Al-An'am · Makki · ayah 108 of 165

Al-An'am 6:108

وَلَا تَسُبُّوا۟ ٱلَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ فَيَسُبُّوا۟ ٱللَّهَ عَدْوًۢا بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ ۗ كَذَٰلِكَ زَيَّنَّا لِكُلِّ أُمَّةٍ عَمَلَهُمْ ثُمَّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِم مَّرْجِعُهُمْ فَيُنَبِّئُهُم بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَعْمَلُونَ

“And do not insult those they invoke other than Allāh, lest they insult Allāh in enmity without knowledge. Thus We have made pleasing to every community their deeds. Then to their Lord is their return, and He will inform them about what they used to do.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Do not insult what others worship, not because it deserves respect, but because the insult will come home with your Lord's name in it.

A reflection

Not 'all religions are equal'

In a sixth-form religious studies lesson, a student reads this ayah aloud as proof. 'Islam says we shouldn't insult other religions, so it must see them all as equally valid'. Heads nod. It sounds generous, and modern.

Many Muslims read the ayah the same way, as an early charter of interfaith politeness. The commentaries read it very differently, and more sharply. One of them says it plainly. Do not insult the idols, even though they are the most worthless of things and the most deserving of insult. Another raises the obvious puzzle. Insulting false gods is, in itself, true, and even an act of obedience. So how can it be forbidden?

The answer is in the ayah's own reason: 'lest they insult Allah'. One commentator puts it in a single line. The ayah's outward form forbids insulting the idols; its reality forbids insulting Allah, because the first causes the second. Another names the principle: a real benefit is given up when it leads to a greater harm. Here the harm is the worst there is: the name of Allah dragged through the mud by people who do not know Him.

So the ayah is not relativism. It does not say every belief is true. It says something more demanding. Your Lord's honour matters more than your satisfaction in being right out loud.

The student in the classroom is half right. Muslims are indeed told not to insult other faiths' objects of worship. But the reason is not that nothing is true. The reason is that one thing is supremely true, and its name must be protected from the echo of our own tongues.

The full entry has 6 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.