Al-An‘ām 6:23
The verse
Then will they have no contention save that they will say: By Allah, our Lord, we never were idolaters. — Marmaduke Pickthall
The issue
The verse states that those who worship many gods will deny their polytheism on the
Day of Judgment: “By God our Lord, we did not associate (others with thee)!” (Q 6.23).
Yet, in another part of the same sūra, it reads that they will admit their polytheism: “and
they bear witness against themselves that they were unbelievers” (Q 6.130). In addition,
their confession of a lack of faith is confirmed by another verse, “but they cannot hide
the news from God” (Q 4.42).
Question: So will those unbelievers deny their blasphemous worship, or will they bear witness against themselves and reveal their unbelief in Allah while on the earth?
Arabic text of this item
تقول الآية إن «المشركين» سينكرون يوم القيامة شركهم: <رَبِّنَا مَا كُنَّا مُشْرِكِينَ> (الأنعام 6: 23)؛ وفي موضع آخر من السورة عينها، نقرأ أنهم سيقرون بكفرهم: <وَشَهِدُواْ عَلَى أَنفُسِهِمْ أَنَّهُمْ كَانُواْ كَافِرِينَ> (الأنعام 6: 130)، وهذا ما تؤكده آية أخرى: <وَلاَ يَكْتُمُونَ اللّهَ حَدِيثاً> (النساء 4: 42).
والسؤال هنا، هل يتنكر الكافرون لكفرهم أم يشهدون على أنفسهم ولا يكتمون أحوالهم في الدنيا؟
Sources cited
Sources added in review (the original item cited none)
- al-Bukhārī, al-Ṣaḥīḥ, Kitāb al-Tafsīr, Sūrat Fuṣṣilat (Ḥā-Mīm al-Sajda): report of Saʿīd b. Jubayr from Ibn ʿAbbās · link checked 2026-10-12