Surat Al An`am (21-30)

{وَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّنِ افْتَرَى عَلَى اللّهِ كَذِباً أَوْ كَذَّبَ بِآيَاتِهِ إِنَّهُ لاَ يُفْلِحُ الظَّالِمُونَ} [الأنعام: 21]

21- There is nothing more mischievous than those who claimed against Allah and claimed falsely to be a messenger of Allah and those who claim that Allah has a partner, or denied the miracles which Allah sent down to His Messenger, which indicate the truthfulness of his message and said it was part of sorcery or denied the Qur'an and said it was human speech. The oppressors from the inventors and the liars will not be successful and their laying and falsehood will show up to the whole world and the gates of Hell will be opened on the Day of Recompense.

{وَيَوْمَ نَحْشُرُهُمْ جَمِيعاً ثُمَّ نَقُولُ لِلَّذِينَ أَشْرَكُواْ أَيْنَ شُرَكَآؤُكُمُ الَّذِينَ كُنتُمْ تَزْعُمُونَ} [الأنعام: 22] 

22- We shall gather the disbelievers and their deities jointly on the Day of Recompense and shall ask them publicly: Where that idols you used to worship and claimed to be gods along with Allah?

{ثُمَّ لَمْ تَكُن فِتْنَتُهُمْ إِلاَّ أَن قَالُواْ وَاللّهِ رَبِّنَا مَا كُنَّا مُشْرِكِينَ} [الأنعام: 23]

23- When they saw the bad consequences of their actions, they have to answer the tests, they offered their excuse and denied their polytheism by saying: By Allah, we did not associate any partner with You! They said that after they had seen that none, but the people of monotheism will enter Paradise. Thereby, they denied what they used to do in the world.

Verily, the Day of Recompense is long and it includes many cases, and this is one of them.

{انظُرْ كَيْفَ كَذَبُواْ عَلَى أَنفُسِهِمْ وَضَلَّ عَنْهُم مَّا كَانُواْ يَفْتَرُونَ} [الأنعام: 24]

24- See how did they lie to themselves by their false excuse and freeing themselves of polytheism when the idols they used to worship were removed and did not suffice them anything before Allah, neither in the world nor in the Hereafter. They used to seek their intercession, but on that day all these allegations have fallen. Moreover, they were a curse and a torment against them.

{وَمِنْهُم مَّن يَسْتَمِعُ إِلَيْكَ وَجَعَلْنَا عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ أَكِنَّةً أَن يَفْقَهُوهُ وَفِي آذَانِهِمْ وَقْراً وَإِن يَرَوْاْ كُلَّ آيَةٍ لاَّ يُؤْمِنُواْ بِهَا حَتَّى إِذَا جَآؤُوكَ يُجَادِلُونَكَ يَقُولُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ إِنْ هَذَا إِلاَّ أَسَاطِيرُ الأَوَّلِينَ} [الأنعام: 25]

25- There are some polytheists who come and listen to your recitation, but without a conscious mind nor a heedful heart because we made a cover over their hearts in order not to understand the Qur'an and we made deafness in their ears because of their ignorance of the status of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and their turning away from the message and its greatness. If they witness miracles and signs that indicate the truthfulness of the Prophet (peace be upon him), they do not believe in them because of their stubbornness and imitation to their fathers ignorantly even if they come to you to dispute with you about the truth, your rivals would say: The Qur'an which you came with is narrations, stories, and vanities which no one can depend on. They are taken from the books of the formers.

{وَهُمْ يَنْهَوْنَ عَنْهُ وَيَنْأَوْنَ عَنْهُ وَإِن يُهْلِكُونَ إِلاَّ أَنفُسَهُمْ وَمَا يَشْعُرُونَ} [الأنعام: 26]

26- Those infidels forbid the people to listen to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and his followers and keep away from him in confirmation to their forbiddance and to show up their disinclination to him. They will not harm anyone by this action, but themselves because they committed sins and prevented them of faith and the curse and bad consequences were returned on them.

Ibn `Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) narrated that the Ayah was revealed in regard of Abu Talib who used to prevent the polytheists to harm Muhammad (peace be upon him).

{وَلَوْ تَرَىَ إِذْ وُقِفُواْ عَلَى النَّارِ فَقَالُواْ يَا لَيْتَنَا نُرَدُّ وَلاَ نُكَذِّبَ بِآيَاتِ رَبِّنَا وَنَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ} [الأنعام: 27]

27- And if you look at them while watching the Hell Fire and the kinds of torment and horrors, they say after they had known their sins and final destination: We wish we go back to worldly life in order not to say deny the Qur'an nor to say it is tales of the ancients, but to believe in and do righteously as our Lord wants.

{بَلْ بَدَا لَهُم مَّا كَانُواْ يُخْفُونَ مِن قَبْلُ وَلَوْ رُدُّواْ لَعَادُواْ لِمَا نُهُواْ عَنْهُ وَإِنَّهُمْ لَكَاذِبُونَ} [الأنعام: 28]

28- The matter is not as they claimed (returning to the worldly life to believe in the Ayahs and faith) but they said that for fear of torment. It became apparent to them what they used to conceal of denying the Day of Recompense and not to believe in Hell and Reckoning. or the meaning is: what they used to conceal of believing in the truthfulness of the Messenger, but they used to conceal it from their followers out of their ignorance, stubbornness, and to maintain leadership. And if they had returned to the worldly life, they would have repeat their disbelief, denial and stubbornness because they are liars in their sayings: "Then we would not deny the Ayat (proofs, evidence, verses, lessons, revelations, etc..) of our Lord, and we would be of the believers!" [Al Surat An`am: 27].

{وَقَالُواْ إِنْ هِيَ إِلاَّ حَيَاتُنَا الدُّنْيَا وَمَا نَحْنُ بِمَبْعُوثِينَ} [الأنعام: 29]

29- The denying disbelievers said: Verily, the life they hope to live is the one which they lived and there is no resurrection after death.

{وَلَوْ تَرَى إِذْ وُقِفُواْ عَلَى رَبِّهِمْ قَالَ أَلَيْسَ هَذَا بِالْحَقِّ قَالُواْ بَلَى وَرَبِّنَا قَالَ فَذُوقُواْ العَذَابَ بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَكْفُرُونَ} [الأنعام: 30]

30- If you look at them and were brought before Allah for reckoning, He will say to them: Are not resurrection and torment right ; they are not falsehood as you claimed? Then they will say in disgrace, defeat, distress and fear:  By Allah, it is true. This is one of many situations which will take place on the Day of Recompense. Their Lord said to them: Today, you shall taste the torment that you used to deny.