Surah Al-An'aam: Verse 1 - الحمد لله الذي خلق السماوات... - English

Praise be Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth, and made the darkness and the light. Yet those who reject Faith hold (others) as equal, with their Guardian-Lord. (1)

Commentary

Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ has said that one of the distinctions of Surah Al-An'am is that the whole of it, except some 'Ayat, was revealed at one time in Makkah with the complement of seventy thousand angels following it with recitation of the name of Allah. Early Tafsir authorities Mujahid, al-Kalbi, Qatadah and others have said more or less the same thing.

Abu Ishaq Al-Asfra'ini has said that this Surah consists of all principles and subsidiaries of Tauhid (Oneness of Allah). This Surah has been prefaced with الْحَمْدُ لِلَّـهِ (Al-Hamdulillah) whereby people have been told that all praises belong to Allah. The purpose is to educate and help people get the right perspective - that Allah needs no praise from anyone, whether or not anyone praises Him, He is, in terms of His own intrinsic perfection, by Himself, the Praised One. By bringing in the sentence which follows immediately, which mentions the creation of the heavens and the earth and the darkness and the light, given there is the very proof of His being the Praised One. Isn't it that the Being which holds such Power and Wisdom would have to be the One deserving of all praise?

In this verse, ` samawat' (heavens) has been mentioned in the plural while 'ard (earth), in the singular - though, in another verse (65:12), earth has been identified as being seven like the heavens. Perhaps, it is indicative of the mutual distinction the seven heavens have in terms of their form and attributes while the seven earths are like each other, therefore, they were taken as one in number. (Mazhari)

Similarly, by mentioning ` zulumat' (darkness, or layers of darkness) in the plural, and 'nur' (light) in the singular, the indication given may be that nur or light signifies the correct way and the straight path - and that is just one, while zulumat, or many layers of darkness, signifies the path of error - and their number runs in thousands. (Mazharl al-Bahr al-Muhit)

Also noticeable here is that the origination of the heavens and the earth has been expressed through the word, 'khalaqa' (created) while that of darkness and light with the word, ja‘ala' (made). The hint implied is that darkness and light are not independent and self-existent like the heavens and the earth, instead, they are contingents and attributes. And zulumat (darkness) has been given precedence over nur (light) perhaps because zulumat is basic to this world while nur is associated with particulars - when they are there, there is light; and when they are not there, there is darkness.

By pointing out to the reality of Tauhid (Oneness of Allah) and its open proof in this verse the purpose is to warn all those peoples who do not simply believe in Tauhid, or have forsaken the reality of Tauhid despite professing it.

The Magians (Majus) believe in two creators, Yazdan and Ahriman (or Ahraman). Yazdan, according to them, is the creator of good and Ahriman, the creator of evil. They also identify these as (the principles of) light and darkness.

The polytheists in India take an incredibly high number of gods as partners in the divinity of God. The Arya Samajists, despite acknowledging Tauhid, take spirit and matter to be infinitely pre-existent, and independent of the power and creation of God, whereby they have moved way away from the reality of Tauhid. Similarly, the Christians who, despite professing the creed of Tauhid, started taking Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) and his blessed mother as partners in the divinity of God - and then, in order to prop their belief in one God, they to rely on the irrational theory of Unity in Trinity. As for the disbelievers and polytheists of Arabia, they demonstrated such philanthropy in dishing out Godhood that, according to them, every piece of rock on a hill could be good enough to become an object of worship for the whole human-kind! Thus, the wonderful human being whom Allah had made to be the noblest of His creation, someone whom the whole universe was to serve, went so astray from the right path that he took - not just the moon, the sun, the stars, but the fire, water, trees and rocks too - even crawling insects as objects of prostration and worship, providers of needs and resolvers of problems.

By saying in this verse of the Holy Qur'an that Allah Ta` ala is the Creator of the heavens and the earth and He is the Maker of darkness and light, all such false notions have been refuted - when He is the sole Creator and Maker of everything, ascribing partners to His Divinity makes no sense.

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Which was revealed in Makkah

The Virtue of Surat Al-An`am and When it Was Revealed

Al-`Awfi, `Ikrimah and `Ata' said that Ibn `Abbas said, "Surat Al-An`am was revealed in Makkah" At-Tabarani recorded that Ibn `Abbas said, "All of Surat Al-An`am was revealed in Makkah at night, accompanied by seventy thousand angels, raising their voices in glorification of Allah" As-Suddi said that Murrah said that `Abdullah said, "Surat Al-An`am was revealed in the company of seventy thousand angels."

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

All Praise is Due to Allah for His Glorious Ability and Great Power

Allah praises and glorifies His Most Honorable Self for creating the heavens and earth, as a dwelling for His servants, and for making the darkness and the light to benefit them in the night and the day. In this Ayah, Allah describes darkness in the plural, Zulumat where Zulmah is singular for darkness, while describing the light in the singular, An-Nur, because An-Nur is more honored. In other Ayat, Allah said,

(To the right and to the lefts.) 16:48 Near the end of this Surah (chapter 6), Allah also said;

(And verily, this is my straight path, so follow it, and follow no (other) ways, for they will separate you away from His way.) 6:153 Allah said next,

(Yet those who disbelieve hold others as equal with their Lord.) meaning, in spite of all this, some of Allah's servants disbelieve in Him and hold others as partners and rivals with Him. Some of Allah's servants claimed a wife and a son for Allah, hallowed be He far above what they attribute to Him. Allah's statement,

(He it is Who has created you from clay,) refers to the father of mankind, Adam, from whom mankind originated, multiplied in numbers and spread about, east and west. Allah said,

(Then has decreed a stated term. And there is with Him another determined term...) His saying;

(Then has decreed a stated term,) refers to death, while,

(And there is with Him another determined term...) refers to the Hereafter, according to Sa`id bin Jubayr who reported this from Ibn `Abbas. Similar statements were narrated from Mujahid, `Ikrimah, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Al-Hasan, Qatadah, Ad-Dahhak, Zayd bin Aslam, `Atiyyah, As-Suddi, Muqatil bin Hayyan and others. Ibn `Abbas and Mujahid said that,

(And then has decreed a stated term,) is the term of this earthly life, while,

(And there is with Him another determined term) refers to man's extent of life until he dies as mentioned in Allah's statement;

(It is He, Who takes your souls by night (when you are asleep), and has knowledge of all that you have done by day, then He raises (wakes) you up again that a term appointed (life) be fulfilled.) 6:60 The meaning of Allah's statement,

(With Him) is that none but Him knows when it will occur. Allah said in other Ayat,

(The knowledge thereof is with my Lord. None can reveal its time but He.) 7:187, and,

(They ask you about the Hour -- when will be its appointed time You have no knowledge to say anything about it. To your Lord belongs (the knowledge of) the term thereof.) 79:42-44 Allah said,

(Yet you doubt.) the coming of the (last) Hour, according to As-Suddi. Allah said next,

(And He is Allah in the heavens and the earth, He knows what you conceal and what you reveal, and He knows what you earn.) Meaning, it is He Who is called Allah, throughout the heavens and the earth, that is, it is He who is worshipped, singled out, whose divinity is believed in by the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth. They call Him Allah, and they supplicate to Him in fear and hope, except those who disbelieve among the Jinns and mankind. In another Ayah, Allah said;

(It is He Who is God in the heavens and the earth.)43:84 meaning, He is the God of those in heaven and those on earth, and He knows all affairs, public and secret.

(And He knows what you earn) all the good and bad deeds that you perform.

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