Surah Ash-Shura (42) — Ayah 21

(Ayah 21) ➊ { اَمْ لَهُمْ شُرَكٰٓؤُا شَرَعُوْا لَهُمْ … :} It is clear that in this verse, {’’ شُرَكٰٓؤُا ‘‘} does not refer to those partners whom people pray to, offer vows and sacrifices to, or worship, because they can neither prescribe any way of religion, nor do they have any role in declaring things lawful or unlawful, nor can they establish any law or code. Inevitably, this refers to a human or a group of humans who have established their own law in opposition to Allah’s Shariah, have taken the authority of declaring lawful and unlawful into their own hands, and prescribe systems and laws for people that are against the Shariah of Allah, and then implement and enforce them among the people. Such people can be members of parliament or assemblies, self-willed rulers, custodians and caretakers of shrines and tombs, or misguided philosophers and writers. In addition, these partners can also be such righteous and pious imams who could never even think of legislating in opposition to Allah, but people, in their name, have made laws contrary to the Quran and Sunnah and have made them partners with Allah. Shirk of any kind is a great injustice, whether it is shirk in worship or shirk in legislation. Just as the person is a mushrik who worships anyone other than Allah, offers vows and sacrifices to them, calls upon them in times of distress, considers them to fulfill needs or remove difficulties—whether he worships a living being or a dead one, a jinn or a human or an angel, a grave or an idol—similarly, the one who gives anyone other than Allah the authority to establish the system of life, to make laws, or to declare things lawful or unlawful in opposition to Allah, he too is a mushrik. Allah has not permitted making any kind of partner in any of these matters.

➋ {وَ لَوْ لَا كَلِمَةُ الْفَصْلِ لَقُضِيَ بَيْنَهُمْ:} That is, this shirk is such audacity that invites the wrath of Allah, that if it had not been decided to grant people respite and if it had not been decreed that judgments would be made on the Day of Resurrection, then punishment would have come upon those people in this world who make their own law and Shariah in opposition to Allah’s religion, or who commit shirk by accepting such a Shariah.

➌ In { وَ اِنَّ الظّٰلِمِيْنَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ اَلِيْمٌ: ’’ الظّٰلِمِيْنَ ‘‘}, the definite article al- is for specification, meaning there is a painful punishment for those wrongdoers who commit the great injustice of shirk, and that painful punishment is Hell, in which they will abide forever, and Paradise is forbidden to them forever, as He said: « اِنَّهٗ مَنْ يُّشْرِكْ بِاللّٰهِ فَقَدْ حَرَّمَ اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ الْجَنَّةَ وَ مَاْوٰىهُ النَّارُ وَ مَا لِلظّٰلِمِيْنَ مِنْ اَنْصَارٍ» [ المائدۃ : ۷۲ ] “Indeed, whoever associates partners with Allah, then Allah has certainly forbidden Paradise to him, and his abode is the Fire, and there are no helpers for the wrongdoers.”

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

Do they have partners who have prescribed for them a religion which Allah has not permitted [32]? And if it were not for a decisive word, their matter would have been judged. Surely, for the wrongdoers [33] there is a painful punishment.

[32]
Whose Authority Prevails Against Allah?

It is obvious that here, the partners cannot mean stone idols, because they can neither hear nor speak; how could they give any law or code to anyone? Inevitably, by this is meant a person or a group of people who have established their own law in opposition to Allah’s Shari’ah, who have taken the authority of declaring things lawful and unlawful into their own hands, or who present codes of life, philosophies, or systems to people that are against Allah’s Shari’ah, and then implement and enforce them among the people. Such people can be members of parliament or assemblies, self-willed rulers, caretakers and custodians of shrines and tombs, or misguided philosophers and writers. These are the ones who are called Taghut.
[33] That is, Allah deals with such rebels with forgiveness and forbearance and does not destroy them immediately. The reason for this is clear: Allah does not want to turn the free will given to humans into compulsion. He wants to test every human in this world by giving them free will. However, when this period of free will comes to an end and they depart from this world, then such wrongdoers will be given a painful punishment for all their deeds.