Tafsir

The Helplessness of the false gods and the Power of Allah

Allah tells His Messenger to say to the idolators:أَرَءَيْتُمْ شُرَكَآءَكُمُ الَّذِينَ تَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ(Have you considered your partners whom you call upon besides Allah) the idols and rivals.أَرُونِى مَاذَا خَلَقُواْ مِنَ الاٌّرْضِ أَمْ لَهُمْ شِرْكٌ فِى السَّمَـوَتِ(Show Me what they have created of the earth. Or have they any share in the heavens) meaning, they have nothing at all of that, they do not possess even the membrane covering the stone of a date.أَمْ ءَاتَيْنَـهُمْ كِتَـباً فَهُمْ عَلَى بَيِّنَةٍ مِّنْهُ(Or have We given them a Book, so that they act on clear proof therefrom) meaning, `have We revealed to them a Book on which they base their Shirk and disbelief' This is not the case at all.بَلْ إِن يَعِدُ الظَّـلِمُونَ بَعْضُهُم بَعْضاً إِلاَّ غُرُوراً(Nay, the wrongdoers promise one another nothing but delusions.) means, they are merely following their own whims, opinions and wishes which are their personal desires, and they are no more than misguidance and falsehood.

Then Allah tells us of His mighty power, by which the heavens and the earth stand by His command, and the forces that He has placed between them to hold them. He says:إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُمْسِكُ السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضَ أَن تَزُولاَ(Verily, Allah grasps the heavens and the earth lest they should move away from their places,) means, lest they should shift from where they are. This is like the Ayat:وَيُمْسِكُ السَّمَآءَ أَن تَقَعَ عَلَى الاٌّرْضِ إِلاَّ بِإِذْنِهِ(He withholds the heaven from falling on the earth except by His leave) (22:65), andوَمِنْ ءَايَـتِهِ أَن تَقُومَ السَّمَآءُ وَالاٌّرْضُ بِأَمْرِهِ(And among His signs is that the heaven and the earth stand by His command) (30:25).وَلَئِن زَالَتَآ إِنْ أَمْسَكَهُمَا مِنْ أَحَدٍ مِّن بَعْدِهِ(and if they were to move away from their places, there is not one that could grasp them after Him.) means, no one can make them stay and preserve them except Him.

He is Ever Most Forbearing and Oft-Forgiving because He sees His servants disbelieving in Him and disobeying Him, yet He is patient and gives them time, He waits and does not hasten the punishment, and He conceals the faults of others and forgives them. He says:إِنَّهُ كَانَ حَلِيمًا غَفُورًا(Truly, He is Ever Most Forbearing, Oft-Forgiving.)

Commentary

The word: خَلَائِفَ (khala'if) in verse 39: هُوَ الَّذِي جَعَلَكُمْ خَلَائِفَ فِي الْأَرْ‌ضِ (He is the One who has made you successors (of the past generations) in the earth.) is the plural of: خَلِیفَہ (khalifah) which means deputy or vice-regent. The general sense is that Allah Ta’ ala has let human beings have lands and houses that keep passing on from one to the other. In this phenomena, there is a great lesson - turn to Allah. Then, the statement could also be taken to have been addressed to the ummah of the Holy Prophet t saying, 'After past communities, We made you take their place with authority to make life better around you, so it is your duty that you learn your lesson from what happened to people earlier than you, and hence you, on your part, do not while away precious moments of your life in negligence.

قل -أيها الرسول- للمشركين: أخبروني أيَّ شيء خَلَق شركاؤكم من الأرض، أم أن لشركائكم الذين تعبدونهم من دون الله شركًا مع الله في خلق السموات، أم أعطيناهم كتابًا فهم على حجة منه؟ بل ما يَعِدُ الكافرون بعضهم بعضًا إلا غرورًا وخداعًا.

يقول تعالى لرسوله صلى الله عليه وسلم أن يقول للمشركين : ( أرأيتم شركاءكم الذين تدعون من دون الله ) أي : من الأصنام والأنداد ، ( أروني ماذا خلقوا من الأرض أم لهم شرك في السماوات ) أي : ليس لهم شيء من ذلك ، ما يملكون من قطمير .وقوله : ( أم آتيناهم كتابا فهم على بينة منه ) أي : أم أنزلنا عليهم كتابا بما يقولون من الشرك والكفر ؟ ليس الأمر كذلك ، ( بل إن يعد الظالمون بعضهم بعضا إلا غرورا ) أي : بل إنما اتبعوا في ذلك أهواءهم وآراءهم وأمانيهم التي تمنوها لأنفسهم ، وهي غرور وباطل وزور .