Tafseer of The Cattle · Al-An'aam · 6:107
But if Allah had willed, they would not have associated. And We have not appointed you over them as a guardian, nor are you a manager over them.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The explanation of the statement of the Exalted: "And had Allah willed, they would not have ascribed partners. And We have not appointed you as a keeper over them, nor are you set over them as a guardian." (6:107)
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says to His Prophet Muḥammad (the Prophet ﷺ): Turn away from these polytheists (mushrikīn) who ascribe partners to Allah, and leave their wrangling, quarreling, and reviling. "And had Allah willed, they would not have ascribed partners" — He says: had your Lord willed their guidance and their deliverance from their misguidance, then He would have shown them favor by inspiring in them what is right, so that they would have ascribed nothing to Him as a partner, and so that they would have believed in you and followed you, and held as true that which you brought them of the truth from your Lord. "And We have not appointed you as a keeper over them" — the Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: We have only sent you to them as a messenger who conveys, and We have not sent you as a keeper over them who records what they do, so that you would hold it against them, for that rests with Us, not with you. "Nor are you set over them as a guardian" — He says: and you are not the overseer over them, who would be responsible for their provisions and their sustenance, nor for their protection, with respect to that whose safeguarding has not been entrusted to you in their affair.
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the exegetes have spoken.
Mention of those who said that:
13737- Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya ibn Ṣāliḥ related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His statement: "And had Allah willed, they would not have ascribed partners" — He, glorified be He, says: had I willed, I would have gathered them all upon right guidance.
