Surah Al-An'am 6:40

The Idolators Call On Allah Alone During Torment and Distress

Allah states that He does what He wills with His creatures and none can resist His decision or avert what He decrees for them. He is the One Who has no partners, Who accepts the supplication from whomever He wills. Allah said,

(Say: "Tell me if Allah's torment comes upon you, or the Hour comes upon you, would you then call upon any one other than Allah (Reply) if you are truthful!") This means, you -- disbelievers -- will not call other than Allah in this case, because you know that none except He is able to remove the affliction. Allah said,

(if you are truthful) by taking gods besides Him.

(Nay! To Him alone you call, and, if He willed, He would remove that (distress) for which you call upon Him, and you forget at that time whatever partners you joined with Him (in worship)!) for in times of necessity, you only call on Allah and forget your idols and false deities. In another Ayah, Allah said;

(And when harm touches you upon the sea, those that you call upon besides Him vanish from you except Him (Allah)) 17:67. Allah said;

(Verily, We sent (Messengers) to many nations before you. And We seized them with extreme poverty...) That is, loss of wealth and diminished provisions,

(and loss of health) various illnesses, diseases and pain,

(so that they might believe with humility) and call Allah and supplicate to Him with humbleness and humility. Allah said;

(When Our torment reached them, why then did they not believe with humility) Meaning: Why do they not believe and humble themselves before Us when We test them with disaster'

(But their hearts became hardened,) for their hearts are not soft or humble,

(and Shaytan made fair-seeming to them that which they used to do. ) That is, Shirk, defiance and rebellion.

(So, when they forgot (the warning) with which they had been reminded,) by ignoring and turning away from it,

(We opened to them the gates of everything,) Meaning: `We opened the gates of provisions for them from wherever they wished, so that We deceive them.' We seek refuge with Allah from such an end. This is why Allah said,

f(until in the midst of their enjoyment in that which they were given,) such as wealth, children and provisions,

(all of a sudden, We took them to punishment and lo! They were plunged into destruction with deep regrets and sorrows.) They have no hope for any type of good thing. Al-Hasan Al-Basri said, "Whomever Allah gives provision and he thinks that Allah is not testing him, has no wisdom. Whomever has little provision and thinks that Allah will not look at (provide for) him, has no wisdom." He then recited the Ayah,

(So, when they forgot (the warning) with which they had been reminded, We opened to them the gates of every (pleasant) thing, until in the midst of their enjoyment in that which they were given, all of a sudden, We took them to punishment, and lo! They were plunged into destruction with deep regrets and sorrows.) He added, "By the Lord of the Ka`bah! Allah deceived these people, when He gave them what they wished, and then they were punished." Ibn Abi Hatim recorded this statement.

Ayat ini mengingatkan orang-orang kafir tentang sikap dan keadaan mereka ketika ditimpa cobaan berat dari Allah atau datang kiamat. Mereka ingat dan menyeru Allah Yang Maha Esa, memohon pertolongan-Nya agar dihindarkan dari cobaan-cobaan yang berat yang sedang mereka alami itu. Tetapi apabila mereka telah terhindar dari cobaan berat itu, mereka kembali mempersekutukan Allah. Oleh karena itu Allah memerintahkan kepada Nabi Muhammad agar menanyakan kepada orang-orang musyrik yang mendustakan ayat-ayat Allah dan mempersekutukan-Nya itu, "Terangkanlah kepadaku hai orang-orang musyrik, jika datang kepadamu azab Allah seperti yang pernah menimpa umat-umat yang terdahulu, seperti serangan angin kencang, banjir besar, petir yang menyambar dari langit dan sebagainya, apakah kamu sekalian akan meminta pertolongan dan perlindungan kepada berhala-berhala dan sembahan-sembahan itu, yang kamu sangka mereka dapat menolong dan melindungimu?"

Pertanyaan itu dijawab oleh Allah, yaitu, "Tidak! Tetapi hanya Dialah yang kamu seru." Maksudnya: Hai orang-orang musyrik, penyembah-penyembah berhala, jika kamu ditimpa azab, seperti yang pernah menimpa orang-orang terdahulu, maka kamu tidak akan meminta pertolongan dan perlindungan kepada selain Allah untuk menghindarkan kamu dari azab itu.

Dengan pertanyaan dan jawaban di atas, seakan-akan Allah melukiskan watak orang-orang musyrik pada khususnya dan watak manusia pada umumnya yaitu bahwa manusia dalam keadaan senang tidak ingat kepada Allah, tetapi bila dalam keadaan kesulitan dan kesukaran mereka ingat dan menyembah Allah.

Allah swt berfirman:

Maka apabila mereka naik kapal, mereka berdoa kepada Allah dengan penuh rasa pengabdian (ikhlas) kepada-Nya, tetapi ketika Allah menyelamatkan mereka sampai ke darat, malah mereka (kembali) mempersekutukan (Allah). (al-'Ankabut/29: 65)

Firman Allah swt:

Dan apabila mereka digulung ombak yang besar seperti gunung, mereka menyeru Allah dengan tulus ikhlas beragama kepada-Nya. Tetapi ketika Allah menyelamatkan mereka sampai di daratan, lalu sebagian mereka tetap menempuh jalan yang lurus. Adapun yang mengingkari ayat-ayat Kami hanyalah pengkhianat yang tidak berterima kasih. (Luqman/31: 32)

Fitrah manusia yang sebenarnya ialah percaya kepada Allah Yang Maha Esa, Penguasa dan Pemilik seluruh alam. Fitrah ini pada seseorang dapat berkembang dan tumbuh dengan subur dan dapat pula tertutup perkembangan dan pertumbuhannya oleh pengaruh lingkungan dan sebagainya.

Rasulullah saw bersabda:

"Tidak seorang pun dari anak yang dilahirkan kecuali dilahirkan dalam keadaan fitrah (mentauhidkan Allah), maka dua orang ibu-bapaknya yang menjadikannya Yahudi, Nasrani atau Majusi." (Riwayat al-Bukhari dan Muslim dari Abu Hurairah)

Di samping pengaruh orang tua dan pengaruh lingkungan, pengaruh hawa nafsu dan keinginan pun dapat mempengaruhi atau menutup fitrah manusia itu. Karena itu manusia waktu di masa senang, tidak ingat kepada Allah. Tetapi bila ditimpa kesengsaraan mereka ingat kepada Allah.