本章呈现了伊斯兰讯息所遭遇的种种困难、争论与反对意见的详细图景。它也展示了《古兰经》如何应对这些问题，以及这些应对对人们产生的影响；同时，它确立了自身的真理，以取代当时深入人心的陈旧、错误、愚昧的迷信和价值观。事实上，直到今天，世界各地仍有一些人把其中的某些成分视为有效。

This surah presents a detailed picture of what the Islamic message faced of problems, arguments and objections. It also shows how the Qur’an dealt with these and their effects on people, establishing at the same time its own truth in place of old, false, ignorant superstitions and values that had taken hold of people’s minds at the time. In fact, some people, everywhere, continue to hold elements of these as valid.

过去，信奉异教的人宣称，真主为人类的利益所创造的牲畜被分配在真主与他们所谓的神灵之间："他们从真主所创造的庄稼和牲畜中划出一份，说：'这是真主的'——他们这样妄称——'这是我们所拟的同伴的。'他们分给同伴的，不会归于真主；而分给真主的，却会归于他们的同伴。"（6:136）事实上，他们对牲畜编造了许多传说和迷信，这些都是偏离正道之行为的结果。他们以此声称，某些牲畜不许骑乘，另一些则禁止食用："他们说：'这些牲畜和庄稼是禁忌的。'"

Followers of pagan beliefs used to claim that the catde God has created for the benefit of mankind are divided between God and their own alleged deities: "Out of the produce and the cattle He has created they assign a portion to God, saying: 'This is for God’— or so they pretend - 'and this is for the partners we associate [with Him]9. Whatever they assign to their partners never reaches God but that which is assigned to God does reach their partners.” (6:136) In fact, they believed in many legends and superstitions concerning cattle, and these were all the result of deviant practices. In this way, they claimed that they were forbidden to ride some animals, while others were considered unlawful to eat: “ They say: 'Such cattle and crops are forbidden.

"除了我们允许的人，谁也不得食用它们。"——他们如此虚妄地宣称。

None may eat of them save those whom we permit" - so they falsely claim.

还有一些牲畜，他们宣称其背上不可负重；还有一些牲畜，他们在宰杀时不诵念真主的名字，以此捏造谎言诬蔑祂。{6:138}

Other cattle they declare to be forbidden to burden their backs; and there are cattle over which they do not pronounce God's name, inventing [in all this] a lie against Him." (6: 138)

本章讨论了这些偏差的信仰，阐明了原初的真理，并说明牲畜是真主的造物，它们与天地的创造密切相关，是生活中的一个方面。真主使牲畜服务于人类，使人们能够为此恩惠而感恩、向祂称谢。他们既然承认祂是造物主，就不应以虚假的同伴归于祂，也不应为自己制定与真主所喜悦的相悖的律法。他们承认这一真理，却又舍弃了其自然的结果，任由迷信占了上风，这是多么荒谬啊：

This surah discusses such deviant beliefs putting forward the original truth and demonstrating that cattle are God s creatures, representing an aspect of life that is closely related to the creation of the heavens and the earth. God has made cattle subservient to man so that people can express their gratitude and give thanks to Him for such a blessing. They must neither attribute false partners to Him nor enact for themselves legislation that is at variance with what pleases God, when they recognize Him as the Creator. How absurd that they discard the natural result of this truth, which they acknowledge, allowing superstition to get the better of them:

“然而，如果你问他们：‘是谁创造了天地？’他们必定会回答：‘是那全能的、全知的主创造的。’”他为你们铺平了大地，为你们在地上开辟了道路，以便你们能够找到方向；他从天空降下雨水，并按照适当的分量降下；我们借此使死去的土地复活；你们也将这样从死亡中复活。他创造了一切生物，成双成对，并为你们提供了你们所乘坐的船只和牲畜，以便你们骑在它们的背上时，记念你们主的恩典，并说：‘赞美那使这一切为我们所用的主，超绝万物！我们自己是不可能做到的。我们必定要回归到我们的主那里。’”（第9至14节）

“Yet if you ask them, ‘Who created the heavens and the earth?" they are sure to answer, ‘The Almighty, the All-Knowing created them.’ It is He who has smoothed out the earth for you and has traced on it paths for you so that you can find your way And He it is who sends down water from the sky in due measure. With it We raise dead land to life; and thus you will be raised from the dead. And He it is who created all living things in pairs, and provided for you the ships and animals on which you ride, so that when you are seated on their backs you remember your Lord’s blessings and say: ‘Limitless in His glory is He who has made all this subservient to our use. We could not have done it by ourselves. To our Lord we shall most certainly return.” (Verses 9-14)

无知的异教徒曾宣称天使是真主的女儿。

Ignorant paganism used to claim that angels were Gods daughters.

虽然他们厌恶自己生女儿，却仍把女儿归于真主，并崇拜这些女儿，而不崇拜真主。他们声称，他们崇拜她们是出于真主的意志。若真主意欲不然，他们就不会崇拜她们。这同样只是源自歪曲信仰的一种虚构之说。

Although they hated daughters being born to themselves, they nonetheless attributed daughters to God and worshipped these instead of Him. They alleged that they worshipped them by Gods will. Had He willed otherwise, they would not have worshipped them. Again, this was nothing but a legend arising from deviant beliefs.

该章运用了不信道者自身的逻辑，以及健全人性的逻辑，来驳斥这一毫无根据的虚构传说："他们竟把他的仆人当作他的一部分（子嗣）。人类确实是明显的忘恩负义者。"

The surah uses the unbelievers’ own logic as well as the logic of sound human nature to refute this baseless legend: “ Yet they assign to Him some of His own servants as offspring. Surely man is clearly berefi of all gratitude.

难道祂从自己的创造物中选择女儿，而把儿子赐给你们吗？他们中若有人被告知他所妄称归于至仁主的那种后代降生了，他的脸便沉下来，满心忧郁。[他们竟把]一个从小在饰物中长大、在争辩中又不能把话说清楚的人，归给真主吗？他们宣称众天使——他们本身只是至仁主的仆人——是女性！他们是目睹了天使的创造吗？他们的证词将被记录下来，他们也必将受到追问。他们说：“若至仁主有意，我们就不会崇拜他们。”对此他们毫无知识，他们只是在胡言乱语。或者，在这部经典之前，我Ⅰ曾赐给他们一部经典，而他们仍然恪守它吗？不然！他们说：“我们发现我们的祖先遵循这样的传统，我们也只是沿着他们的足迹而获得指引。”（第15-22节）

Would He, out of all His creation, choose for Himself daughters and favour you with sons? If any of them is given the good news of the birth of what he so readily attributes to the Lord of Grace, his face darkens and he is filled with gloom. [Would they ascribe to God] someone who is brought up among trinkets and cannot put together a clear argument? They claim that the angels, who are themselves but servants ofthe Lord of Grace, are females! Did they witness their creation? Their testimony will be put on record and they will be questioned about it. They say: ‘Had it been the will of the Lord of Grace, we should never have worshipped them.' Of that they have no knowledge: they are blatantly lying. Or have We given them a book before this one to which they are still holding fast? No indeed! They say ‘We found our forefathers following this tradition and we find our guidance by following in their footsteps! (Verses 15-22)

当他们被告知，他们所崇拜的只是偶像、神像和树木，并且凡崇拜真主以外之物的人都将与其所拜之物一同投入火狱时，他们却歪曲这一明确的表述，使之成为争论的话题。他们提到尔撒，指出他的追随者崇拜他。那么，他也会被投入火狱吗？他们还争辩说，那些偶像代表着真主的女儿——天使。因此他们断言："我们崇拜它们，比基督徒崇拜一个普通人耶稣要好。"这章经文揭露了这种歪曲的逻辑，并为耶稣开脱，指出基督徒在他之后所犯下的罪行与他无关，因为他从未允许过此类事情："当麦尔彦之子被当作例子时，你们的民众便大声喧嚷，说：'我们的神明好，还是他好？'他们举他为例，只是为了与你争辩。他们确是好争论的人。"

When they were told that they were only worshipping statues, idols and trees, and that everyone who worships anything other than God will be thrown into hell together with the object of their worship, they twisted this clear statement making it a subject of dispute. They referred to Jesus, pointing out that his followers worshipped him. So would he be thrown into hell? They also argued that the idols represented angels who were God’s daughters. Therefore, they postulated, “we are better worshipping them than the Christians who worship Jesus, a mere human being.” The surah exposes such twisted logic, absolving Jesus of what the Christians perpetrated after his time, since he did not sanction anything of the sort: “ Whenever the son of Mary is cited as an example, your people raise an outcry, saying: ‘Who is better: our deities or he?’ They cite him only to challenge you. They are contentious people.

他不过是我们所恩赐并使其成为以色列后裔的一个榜样的仆人。（第57-59节）

He was but a servant of Ours whom We had favoured and made an example to the Children of Israel.” (Verses 57-59)

他们还声称自己遵循易卜拉欣的信仰，因此是最正确的引导者，然而他们却始终沉浸在异教的蒙昧之中。该章阐明了易卜拉欣信仰的真正本质，即建立在真主绝对独一性之上的信仰。这一原则在易卜拉欣的后裔中延续，并将继续延续下去。真主的使者穆罕默德ﷺ带着同样的原则来到他们中间，但他们对他的接待，却不是易卜拉欣的后裔所应当给予的。{易卜拉欣对他的父亲和他的族人说：“你们所崇拜的，我必定远离；我只崇拜那创造我的主，他必定引导我。”他把这句话作为一条永恒的训示留给他的后裔，以便他们常常归向主。}“我已让这些人和他们的祖先享受生活，直到真理通过一位阐明一切的使者降临到他们那里。”而当真理降临到他们那里时，他们却说：“这全是魔术，我们断然拒绝。”（第26至30节）

They also claimed that they followed Abraham’s faith and, as such, were best guided, yet all the while they were immersed in pagan ignorance. The surah outlines the true nature of Abraham’s faith, based on God’s absolute oneness. This principle continued and will continue among Abraham’s descendants. Muhammad, God’s messenger, came to them with the same principle, but they received him with other than what Abraham’s offspring should give: “Abraham said to his father and his people: 7 renounce what you worship, I worship none other than Him who brought me into being. It is He who will guide me.f He made this an abiding precept among his descendants so that they might always return [to God]. I have allowed these people and their forefathers to enjoy their lives freely until the truth has come to them through a messenger who makes things clear. Now that the truth has come to them, they say, ‘This is all sorcery, and we reject it outright. (Verses 26-30)

他们无法理解真主在选择其使者上的智慧。他们尘世的价值观,即他们赋予人的地位的依据,导致了他们不愿接受他。经文在这方面叙述了他们所说的话,并将应当坚守的真正价值与他们琐碎的价值进行对比:“他们还说:‘为什么这部《古兰经》不降示给两城中某个大人物呢?’难道是他们在分配你的主的恩惠吗?是我们在今世生活中分配他们的生计,并使其中一些人的级别高于另一些人,以便他们中的一些人能役使另一些人。你主的恩惠胜过他们所积聚的一切。若不是众人都会变成同一种信仰(不信道者的)团体,我们就会为那些不信至慈主的人准备银子做的屋顶、可以攀登的楼梯、门户、可以倚靠的床榻,以及金饰。然而这一切不过是今世生活的短暂享受。后世才是你的主为敬畏者所预备的。”(第31-35节)

They could not understand God’s wisdom in choosing His messenger. Their earthly values, the basis of the status they assigned to people, contributed to their unwillingness to accept him. The surah reports what they said in this respect, presenting the true values that should be upheld in comparison to their trivial ones: “ They also say, 'Why was not this Quran revealed to some great man of the two cities?’ Is it they who apportion your Lord’s grace? It is We who deal out to them their livelihood in the life of this world, and raise some in rank above others, so that some of them may take others into their service. Your Lord’s grace is better than all that they can amass. Were it not that all people would become one community [of unbelievers], We would have provided those who now disbelieve in the Lord of Grace with roof of silver for houses, stairways on which to ascend, gates, couches on which to recline, and gold ornaments. Yet all this would have been nothing but the fleeting enjoyment of life in this world. It is the life to come that your Lord reserves for the God fearing.” (Verses 31-35)

随后，该章节叙述了穆萨（Moses）生平中的一段故事，这段故事同样反映了法老虚假的价值观。这段叙述表明，这些价值观以及法老本人都不值得尊重。它告诉我们法老以及所有持有类似态度之人将要面临的结局：

The surah then recounts an episode from Moses’ life history, one that reflects Pharaoh’s similarly false values. This account demonstrates how both these values and Pharaoh himself were unworthy. It tells us of the fate that awaits him and all those with similar attitudes:

“我们曾派遣穆萨，携带我们的迹象去见法老和他的权贵。他说：‘我是众世界之主的使者。’但当他把我们的迹象呈现给他们时，他们却加以嘲笑，然而我们所展示给他们的每一个迹象都比前一个更伟大。我们用苦难惩治他们，以期他们可以回归[正道]。他们说：”

“We sent Moses with Our message to Pharaoh and his nobles; and he said: T am a messenger of the Lord of all the worlds, ’ but when he presented Our signs to them, they laughed at them, yet each sign We showed them was greater than the preceding one. We put them through suffering so that they might return [to the right path]. They said:

"法师，请你为我们向你的主祈祷，凭着他与你所立的约，我们必定遵循正道。"然而，当我们除去他们的刑罚后，他们却又背信弃义。 法老向他的臣民宣告说："我的人民啊，埃及的国土不是属于我的吗？这些河流不是在我脚下流淌吗？你们难道看不见吗？我难道不比这个卑贱、连话都说不清楚的人更好吗？为什么没有金手镯赐给他？为什么没有天使与他同来？" 他这样愚弄他的臣民，而他们也服从了他。他们是沉溺于罪恶的人。当他们触怒了我的时候，我便惩罚了他们，把他们全部淹死。于是我使他们成为过去的事迹，并作为后世的鉴戒。（第46至56节）

'Sorcerer, pray to your Lord for us on the strength of the covenant He has made with you. We shall now follow the right way. ’ Yet when We removed their suffering they still broke their word. Pharaoh proclaimed to his people, saying: 'My people, is the kingdom of Egypt not mine, with all these rivers flowing at my feet? Do you not see? Am I not better than this contemptible wretch who can hardly make his meaning clear? Why have no bracelets of gold been given to him? Why have no angels come to accompany him?’ Thus did he make fools of his people, and they obeyed him. They were people lost in evil. When they incurred Our anger, We inflicted Our retribution on them and drowned them all; and so We made them a thing of the past and an example for later generations.” (Verses 46-56)