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And, finally, the verse continues saysing :"... and this (submission) I have been commanded to, and I am the first of the Muslims." To be the first of the Muslims for the Prophet of Islam (p.b.u.h.) is either from the point of quality and importance of Islam, because the degree of his submission and his Islam was higher than all prophets, or that he was the first person of this community who accepted the religion of the Qur'an and Islam. (164) Þõáú Ãó ÛóíúÑó Çááøóåö ÃóÈúÛöí ÑóÈøðÇ æó åõæó ÑóÈøõ ßõáøö ÔóíúþÁò æó áÇ ÊóßúÓöÈõ ßõáøõ äóÝúÓò ÅöáÇøó ÚóáóíúåÇ æó áÇ ÊóÒöÑõ æÇÒöÑóÉñ æöÒúÑó ÃõÎúÑìþ Ëõãøó Åöáìþ ÑóÈøößõãú ãóÑúÌöÚõßõãú ÝóíõäóÈøöÆõßõãú ÈöãÇ ßõäúÊõãú Ýöíåö ÊóÎúÊóáöÝõæäó 164. " Say : ' shall I seek a Lord other than Allah while He is the Lord of all things ? And no one earns anything but to his own account; and no one bears the burden of another; then to your Lord is your return, so He will inform you of what you used to differ (about)." Commentary : In this verse, the Qur'an criticizes the logic of the pagans in another way. It tells the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) to ask them whether it is appropriate to take a lord except Allah as their Lord, while He is the owner, the trainer, and the Lord of all things, and His ordinance and His command is current in the entire particles of the world. The verse says : " Say : ' shall I seek a Lord other than Allah while He is the Lord of all things ? ..." A group of the short-minded pagans came to the Prophet of Islam (p.b.u.h.) and said that he should follow their creed. They added that if their creed was false, they might bear the burden of his sin. This verse answers them by saying : "... And no one earns anything but to his own account; and no one bears the burden of another; ..." Then the verse adds : "... then to your Lord is your return, so He will inform you of what you used to differ (about)." * * * (165) æó åõæó ÇáøóÐöí ÌóÚóáóßõãú ÎóáÇÆöÝó ÇáúÃóÑúÖö æó ÑóÝóÚó ÈóÚúÖóßõãú ÝóæúÞó ÈóÚúÖò ÏóÑóÌÇÊò áöíóÈúáõæóßõãú Ýöí ãÇ ÂÊÇßõãú Åöäøó ÑóÈøóßó ÓóÑöíÚõ ÇáúÚöÞÇÈö æó Åöäøóåõ áóÛóÝõæÑñ ÑóÍöíãñ 165. " And He it is Who has made you successors in the earth, and raised some of you above others in grades that He may try you in respect to what He has given you. Verily your Lord is swift in retribution, and indeed He is Forgiving, Merciful." Commentary : In this verse, which is the last verse of Sura Al-'An'am in order to complete the former discussions upon strengthening the foundation of Unity and struggling against paganism, the Qur'an points to the rank of man and his situation in the world of existence. So, firstly it says : " And He it is Who has made you successors in the earth, ..." Man is Allah's vicegerence on the earth, and all the sources of the world are set at his disposal. Allah has issued Man's command and dominion over all these creatures. Such a man must not let himself fall so low that he becomes more degraded than an inanimate thing and then he prostrates before it. Then the verse points to the difference of talents and the various bodily and spiritual merits of human beings, and to the aim of this difference and variation among men. The verse says : "... and raised some of you above others in grades that He may try you in respect to what He has given you. ..." At the end of the verse, the Qur'an refers to man's freedom in choosing the path of happiness and wretchedness, stating the conclusion of these trials, as follows : "... Verily your Lord is swift in retribution, and indeed He is Forgiving, Merciful." The Difference of Men and thePrincipal of Justice :No doubt, there are a series of artificial differences among the individuals of humankind which have been emerged as a result of the transgressions and cruelties of some human beings performed upon some other people. For example : some persons are the owners of abundant wealth, but some others are terribly poor. Or, a great deal of people are unsound and sickly weak as a result of deficiency of nutrition and lack of hygiene, while some other people are in the best condition of health, because all possibilities of life are available for them. These kinds of differences, such as : richness and poverty, knowledge and ignorance, health and sickness, and so on, are often the consequences of colonialism, exploitation, various forms of slavery, and apparent and concealed transgressions. Surely, these kinds of differences can not be considered as the acts of the system of creation. So, there is no reason for us to defend the existence of such unacceptable differences. Humankind, all together, form also a society resembled to a great, tall and fruitful tree. Every group, or even an individual, of them is responsible for a particular mission in this huge body, which demands a proportional construction peculiar to itself. That is why the Qur'an says that these differences are as a means of your trial, and the term 'trial', in the divine statements is used in the sense of 'training and education'. Man's Vicegerency on the Earth !The Qur'an has repeatedly introduced Man as the 'vicegerent' and 'representative' of Allah on the earth. This introduction, in addition to making clear the position of Man in creation, also explains this fact that properties, wealths, talents, and the whole merits that Allah has bestowed on Man are, in deed, in possession of Allah. Man is merely His representative who has been given leave by Him. It is evident, of course, that no representative is independant in his dominations, but his dominations ought to be limitted to the leave and permission of the main owner. This explanation may make this fact clear that, for example, regarding to the question of ownership, Islam keeps distance from both the camp of communism and the camp of capitalism. (13)
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