Surah Az-Zumar (39) — Ayah 29

(Ayah 29) ➊ { ضَرَبَ اللّٰهُ مَثَلًا …:’’رَجُلٌ شَكِسٌ‘‘} A stubborn, ill-tempered, argumentative person. {’’ مُتَشٰكِسُوْنَ ‘‘} is a masculine plural active participle from the form "tafā‘ul," which implies mutual participation; those who oppose each other, those who argue with each other. This is the example of a polytheist and a monotheist: the polytheist who worships many deities is like a man who is a slave to many masters, who share ownership of him, and all are ill-natured, stubborn, and quarrelsome with each other. Each one wants the slave to be engaged in his own work, and each commands him according to his own needs, unconcerned with the others’ affairs. The slave is bewildered as to whose command he should obey. Moreover, none of these masters is willing to take responsibility for the slave’s needs; rather, each refers him to the other. As a result, he can neither please any of them nor fulfill any of his own needs or necessities. The extent to which his life becomes constrained is quite evident. In contrast, the example of a monotheist is like that of a man who is a slave to only one master; he serves only him and presents all his needs and necessities before him. It is clear that such a man will live a life of utmost peace and tranquility. Shah Abdul Qadir (may Allah have mercy on him) says: “A slave who belongs to many, none of them considers him their own, so none takes full care of him; and a slave who belongs entirely to one, he considers him his own and takes full care of him. This is the example of those who are servants of one Lord and those who are servants of many lords.” (Muwaddih)

➋ { اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ:} Here, {’’ اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ ‘‘} means that none of these polytheists can say that these two are equal; rather, either they will admit that these two cannot be equal, or they will remain silent. In both cases, the excellence of monotheism and the evil of polytheism are established. Upon this, it is said: All praise is for Allah, who clarified the matter of monotheism with such an excellent and simple example.

➌ { بَلْ اَكْثَرُهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُوْنَ :} That is, despite acknowledging the difference between being a slave to one master and being a slave to many masters, most people do not understand the difference between worshiping one Allah and worshiping many deities; therefore, they remain entangled in polytheism.

29. 1 In this, the example of a polytheist (one who ascribes partners to Allah) and a sincere person (one who worships only Allah) is given, that is, there is a slave who is shared among several people, so they keep quarreling among themselves, and there is a slave whose master is only one person, and no one shares in his ownership. Can these two slaves be equal? No, certainly not. In the same way, the polytheist who worships other deities along with Allah and the sincere believer who worships only one Allah and does not associate anyone with Him cannot be equal.

29. 2 For the fact that He has established the proof.

29. 3 That is why they commit shirk with Allah.

29. Allah sets forth a parable: a man belonging to several partners who are at odds with each other [44], and another man belonging entirely to one master—are their conditions equal? Praise [45] be to Allah! But most of them do not know.

Who Are the Various and Conflicting Masters of a Human Being?

The meaning of tashākus is to pull and struggle against each other for one’s own right due to miserliness, harshness, and ill-temper. The example is that a slave does not have just one, but several masters. And each one desires that the slave remains engaged only in his own work and extracts more labor from him than his due right. Whether or not he can serve the others. Moreover, they are harsh and ill-natured; each of them scolds and mistreats the slave. So, tell me, what will be the condition of such a slave, and in what difficulty and distress will he be? And another slave has only one master—so tell me, can the condition of these two slaves be the same? Another aspect is that such ill-natured people, who quarrel among themselves to extract as much right as possible from their shared slave, are extremely miserly in giving the slave his due. No one considers such a slave as solely his own, nor does anyone care for him or consider his rights. Whereas the other slave, who belongs to only one person, is considered his own slave, and his rights are also taken care of. In this respect too, the slave who has only one master is better. This example is, in fact, the example of a polytheist and a monotheist. A polytheist is a slave to many deities. He is always worried that if he tries to please one by presenting himself and offering gifts, the others might get upset and harm him. In this tug of war, he remains anxious and disturbed. In contrast, a monotheist seeks only the pleasure of the One Allah. Since the monotheist belongs solely to Allah, Allah also helps him in every difficult time, saves him from troubles, and bestows favors upon him. Obviously, the condition of these two cannot be the same. And to understand this, there is no need for lengthy contemplation. Now, it is clear that in this example, the deities cannot refer to stone idols, because miserliness, harshness, and ill-temper have nothing to do with them, nor can they quarrel for their rights. Inevitably, these must refer to living masters who practically give a person conflicting commands and actually pull him towards themselves. Among them, the first master is a person’s own self, which presents various desires before him and compels him to fulfill them. Other countless masters present everywhere: in the home, family, community, nation, and society of the country, among religious leaders, rulers and lawmakers, in the spheres of business and economy, and among the powers dominating the civilization of the world. Their conflicting demands and various requirements constantly pull a person towards themselves, and whichever demand he fails to fulfill, that master does not leave him unpunished within his domain. However, each one’s weapon of punishment is different: some cause heartache, some become estranged, some boycott, some bankrupt, some attack with religion, and some strike with the law. There is only one way to escape this distress and hardship: that a person becomes a servant of only Allah and pays no heed whatsoever to anyone else regarding Allah's commands. This alone is the path to safety, peace, and salvation for him.

The Special Occasion for the Use of ﴿الحمد لله﴾:

Here, the use of ﴿الحمد لله﴾ is in the sense that the worshippers of many masters are doomed whether they answer this question or not; and if they do not answer, then this becomes a conclusive argument against them. And if they do answer, they cannot say that the condition of both slaves is equal, nor can they say that the slave with more masters is better. Therefore, thanks be to Allah that they too admit that a slave with only one master is better. But when it comes to practical life, they forget all these things and act ignorantly.