Surah An-Naml (27) — Ayah 60

(Ayah 60) ➊ {اَمَّنْ خَلَقَ السَّمٰوٰتِ وَ الْاَرْضَ …: ’’ حَدَآىِٕقَ ‘‘ ’’حَدِيْقَةٌ ‘‘} is the plural of {’’ حَدِيْقَةٌ ‘‘}, which originally means a garden surrounded by a wall, then every garden began to be called {’’ حَدِيْقَةٌ ‘‘}. Before {’’ اَمَّنْ ‘‘} with {’’أَمْ‘‘}, there is an implied sentence with an interrogative hamzah, which is understood from the context of the passage: {’’أَيْ أَشُرَكَاءُ هُمْ خَيْرٌ أَمَّنْ خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ ‘‘} "That is, are their partners better or Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth?" Here, Allah Almighty has mentioned in five verses those attributes of His which even the polytheists of Makkah acknowledged that no one besides Allah possesses them, so Allah Almighty, in every verse, after mentioning some attributes, says that when these attributes belong only to Allah, then can there be any other deity with Allah? In this first verse, Allah Almighty has mentioned these attributes of His: that He is the Creator of the heavens and also of the earth, then He is the One Who sends down rain from the sky and with it brings forth delightful and beautiful gardens from the earth. The polytheists acknowledged all three of these things, as He said: «{ وَ لَىِٕنْ سَاَلْتَهُمْ مَّنْ خَلَقَ السَّمٰوٰتِ وَ الْاَرْضَ لَيَقُوْلُنَّ خَلَقَهُنَّ الْعَزِيْزُ الْعَلِيْمُ }» [الزخرف : ۹ ] "And surely if you ask them who created the heavens and the earth, they will certainly say, 'The All-Mighty, the All-Knowing created them.'" Not only the heavens and the earth, but they also acknowledged that He alone created them, as He said: «{ وَ لَىِٕنْ سَاَلْتَهُمْ مَّنْ خَلَقَهُمْ لَيَقُوْلُنَّ اللّٰهُ فَاَنّٰى يُؤْفَكُوْنَ }» [ الزخرف : ۸۷ ] "And surely if you ask them who created them, they will certainly say, 'Allah did,' so how are they deluded?" And He said: «{ وَ لَىِٕنْ سَاَلْتَهُمْ مَّنْ نَّزَّلَ مِنَ السَّمَآءِ مَآءً فَاَحْيَا بِهِ الْاَرْضَ مِنْۢ بَعْدِ مَوْتِهَا لَيَقُوْلُنَّ اللّٰهُ }» [ العنکبوت : ۶۳ ] "And surely if you ask them who sent down water from the sky, then with it revived the earth after its death, they will certainly say, 'Allah did.'" The meaning is that you acknowledge that He alone does all this, and in the entire system of the universe, neither any angel is a partner, nor any prophet or saint, nor any other deity, yet you worship those about whom you acknowledge that they neither create nor provide sustenance, so tell me, can there be any deity with Allah who neither creates nor provides sustenance? And He said: «{اَفَمَنْ يَّخْلُقُ كَمَنْ لَّا يَخْلُقُ اَفَلَا تَذَكَّرُوْنَ }» [ النحل : ۱۷ ] "So is He Who creates like one who does not create? Will you not then take heed?" Not only the polytheists of Arabia, but polytheists all over the world acknowledged, and still acknowledge, that Allah Almighty alone is the Creator of the universe and the One Who runs the system of the universe, so no stubborn person, even for the sake of argument, could answer this question of the Noble Qur'an by saying that our deities are partners in these matters; if anyone said so, thousands of people from his own nation would have denied him and said that you are speaking falsely.

➋ { مَا كَانَ لَكُمْ اَنْ تُنْۢبِتُوْا شَجَرَهَا:} This is a refutation of the thought that comes to a person's mind that we make the land, we sow the seeds, we give the water, in short, we are the ones who grow these gardens and crops. It is said, it was not in your power to grow the trees of these gardens, it is We Who have grown these flourishing and beautiful gardens, as He said: «{ اَفَرَءَيْتُمْ مَّا تَحْرُثُوْنَ (63) ءَاَنْتُمْ تَزْرَعُوْنَهٗۤ اَمْ نَحْنُ الزّٰرِعُوْنَ (64) لَوْ نَشَآءُ لَجَعَلْنٰهُ حُطَامًا فَظَلْتُمْ تَفَكَّهُوْنَ (65) اِنَّا لَمُغْرَمُوْنَ (66) بَلْ نَحْنُ مَحْرُوْمُوْنَ }» [ الواقعۃ : ۶۳ تا ۶۷ ] "So have you seen what you sow? Is it you who make it grow, or are We the Grower? If We willed, We could surely crumble it to pieces, then you would remain in wonder, talking about it, saying, 'Indeed, we are burdened with debt; rather, we are deprived.'"

➌ { ءَاِلٰهٌ مَّعَ اللّٰهِ:} No, by Allah! No.

➍ {بَلْ هُمْ قَوْمٌ يَّعْدِلُوْنَ: ’’ يَعْدِلُوْنَ ‘‘ ’’ عُدُوْلٌ‘‘} is from {’’ عُدُوْلٌ‘‘}, which means to deviate, rather, these are people who are deviating from the path. Or it is from {’’عَدْلٌ‘‘}, which means to equate, rather, these are people who set up (others) as equals to Allah. Those who were addressed earlier, that is: «{ وَ اَنْزَلَ لَكُمْ مِّنَ السَّمَآءِ مَآءً …}» (And He sent down water from the sky for you...) are now mentioned in the third person: «{ بَلْ هُمْ قَوْمٌ يَّعْدِلُوْنَ }» (Rather, these are people who are deviating from the path) This expresses displeasure that these people are not worthy of being addressed.

60-1. From here, the explanation of the previous sentence and its evidences are being given, that only Allah is unique in creation, sustenance, and management, etc. No one is His partner. It is said: Who is the one who made the heavens with such height and beauty, who made the shining planets, the bright stars, and the revolving celestial spheres, and likewise, who is the one who sends down rain from the sky and the earth and, through it, brings forth flourishing gardens? Is there anyone among you who can even make a tree grow from the earth? In response to all these, even the polytheists used to say and admit that all of this is done by Allah, as is mentioned in the Quran at another place. (وَلَىِٕنْ سَاَلْتَهُمْ مَّنْ نَّزَّلَ مِنَ السَّمَاۗءِ مَاۗءً فَاَحْيَا بِهِ الْاَرْضَ مِنْۢ بَعْدِ مَوْتِهَا لَيَقُوْلُنَّ اللّٰهُ ۭ قُلِ الْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ ۭ بَلْ اَكْثَرُهُمْ لَا يَعْقِلُوْنَ) 29. Al-Ankabut: 63)

60-2. That is, despite all these realities, is there any other being along with Allah who is worthy of worship? Or who has created any of these things? That is, there is no one who has made anything or is worthy of worship. The meaning of "امن" in these verses is: Is the Being who has made all these things like the one who is not capable of any of these things? (Ibn Kathir)

60-3. Its second translation is that those people declare equals and similitudes to Allah.

60. Who is it Who created the heavens and the earth, and sent down for you water from the sky, with which We cause to grow gardens full of beauty, whose trees you could not have grown? Is there any god with Allah? No, but they are a people who do injustice [60][61].

[60]
Allah’s Universal Lordship:

In this verse and in the next three or four verses, Allah Almighty has presented a multitude of proofs for His perfect power, mercy, universal lordship, and oneness, most of which even the polytheists of Makkah acknowledged. For example, the very first proof is that Allah Almighty is the Creator of the heavens and the earth. Rain falls from the sky, which the earth absorbs. Then its power of growth begins to work. From this, crops, grains, fruit-bearing trees, flowers, and grass and fodder for cattle grow. In this way, all the creatures of Allah Almighty living on the face of the earth are provided with sustenance. There are millions and billions of humans alone, who are just one species, while the number of living species reaches into the hundreds of thousands. Some are creatures of water, some of land, and some of air. Allah Almighty has made such a comprehensive and complete arrangement for the sustenance of all of them that every living being is being provided with sustenance. Now tell me, in this entire system of universal lordship, is there any angel, any prophet, any saint, any elder, or any other deity who is a partner, that besides Allah, he should also be worshipped? Worship is the name of utmost humility and submission, and only He deserves it who is absolutely perfect and all-powerful. How can this status be given to any deficient, powerless, or needy creature?

[61]
The Literal Meaning of ‘Adl (Justice):

The word ‘adl is used in several meanings. It means equality, and also equal recompense. Then, this word is from the category of words that have opposite meanings in the language. That is, it means to do justice, and also to do injustice. In this regard, this phrase can have several meanings. For example, one meaning is clear from the translation itself: when the entire system of universal lordship is solely in the control of Allah Almighty, then including others in worship is such a great injustice and wrongdoing. The second meaning is that despite this acknowledgment of reality, these people give their deities a status equal to Allah. And the third meaning is that these people deviate from the straight path, that is, despite acknowledging the reality, they draw the wrong conclusion from it.