Tafheem ul Quran

Surah 23 Al-Mu'minun, Ayat 78-92

وَهُوَ الَّذِىۡۤ اَنۡشَاَ لَـكُمُ السَّمۡعَ وَالۡاَبۡصَارَ وَالۡاَفۡـئِدَةَ​  ؕ قَلِيۡلًا مَّا تَشۡكُرُوۡنَ‏ ﴿23:78﴾ وَهُوَ الَّذِىۡ ذَرَاَكُمۡ فِى الۡاَرۡضِ وَاِلَيۡهِ تُحۡشَرُوۡنَ‏ ﴿23:79﴾ وَهُوَ الَّذِىۡ يُحۡىٖ وَيُمِيۡتُ وَلَـهُ اخۡتِلَافُ الَّيۡلِ وَالنَّهَارِ​ؕ اَفَلَا تَعۡقِلُوۡنَ‏ ﴿23:80﴾ بَلۡ قَالُوۡا مِثۡلَ مَا قَالَ الۡاَوَّلُوۡنَ‏ ﴿23:81﴾ قَالُوۡۤا ءَاِذَا مِتۡنَا وَكُنَّا تُرَابًا وَّ عِظَامًا ءَاِنَّا لَمَبۡعُوۡثُوۡنَ‏  ﴿23:82﴾ لَـقَدۡ وُعِدۡنَا نَحۡنُ وَاٰبَآؤُنَا هٰذَا مِنۡ قَبۡلُ اِنۡ هٰذَاۤ اِلَّاۤ اَسَاطِيۡرُ الۡاَوَّلِيۡنَ‏ ﴿23:83﴾ قُلْ لِّمَنِ الۡاَرۡضُ وَمَنۡ فِيۡهَاۤ اِنۡ كُنۡتُمۡ تَعۡلَمُوۡنَ‏ ﴿23:84﴾ سَيَقُوۡلُوۡنَ لِلّٰهِ​ؕ قُلۡ اَفَلَا تَذَكَّرُوۡنَ‏ ﴿23:85﴾ قُلۡ مَنۡ رَّبُّ السَّمٰوٰتِ السَّبۡعِ وَرَبُّ الۡعَرۡشِ الۡعَظِيۡمِ‏  ﴿23:86﴾ سَيَقُوۡلُوۡنَ لِلّٰهِ​ؕ قُلۡ اَفَلَا تَتَّقُوۡنَ‏ ﴿23:87﴾ قُلۡ مَنۡۢ بِيَدِهٖ مَلَكُوۡتُ كُلِّ شَىۡءٍ وَّهُوَ يُجِيۡرُ وَلَا يُجَارُ عَلَيۡهِ اِنۡ كُنۡتُمۡ تَعۡلَمُوۡنَ‏ ﴿23:88﴾ سَيَقُوۡلُوۡنَ لِلّٰهِ​ؕ قُلۡ فَاَنّٰى تُسۡحَرُوۡنَ‏ ﴿23:89﴾ بَلۡ اَتَيۡنٰهُمۡ بِالۡحَـقِّ وَاِنَّهُمۡ لَكٰذِبُوۡنَ‏ ﴿23:90﴾ مَا اتَّخَذَ اللّٰهُ مِنۡ وَّلَدٍ وَّمَا كَانَ مَعَهٗ مِنۡ اِلٰهٍ​ اِذًا لَّذَهَبَ كُلُّ اِلٰهٍۢ بِمَا خَلَقَ وَلَعَلَا بَعۡضُهُمۡ عَلٰى بَعۡضٍ​ؕ سُبۡحٰنَ اللّٰهِ عَمَّا يَصِفُوۡنَۙ‏ ﴿23:91﴾ عٰلِمِ الۡغَيۡبِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ فَتَعٰلٰى عَمَّا يُشۡرِكُوۡنَ‏ ﴿23:92﴾

(23:78) It is He Who has endowed you with the faculties of hearing and sight and has given you hearts (to think). Scarcely do you give thanks.74 (23:79) It is He Who has dispersed you all around the earth, and it is unto Him that you shall all be mustered. (23:80) It is He Who gives life and causes death, and He holds mastery over the alternation of night and day.75 Do you not understand this?76 (23:81) Nay, but they say the like of what their predecessors of yore had said. (23:82) They say: "Is it that when we are dead and have been reduced to dust and bones, shall we then be raised up again? (23:83) We were promised such things and so were our forefathers before us. All these are no more than tales of the past."77 (23:84) Ask them: "Whose is the earth and those who are in it? Tell us if you know" (23:85) They will surely say: "Allah's." Say: "Then why do you not take heed?"78 (23:86) Ask them: "Who is the Lord of the seven heavens, the Lord of the Great Throne?" (23:87) They will surely say: "Allah."79 Say: "Will you not, then, fear (Allah)?"80 (23:88) Ask them: "Say, if you indeed know, to whom belongs the dominion81 over all things; (Who is it) that grants asylum, but against Whom no asylum is available?" (23:89) They will surely say: "(The dominion over all things) belongs to Allah." Say: "Whence are you then deluded?"82 (23:90) We have brought before them the Truth, and there is no doubt that they are lying.83 (23:91) Never did Allah take unto Himself any son,84 nor is there any god other than He. (Had there been any other gods) each god would have taken his creatures away with him, and each would have rushed to overpower the other.85 Glory be to Allah from all that they characterize Him with! (23:92) He knows both what is visible and what is not visible.86 Exalted is Allah above all that they associate with Him.

Notes

74. The disbelievers have been told to consider the great blessings of eyes, ears, mind and heart and use them as human beings should, and show gratitude to the Creator by accepting His Message.

75. If one makes the right use of his faculties and observes these things properly, he can find the truth, for it is obvious that the great mechanism of the universe could not have come into existence by a mere accident. There must be its Creator who need not have any associates or partners and that the universe could not have been created without a purpose as a mere sport. The very existence of a wonderful, rational thinking and feeling creature, man, who has been delegated with powers, is a clear proof that his real life will not come to an end at death.

76. Here attention is being drawn to the proof of both Tauhid and life after death, and in the other phenomena cited to the refutation of both shirk and rejection of the Hereafter.

77. Their denial of the life after death implied the denial of the powers and wisdom of Allah as well.

78. That is, if you acknowledge this, why do you not then understand that none but Allah deserves to be worshiped and that when He has once created the earth and all the things in it, it is not difficult for Him to re-create them once again?

79. See (E.N. 78 of this Surah).

80. That is, why are you not afraid of rebelling against Him and worshiping others besides Him? Why do you not dread that one day you shall have to give an account of all your deeds to the All-Powerful Sovereign of the universe?

81. The word malakut in the text is a strong word which combines both sovereignty and ownership. The verse therefore means: Whose is the Sovereignty and Who possesses the real ownership rights over everything?

82. In order to understand the significance of this question, we should know that the art of magic makes a thing appear different from what it really is. Thus the question will mean: Who has bewitched you that, in spite of knowing and acknowledging all these things, you do not understand the reality? Who has bewitched you that even after acknowledging Allah to be the Owner and the All-Powerful Sovereign, you set up other owners and sovereigns along with Him or make them partners with Him and worship them? Who has deluded you that you should dare to be treacherous and unfaithful to Allah knowing that none can protect you against Him, and forget that you will be called to account for these things?

In this connection, it should also be noted that this question has a subtle meaning also. The Quraish accused the Prophet (peace be upon him) of practicing magic and sorcery. This question turns the tables on them, as if to say, O people, the man who presents the reality appears to you to be a sorcerer, while those leaders who say things against reality, against common sense and against your own convictions and beliefs, do not appear to you to be sorcerers at all.

83. They are liars because they say that others besides Allah have a share in His Godhead and that there is no life after death, because their first saying contradicts their own admission that Allah is the Owner and the Sovereign of the universe. Then their second assertion is based on the presumption that the All-Powerful Allah cannot recreate what He has created once. This is clearly a contradiction in terms.

84. It should be, noted that this is a general refutation of the belief that Allah has a child or children, and incidentally refutes the Christian belief that Christ is the son of God. Yet even some eminent commentators confine this to the refutation of the Christian belief. Obviously, there is no reason why it was necessary to refute the Christian belief specifically in this context, when the whole discourse has been directed towards the disbelievers of Makkah alone, who were, like the Christians, guilty of this sort of shirk.

85. Here the argument of Tauhid is based on this principle: Had there been more than one God or partners in Godhead, there would have been serious differences, conflicts and wars among the different sovereigns and rulers. See (Surah Bani Israil, Ayat 42 and E.N. 47) thereof, and (Surah Al-Anbiya, Ayat 22 and E. N. 22 )thereof.

86. This contains a subtle allusion to the refutation of the doctrine of intercession. See (E.Ns 85, 86 of Surah Ta-Ha) and (E.N. 27 of Surah AI-Anbiya).