what they witness with their own eyes, while, on the other hand, is the word of the blessed messenger of Allah who tells them that punishments do come upon the disobedient as it is the customary practice of the One they disobey. Now, as they look at the two sides of the argument simultaneously, then, their own excuse seeking disposition and, of course, the Satan hoodwinks them into believing that the word of the prophet is a deception or delusion.Now, for an answer, we can turn to the present verses where Al-mighty Allah has pointed out to the law which applies to what happened to past communities. It was said: وَلَقَدْ أَرْ‌سَلْنَا إِلَىٰ أُمَمٍ مِّن قَبْلِكَ فَأَخَذْنَاهُم بِالْبَأْسَاءِ وَالضَّرَّ‌اءِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَضَرَّ‌عُونَ ﴿42﴾. It means that Allah did send, before the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، His prophets to other communities which were tested in two ways. Firstly, they were tested with hardships and sufferings to see if these would become the cause of their turning to Allah. But, when they failed in this test and, rather than turn to Allah and abandon disobedience, became all the more engrossed in it, then, they were subjected to a different kind of test. The doors of worldly comforts were opened to them. They had everything they could wish for in the material world so that through these blessings they could recognize their Benefactor and remember Him. But they, rather than be grateful to Him, were so lost in the labyrinth of luxury that they forgot all about the messages and teachings of Allah and His Messenger. Thus, having traded their souls for the glitter of fleeting comforts, they failed in both tests, and their case before Allah became conclusively established against them. So, they were seized by the punishment of Allah suddenly which destroyed them to the last man. This punishment had come upon earlier communities too, down from the heavens and up from beneath the earth, and such mass punishments have come in other ways too which had reduced whole peoples and nations to ashes. The people of Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) were deluged in the great flood which did not spare even mountain peaks. The people of عَاد ` Ad were hit by an eight-day long wind storm which left not one survivor. The people of Thamud were destroyed through a terrifying sound. The entire habitation of the people of Sayyidna Lut (علیہ السلام) was overturned, the remnants of which still exist in the west of Jordan in the form of a low lying water level which is not conducive. to the survival of any sea life. Therefore, it is called The Dead Sea, and also the Sea of Lut.In short, these were some forms in which Divine punishment befell past communities as a result of their disobedience destroying whole nations and peoples in one stroke. However, it has also happened that such people died away naturally leaving no one behind to remember them.Also clarified in these verses is that Almighty Allah does not send down His punishment upon any people all of a sudden. Instead, punishments come at the level of admonitions the purpose of which is to make it possible for people to shed their heedlessness and take to the correct path. We also know from here that the hardship or distress which is sent to people on the earth as punishment for them, though outwardly looks like punishment but, in reality, it is not. Instead of that, it serves the purpose of a wake-up call designed to shake people out of their heedlessness. As such, it is nothing but mercy. Says another verse of the Qur'an وَلَنُذِيقَنَّهُم مِّنَ الْعَذَابِ الْأَدْنَىٰ دُونَ الْعَذَابِ الْأَكْبَرِ‌ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْ‌جِعُونَ ﴿21﴾, that is, We will make them taste a lesser punishment, leaving the greatest punishment aside, so that they may return - 32:21.Removed from these very verses is the doubt about this world which is no place for rewards (Darul-Jaza' ), but a place where one must do what one should (Darul-` Amal). What then is the sense of being punished in this world where good and bad seem to be weighed on the same scale and where, in fact, the evil ones fare better than the good? The answer is clear. The real reward and punishment will come on that one day of Qiyamah, which is known as the very Day of Judgement (Yowmud-DIn) or the Day of Retribution (Yowm al-Jaza' ).. But, some hardships are sent in this world as a sample of punishment (Adhab) and some comforts as a sample of reward (Thawab) which are a token of mercy from Allah. Some spiritual masters have even said that all comforts of the world are indicators of the comforts of Paradise so that one learns to long for them. As for all those hardships and sorrows that afflict man in this world, they too are indicators of the punishment of the Hereafter so that man prepares to stay safe against them. Unless there is a sample or model-in sight, no one can be pursuaded towards anything, nor can anyone be detracted from any impending danger or evil.So, the comforts and discomforts of this mortal life are not rewards and punishments as such. They are, rather, samples or tokens of re-wards and punishments. We may say that this whole world is a show room of Akhirah (the Hereafter) where the trader displays the demonstration pieces of his merchandise in front of his store or shop so that they could attract the buyer. Thus, we can see that worldly prosperity or poverty, happiness or sorrow are not reward and punishment in the real sense. Actually, they are a method of bringing the creation of Allah alienated from its Creator back to His fold.At the end of verse 42 itself, this element of wisdom finds expression through the words: لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَضَرَّ‌عُونَ (so that they may supplicate in humility). It means that the hardship inflicted on them during their life in the present world was really not aimed at punishing them. Since everyone turns to Allah naturally when in distress, the purpose was to make people turn to Allah through a little hardship. This tells us that the hardship or pain which visits a person or group as punishment is, in a sense, the working of Divine mercy.