Tafseer of The Cattle · Al-An'aam · 6:9
And if We had made him an angel, We would have made him [appear as] a man, and We would have covered them with that in which they cover themselves.
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 discourse on the explanation of His statement: وَلَوْ جَعَلْنَاهُ مَلَكًا لَجَعَلْنَاهُ رَجُلا (And if We had made him an angel, We would certainly have made him a man).
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted — exalted is His mention — says: and if We had made Our messenger to these who associate others with Me — those who say: "if only an angel had been sent down upon Muḥammad to confirm him" — an angel descending upon them from heaven, bearing witness to the truthfulness of Muḥammad ﷺ and commanding them to follow him = "We would certainly have made him a man," by which He says: We would have made him in the form of a man from among humankind, for they are unable to behold the angel in its own form. He says: and when that is so, then it makes no difference whether I send down to them therewith an angel or a human being, since I, if I send down to them an angel, send it down only in the form of a human being, and My proofs are established against them in both cases: that you are truthful, and that what you have brought them is the truth.
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And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, some of the people of interpretation have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
13084 - Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: ʿUthmān ibn Saʿīd related to us, saying: Bishr ibn ʿUmāra related to us, on the authority of Abū Rawq, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: "and if We had made him an angel, We would certainly have made him a man" — he says: He would have come to them only in the form of a man, for they are unable to look upon the angels.
13085 - Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: "and if We had made him an angel, We would certainly have made him a man" — in the form of a man, in the creation of a man.
13086 - Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His statement: "and if We had made him an angel, We would certainly have made him a man" — he says: if We had sent to them an angel, We would have made him in the form of Ādam.
13087 - Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to me, saying: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda: "and if We had made him an angel, We would certainly have made him a man" — he says: in the form of a human being.
13088 - Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda, the like of that.
13089 - Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His statement: "and if We had made him an angel, We would certainly have made him a man" — he said: We would have made that angel in the form of a man, and We would not have sent him in the form of the angels.
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The discourse on the explanation of His statement: وَلَلَبَسْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ مَا يَلْبِسُونَ (9) (And We would have confused for them that about which they confuse themselves (9)).
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted — exalted is His mention — means by His statement: "and We would have confused them": and if We had sent down an angel from heaven confirming you, O Muḥammad, bearing witness for you before these who associate others with Me and deny your signs concerning the truthfulness of your prophethood, and We had made him in the form of a man from among the children of Ādam — since they would not endure beholding the angel in the form in which I created it — then his affair would have become unclear to them, and they would not have known whether it was an angel or a human being! They would not have been certain that it was an angel, and would not have believed him, and would have said: "this is no angel"! And We would have confused them concerning that with which they confuse themselves regarding the reality of your affair, the validity of your proof, and your witness to your prophethood.
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Concerning this one says: "labastu ʿalayhim al-amra albisuhu labsan," when you mix up (confuse) something for them = "and wa-labistu al-thawba albasuhu lubsan" (and I put on the garment, I wear it). And "al-labūs" is the name for clothing.
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And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the people of interpretation have spoken.
13089 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbdallāh 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 We would have confused them concerning that about which they confuse themselves" — he says: then We would have made it unclear to them.
13090 - Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: "and We would have confused them concerning that about which they confuse themselves" — he says: a people does not confuse itself but that Allah confuses them. And the confusion comes only from the people.
13091 - Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "and We would have confused them concerning that about which they confuse themselves" — he says: then We would have made it unclear to them, just as they make it unclear to themselves.
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And there is reported from Ibn ʿAbbās concerning this yet another statement, and that is what:
13092 - Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His statement: "and We would have confused them concerning that about which they confuse themselves" — these are the People of the Book; they abandoned their religion and denied their messengers, and that is the distortion of the word from its places.
13093 - It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, he said: I heard Abū Muʿādh saying: ʿUbayd ibn Sulaymān related to us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk concerning His statement: "and We would have confused them concerning that about which they confuse themselves" — he means: the distortion; these are the People of the Book; they divided their books and their religion and denied their messengers, so Allah confused them just as they had confused themselves.
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We have already explained earlier that these verses from the beginning of the sūra incline more toward being about the affair of the polytheists (mushrikīn) among the idolaters than about the affair of the People of the Book among the Jews and the Christians, in a manner that relieves us from repetition.
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Footnotes:
(1) In the printed version it reads "ādamī"; what is established is what is in the manuscript.
(2) See the explanation of "al-labs" in the foregoing 1:567, 568 / 6:503-505 = and the explanation of "al-libās" in the foregoing 1:567, 568 / 3:489, 490.
(3) See another narration in the explanation of this verse in the foregoing, no. 882 (part 1:567), which he did not mention among the explanatory narrations; this is one of the ways in which he abridged his tafsīr.
(4) See the foregoing, p. 254.
