Al-Anam (Sec 3/8)

Verses 6:53-54 continue directly from 6:52, whose occasion of revelation is recorded in Sahih Muslim from Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas: the nobles of Quraysh demanded that the Prophet send away poor believers such as Bilal and 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud. Verse 6:53 records the very words of those nobles, "Is it these whom Allah has favored among us?", and verse 6:54 instructs the Prophet to honour those same believers with the greeting of peace.

Al-Tabari reports from some of the Successors (such as 'Ikrimah and Mahan) that 6:54 concerns believers who came to the Prophet anxious about sins they had committed, and the verse reassured them of Allah's forgiveness for those who repent; these are reports from the Successors rather than connected chains from the Companions.

For 6:65, Sahih al-Bukhari records from Jabir ibn 'Abdullah that when the words "Say, He is the [one] Able to send upon you affliction from above you" were revealed, the Prophet said, "I seek refuge in Your Face," and when "or from beneath your feet" was revealed, he said, "I seek refuge in Your Face," and when "or to confuse you [so you become] sects and make you taste the violence of one another" was revealed, he said, "This is lighter" (or "easier").

This describes the Prophet's response at the time of revelation rather than a cause of revelation. For 6:71, al-Tabari reports through al-Suddi that the polytheists invited the Muslims to abandon Islam and return to their old religion, and the verse was revealed as the reply. No specific occasion is authentically recorded for the other verses of this passage.

The community of believers in Mecca at this time included many people who were poor, enslaved or socially weak, and the leaders of Quraysh used this as a reason to despise the new faith. They asked mockingly whether Allah would really choose such people over them. Verses 6:53-54 responded by giving these believers dignity: the Prophet himself was instructed to greet them with peace and to bring them news of Allah's mercy. At the same time, the Quraysh repeatedly demanded that the threatened punishment come immediately, as a challenge to prove the Prophet's truthfulness. Verses 6:57-58 explain that such a decision belongs only to Allah, who delays it out of wisdom.

Life in Mecca was also tied to the dangers of travel by land and sea, in trade caravans to Syria and Yemen and in sea journeys across the Red Sea. The image in 6:63-64 of people crying out to Allah in the darkness of land and sea and then returning to idolatry once rescued would have been very familiar to them. In addition, Muslims were frequently exposed to gatherings where the Qur'an was mocked, and some new Muslims were pressured by family and friends to return to the old religion. Verses 6:68-71 gave them practical guidance: do not sit in such mockery, remind others when it is useful, and hold firmly to the guidance you have been given.

This passage turns on the theme of Allah's complete knowledge and authority, and how that reality should shape the believer's relationships, speech and loyalty. It opens by explaining that Allah tests people through one another: the proud nobles mock the humble believers, asking, "Is it these whom Allah has favored among us?" The answer comes as a question: "Is not Allah most knowing of those who are grateful?" (6:53). The next verse is one of the gentlest in the surah.

The Prophet is told that when the believers come to him, he should greet them with "Peace be upon you" and inform them that their Lord has decreed mercy upon Himself, so that whoever does wrong out of ignorance and then repents and corrects himself will find Allah Forgiving and Merciful (6:54). Before the passage turns to the great themes of the unseen and of death, it first places mercy and honour in the hearts of the believers.

Verses 6:56-58 clarify the Prophet's position in the debate. He is forbidden to worship what they worship, he will not follow their desires, and he stands on clear evidence from his Lord (6:56-57). The punishment they demand in haste is not in his hands: "The decision is only for Allah" (6:57). This leads into the magnificent declaration of 6:59: "And with Him are the keys of the unseen; none knows them except Him."

Allah knows what is on land and sea, every falling leaf, every seed in the darkness of the earth, everything moist and dry. Verses 6:60-62 then describe His constant control over human life: He takes souls in sleep and returns them each morning, sends guardian angels, and when death comes, His messengers take the soul without failing, and all are returned to Allah, their true Master, who is swiftest in account. Knowledge, life, sleep and death are thus presented as one continuous chain held entirely in His hand, leaving no room for any partner.

The final movement, 6:63-73, appeals to the human heart and calls for a clear choice. People call on Allah alone in the darkness of land and sea, and promise gratitude, but after rescue they return to associating partners with Him (6:63-64). Allah is able to send punishment from above, from below, or to split them into factions that taste one another's violence (6:65). The believers are told to turn away from gatherings that mock Allah's verses (6:68), to leave those who take their religion as play, while still reminding them (6:70).

Verse 6:71 paints the image of a person bewildered in the wilderness, lured by devils while his companions call him to guidance, and the answer is firm: "Indeed, the guidance of Allah is the [only] guidance; and we have been commanded to submit to the Lord of the worlds." The passage closes with prayer and taqwa (6:72) and with Allah's creation of the heavens and earth in truth and His dominion on the Day the Trumpet is blown (6:73).

Verse 6:59 is a masterpiece of rhetorical progression. It moves from the most comprehensive statement, "the keys of the unseen", to the broad realms of "land and sea", then narrows down to the smallest and most hidden things: a single falling leaf, a seed in the darkness of the earth, anything moist or dry. This movement from the vast to the tiny is designed to make the listener feel the completeness of Allah's knowledge. The image of a seed in "the darknesses of the earth" (zulumat al-ard) is especially striking, because it describes something hidden in layers of darkness, and yet fully known.

The passage also uses a series of parallel images that link sleep and death. In 6:60, Allah "takes your souls by night" (yatawaffakum) using the same verb used in 6:61 for death (tawaffathu rusuluna). This choice of words makes sleep a daily reminder of death and waking a daily reminder of resurrection. The sequence of "then... then... then" (thumma) in 6:60-62 marks a chain of stages: sleep, waking, the completion of one's term, death, return to Allah, and finally being informed of one's deeds.

Another key device is the parable in 6:71. The person who has been lured by devils is described as hayran, confused and bewildered, wandering in the land while his companions call him with the words "Come to us." The scene is almost cinematic: a lost traveller torn between voices in a desert. It vividly portrays the inner state of one who leaves guidance after having found it. The section concludes with the triple affirmation in 6:73 that Allah created "in truth", that His word is "the truth", and that His is the dominion on the Day of the Trumpet, a fitting closing to a passage about knowledge and authority.

On 6:54, Ibn Kathir in Tafsir al-Qur'an al-'Azim explains that the Prophet is commanded to honour the believers by returning their greeting and giving them good news of Allah's vast mercy. On the phrase "out of ignorance" (bi-jahalah), al-Tabari in Jami' al-Bayan 'an Ta'wil Ay al-Qur'an reports that many early scholars, including Mujahid, held that anyone who disobeys Allah does so in a state of ignorance, whether or not he knows the ruling, because it is foolish to choose disobedience over obedience. This is why the door of repentance remains open to everyone who sins and then sincerely turns back.

On 6:59, Ibn Kathir and al-Qurtubi both cite the hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari from 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar that the Prophet said: "The keys of the unseen are five, none knows them except Allah," and then he recited 31:34: knowledge of the Hour, the sending down of rain, what is in the wombs, what a soul will earn tomorrow, and in which land it will die. Al-Qurtubi in al-Jami' li-Ahkam al-Qur'an draws from this verse that claiming knowledge of the unseen, through fortune-telling or similar practices, contradicts the Qur'an. On "a clear record" (kitab mubin), the exegetes generally explain it as the Preserved Tablet.

On 6:60, Ibn Kathir connects the verse with 39:42, "Allah takes the souls at the time of their death, and those that do not die [He takes] during their sleep", explaining that sleep is called a lesser death. On 6:61, the "guardians" (hafazah) are explained by al-Tabari and Ibn Kathir as the angels who record deeds and protect the human being, and "Our messengers" as the angel of death and his helpers.

On 6:65, Ibn Kathir cites the hadith of Jabir in Sahih al-Bukhari mentioned above, and also the hadith in Sahih Muslim from Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas in which the Prophet said he asked his Lord for three things and was granted two: that his community would not be destroyed by famine or drowning, but his request that they not fight one another was withheld. This shows the seriousness of division and internal violence among Muslims.

On 6:68, al-Qurtubi notes that the verse is the basis for the ruling that a believer should not sit in a gathering where Allah's verses are mocked, and he connects it with 4:140. He also discusses whether 6:69 was later restricted by 4:140, recording that some early scholars held this view while others saw no conflict between them. On 6:73, al-Tabari and Ibn Kathir discuss the meaning of al-sur. Ibn Kathir cites the hadith recorded by Abu Dawud and al-Tirmidhi from 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr in which a Bedouin asked what the sur is, and the Prophet said, "A horn which will be blown into."

Ibn Kathir thereby confirms that the sur refers to the Trumpet of the Resurrection rather than, as a minority suggested, to the plural of "forms" (suwar).

Verse 6:60 teaches that sleep is a daily "taking" of the soul and waking is a daily return. The Prophet turned this into a practice. Sahih al-Bukhari records from Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman that when he went to bed he would say, "Bismika Allahumma amutu wa ahya" (In Your name, O Allah, I die and I live), and when he woke he would say, "Al-hamdu lillahil-ladhi ahyana ba'da ma amatana wa ilayhin-nushur" (Praise be to Allah who gave us life after He had caused us to die, and to Him is the resurrection).

Saying these two supplications every night and morning, with the meaning of 6:60 in mind, is a simple way to live with this verse. Another practice connected to this passage is the supplication before sleep taught to al-Bara' ibn 'Azib, recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, which begins "Allahumma aslamtu nafsi ilayk" (O Allah, I have submitted myself to You) and echoes the words of 6:71, "we have been commanded to submit to the Lord of the worlds".

Verse 6:54 commands the greeting of peace and links it with mercy. The Prophet said, as recorded in Sahih Muslim from Abu Hurayrah: "You will not enter Paradise until you believe, and you will not believe until you love one another. Shall I not tell you of something which, if you do it, you will love one another? Spread the greeting of peace among yourselves." Spreading salam, especially to those whom society overlooks, is a direct application of this verse.

Verse 6:54 also invites sincere repentance; the Prophet taught in a hadith recorded in Sahih Muslim from Abu Musa al-Ash'ari that Allah extends His hand at night to accept the repentance of the one who sinned by day, and by day to accept the repentance of the one who sinned by night.

Verse 6:59, "Not a leaf falls but that He knows it", has practical meaning in an age of anxiety and information overload. Many Muslims today suffer from constant worry about the future: their careers, their children, global crises and political events. The verse reminds the believer that the unseen is not chaotic; it is fully known and recorded by Allah. This does not remove the need to plan, but it removes the burden of trying to control everything. The verse also warns against modern forms of claiming the unseen, such as horoscopes, palm reading, "psychic" content online and superstitions about luck, which are popular even among some Muslims. Believers should treat them as incompatible with tawhid.

Verse 6:68 has a very direct application to social media. Muslims regularly encounter online threads, videos and comment sections where Islam, the Prophet or the Qur'an are mocked. The guidance of the verse is to turn away from such spaces rather than to keep scrolling, reacting and absorbing the content, unless one is able to offer a calm and useful reminder (6:69). Practically, this could mean muting or leaving groups where mockery of religion is normal, not sharing offensive content even to criticise it, and instead investing time in beneficial content.

Verse 6:65 also speaks to the painful reality of conflict and sectarian violence between Muslims in several parts of the world, reminding believers that division itself is a form of punishment to be avoided, not a badge of loyalty.

In daily life, this passage can shape both the beginning and end of each day. Before sleep, recite the supplications of sleep with awareness that your soul is being taken by Allah, and review your day honestly, since 6:60 says that He knows what you committed during the day. On waking, thank Allah for returning your soul and for a new chance to do good. At work or study, when worries about the unknown future become heavy, recall 6:59 and entrust what you cannot control to the One who holds the keys of the unseen.

The passage also gives clear guidance for social settings. When a conversation at a gathering or online turns to mocking religion, change the subject, leave politely, or gently offer a reminder if it will help. And in every interaction with fellow believers, especially the poor, the young or the newly converted, begin with salam and a warm reminder of Allah's mercy, as the Prophet was commanded to do in 6:54.