Surah al-An`am (The Cattle) 6 : 9

Overview (Verses 7 - 9)

Stubborn Rejection of Evident Facts
 
The sūrah goes on to describe the nature of obstinate rejection, delineating for us a very strange type of people whom we meet in every age and every community. These are people who deny what is so clear and undeniable. The Qur’ān depicts this type of people in its own inimitable style, using only a few words to bring it to life in front of our eyes: “Even if We had sent down to you a book written on paper, and they had touched it with their own hands, surely the unbelievers would still say: ‘This is nothing but plain sorcery’.” (Verse 7)
 
What causes them to turn away from God’s revelations is not the lack of strong and clear evidence of their truthfulness. They are only being unreasonably stubborn. Their denial is firmly held as though it was a matter of principle. Such an attitude allows no consideration of any evidence or proof. Had God chosen to send down the Qur’ān to His Messenger by means other than revelation, which they cannot see, and put it on paper which they can feel and see, and had they touched this paper with their own hands, they would still reject the evidence of their own hands and eyes. They would emphatically claim: “This is nothing but plain sorcery.” (Verse 7)
 
This is an image of a singularly contemptible nature, one which invites strong hostility. With such a nature there is no room for argument or scholarly discussion. Yet we meet such people in all communities and across all generations. Depicting their nature in this way serves more than one purpose: it delineates to the rejecters themselves their spiteful attitude in its true colours, just like one who lifts the mirror in front of a person with an ugly face so that he can see himself and put a stop to his overbearing behaviour. It also gives the believers an added incentive to adhere strongly to the truth, uninfluenced by the general atmosphere of denial and rejection they see around them. They are, thus, more resilient in the face of oppression and persecution.
 
It also tells us how compassionate and forbearing God is, as He gives those rejecters a chance to mend their ways and does not smite them immediately for their stubbornness. All these elements were part of the weaponry available to the Muslim community in their fight against the unbelievers.
 
The sūrah then gives us an example of the suggestions made by the unbelievers, and this reveals both their hardened stubbornness and their ignorance. They suggest that an angel could have accompanied the Prophet in conveying his message to give proof that he was truly God’s Messenger. The reply shows how ignorant they were of the angels’ nature and why God sent them to do the tasks He assigned to them. It is only because of His mercy that God does not act on their suggestion: “They say: ‘Why has not an angel been sent down to him?’ If We had sent down an angel, all would have been decided, and they would have been allowed no further respite. And even if We had appointed an angel as Our messenger, We would certainly have made him [appear as] a man, and thus We would have confused them just as they are now confusing themselves.” (Verses 8-9)
 
This was not a new suggestion made by the Quraysh unbelievers. Many communities before them had muted the same as we are told in the Qur’ān. The suggestion and the Qur’ānic reply to it at this point raise a number of issues, as we will presently see.
 
Firstly, the pagan Arabs did not deny God altogether, but they wanted proof that the Prophet Muĥammad (peace be upon him) was truly His Messenger and that the book he recited to them was truly revealed to him by God. They wanted a particular proof, namely, that an angel be sent to him to confirm his claim. This was just one of the numerous suggestions reported in the Qur’ān. A number of these are mentioned in Sūrah 17, The Night Journey: “They say: ‘We shall not believe in you till you cause a spring to gush forth for us from the earth, or [till] you have a garden of date trees and vines, and you cause running waters to flow through it, or till you cause the sky to fall upon us in pieces, as you have threatened, or till you bring God and the angels face to face before us, or till you have a house of gold, or you ascend to heaven. Indeed we shall not believe in your ascent to heaven until you bring a book for us to read.’ Say, All glory belongs to my Lord. Surely I am only a man and a Messenger.’ Nothing has ever prevented people from believing [in God] whenever guidance has come to them except for their saying: ‘Can it be that God has sent a human being as His Messenger?’ Say, ‘Had there been angels walking about on earth as their natural abode, We would have sent them an angel messenger from heaven.’“ (17: 90- 5)
 
Such suggestions betray both obstinacy and ignorance. They had known God’s Messenger for a long time and their long experience told them much about his honesty and truthfulness to the extent that they gave him the title Al-Amīn, which means `the trustworthy’. They continued to deposit their valuables with him for safekeeping, even when they were fiercely opposed to him. When he left for Madinah, he entrusted his cousin `Alī with the task of returning to the Quraysh the valuables they had kept with him. He even did this at the time when they were plotting to assassinate him in his own home.
 
They were as certain of his truthfulness as they were of his honesty. When, in compliance with God’s command, he stood on top of the hill of al-Şafā to call on them, as a community, to believe in his message, he started by asking them whether they would believe him if he were to tell them a piece of news of which they were totally unaware. They all replied in the affirmative, relying on their experience of him as a man who always told the truth. Had they truly wanted to know whether he was telling the truth when he said that he was God’s Messenger, his past would have been more than sufficient as proof.
 
Later in the sūrah, God tells His Messenger that those rejecters do not actually reject his message as false: “We know too well that what they say grieves you. Yet it is not you that they charge with falsehood; but it is God’s revelations that the wrongdoers deny.” (Verse 33) It is, then, just their persistent attitude of rejection, motivated only by a stubborn turning away from the truth. They never doubted the truthfulness of the Prophet Muĥammad (peace be upon him).
 
Moreover, they had in the Qur’ān itself a proof which was more telling than the material proofs they demanded. In itself, and in its inimitable style, the Qur’ān tells that it has been revealed by God whose existence they did not deny. Most assuredly, they realised this and knew it for certain. They possessed a fine literary and artistic sense which must have made it clear to them that, in its excellence, the Qur’ān greatly surpassed the farthest limits of human ability. A person who has the gift of artistic expression is better able to recognise and appreciate this than one who has not. Anyone with this gift will tell us clearly that the Qur’ān surpasses all that human literary excellence can produce. No one denies this except a person who deliberately tries to suppress what he knows.
 
Moreover, the contents of the Qur’ān, i.e. the concepts of faith and the method it utilises to drive these concepts home to people, as also its touches and influences, were all totally new to human minds. They were unknown in human artistic expression. The Arabs were not unaware of all these facts. They recognised them within themselves. Their statements and attitudes showed that they did not doubt that the Qur’ān was revealed by God.
 
All this makes it clear that, in point of fact, their suggestions were not made to seek a proof. They were simply born out of an unyielding stubbornness. Their position was truly as God describes in the preceding verse: “Even if We had sent down to you a book written on paper, and they had touched it with their own hands, surely the unbelievers would still say: ‘This is nothing but plain sorcery.’” (Verse 7)

A World of Creation Beyond Human Senses
 
The second issue was that the Arabs knew about the angels and requested that God should send down an angel to support His Messenger and confirm the truth of his message. They knew nothing, however, of the nature of this type of creation, i.e. the angels, which is known only to God. Hence, they formulated their own arbitrary conceptions of these creatures and the sort of relationship which existed between them and their Lord on the one hand, and with the earth and its inhabitants on the other. The Qur’ān refers to the Arabian misconceptions about the angels and the legends of pagan nations. It points out their errors so that anyone who is guided to accept the Islamic faith will revise their concepts about the universe and its creatures. As such, Islam provides a method to set man’s reason, feelings, heart and conscience on the right course and to rectify both situations and practices. One of the Arabs’ ill- conceived concepts, identified in the Qur’ān as having been formulated in their pre- Islamic days, was their belief that the angels were God’s daughters. Limitless is He in His glory and sublimely exalted above anything that people may ascribe to Him! As such, they believed angels were able to intercede with God and their intercession was never refused. It is thought that some of the more important idols were symbols of angels.
The Qur’ān also provides the true facts, correcting the Arab unbelievers’ erroneous concept about the angels’ nature. This is provided in these two verses in this sūrah as it is given elsewhere in the Qur’ān: “They say: ‘Why has not an angel been sent down to him?’ If We had sent down an angel, all would have been decided, and they would have been allowed no further respite.” (Verse 8)
 
This is part of the information provided in the Qur’ān on the nature of the angels created by God. The unbelievers proposed that an angel should be sent down, but it has been part of God’s law that He sends down angels to this planet only to destroy a particular community for having rejected their messenger. Had God responded to the Arab unbelievers’ suggestion and sent down an angel, then the whole issue would have been resolved and they would have been destroyed without allowing them any further time to consider their position. Was this the alternative they wished for? Would it not be better for them to realize how limitless God’s grace is when He does not respond to their suggestion, because it would have brought about their own destruction? They are, thus, made to see the facts with their own eyes, so that they may realise how ignorant they are about their own interests and about the process of sending down angels. It is their ignorance which has brought them to the edge of ruin and which causes them to reject proper guidance and divine mercy. Hence, they persistently demand evidence and proof.
 
The other part of the definition of the angels as God’s own servants is provided by the second verse: “And even if We had appointed an angel as Our messenger, We would certainly have made him [appear as] a man, and thus We would have confused them just as they are now confusing themselves.” (Verse 9)
 
What they demand is that God sends an angel to confirm the Prophet’s message. As creatures, angels are different from human beings. They have their own nature which is known only to God. Since we know nothing about them other than what we are told by God who has created them, we know that they cannot walk on earth in their own form of creation, because they do not live on this planet. However, they have the ability to take human form when they undertake a task relevant to human life, such as conveying God’s message or destroying those unbelievers whom God wishes to destroy, or giving support to believers or fighting against their enemies. The Qur’ān tells us of other duties they may be commanded to fulfil, and they do not disobey God in whatever He bids them to do. They simply do what they are bid.
 
Therefore, if God wanted to send an angel to confirm His Prophet’s message, that angel would have appeared to mankind in the form of a man, not in his own angelic form. This would have made the confusion persist, especially when Muĥammad (peace be upon him) would sometimes say to them, “I am Muĥammad whom you have known very well. God has sent me as a messenger to warn you and give you happy news”. How much greater would their confusion be if an angel came to them in the form of a man whom they did not know and said, “I am an angel sent by God to confirm the message preached by His Messenger”? To them, that angel would only appear as a man like them. They were confusing simple facts. If God were to send an angel, He would have given it human form and would have confused the very thing the unbelievers were themselves confusing. They would not have been able to see right guidance.
 
Thus, God points out their ignorance about the nature of His creation and His law. Additionally, their stubborn rejection, which has neither justification nor supporting evidence, is also exposed.
 
Angels: Their Life and Role
 
The third issue raised in these verses is that of the nature of Islamic philosophy, particularly with regard to the world we see all around us and the worlds which lay beyond our perception. Islam teaches its followers to formulate a particular understanding of these worlds and a proper approach to them. One of these is the world of angels in whom we believe. Believing in the angels is an essential component of Islamic faith which requires every Muslim to believe in God, His angels, books, messengers, the Last Day and destiny, believe in an imperceptible world represents a great departure in man’s life, helping him to break out of his limited and narrow physical existence and to perceive the existence of a world beyond.
 
Thus, man is not limited to the narrow world of physical perception. Indeed, to impose such a limitation is to force human perception backwards. This is advocated by some materialistic doctrines which claim to be progressive. Fuller treatment of this subject follows later on, when we comment on Verse 59 of this sūrah. Here, we limit our discussion to the angels who are part of the world which lies beyond our human senses.
 
The Qur’ān tells us about some of the qualities and attributes of the angels. These are sufficient for us to formulate a proper concept of them and of our relationship with them. They are a species of God’s creation who submit themselves totally to God and who obey Him all the time without hesitation. They are near to God although we do not know what sort of proximity is meant here. “They say: ‘The Most Gracious has taken to Himself a son!’ Limitless is He in His glory! No; they are but His honoured servants. They do not speak until He has spoken, and they act at His behest. He knows all that lies before them and all behind them. They do not intercede for any but those whom He has already graced with His goodly acceptance, since they themselves stand in reverent awe of Him.” (21: 26-8) “Those that are with Him are never too proud to worship Him and never grow weary of that. They extol His limitless glory by night and day, without ever flagging.” (21: 19-20)
 
They carry God’s Throne and surround it on the Day of Judgement. We do not know how this happens, because we only know what God has revealed to us of the world beyond: “Those who bear God’s Throne and those who stand around it extol their Lord’s limitless glory and praise and believe in Him.” (40: 7) “You will see the angels surrounding the Throne, extolling their Lord’s glory and praise. Judgement would have been passed in justice on all, and the word will be spoken: all praise is due to God, the Lord of all the worlds.” (39: 75)
 
They provide the keepers of the heavens and hell, receive the inhabitants of the first with greetings and prayer, while they receive those bound to hell with reproach and warnings of great suffering. “In throngs the unbelievers shall be urged on towards hell, till, when they reach it, its gates will be opened and its keepers will ask them: Have there not come to you messengers from among yourselves who proclaimed to you your Lord’s revelations and warned you of the coming of this your Day [of Judgement]?’ They will answer: ‘Yes, indeed!’ And thus the sentence of suffering would have already fallen due upon the unbelievers. They will be told, ‘Enter the gates of hell, therein to abide!’ How vile an abode for those who were given to false pride. But those who were God-fearing will be urged on in throngs to Paradise till, when they reach it, they will find its gate wide open; and its keepers will say to them, ‘Peace be to you! Well have you done: enter this Paradise, herein to abide’.” (39: 71-3) “We have appointed none but angels to guard the Fire.” (74: 31)
 
The angels deal with people on earth in various ways. They watch over them by God’s decree and they follow their deeds and keep a record of everything that human beings do or say. They also cause them to die when their time is over: “He alone holds sway over His servants. He sends forth guardians to watch over you until, when death approaches any one of you, Our messengers cause him to die. They leave no part of their duty unfulfilled.” (Verse 61) “Each has guardian angels before him and behind him, who watch him by God’s command.” (13: 11) “Each word he utters shall be noted down by a vigilant guardian.” (50: 18)
 
Angels also deliver God’s revelations to His messengers (peace be upon them all). God has also informed us that Gabriel (peace be upon him) is the one chosen among them to fulfil this task: “He sends down angels with this Divine inspiration, [bestowed] by His will on any of His servants He may wish: ‘Warn [mankind] that there is no deity but Me: so fear Me’.” (16: 2) `Say: Whoever is an enemy of Gabriel should know that he revealed it [the Qur’ān] to your heart by God’s leave...” (2: 97) God describes Gabriel as one who has been endowed with power. He confirms that His Messenger, Muĥammad, has seen Gabriel in his angelic form twice, while he has seen him in various shapes and forms when he gave him other revelations: “Consider the star when it sets, this fellow man of yours has not gone astray, nor is he deluded. He does not speak out of his own fancy. That [which he conveys to you] is but a revelation with which he is inspired. He is taught by one who is very mighty, [an angel] endowed with surpassing power, who manifested himself in his true shape and nature, appearing on the uppermost horizon, and then, drew near, and came close, until he was within two bows’ length or even closer, and revealed to His servant that which he revealed. The servant’s heart did not deny what he saw. Will you, then, contend with him as to what he saw? And indeed he saw him a second time, by the lote-tree of the farthest limit, near to the garden of promise.” (53: 1-15)
 
The angels also join the believers giving them support and help, steadying their feet in their great, unabating battle against evil and tyranny. They busy themselves with what happens to the believers. They glorify their Lord, pray to Him to forgive the sins of those who believe in Him. In their supplication for the believers, which is mentioned in the Qur’ān, they appear to be so caring, kind and loving. They also give the believers, at the time of their death, the happy news that they are going to heaven. When they arrive in the next world, they also give them their happy news and greet them in heaven.
 
On the other hand, they receive the unbelievers in hell with reproach and warning of their impending suffering. They may also fight against them in the battle that rages on between truth and falsehood. When they die, they pluck out their souls in a manner which afflicts and humiliates the unbelievers.
 
Angels have also had a relationship with human beings ever since the creation of Adam, the first man.