Al-An'am · Makki · ayah 156 of 165

Al-An'am 6:156

أَن تَقُولُوٓا۟ إِنَّمَآ أُنزِلَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبُ عَلَىٰ طَآئِفَتَيْنِ مِن قَبْلِنَا وَإِن كُنَّا عَن دِرَاسَتِهِمْ لَغَـٰفِلِينَ

“[We revealed it] lest you say, "The Scripture was only sent down to two groups before us, but we were of their study unaware,"”

Saheeh International

Essence

The Book came in their own tongue so no one could say, 'Scripture was for others, and we never knew what it said.'

A reflection

The excuse answered before it was made

A sixteen-year-old tells her mother she cannot revise for her chemistry exam. The only copy of the textbook is in a library across town, and it is always out. Her mother says nothing. Two days later the book is on her desk, with a bus pass tucked inside the cover for the library's study room.

The mother is not setting a trap. She is removing the last thing standing between her daughter and the work. But the effect is the same either way. The excuse is gone.

This ayah has exactly that shape. It gives a reason for the Book in the ayah before: an taqūlū, lest you say. The great early commentator explains it directly. The Quran was sent down so that the idol-worshippers of Makkah could not say: no Book came to us. We were never commanded or forbidden, so nothing can be held against us. Another commentary says the purpose was to cut off their excuse.

What is remarkable is that Allah names the excuse before anyone makes it. He hears it in advance and answers it with a gift.

That reveals something about how Allah deals with people. He does not wait for them to fail and then point to the small print. He anticipates what they will need, and what they will plead, and supplies it first. Another ayah gives the same reason for sending messengers. Lest they say: our Lord, if only You had sent us a messenger, we would have followed Your signs (28:47).

Most of us keep a quiet list of reasons we have not yet begun. Not enough time. Not enough knowledge. Nobody explained it properly. This ayah invites an honest look at that list. How many of those reasons has Allah already answered, and left on your desk?

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.