Commentary on the verse “And insult not those whom they (disbelievers) worship besides Allah, lest they insult Allah wrongfully without knowledge” [al-An‘aam 6:108]
Question

                Explanation of the Quran chapter 6 verse 108
Praise be to Allah.
	Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says (interpretation 
	of the meaning):

	“And insult 
	not those whom they (disbelievers) worship besides Allah, lest they insult 
	Allah wrongfully without knowledge. Thus We have made fair-seeming to each 
	people its own doings; then to their Lord is their return and He shall then 
	inform them of all that they used to do” 

	[al-An‘aam 
	6:108]”. 

	Allah, may He be glorified, forbade the Muslims to insult or 
	revile the gods of the polytheists whom the latter worshipped besides Allah, 
	even though they are false, lest that be a cause of the polytheists reviling 
	the True God, may He be glorified, in support of their false gods and in 
	retaliation against the Muslims for what they said. 

	Then Allah tells us that He, may He be glorified, has made 
	fair-seeming to each nation its deeds, then they will all be brought back to 
	Him on the Day of Resurrection, and He will inform them of what they did and 
	bring them to account for their deeds: if they were good then the outcome 
	will be good, and if they were evil then the outcome will be bad. 

	Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

	Allah, may He be exalted, forbade His Messenger (blessings 
	and peace of Allah be upon him) and the believers to revile the gods of the 
	polytheists, even though there was an interest to be served by that, lest 
	that result in a greater evil, namely the polytheists’ responding by 
	reviling the God of the believers, namely Allah besides Whom there is no 
	other god. 

	As ‘Ali ibn Abi Talhah said, narrating from Ibn ‘Abbaas, 
	concerning this verse: They said: O Muhammad, either you stop reviling our 
	gods or we will speak ill of your Lord. So Allah forbade them to revile 
	their idols, “lest they 
	insult Allah wrongfully without knowledge.” 

	Qataadah said: The Muslims used to revile the idols of the 
	disbelievers, so the disbelievers would revile Allah, wrongfully and without 
	knowledge. So Allah revealed the words interpretation of the meaning):
	“And 
	insult not those whom they (disbelievers) worship besides Allah” 
	[al-An‘aam 6:108]. 

	Similar to this principle – which is refraining from pursuing 
	one interest so as to avoid an evil that is greater than it – is the report 
	in as-Saheeh according to which the Messenger of Allah (blessings and 
	peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Cursed is the one who reviles his 
	parents.” 

	They said: O Messenger of Allah, how could a man revile his 
	parents? He said: He reviles the father of a man, so (that man) reviles his 
	father; and he reviles (that man’s) mother, so (that man) reviles his 
	mother” – or words to that effect. 

	The words of Allah, may He be exalted, “Thus 
	We have made fair-seeming to each people its own doings” 
	mean: just as We made fair-seeming to those people the love of their idols 
	and of standing up for and supporting them, so too We made fair-seeming to 
	each of the past, misguided nations the deeds that they used to do. And 
	there is great and perfect divine wisdom in all that Allah wills and 
	chooses. 

	“then to 
	their Lord is their return” 
	that is, their ultimate destination. 

	“and He 
	shall then inform them of all that they used to do” 
	that is, He will requite them for their deeds; if they were good then the 
	outcome will be good, and if they were evil then the outcome will be bad. 

	End quote from Tafseer Ibn Katheer (3/314) 

	Al-Qurtubi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

	Allah, may He be glorified, forbade the believers to revile 
	the idols (of the polytheists), because He knew that if they reviled them, 
	the disbelievers would be put off and would increase in disbelief. 

	The scholars said: 

	This ruling remains in effect among this ummah in all 
	circumstances. So when the disbelievers are in a position of strength and it 
	is feared that they will revile Islam, or the Prophet (blessings and peace 
	of Allah be upon him), or Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, it is not 
	permissible for the Muslim to revile their crosses or their religion or 
	their churches, and he should not do anything that would lead to that (i.e., 
	their insulting Islam), because that comes under the heading of provoking 
	others to sin. End quote. 

	Tafseer al-Qurtubi 
	(7/61) 

	As-Sa‘di (may Allah have mercy on him) said; 

	Allah forbade the believers to do something that had been 
	permissible and, in fact, is basically prescribed, which is to revile the 
	gods of the polytheists which were taken as idols and gods alongside Allah, 
	and this is a means of drawing closer to Allah by disrespecting them and 
	reviling them. 

	But because reviling them is a means that may lead to the 
	polytheists reviling the Lord of the Worlds – Who should be declared to be 
	far above all faults, defects, insults and aspersions – Allah forbade 
	reviling the gods of the polytheists, because they would seek to protect 
	their religion and show fanatical devotion to it. That is because Allah has 
	made fair-seeming to every nation its deeds, so they regard them as 
	something good and defend them by all possible means, to the extent that 
	they would revile Allah, the Lord of the Worlds – Whose greatness is 
	something instilled in the hearts of all people, righteous and evildoers 
	alike – if the Muslims were to revile their gods. 

	But the return and ultimate destination of all people is to 
	Allah on the Day of Resurrection, when they will appear before Him and their 
	deeds will be exposed, and he will inform them of what they used to do, both 
	good and evil. 

	This verse offers proof for the shar‘i principle which says 
	that means are to be judged by the outcomes to which they lead, and that the 
	means that lead to something haraam, even if they are permissible (in and of 
	themselves), become haraam, if they lead to evil. End quote.

	Tafseer as-Sa‘di 
	(p. 268) 

	And Allah knows best.