Al-An'am · Makki · ayah 70 of 165

Al-An'am 6:70

وَذَرِ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱتَّخَذُوا۟ دِينَهُمْ لَعِبًا وَلَهْوًا وَغَرَّتْهُمُ ٱلْحَيَوٰةُ ٱلدُّنْيَا ۚ وَذَكِّرْ بِهِۦٓ أَن تُبْسَلَ نَفْسٌۢ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ لَيْسَ لَهَا مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ وَلِىٌّ وَلَا شَفِيعٌ وَإِن تَعْدِلْ كُلَّ عَدْلٍ لَّا يُؤْخَذْ مِنْهَآ ۗ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ ٱلَّذِينَ أُبْسِلُوا۟ بِمَا كَسَبُوا۟ ۖ لَهُمْ شَرَابٌ مِّنْ حَمِيمٍ وَعَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌۢ بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَكْفُرُونَ

“And leave those who take their religion as amusement and diversion and whom the worldly life has deluded. But remind with it [i.e., the Qur’ān], lest a soul be given up to destruction for what it earned; it will have other than Allāh no protector and no intercessor. And if it should offer every compensation, it would not be taken from it [i.e., that soul]. Those are the ones who are given to destruction for what they have earned. For them will be a drink of scalding water and a painful punishment because they used to disbelieve.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Let go of those who made religion a game, yet keep reminding: a soul can be held by its own earnings, with no ransom taken.

A reflection

Three doors, and only one that opens

A builder has spent thirty years knowing a man who knows a man. A cousin at the council, a friend in the planning office, a solicitor who owes him a favour. Every problem in his life has had a phone number. He has never met a door that someone could not open for him.

This ayah describes a Day when every such door is shut. One classical commentator counts them. In this world, people escape trouble in three ways. A protector who steps in for them. An intercessor who speaks for them. A ransom that buys them out. The ayah closes all three: 'no protector, no intercessor besides Allah', and every ransom refused.

The word for ransom is ʿadl. Its root pictures two loads balanced on a camel's flanks, weighed so that neither side drags. A ransom is an equal weight set against what is owed. 'Even if it offers every equivalent, it will not be taken.' Nothing can be balanced against Him.

That is meant to shrink a certain kind of pride. It is the pride that believes everything is negotiable. The well-connected, the wealthy and the clever all carry it. The ayah tells them that their whole method of living ends at one border.

Yet look at the exact words: no protector 'besides Allah'. The doors that close are the doors other than His. His own door is the one the ayah leaves standing.

Does Allah need us to feel this helpless, to be praised? He needs nothing. The ayah does not display power for its own sake. It is a warning sent ahead, 'remind with it', so that no soul arrives unprepared. A King who wanted us ruined would not send word.

So the builder can keep his contacts. He should also learn the one number that works on every day.

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.