Verse. 911

٦ - ٱلْأَنْعَام

6 - Al-An'am

اَوَمَنْ كَانَ مَيْتًا فَاَحْيَيْنٰہُ وَجَعَلْنَا لَہٗ نُوْرًا يَّمْشِيْ بِہٖ فِي النَّاسِ كَمَنْ مَّثَلُہٗ فِي الظُّلُمٰتِ لَيْسَ بِخَارِجٍ مِّنْہَا۝۰ۭ كَذٰلِكَ زُيِّنَ لِلْكٰفِرِيْنَ مَا كَانُوْا يَعْمَلُوْنَ۝۱۲۲
Awa man kana maytan faahyaynahu wajaAAalna lahu nooran yamshee bihi fee alnnasi kaman mathaluhu fee alththulumati laysa bikharijin minha kathalika zuyyina lilkafireena ma kanoo yaAAmaloona

English

Ahmed Ali

Can he who was lifeless, to whom We gave life, and gave him a light in whose glow he walks among men, be like him who is used to darkness from which he can never emerge? Thus have been their doings made attractive to unbelievers.

122

Tafseer

'Abdullāh Ibn 'Abbās / Muḥammad al-Fīrūzabādī

تفسير : (is he who was dead) i.e. the disbeliever; this verse was revealed about 'ammar ibn yasir, abu jahl ibn hisham (and we have raised him unto life) and we honoured him with faith, referring to 'ammar ibn yasir, (and set for him a light) knowledge (wherein he walketh) wherein he is guided (among men) it is also said that (and set for him a light) means: we set for him a light on the bridge over hell in the midst of people, (as him whose similitude is in utter darkness) the error of disbelief in this world and the darkness of gehenna on the day of judgement, the reference here is to abu jahl (whence he cannot emerge) he cannot free himself from disbelief and error in this world nor from the darkness in the hereafter? (thus is their conduct made fair-seeming for the disbelievers) thus we made his works seem fair to abu jahl.

Jalāl al-Dīn al-Maḥallī

تفسير : the following was revealed regarding abū jahl and others: why, is he who was dead, through unbelief, and we gave him life, through guidance, and appointed for him a light by which to walk among people, distinguishing thereby the truth from falsehood — this [light] being faith — as him whose likeness (ka-man mathaluhu: mathal, ‘likeness’, is extra; in other words, [read] ka-man huwa, ‘as him who’) is in darkness whence he cannot emerge? — and this is the disbeliever — no! so, in the same way that faith has been adorned for believers, what the disbelievers have been doing, in the way of disbelief and acts of disobedience, has been adorned for them.

Ali ibn Ahmad al-Wahidi

تفسير : (is he who was dead and we have raised him unto life…) [6:122]. said ibn ‘abbas: “this refers to hamzah ibn ‘abd al-muttalib and abu jahl. this is because abu jahl had thrown the refuse of an animal on the messenger of allah, allah bless him and give him peace, when hamzah was not a believer yet. hamzah was informed about the deed of abu jahl upon his return from hunting and he still had his bow in his hand. hamzah went straight to abu jahl and hit him with his bow while abu jahl begged him, saying: ‘o abu ya‘la, do you not see what he has brought; he has ridiculed our understanding, reviled our idols and opposed our forefathers’. hamzah responded: ‘and who is more foolish than you? you worship stones instead of allah. i bear witness that there is no god but allah, without associates, and that muhammad is his slave and messenger’. and then allah, exalted is he, revealed this verse”. abu bakr al-harithi informed us> abu muhammad ibn hayyan> ‘abd allah ibn muhammad ibn ya‘qub and al-walid ibn aban> abu hatim> abu taqqi> baqiyyah ibn al-walid> mubashshir ibn ‘ubayd> zayd ibn aslam said: “allah’s words (is he who was dead and we have raised him unto life, and set for him a light wherein he walketh among men) refer to ‘umar ibn al-khattab while his words (as him whose similitude is in utter darkness whence he cannot emerge) refers to abu jahl ibn hisham”.