Surah An-Nahl (16) — Ayah 35

(Ayah35) ➊ { وَ قَالَ الَّذِيْنَ اَشْرَكُوْا لَوْ شَآءَ اللّٰهُ مَا عَبَدْنَا …:} The disbelievers use Allah’s will as a pretext to justify their polytheism and acts of disbelief, such as declaring Bahirah, Saibah, and Wasilah, etc., as forbidden, and on this basis, they criticize prophethood and say that if this polytheism and these prohibitions were against Allah’s pleasure, we would not do them and we would have been stopped. Since Allah did not stop us, it is clear that we are doing all this under His will. However, firstly, the fact is that if Allah were pleased with their polytheism and evil deeds, He would not have sent messengers or revealed books to prohibit these actions. When He has continuously prohibited these things through the messengers, it is clear that all these things are against His pleasure. Furthermore, they cannot use the lack of immediate punishment from Allah as proof of permissibility, because this is a respite from Allah. See also Surah Al-An’am (148).

➋ In Tafsir Thanai it is stated: “Their argument is that Allah is pleased with our actions, so we do them. If He were displeased, could we do them? Then why does He threaten us for these actions? But in reality, they do not understand; they do not know the difference between Allah’s will (mashiyyah) and pleasure (rida). Surely, whatever is happening is by His will; nothing can happen except by His will, because will is the name of His law. Until you do something according to the law of nature, you will never succeed. Until you light a fire to get heat, you will not get that result from water. The function that nature has assigned to water will not be fulfilled by fire. This very sword, whose function is to sever heads, wherever you use it, it will show its effect, whether on an oppressed or an oppressor. Thus, every day, unjust blood is shed in the world, but Allah’s pleasure is not necessary for all these actions. Rather, pleasure will be in the case when you use all these things according to the guidance of Shariah. So, what else is this but ignorance, that they do not differentiate between will and pleasure.”

➌ {كَذٰلِكَ فَعَلَ الَّذِيْنَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ :} That is, the people before also used Allah’s decree and will as an excuse for their disbelief and polytheism. This also indicates that these people who are calling the Qur’an {’’ اَسَاطِيْرُ الْاَوَّلِيْنَ ‘‘ } (tales of the ancients), then using Allah’s will and decree as an excuse is not something new that they have done; this too is the same old, worn-out argument that previous disbelievers used to make.

➍ {فَهَلْ عَلَى الرُّسُلِ اِلَّا الْبَلٰغُ الْمُبِيْنُ : ’’ الْبَلٰغُ ‘‘} is a verbal noun, meaning {’’إِبْلَاغٌ‘‘}, that is, to convey. That is, the only responsibility of the messengers is to deliver the clear and evident message, so if the disbelievers continue to argue or persist in stubbornness and do not believe, the messengers will not be questioned about it. Guidance and misguidance are in the hands of Allah. Shah Abdul Qadir (may Allah have mercy on him) writes: “It is the talk of the ignorant that if Allah disliked such and such an act, why would He allow it? After all, every sect considers some acts to be evil, then why do they happen? Here, a concise answer is given that the messengers have always prohibited evil deeds, but only those who were destined for guidance attained it, and those who were to be ruined, were ruined. This is how Allah’s will has decreed.” (Mawduh)

➎ Allama Qasimi (may Allah have mercy on him) has quoted at the beginning of the second volume of “Minhaj as-Sunnah” a statement from Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him), the summary of which is: “Most people use predestination as an argument for not fulfilling their obligatory duties and for committing forbidden acts, whereas this argument is completely false and useless. All the wise people of the world agree on its invalidity, regardless of their religion. If someone presents this argument, and another person uses the same argument against him—someone who did not fulfill his right, or killed his relative, or seized his wealth, or violated the honor of his wife—he would never accept this argument, but would try his utmost to get his right and take revenge for the injustice. Not only that, but no one accepts this argument from the wrongdoer. In fact, this is like the statements of those sophists who say, ‘We do not even know if we exist or not.’ The result of this would be the justification of lies, oppression, excesses, and every wrong act. If a person asks his own heart, he will also consider it a false argument. Therefore, this argument is never accepted in any court at the time of investigation, because it is sheer ignorance and has nothing to do with knowledge. That is why when the polytheists said: «{ لَوْ شَآءَ اللّٰهُ مَا عَبَدْنَا مِنْ دُوْنِهٖ مِنْ شَيْءٍ }» (If Allah had willed, neither we nor our forefathers would have committed shirk, nor would we have made anything unlawful), Allah said: «{ هَلْ عِنْدَكُمْ مِّنْ عِلْمٍ فَتُخْرِجُوْهُ لَنَا اِنْ تَتَّبِعُوْنَ اِلَّا الظَّنَّ وَ اِنْ اَنْتُمْ اِلَّا تَخْرُصُوْنَ }» [ الأنعام : ۱۴۸ ] (Do you have any knowledge that you can present before Us? You are only following conjecture and are merely guessing.) Then He said: «{ قُلْ فَلِلّٰهِ الْحُجَّةُ الْبَالِغَةُ فَلَوْ شَآءَ لَهَدٰىكُمْ اَجْمَعِيْنَ }» [ الأنعام : ۱۴۹ ] “Say, then the conclusive argument belongs to Allah alone, so if He had willed, He would have guided you all.”

It is clear that this is not knowledge but mere conjecture. If this were accepted, there would be no difference between the just and the unjust, the truthful and the liar, the learned and the ignorant, the righteous and the wicked. These people who use predestination as an argument for opposing the messengers and persisting in disbelief and polytheism, never accept this argument among themselves when their rights are violated or when someone acts against them. Rather, these same polytheists criticize, bear enmity, and fight each other. In {’’ قُلْ فَلِلّٰهِ الْحُجَّةُ الْبَالِغَةُ ‘‘} (Say, then the conclusive argument belongs to Allah alone), Allah has mentioned the legal proof, and in {’’ فَلَوْ شَآءَ لَهَدٰىكُمْ اَجْمَعِيْنَ ‘‘} (If He had willed, He would have guided you all), Allah has mentioned His predestined will, and both are true.

➏ Another meaning of this is also stated. Allama Qashani said that these polytheists said this only out of extreme ignorance and to silence the monotheists, out of mere stubbornness and enmity. Because if they had said this with knowledge and certainty, they would have become monotheists and could not have remained polytheists, because whoever is certain that nothing can happen without Allah’s will, will surely also know that even if all the people of the world want to do something that Allah does not will, it can never happen. So, when he has admitted that no one’s will or power has any value except Allah’s, then this person cannot remain a polytheist, whereas those people continued to associate partners with Allah and deny the messengers. It is clear that they themselves did not believe in their own argument. (Tafsir Qasimi)

➐ Mufti Muhammad Abduh said: “To use predestination as an argument for abandoning action is the belief of heretics. The Noble Qur’an has condemned this belief and declared it blameworthy, and has quoted the statement of these polytheists as a condemnation for us. Therefore, it is not permissible for any of us, while claiming to believe in the Qur’an, to ever present the argument that the polytheists used to present.” (Qasimi)

35. 1. In this verse, Allah Almighty has removed a misconception and delusion of the polytheists. They used to say that we worship others besides Allah or declare some things unlawful without His command; if what we are doing is wrong, then why does Allah, with His perfect power, not prevent us from these things? If He wills, we cannot do these deeds at all. If He does not prevent us, it means that whatever we are doing is according to His will. Allah Almighty has removed this doubt by saying, "The duty of the messengers is only to convey." The meaning is that your assumption is not correct that Allah Almighty has not prevented you from this. Allah Almighty has strictly forbidden you from these polytheistic acts. That is why He has been sending messengers to every nation and revealing books, and every prophet, upon coming, first tried to save his nation from polytheism. This clearly means that Allah Almighty never likes that people commit polytheism, The fact that you chose the path of denial and polytheism, and Allah did not forcibly prevent you from it under His creative will, is a part of His wisdom and expediency, under which He has given humans the freedom of will and choice. Because without this, their trial would not have been possible at all. Our messengers, by conveying Our message to you, kept explaining that do not misuse this freedom, rather use it according to Allah's pleasure. Our messengers could only do this, which they did, and you misused this freedom to commit polytheism, for which the punishment is eternal torment.

35. These polytheists say, “If Allah had willed, we would not have worshipped anything besides Him—neither we nor our forefathers—nor would we have declared anything unlawful without His command [33].” Those before them did the same [34]. The duty of the messengers is only to deliver the message clearly [35].

[33]
The Meaning of the People of the Book Taking Their Ahbar and Ruhban as Lords:

To declare something lawful that Allah has made unlawful, or to declare something unlawful that Allah has made lawful, is also clear shirk, as Sayyiduna ‘Adi bin Hatim ؓ asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about the explanation of ﴿اَرْبَابًا مِّنْ دُوْنِ اللّٰهِ﴾ [9: 13]. Sayyiduna ‘Adi ؓ bin Hatim was formerly a Christian and then embraced Islam. When this verse of Surah Tawbah was revealed, he said: O Messenger of Allah, we did not consider our scholars and elders as lords. The Prophet ﷺ said: “Did you not accept whatever they declared lawful or unlawful without question?” Sayyiduna ‘Adi ؓ said, “That was indeed the case.” The Prophet ﷺ said, “That is what it means to take them as lords.” [ترمذي، ابواب التفسير، تفسير آيت مذكوره]
The polytheists of Makkah also declared many lawful things unlawful and unlawful things lawful, the details of which have already been mentioned in the footnotes regarding Sa’ibah, Bahirah, Wasilah, and Ham [5: 103]. The response of the polytheists is, in fact, an example of “an excuse worse than the sin itself.” In this way, they try to silence the prophets, and argumentative criminals often use the excuse of divine will to cover up their crimes. However, there is a great difference between Allah’s will and Allah’s pleasure, and this difference has already been explained in detail in the footnote of Surah Al-An’am, verse 144; it may be referred to there.

[34] When the polytheists were asked about the teachings of the Prophet of Islam and the Quran, they would reply that there is nothing special in this teaching; it is just the stories of the people of old, nothing new. In other words, their objection to the Prophet ﷺ was that he only presented the words of the ancients. In response, it is being told to them that the argument you present in justification of your polytheistic actions is also not a valid argument. It is the same old claim that misguided people have always made: if Allah did not will it, why would we do such things? However, the refutation of the polytheists’ argument is contained within it: if Allah had approved or willed this shirk of the polytheists, then Allah should have remained silent about their actions. But Allah has sent His Messengers to strongly refute and condemn these actions. So how can they claim that their actions are in accordance with Allah’s pleasure?

[35] The response of the polytheists is also wrong in this respect: our messengers had informed them in due time that the polytheistic actions they were committing were absolutely displeasing to Allah, to the extent that He could send His punishment upon them as a consequence. And the messengers never fell short in fulfilling this responsibility.