Dear brother, this is lesson No. 3 of interpreting Surat Al-An'am.

Those who want to believe do not need a miracle:

 We will start interpreting the seventh Ayah, in which Allah says:

﴾And even if We had sent down unto you (O Muhammad PBUH) a Message written on paper so that they could touch it with their hands, the disbelievers would have said: "This is nothing but obvious magic!﴿

[Al-An'am, 7]

 If only they had studied what is in this Quran, which was revealed to the heart of the Master of Messengers of Allah and which contains the straight method, and if only they had tracked down its instructions, reporting and details, they would have believed, but they disbelieved. Even if they had seen with their eyes this Book descending from the sky and reaching the earth, and they had touched it with their hands, they would have said:

﴾ "This is nothing but obvious magic!"﴿

[Al-An'am, 7]

 This means that whoever intends to believe will believe for the slightest reasons, and whoever does not want to believe, he will not believe even if he sees miracles one after the other. It is a matter of inner decision taken by man, and when man pursues the truth, he will see that. A Bedouin answered upon asking him how he could know His Lord, "The water indicates the brook. The tracks indicate the direction of the journey, while the dung indicates a camel. So, heavens possessing of such towers, and the earth with such paths, and the sea with such waves – would that not indicate (the existence of) the All-Wise the All-Aware

 Dear brother, the universe as it is now, with all its existing laws, and without breaking any of them, is a miracle unto itself, so are your eye, your five senses, your brain, your son whom you look at and your food which you eat. If this unlimited miraculousness of the universe is overlooked by man with all its existing unbreakable laws, he will not believe when its laws are broken (by miracles). Hence, he, who wants to believe, does not need a miracle, and a miracle does not benefit the one who does not want to believe.

The path to Allah requires having a faith oriented decision:

 Allah says:

﴾And even if We had sent down unto you (O Muhammad PBUH) a Message written on paper so that they could touch it with their hands, the disbelievers would have said: "This is nothing but obvious magic!﴿

[Al-An'am, 7]

 Therefore, you should seek the truth, and you should take an inner decision to pursue the truth, so that everything in this universe will lead you to Allah without any miracle and without breaking any of the universal laws, because the universe is a miracle unto itself. As for man, in his head there are 300 thousand hairs; each of them has its own vein, artery, nerve, muscle, sebaceous gland and pigment gland. This is the hair, and it is Allah's Creation. In the eye there are 100 million photoreceptors in every 1 square millimeter, in the stomach there are 35 million digestive fluids and in the brain there are 140 billion gray cells whose functions are still unknown. What else should I say? Man is created from a sperm and the woman's egg, and nine months later he becomes a whole human being.

﴾Surely, therein is a sign for you, if you believe.﴿

[Aal-'Imran, 49]

 This means, if you want to believe, you will find signs which lead you to the Path of Allah. In fact, there are many Ayat in which the same thing is mentioned.

﴾Surely, therein is a sign for you, if you believe.﴿

 When you want to believe, everything in this universe will lead you to Allah even the glass of milk you drink, and this will bring up the question: what is the connection between the cow and man? The milk produced by the cow is whole food for man, and what does this have to do with our bodies? Actually, there is a complete harmony between our bodies and dairy products. If this means something, it means that there is a Great God who has created man, and Who has created plants and animals for him to produce his food products from.

 What is the meaning of having the earth as the only planet in the solar system that is suitable for living? The speed of the wind in some of the solar planets reaches 2000 kilometers per hour, which will leave nothing on its surface. The wind on earth will perish towns when it reaches 600 kilometers per hour, and when it reaches 100 kilometers per hour it is enough to wreck houses and uproot trees. Some planets of the solar system, are surrounded with air which consists only of the toxic carbon dioxide, and the temperature in other planets reaches 450 degrees centigrade, while other planets are very cold and the temperature drops to 238 degrees centigrade below zero.

 If we make a quick review of all the planets in the solar system one by one, we will find that none of them is suitable for life, which leaves the earth the only planet, with all its dry lands, seas, air, temperature, night and day, where man can live. This means that there is a Great Creator for this universe.

 If we ponder over the fertilized egg in the mother's womb, we will see that it divides and grows, and had the Hand of Allah not been there, the fetus would have become a piece of flesh, a piece of nerve tissue or a piece of bone, but the fetus has bones, arteries, veins, a heart, a digestive system, an esophagus, a stomach, intestine, a liver, pancreases, a brain, nerves, limbs, toes and fingers, so whose Hand has created all these?

Because the prophet is a human being, he is the Master of mankind:

 Dear brother,

﴾And even if We had sent down unto you (O Muhammad PBUH) a Message written on paper so that they could touch it with their hands, the disbelievers would have said: "This is nothing but obvious magic!﴿

[Al-An'am, 7]

 Those disbelievers suggested another thing:

﴾And they say: "Why has not an angel been sent down to him?" Had We sent down an angel, the matter would have been judged at once, and no respite would be granted to them.﴿

[Al-An'am, 8]

 If the Prophet had been an angel and Allah ordered us to lower our gaze, what would man have said? He would have said to the prophet: "Well, you are an angel who does not have desires like us as human beings, so how come you ask us to lower our gaze?" This is why all Prophets are human beings.

 Had the Prophet PBUH not been a human being with all the human characteristics, he would not have been the Master of mankind, and he would not have overcome his tendencies. The disbelievers asked for an angel prophet, but the angels do not live human's circumstances, reality, pressures, conditions and obstacles. Thus, how come they are asking for an angel prophet? Moreover, if the Prophet had been an angel, how would the human beings have seen him? How would they have listened to him? The prophet must have the human's appearance, movement and body.

Prophets have two missions:

  Allah says:

﴾And had We appointed him an angel, We indeed would have made him a man, and We would have certainly caused them confusion in a matter which they have already covered with confusion (i.e. the Message of Prophet Muhammad).﴿

[Al-An'am, 9]

 The Prophet can never be from a different race, lest his second mission would have been disqualified, given the Prophet has two missions; one of them is to convey Allah's Message verbally, and the second mission is to set a practical example for his followers which is powerfully more effective than the first one.

 Any eloquent man, who is privileged with a good memory and sweet talk, can say outstanding words to people, but only the Prophets are selected by Allah to be orderly disciplined in their behavior; they never say a word but they apply it and there is no gap between what they say and what they do. Had this Prophet been an angel, and thus appeared to people as a human being and conveyed Allah's Message, he would have been able to fulfill this mission, but he would never have been able to be a practical example for his followers. Allah says:

﴾Indeed in the Messenger of Allah (Muhammad PBUH) you have a good example to follow for him who hopes in (the Meeting with) Allah and the Last Day and remembers Allah much.﴿

[Al-Ahzab, 21]

 The person (the Prophet) who is conveying to you Allah's Message should apply the truth. Unlike this person, a doctor can benefit you through his rare specialty even if his manners are not good, if he does not pray, and if he drinks wine, for in this case you are in dire need of his medical knowledge only regardless of his own behavior. The same goes for any other career, like the engineer, the lab person, the translator or any other man, for what you are concerned about is their career not their morals. However, you will not be able to get benefit from what a religious man is conveying to you unless you find him applying his words. Otherwise, his entire Da'wah (call to Allah) will fail.

 Some people say about religious callers, "Take their words and do not look at their deeds", but this is untrue statement, because you cannot respect them if they say something and do something else, and in this case you will not be all ears if their words contradict their actions. Hence, had Allah the Almighty made the Prophets and the Messengers angels and had He given them human appearance, human eloquence and human body, and then they had conveyed His Message to the people, they would not have been able to set a practical example for people, given the Prophethood is all about setting a practical example to the followers.

When the miracle occurs, the punishment of unbelieving is destruction:

  Dear brother, the Almighty Allah says that the Prophet and the Messenger of Allah should be a human being, from the human race and belongs to mankind. Thus he is a human being like any other human being, and he has all the characteristics of human beings, and unless the Prophet PBUH had been a human being, he would not have been the Master of mankind, because he was able to overcome his human tendencies and became thereby the Master of mankind. The delicate point here is that when man asks the Prophet for a miracle and Allah sends this miracle, yet the man does not believe, he will deserve destruction thereby.

﴾And they say: "Why has not an angel been sent down to him?" Had We sent down an angel, the matter would have been judged at once, and no respite would be granted to them.﴿

[Al-An'am, 8]

 According to this law, if any person asks Allah for something and promises to strengthen his faith, act upon Allah's Orders and repent, and if Allah fulfills his wish, yet he does not repent breaking his promise to Allah, he should wait for a big disaster to befall him. Any disbelieving nation who asked for a miracle and she built her faith on being given that miracle which was given to her later on, but she did not believe, she deserved the prompt destruction:

﴾ Had We sent down an angel, the matter would have been judged at once, and no respite would be granted to them. ﴿

[Al-An'am, 8]

 The eternal battle between the truth and falsehood is a Divine Law:

  Allah says:

﴾And indeed (many) Messengers were mocked before you, but their scoffers were surrounded by the very thing that they used to mock at.﴿

[Al-An'am, 10]

 The battle between good and evil is an everlasting one since Adam till the Day of Resurrection. Due to Allah's Wisdom, there are believers and disbelievers on earth, a group which call to Allah and a group which call to Satan, religious learned men and arrogant men, believers and infidels, Hereafter oriented men and worldly life oriented people and people who worship their lusts instead of Allah and people who worship the Great God Alone. Those paradoxes exist in every society, because the entire worldly system is based on the everlasting battle between the truth and falsehood which is one of the Divine Laws.

﴾And so We have appointed for every Prophet enemies - Shayatin (devils) among mankind and jinns, inspiring one another with adorned speech as a delusion (or by way of deception). If your Lord had so willed, they would not have done it, so leave them alone with their fabrications. (Tafseer Qurtubi, Vol.7, Page 67) *(And this is in order) that the hearts of those who disbelieve in the Hereafter may incline to such (deceit), and that they may remain pleased with it, and that they may commit what they are committing (all kinds of sins and evil deeds, etc.).﴿

[Al-An'am, 112-113]

Allah gives man the privilege of the freedom of choice:

  Allah says:

﴾And indeed (many) Messengers were mocked before you,﴿

[Al-An'am, 10]

 I would like to clarify this point: when I said that due to Allah's Wisdom there should be believers and disbelievers on earth, I do not mean that Allah has created believers and disbelievers to be like that by nature, and you should know that the Almighty Allah honored man by granting him the free will:

﴾Verily, We showed him the way, whether he be grateful or ungrateful. ﴿

[Al-Insan, 3]

 Allah also says:

﴾For every nation there is a direction to which they face (in their prayers). So hasten towards all that is good. ﴿

[Al-Baqarah, 148]

 Allah says in another Ayah:

﴾ Then whosoever wills, let him believe, and whosoever wills, let him disbelieve.﴿

[Al-Kahf, 29]

 Accordingly, some people choose not to believe in Allah. Those who believe will call people to Allah's Guidance, whereas those who do not believe will call people to deviate from the Right Path. Thus, it is normal to have this battle between the truth and falsehood as long as man has the free will and as long as lusts have been Divinely installed in him.

Disbelieving in the truth and mocking it are enough reasons to destroy man:

 Mocking the Messengers of Allah is an old behavior, and the reason of that mocking is that the Prophets are sent to people with a Divine Method in which there are prohibitions. The religion is Allah's religion and it restricts man from fulfilling his lusts freely, given every installed lust has a lawful way to fulfill it. Had the religion not been full of these prohibitions it would not have been a religion, but rather it would have been dissoluteness. When someone is described as bohemian (in total dissoluteness), this means that he does not follow any rules or laws, and for him nothing is unlawful (Haram). Accordingly, he fulfills his lusts unconditionally, whether in earning his money, in his affairs or in any other matter. Lusts are so many, and the Divine Method prohibits the believer from fulfilling his lusts through unlawful (Haram) ways since his lusts can be satisfied through lawful ways.

 Concerning the disbelievers, they used to used to fulfill their lusts freely, so when a prophet comes to them and say: "I am Allah's Messenger, and what you are doing is Haram (unlawful) so do not do it" what will those people do in this case? Those people, who are used to fulfill their lusts freely, will mock the Messenger who says to them: "I am Allah's Messenger, and you should know that Zina (fornication) is Haram, Riba (usury) is Haram and swine meat is Haram."

﴾ And those who disbelieve, say: "You (O Muhammad PBUH) are not a Messenger." ﴿

[Ar-Ra'd, 43]

 The disbelievers' normal reaction towards the call of the Prophets and Allah's Messengers is to doubt it, mock it, take the Messengers as enemies and even kill them. There are so many Prophets who were killed by the disbelievers. Allah says:

﴾And indeed (many) Messengers were mocked before you, but their scoffers were surrounded by the very thing that they used to mock at.﴿

[Al-An'am, 10]

 Their mocking was the very reason behind their destruction, and their mocking surrounded them brining their demise and destruction. When man doubts the truth and mocks it, this will be the reason behind his own demise.

He who fights the truth will inevitably lose:

  When the Almighty Allah says:

﴾ If you two (wives of the Prophet, namely 'Aishah and Hafsah) turn in repentance to Allah, (it will be better for you), your hearts are indeed so inclined (to oppose what the Prophet likes), but if you help one another against him (Muhammad PBUH), then verily, Allah is his Maula (Lord, or Master, or Protector, etc.), and Jibrael (Gabriel), and the righteous among the believers, and furthermore, the angels are his helpers. ﴿

[At-Tahrim, 4]

 Allah mentions two women in this Ayah:

﴾but if you help one another against him (Muhammad), ﴿

 They helped one another against the Prophet PBUH:

﴾then verily, Allah is his Maula (Lord, or Master, or Protector, etc.), and Jibrael (Gabriel), and the righteous among the believers, and furthermore, the angels are his helpers. ﴿

 What does this Ayah mean? This means that when you doubt the truth, you should know whom you are opposing. According to the laws of any country, you cannot commit a violation against any official figure, why? Because the entire government is behind him, because you know the outcome of such an act and because you know for sure that you cannot stand up against the government's power. Much in the same line, do those who mock Allah's Prophets, Allah's Messengers and Allah's religious rituals not know that the Almighty Allah will destroy them and bring them to their demise because of that mocking, especially when it is done in public? Allah says:

﴾ Say (O Muhammad PBUH): "Travel in the land and see what was the end of those who rejected truth."﴿

[Al-An'am, 11]

 It is said, "History repeats itself", and it is a lesson to learn from, thus what was the destiny of those who mocked the Prophets and Messengers? Those, who accused the Prophet PBUH of lying, like Abu Jahl and Abu Lahab, where are they now? Some people say, "They are in the dump of history". On the other hand, where are those who believed in him, who supported him and who followed him? They are in the highest ranks. You should know that whenever you fight the truth, you will definitely lose. Falsehood might win a round as it is the case these days, for the powerful countries in the world are fighting Muslims in every land on earth with the most lethal weapons they have, and they might win a round in insignificant battles, but at the end, who will be the winner? The pious people will be.

﴾ Say (O Muhammad PBUH): "Travel in the land and see what was the end of those who rejected truth."﴿

[Al-An'am, 11]

 "Thumma" (and see) indicates waiting for the consequence, which means that the Almighty Allah respites but never overlooks deserved punishment. You should know that all your deeds, moves and stills are recorded, and that a severe punishment and inevitable demise are awaiting. Read the books of history and see, how many nations fought Muslims? Islam despite all that remained lofty as a mountain, and those who fought it ended up in the dump of history. How many movements targeted and plotted against Islam, but where are they now?

Allah summarized all the facts for us in the Quran:

  Dear brother, history is one of the source of knowledge, for it gives clear proved facts, but when man pursues the truth, he should seek it from Allah's Book then supports it from the historical events. One more thing, whoever is blessed with deep analysis, has time, can analyze the events deeply, can have accurate social studies and can attentively follow the events around him, he will find that the Actions of Allah are wise, just and merciful. The Almighty Allah exists, and He treats each person according to his nature. Thus, He does not treat the trustworthy as He treats the betrayer, the Divine Treatment towards the honest person is different from the one towards the liar and Allah treats the one who perfects his job differently. However, we do not pay heed, so we do not notice this fact.

 In fact, dear brother, people in most cases are aware only of the last chapter of every story in life, and this is not enough to pass a judgment, but if someone knows the story from A to Z, he will prostrate to the Greatness and Just of Allah. Whoever violates others' rights, will be humiliated one day and whoever earns illegal money, will lose that money one day. Therefore, if you follow up on the events around you, you will notice the accurate Divine System, but doing so needs striving and bearing hardships. Allah the Almighty summarizes these facts in the Noble Quran and saves you the time and trouble. As for the following Ayah:

﴾ Say (O Muhammad PBUH): "Travel in the land and see ﴿

[Al-An'am, 11]

﴾ and see ﴿

 This means that witnessing the consequences needs time:

﴾ what was the end of those who rejected truth."﴿

[Al-An'am, 11]

 It is the reference to the destiny of those who disbelieved in the truth.

Possessions of man are limited:

  Then the Almighty Allah says:

﴾Say (O Muhammad): "To whom belongs all that is in the heavens and the earth?" Say: "To Allah. He has prescribed Mercy for Himself. Indeed He will gather you together on the Day of Resurrection, about which there is no doubt. Those who destroy themselves will not believe [in Allah as being the only Ilah (God), and Muhammad as being one of His Messengers, and in Resurrection, etc.].﴿

[Al-An'am, 12]

 To Whom does this universe belong? Who is its owner? Allah's ownership of the universe is one of the highest levels, for it embraces creating, arranging affairs and determining destinies. Man might own a house but does not live in it, because there is a lessee in it, man might makes benefit from a the house though he might not own it and man might own and live in his house, but he does not determine its destiny, for the government might take possession of this house for common interest. This example of owning a house is to clarify the concept of the Divine Ownership of the highest levels (it is Absolute). Therefore, man's ownership is limited, for as long as his heart beats he can make use of his liquid wealth and assets, but when his heart stops, all his money will go to his heirs and he will own nothing thereinafter. Hence, no matter how powerful and rich man is, his ownership is limited, and no matter how many graces man has, they might go away, or he might go away (die). Man might live in a luxury house, but he becomes bankrupt and will be obliged to sell it and live in a very humble house in order to pay his debts. Thus, this grace will be taken away from him, or he might die and this grace will also be given to his heirs. Therefore, man's ownership is limited. When a Bedouin was asked to whom does his herd of camels belong? His answer was very outstanding. He said: "They belong to Allah Who made them in my hands."

﴾Say (O Muhammad PBUH): "O Allah! Possessor of the kingdom,﴿

[Aal-'Imran, 26]

 The true ownership is Allah's alone. You have eyes, but do you own them? No you do not, for at any moment you might lose this great grace. You have hearing, and you have brain, but any time a clot as small as the tip of a pin might block one of the brain's arteries and causes the loss of man's memory and knowledge. Therefore, man owns nothing.

The Mercy of Allah upon His servants:

  Hence:

﴾Say (O Muhammad PBUH): "To whom belongs all that is in the heavens and the earth?" Say: "To Allah﴿

[Al-An'am, 12]

 Allah is the Possessor of the kingdom and the Best of the inheritors. A man died and left 1000 million Liras to his heirs, and one of them lost his balance, as his share alone was 90 million Liras. Upon knowing that, he closed his store and started doing the paper work to take his inheritance, spending 6 months in the ministries and government's institutions. Nevertheless, he died of a heart stroke in his bathroom even before he could take one penny of his money. Allah is the Best of the inheritors and you, as a man, own nothing.

﴾Say (O Muhammad PBUH): "To whom belongs all that is in the heavens and the earth?" Say: "To Allah. He has prescribed Mercy for Himself. Indeed He will gather you together on the Day of Resurrection,﴿

[Al-An'am, 12]

 This Ayah is very delicate. It is great Divine Mercy to give man enough time before dying, so that he will be able to repent if he sins. As long as his heart beats, as long as he is alive and as long as he still has time, he has a chance to repent, and the door of repentance will be open for him.

 The other Divine Mercy is that Allah promises us that there will be a day (the Day of Resurrection) when there is reckoning, and those, who oppressed others, will be punished and the oppressed people will gain their rights on the Day of Resurrection from their oppressors. The one, whose money was taken against his will, will be compensated on the Day of Resurrection, and the pious woman who has little luck with men will have special Divine Treatment on the Day of Resurrection. Hence, the delicate thing to say is that the Day of Resurrection, when all deeds will be judged, is Divine Mercy. Our life will be a living hell without believing in the Hereafter, for you might be weak and your malicious enemy aims to destroy you, and you can do nothing to him, but believing that there will be a day, when he will be punished, soothes you.

﴾Consider not that Allah is unaware of that which the Zalimun (polytheists, wrong-doers, etc.) do, but He gives them respite up to a Day when the eyes will stare in horror.﴿

[Ibrahim, 42]

The greatest loss is to lose oneself:

  The Day of Resurrection is a serious matter, first:

﴾He has prescribed Mercy for Himself. Indeed He will gather you together on the Day of Resurrection,﴿

[Al-An'am, 12]

 This indicates that there will be reckoning on the Day of Resurrection, and as long as you are still living in the worldly life, there will be a chance for you to repent and to fix what your mistakes in your life, given everything is fixable as long as your heart beats and this is but Divine Mercy upon us.

 The second Divine Mercy is that if man dies, and he is poor and oppressed in the worldly life, he will be treated in a special way on the Day of Resurrection, and he will take all his rights from those who oppress him. By the way, life is very short, whereas the Hereafter is everlasting, thus you will be compensated in the Hereafter for whatever is taken from you in the worldly life forever and ever.

 Dear brother, out of Allah's Mercy the door of repentance is open for man as long as he is alive if he sins. Being poor, oppressed or sick in the worldly life is a passing hardship compared with the mercy man is granted in the Hereafter which lasts forever and ever. Hence, losing the worldly life and winning the Hereafter is better thousands times than the other way round, and this is mercy from Allah the Almighty:

﴾ Those who destroy themselves will not believe [in Allah as being the only Ilah (God), and Muhammad PBUH as being one of His Messengers, and in Resurrection, etc.].﴿

[Al-An'am, 12]

 Man might lose many things, but losing his ownself is the greatest loss at all.

﴾ Those who destroy themselves will not believe [in Allah as being the only Ilah (God), and Muhammad PBUH as being one of His Messengers, and in Resurrection, etc.].﴿

[Al-An'am, 12]

 This means that those who do not believe lose themselves.

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