Surah Ash-Shura (42) — Ayah 11

(Ayah 11) ➊ { فَاطِرُ السَّمٰوٰتِ وَ الْاَرْضِ … :} These are further proofs for accepting Allah alone as Lord, relying only on Him, and turning only to Him. One is that He alone is the Creator of the heavens and the earth without any model or material, whereas the deities you have made neither created a single particle nor can they ever do so. See also Surah Hajj (73).

➋ { جَعَلَ لَكُمْ مِّنْ اَنْفُسِكُمْ اَزْوَاجًا … :} After creating the heavens and the earth, He made for you, from your own selves, your pairs, so that your lineage may continue and remain ongoing. The mutual affection obtained from pairing with your own kind cannot be achieved by pairing with another kind. Ibn Ashur said that all the tales popular among the Arabs about marrying jinn, etc., are false and fabricated; some people's imagination made them see such things, but in reality, they have no existence. And for your needs, He made pairs among the cattle, so that they may multiply and spread, and you may fulfill your needs through them.

➌ { يَذْرَؤُكُمْ فِيْهِ:} That is, pairs were made so that the process of procreation and reproduction may continue, and your lineage may flourish and spread.

➍ { لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهٖ شَيْءٌ:} Although there are differences of color and language among humans, and each person has a distinct identity from the other, yet in many things they resemble and are like each other. The same is true for cattle and other animals. Only Allah has the distinction that nothing is like His essence or attributes in any way.

➎ { لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهٖ شَيْءٌ:} Do not think, by looking at your own system of marriage and procreation, that Allah is like you. No, the Creator and the created cannot be alike. Nothing is like Him, neither in essence, nor in attributes, nor in actions and rights. He has no pair, nor is He anyone's child, nor is anyone His child, nor is anyone His partner or equal. See also Surah Ikhlas.

➏ {’’ لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهٖ شَيْءٌ ‘‘} There is a famous question about this: when the intent is to say that nothing is like Allah, then {’’لَيْسَ مِثْلَهُ شَيْءٌ ‘‘} would have sufficed; what is the need for bringing "kaaf"? By bringing "kaaf," it apparently creates a meaning that is impossible, because the translation of {’’ لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهٖ شَيْءٌ ‘‘} would be "there is nothing like His likeness," whereas from this translation two impossible things follow: first, that there is someone like Allah, which is impossible; second, that there is nothing like His likeness, whereas if he is like Allah, then obviously Allah is like him, only then is he His likeness. Scholars have solved this question in various ways. One is that in this, "kaaf" is extra. Extra does not mean useless, but it is brought for emphasis and exaggeration in {’’مِثْلٌ‘‘}. As if the statement "nothing is like Allah" is said twice, once with "kaaf" and once with {’’مِثْلٌ‘‘}, but exaggeration in the meaning of likeness is questionable.

The second solution is that in Arabic speech, for emphasis, the word {’’مِثْلٌ‘‘} is not used for something similar, but for the essence and personality itself. For example, {’’مِثْلِيْ لَا يَكْذِبُ‘‘} does not mean that a person like me does not lie, but that "I do not lie." Similarly, {’’مِثْلُهُ لَا يُعْبَؤُ بِهٖ‘‘} does not mean that someone like him is not cared for, but that "he is not cared for." Similarly, {’’ لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهٖ شَيْءٌ ‘‘} does not mean that there is nothing like Allah's likeness, but that "there is nothing like Allah's essence." Here, "kaaf" is added so that if "kaaf" were not brought, the Arabic idiom might lead the mind to a wrong meaning, as {’’مِثْلُهُ لَا يُعْبَؤُ بِهٖ‘‘} means that no one cares about such a person. Similarly, without "kaaf," {’’لَيْسَ مِثْلَهُ شَيْءٌ‘‘} could mean that (God forbid) His essence is nothing, or has no status. Now, by saying {’’ لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهٖ شَيْءٌ ‘‘}, this concern is removed and it is clear that there is nothing like His essence. Tabari, Baqa'i, Ibn Hisham, and many other imams have considered {’’مِثْلٌ‘‘} here as synonymous with person, essence, or self, and have presented evidence for it. This solution is very strong in meaning.

The third solution is that in many places in the Qur'an, the word {’’ مَثَلُ ‘‘} has come in the meaning of attribute or quality, as in this verse: « مَثَلُ الْجَنَّةِ الَّتِيْ وُعِدَ الْمُتَّقُوْنَ فِيْهَاۤ اَنْهٰرٌ مِّنْ مَّآءٍ غَيْرِ اٰسِنٍ» [ محمد : ۱۵ ] "The description of the Paradise which the righteous are promised is that in it are rivers of water unaltered..." Similarly, this verse: « وَ لَهُ الْمَثَلُ الْاَعْلٰى فِي السَّمٰوٰتِ وَ الْاَرْضِ» [ الروم : ۲۷ ] "And the highest attribute (quality) in the heavens and the earth is His." Therefore, the meaning of {’’ لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهٖ شَيْءٌ ‘‘} is "there is nothing like Allah's attribute." This solution is the easiest to understand, is absolutely correct in meaning, and is transmitted from the imams of tafsir. It is also very appropriate in context, because before this, many attributes of Allah have been mentioned, then it is said that there is nothing like His attribute.

➐ {وَ هُوَ السَّمِيْعُ الْبَصِيْرُ: ’’ السَّمِيْعُ الْبَصِيْرُ ‘‘ ’’ هُوَ ‘‘} is the predicate of the subject. By bringing "al" on the predicate, the meaning of exclusivity is created, so it is translated as "and He alone is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing." This is the answer to a question arising from {’’ لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهٖ شَيْءٌ ‘‘} (there is nothing like His essence and attributes): that despite {’’ لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهٖ شَيْءٌ ‘‘}, how is it that Allah is All-Hearing and All-Seeing, and humans are also All-Hearing and All-Seeing, as He said: «فَجَعَلْنٰهُ سَمِيْعًۢا بَصِيْرًا» [ الدھر : ۲] "So We made him hearing and seeing." In fact, hearing and seeing are also found in animals, and from the incident of Hanana, it is known that even inanimate objects are not devoid of hearing and seeing, so how is Allah unique? In answer to this, Allah said, the perfect and real All-Hearing and All-Seeing is only Allah; the attributes found in others bear no resemblance to Allah's attributes and have no reality compared to them.

Many people have had such doubts about Allah's attributes that countless creatures have gone astray. They saw that the same words are used for Allah and for the creation, for example, about Allah it is said: « ثُمَّ اسْتَوٰى عَلَى الْعَرْشِ» [ الأعراف : ۵۴ ] (then He rose over the Throne), and about the creation: « لِتَسْتَوٗا عَلٰى ظُهُوْرِهٖ » [ الزخرف : ۱۳ ] (so that you may sit firmly on their backs), and these words: « فَاِذَا اسْتَوَيْتَ اَنْتَ وَ مَنْ مَّعَكَ عَلَى الْفُلْكِ » [ المؤمنون : ۲۸ ] (then when you and those with you are on the ship). In Allah's statement: « يَدُ اللّٰهِ فَوْقَ اَيْدِيْهِمْ » [ الفتح : ۱۰ ] (Allah's hand is above their hands), the word "yad" is used for both Allah and His servants, and the same is true for All-Hearing and All-Seeing. Now, some people went astray because they considered Allah's attributes similar to the attributes of the creation. They understood His rising, His hand, His hearing and seeing, and His other attributes to be like the rising, hand, hearing and seeing, and other attributes of the creation. These people are called {’’مشبهه‘‘}, and some went astray because they denied those attributes of Allah which He Himself has described for Himself, saying that nothing is like Allah, so He is not established over the Throne, nor does He have a hand, nor hearing and seeing, nor does He speak, because if we accept these things for Him, He would be like the creation. These deniers of attributes are called {’’معطّله‘‘}. The truth is that Allah is above both resemblance and denial.

Allah the Exalted has explained the issue of His attributes with utmost clarity, leaving no complexity or ambiguity. The summary is that Allah has stated that the truth in the verses of attributes is composed of two things: one, that Allah is free from resemblance to the attributes of the creation; second, that whatever attribute Allah has described for Himself in His Book, or His Messenger (peace be upon him) has described for Him, complete faith should be kept in it, because no one knows Allah's attribute better than Him, as He said: « قُلْ ءَاَنْتُمْ اَعْلَمُ اَمِ اللّٰهُ » [ البقرۃ : ۱۴۰ ] "Are you more knowing or is Allah?" And after Allah, no one knows Allah's attributes better than the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). About him, Allah Himself said: « وَ مَا يَنْطِقُ عَنِ الْهَوٰى (3) اِنْ هُوَ اِلَّا وَحْيٌ يُّوْحٰى » [ النجم : 4،3 ] "Nor does he speak from [his own] desire. It is only a revelation revealed." Now, whoever denies any attribute that Allah Himself has described for Himself in His Book, or His Messenger (peace be upon him) has described, saying that this attribute is not befitting Allah, then he considers himself more knowledgeable than Allah and His Messenger about what is befitting to Allah's majesty and what is not. And whoever thinks that Allah's attributes are like the attributes of the creation is also a heretic and misguided, because Allah said, nothing is like Him, and this person considers Allah's attributes similar to those of the creation. However, the one who accepts all those attributes for Allah which Allah Himself has described for Himself, or His Messenger has described for Him, and at the same time declares Allah and His attributes free from resemblance to the creation, he is the true believer who believes in Allah's perfect attributes and also in His being free from resemblance to the creation. The verse under commentary: « لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهٖ شَيْءٌ وَ هُوَ السَّمِيْعُ الْبَصِيْرُ » has made this reality very clear that Allah possesses the attributes of hearing and seeing, and nothing is like or similar to Him.

In this verse, Allah said {’’ وَ هُوَ السَّمِيْعُ الْبَصِيْرُ ‘‘} instead of {’’ وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْعَظِيْمُ ‘‘}, because both the attributes of hearing and seeing are also found in all animals, so Allah stated that He possesses these two attributes, but the basis of His attributes is that there is no similarity between Allah's attributes and the attributes of the creation, so after saying {’’ لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهٖ شَيْءٌ ‘‘} {’’ وَ هُوَ السَّمِيْعُ الْبَصِيْرُ ‘‘} was stated. Those who have denied Allah's attributes because the same words are used for the creation, they must also deny Allah's essence, His existence, and His life, because the creation also has an essence, also exists, and also has life, but just as there is no similarity between the Creator and the creation, and there is no similarity in their essence, existence, and life, likewise there is no similarity in any attribute of the Creator and the creation. Allah's attributes are perfect and real. The attributes of the creation, though present according to their state, are null compared to Allah's attributes, as He said: « وَ هُوَ السَّمِيْعُ الْبَصِيْرُ» He alone is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing, and no one else, even though Allah Himself has described humans as hearing and seeing.

Listen to a brief detail of this: The theologians call seven of Allah's countless attributes the attributes of meaning: they are life, power, will, knowledge, hearing, seeing, and speech. Allah Himself has described His attribute of life, He said: « هُوَ الْحَيُّ لَاۤ اِلٰهَ اِلَّا هُوَ» [المؤمن : ۶۵ ] "He is the Ever-Living; there is no deity except Him." And He said: « وَ تَوَكَّلْ عَلَى الْحَيِّ الَّذِيْ لَا يَمُوْتُ» [الفرقان : ۵۸ ] "And rely upon the Ever-Living who does not die." And many other verses. He also described the attribute of life for the creation, He said: « وَ سَلٰمٌ عَلَيْهِ يَوْمَ وُلِدَ وَ يَوْمَ يَمُوْتُ وَ يَوْمَ يُبْعَثُ حَيًّا» [ مریم : ۱۵ ] "And peace be upon him the day he was born and the day he dies and the day he is raised alive." And He said: « وَ جَعَلْنَا مِنَ الْمَآءِ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ حَيٍّ» [ الأنبیاء : ۳۰ ] "And We made from water every living thing." And He said: « يُخْرِجُ الْحَيَّ مِنَ الْمَيِّتِ وَ يُخْرِجُ الْمَيِّتَ مِنَ الْحَيِّ» [ الروم : ۱۹ ] "He brings the living out of the dead and brings the dead out of the living." Here, see {’’ هُوَ الْحَيِّ ‘‘} (He alone is the Living), yet He also mentioned the life of the creation. The reason is that true and perfect life is only Allah's attribute; the creation also has a kind of life according to its state, but there is as much difference between the life of the Creator and the creation as there is between their essences; not even a trace of the Creator's life is found in the creation.

The second attribute is power. Allah Himself has described this attribute, He said: « وَ اللّٰهُ عَلٰى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيْرٌ » [البقرۃ : ۲۸۴ ] "And Allah is over all things competent." For the creation, He also used this word: « اِلَّا الَّذِيْنَ تَابُوْا مِنْ قَبْلِ اَنْ تَقْدِرُوْا عَلَيْهِمْ » [ المائدۃ : ۳۴ ] "Except for those who repent before you overpower them." Allah's power is true, perfect, and befitting His majesty, while the creation's power is only according to its state. There is as much difference between Allah's power and the creation's power as there is between their essences.

The third attribute is will. Allah said about Himself: « فَعَّالٌ لِّمَا يُرِيْدُ » [ ھود : ۱۰۷ ] "Doer of whatever He wills." And He said: « اِنَّمَااَمْرُهٗۤ اِذَاۤ اَرَادَ شَيْـًٔا اَنْ يَّقُوْلَ لَهٗ كُنْ فَيَكُوْنُ » [ یٰسٓ : ۸۲ ] "His command, when He intends a thing, is only that He says to it, 'Be,' and it is." And He said: « يُرِيْدُ اللّٰهُ بِكُمُ الْيُسْرَ وَ لَا يُرِيْدُ بِكُمُ الْعُسْرَ » [البقرۃ : ۱۸۵ ] "Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship." And other verses. The will of the creation is also mentioned, He said: «تُرِيْدُوْنَ عَرَضَ الدُّنْيَا » [ الأنفال : ۶۷ ] "You desire the commodities of this world." And He said: «اِنْ يُّرِيْدُوْنَ اِلَّا فِرَارًا » [ الاحزاب : ۱۳ ] "They desire nothing but to flee." And He said: « يُرِيْدُوْنَ لِيُطْفِـُٔوْا نُوْرَ اللّٰهِ» [ الصف : ۸ ] "They want to extinguish the light of Allah." And other verses. Here, Allah's will is true, perfect, and befitting His essence, while the creation's will is according to its state. There is as much difference between the two wills as there is between their essences.

The fourth attribute is knowledge. Allah said about Himself: « وَ اللّٰهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيْمٌ» [ البقرۃ : ۲۸۲ ] "And Allah is Knowing of all things." And He said: « لٰكِنِ اللّٰهُ يَشْهَدُ بِمَاۤ اَنْزَلَ اِلَيْكَ اَنْزَلَهٗ بِعِلْمِهٖ » [ النساء : ۱۶۶ ] "But Allah bears witness to that which He has revealed to you. He has sent it down with His knowledge." And about the creation, He said: « وَ اِنَّهٗ لَذُوْ عِلْمٍ لِّمَا عَلَّمْنٰهُ» [ یوسف : ۶۸ ] "And indeed, he was knowledgeable because We had taught him." And similar verses. So Allah's knowledge is perfect, true, and befitting His perfection and majesty, while the creation's knowledge is according to its state. There is as much difference between the knowledge of the Creator and the creation as there is between their essences.

The fifth and sixth attributes are hearing and seeing. Allah said about Himself: «لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهٖ شَيْءٌ وَ هُوَ السَّمِيْعُ الْبَصِيْرُ » [ الشورٰی : ۱۱ ] "There is nothing like Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing." And He said: « وَ اَنَّ اللّٰهَ سَمِيْعٌۢ بَصِيْرٌ » [ الحج : ۶۱ ] "And Allah is All-Hearing, All-Seeing." And about the creation, He said: « اِنَّا خَلَقْنَا الْاِنْسَانَ مِنْ نُّطْفَةٍ اَمْشَاجٍ نَّبْتَلِيْهِ فَجَعَلْنٰهُ سَمِيْعًۢا بَصِيْرًا» [ الدھر : ۲ ] "Indeed, We created man from a drop of mixed fluid to test him, so We made him hearing and seeing." And He said: « اَسْمِعْ بِهِمْ وَ اَبْصِرْ يَوْمَ يَاْتُوْنَنَا » [ مریم : ۳۸ ] "How well will they hear and see the Day they come to Us." And similar verses. So the hearing and seeing of Allah, the Exalted, are true, perfect, and befitting His majesty, and the hearing and seeing of the creation are according to their state. Just as there is no similarity between the essence of the Creator and the creation, there is no similarity in their hearing and seeing.

The seventh attribute is speech. Allah said about Himself: « وَ كَلَّمَ اللّٰهُ مُوْسٰى تَكْلِيْمًا» [ النساء : ۱۶۴ ] "And Allah spoke to Moses with [direct] speech." And He said: «اِنِّي اصْطَفَيْتُكَ عَلَى النَّاسِ بِرِسٰلٰتِيْ وَ بِكَلَامِيْ » [الأعراف : ۱۴۴ ] "Indeed, I have chosen you over the people with My messages and My words." And He said: « فَاَجِرْهُ حَتّٰى يَسْمَعَ كَلٰمَ اللّٰهِ» [ التوبۃ : ۶ ] "Then grant him protection so that he may hear the words of Allah." And about the creation, He said: « فَلَمَّا كَلَّمَهٗ قَالَ اِنَّكَ الْيَوْمَ لَدَيْنَا مَكِيْنٌ اَمِيْنٌ » [یوسف : ۵۴ ] "Then when he spoke to him, he said, 'Indeed, you are today established [in position] and trusted.'" And He said: «اَلْيَوْمَ نَخْتِمُ عَلٰۤى اَفْوَاهِهِمْ وَ تُكَلِّمُنَاۤ اَيْدِيْهِمْ» [ یٰسٓ : ۶۵ ] "Today We will seal over their mouths, and their hands will speak to Us." And He said: «قَالُوْا كَيْفَ نُكَلِّمُ مَنْ كَانَ فِي الْمَهْدِ صَبِيًّا » [ مریم : ۲۹ ] "They said, 'How can we speak to one who is in the cradle a child?'" So Allah's speech is true, perfect, and befitting His majesty, and the creation also has the attribute of speech according to its state, and there is as much difference between the speech of the Creator and the creation as there is between their essences. Those of knowledge who wish to read this discussion in detail should see the tafsir of Surah Al-A'raf, Ayah (54): « ثُمَّ اسْتَوٰى عَلَى الْعَرْشِ» in the book of the commentator Shanqiti, {’’ أَضْوَاءُ الْبَيَانِ ‘‘}.

It is astonishing that such a clear matter was not understood by great commentators and authors. Wherever the word {’’استوى على الْعرش‘‘} comes, they will deny it and say it means to rule; when hearing and seeing come, they will say it means knowledge. Similarly, they will interpret Allah's love, pleasure, anger, vengeance, His descent, and other attributes as something else, denying the original attributes. The truth is that guidance is only Allah's gift; He gives it to whomever He wills. Only the righteous predecessors and the scholars of hadith remained safe in this matter. Their interpretation was given by Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him), when he was asked about Allah's rising over the Throne, he said: {’’ اَلْإِسْتِوَاءُ مَعْلُوْمٌ وَالْكَيْفُ مَجْهُوْلٌ وَالسُّؤَالُ عَنْهُ بِدْعَةٌ ‘‘} "Allah's rising over the Throne is known, and how it is, is unknown, and asking about how is an innovation." Exactly in the same way, our faith is that Allah is All-Hearing, All-Seeing, He has hands, eyes, a face, He loves, becomes angry, speaks, laughs, descends, and on the Day of Judgment will come to the earth, but we do not know the modality of these attributes, nor can we, as weak creatures, understand the reality or modality of the essence or attributes of this infinite Creator. We accept all His attributes in the very words and meanings in which He Himself or His Noble Prophet (peace be upon him) has described them, and we declare ourselves free from all those who say that Allah does not have these attributes, or say that they are like those of the creation, or say that we do not know the meaning of these attributes. May Allah grant us steadfastness upon the truth. (Ameen)

11. 1. That is, it is His favor that He made your spouses from your own kind; otherwise, if your wives had been created from some other creature instead of humans, you would not have attained the tranquility that you get from a spouse of your own kind and likeness.

11. 2. Neither in essence nor in attributes, thus He is unique in Himself, One and independent.

11. The Originator [11] of the heavens and the earth. He has made for you pairs from among yourselves, and also pairs among the cattle. In this way, He multiplies you on the earth. There is nothing like [12] unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.

[11] The reason for my trust in Allah is that He is the possessor of immense power and might, who brought this entire universe into existence, and He has settled this earth in astonishing ways by creating pairs of humans and other animals, and by spreading generations from them, He has populated this earth.

[12]
Why Should One Trust in Allah? Its Various Reasons:

This is the second reason for trusting in Allah, that is, He is such an entity that nothing in the universe is like Him. The literal meaning of ﴿لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهٖ شَئيٌ﴾ is “nothing is like His likeness,” and there is even more emphasis in this manner of expression. The meaning is, for example, that He has hands, but not like ours or like those of any other living being. And in the hadith it is mentioned that both of Allah’s hands are right hands, which remain open at all times to provide sustenance to the creation. From this, it is also understood that His hands are not like ours, nor is His body like ours. He is All-Hearing and All-Seeing, while humans too are hearing and seeing. The difference is that a human can only hear one person at a time, whereas Allah Almighty hears the calls and prayers of all His creation at the same time. The same is the case with His seeing. How this happens is beyond our comprehension. The point is that only such an entity is worthy of trust who can hear the call and plea of everyone at all times and is also seeing everything with His own eyes.