Surah Al-Israa (17) — Ayah 111

(Ayah 111){ وَ قُلِ الْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ الَّذِيْ لَمْ يَتَّخِذْ وَلَدًا … :} That is, every excellence that can be praised, whether it is an attribute of beauty, majesty, or perfection, belongs only to Allah. If anyone else possesses any excellence, it is granted by Him, so that too is His excellence. All are dependent on Him; He is not dependent on anyone. No one besides Him, no matter how great, is either in need of children because he will grow old and die, so in life he needs help and after death he needs heirs in the form of children. Allah, the Exalted, has always existed and will always remain; He alone is the inheritor of all, He is free from the need for children. Then, a father and child are of the same kind; if He had children, His {’’ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيْكَ لَهُ‘‘} would no longer remain. Then, one would have to accept two or more gods of the same kind, the result of which is mentioned in Surah Al-Anbiya (22). In {’’ لَمْ يَتَّخِذْ وَلَدًا ‘‘}, the Jews and Christians are refuted who consider Uzair or the Messiah (peace be upon them) as the son of Allah, and also the polytheists of Arabia who consider the angels as the daughters of Allah, and also those who, hiding under the guise of Islam, consider the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), or Ali, Fatimah, Hasan, and Husayn (may Allah be pleased with them) as pieces of Allah’s personal light and say:
From the light of God were created the five pure ones:
Muhammad, Ali, Fatimah, Hasan, and Husayn.
Or, besides Allah, whoever there is, cannot accomplish every task alone, so even the greatest king has to include his heir apparent or ministers and advisors in governance, but Allah, the Exalted, alone is such a King of the entire universe that He does not need any partner. Similarly, in the life of everyone besides Him, there comes a stage when, due to weakness or humility, he needs a helper and supporter; Allah, the Exalted, is Mighty, dominant over all, neither does any weakness or helplessness befall Him, nor is there anyone who, in His helplessness and powerlessness, becomes His supporter. Allah said that O Prophet! And O every addressed one! Announce that Allah, the Exalted, is the possessor of every excellence and every praise, because He is free from these three weaknesses, and declare His greatness as much as possible. The truth is that this is a most comprehensive verse, in which Allah’s praise, glorification, declaration of His oneness, and exaltation are all mentioned with evidence.

The exegesis of this verse has been done along with the previous verse.

And say, "All praise is due to Allah, who has not taken a son, nor does He have any partner in His dominion, nor does He need any protector out of weakness [130]. And proclaim His greatness abundantly."

[130]
Does Allah Need Any Other Helper?

In this verse, the fundamental belief of the polytheists is refuted, upon which various forms of shirk (associating partners with Allah) have become prevalent. Their belief is that just as a king needs nobles, ministers, and various helpers to run the affairs of his kingdom, similarly, Allah needs workers to manage such a vast dominion. And our goddesses and gods, Ghaus, Qutb, Abdal, etc., all are in charge of different departments of this administration. This is the fundamental misguidance that has given birth to countless forms of shirk. Allah Almighty, refuting this absurd belief, has stated that He neither needed any partner at that time nor will He ever need one, that He should take a son who would assist Him in weakness. He did not need to appoint any helper at the time of the creation of the universe, nor does He need one to run the affairs of this universe, nor will such a need ever arise in the future. He hears the cries and calls of everyone directly, answers them, and grants them acceptance. He absolutely does not need any intermediaries. He possesses countless and unlimited treasures of everything, from which He bestows upon His creation at all times, and whatever is asked of Him, He grants it—provided that the etiquettes of supplication are observed. Thus, in this verse, there is a refutation of the People of the Book, the polytheists of Makkah, and the present-day polytheists, and the deity who possesses the above-mentioned attributes can be the true deity; therefore, all kinds of praise are worthy only for that Being. You should praise Him and proclaim His greatness. The beginning of this Surah Bani Isra'il is with "Subhanalladhi," and by tasbih is meant to declare Allah free from all defects and shortcomings, i.e., to declare Him free from negative attributes. Then the end of this Surah is also upon this statement that Allah Almighty is in no way in need of children, partners, or supporters. And this is a sign of the utmost eloquence and rhetoric, that the subject with which the discourse is begun, after mentioning all its details in between, its conclusion is also upon the same statement with which it was started.