Surah An-Nahl (16) — Ayah 35

(Ayah35) ➊ { وَ قَالَ الَّذِيْنَ اَشْرَكُوْا لَوْ شَآءَ اللّٰهُ مَا عَبَدْنَا …:} The disbelievers use Allah’s will as a pretext to justify their polytheism and acts of disbelief, such as declaring Bahirah, Saibah, and Wasilah, etc., as forbidden, and on this basis, they criticize prophethood and say that if this polytheism and these prohibitions were against Allah’s pleasure, we would not do them and we would have been stopped. Since Allah did not stop us, it is clear that we are doing all this under His will. However, firstly, the fact is that if Allah were pleased with their polytheism and evil deeds, He would not have sent messengers or revealed books to prohibit these actions. When He has continuously prohibited these things through the messengers, it is clear that all these things are against His pleasure. Furthermore, they cannot use the lack of immediate punishment from Allah as proof of permissibility, because this is a respite from Allah. See also Surah Al-An’am (148).

➋ In Tafsir Thanai it is stated: “Their argument is that Allah is pleased with our actions, so we do them. If He were displeased, could we do them? Then why does He threaten us for these actions? But in reality, they do not understand; they do not know the difference between Allah’s will (mashiyyah) and pleasure (rida). Surely, whatever is happening is by His will; nothing can happen except by His will, because will is the name of His law. Until you do something according to the law of nature, you will never succeed. Until you light a fire to get heat, you will not get that result from water. The function that nature has assigned to water will not be fulfilled by fire. This very sword, whose function is to sever heads, wherever you use it, it will show its effect, whether on an oppressed or an oppressor. Thus, every day, unjust blood is shed in the world, but Allah’s pleasure is not necessary for all these actions. Rather, pleasure will be in the case when you use all these things according to the guidance of Shariah. So, what else is this but ignorance, that they do not differentiate between will and pleasure.”

➌ {كَذٰلِكَ فَعَلَ الَّذِيْنَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ :} That is, the people before also used Allah’s decree and will as an excuse for their disbelief and polytheism. This also indicates that these people who are calling the Qur’an {’’ اَسَاطِيْرُ الْاَوَّلِيْنَ ‘‘ } (tales of the ancients), then using Allah’s will and decree as an excuse is not something new that they have done; this too is the same old, worn-out argument that previous disbelievers used to make.

➍ {فَهَلْ عَلَى الرُّسُلِ اِلَّا الْبَلٰغُ الْمُبِيْنُ : ’’ الْبَلٰغُ ‘‘} is a verbal noun, meaning {’’إِبْلَاغٌ‘‘}, that is, to convey. That is, the only responsibility of the messengers is to deliver the clear and evident message, so if the disbelievers continue to argue or persist in stubbornness and do not believe, the messengers will not be questioned about it. Guidance and misguidance are in the hands of Allah. Shah Abdul Qadir (may Allah have mercy on him) writes: “It is the talk of the ignorant that if Allah disliked such and such an act, why would He allow it? After all, every sect considers some acts to be evil, then why do they happen? Here, a concise answer is given that the messengers have always prohibited evil deeds, but only those who were destined for guidance attained it, and those who were to be ruined, were ruined. This is how Allah’s will has decreed.” (Mawduh)

➎ Allama Qasimi (may Allah have mercy on him) has quoted at the beginning of the second volume of “Minhaj as-Sunnah” a statement from Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him), the summary of which is: “Most people use predestination as an argument for not fulfilling their obligatory duties and for committing forbidden acts, whereas this argument is completely false and useless. All the wise people of the world agree on its invalidity, regardless of their religion. If someone presents this argument, and another person uses the same argument against him—someone who did not fulfill his right, or killed his relative, or seized his wealth, or violated the honor of his wife—he would never accept this argument, but would try his utmost to get his right and take revenge for the injustice. Not only that, but no one accepts this argument from the wrongdoer. In fact, this is like the statements of those sophists who say, ‘We do not even know if we exist or not.’ The result of this would be the justification of lies, oppression, excesses, and every wrong act. If a person asks his own heart, he will also consider it a false argument. Therefore, this argument is never accepted in any court at the time of investigation, because it is sheer ignorance and has nothing to do with knowledge. That is why when the polytheists said: «{ لَوْ شَآءَ اللّٰهُ مَا عَبَدْنَا مِنْ دُوْنِهٖ مِنْ شَيْءٍ }» (If Allah had willed, neither we nor our forefathers would have committed shirk, nor would we have made anything unlawful), Allah said: «{ هَلْ عِنْدَكُمْ مِّنْ عِلْمٍ فَتُخْرِجُوْهُ لَنَا اِنْ تَتَّبِعُوْنَ اِلَّا الظَّنَّ وَ اِنْ اَنْتُمْ اِلَّا تَخْرُصُوْنَ }» [ الأنعام : ۱۴۸ ] (Do you have any knowledge that you can present before Us? You are only following conjecture and are merely guessing.) Then He said: «{ قُلْ فَلِلّٰهِ الْحُجَّةُ الْبَالِغَةُ فَلَوْ شَآءَ لَهَدٰىكُمْ اَجْمَعِيْنَ }» [ الأنعام : ۱۴۹ ] “Say, then the conclusive argument belongs to Allah alone, so if He had willed, He would have guided you all.”

It is clear that this is not knowledge but mere conjecture. If this were accepted, there would be no difference between the just and the unjust, the truthful and the liar, the learned and the ignorant, the righteous and the wicked. These people who use predestination as an argument for opposing the messengers and persisting in disbelief and polytheism, never accept this argument among themselves when their rights are violated or when someone acts against them. Rather, these same polytheists criticize, bear enmity, and fight each other. In {’’ قُلْ فَلِلّٰهِ الْحُجَّةُ الْبَالِغَةُ ‘‘} (Say, then the conclusive argument belongs to Allah alone), Allah has mentioned the legal proof, and in {’’ فَلَوْ شَآءَ لَهَدٰىكُمْ اَجْمَعِيْنَ ‘‘} (If He had willed, He would have guided you all), Allah has mentioned His predestined will, and both are true.

➏ Another meaning of this is also stated. Allama Qashani said that these polytheists said this only out of extreme ignorance and to silence the monotheists, out of mere stubbornness and enmity. Because if they had said this with knowledge and certainty, they would have become monotheists and could not have remained polytheists, because whoever is certain that nothing can happen without Allah’s will, will surely also know that even if all the people of the world want to do something that Allah does not will, it can never happen. So, when he has admitted that no one’s will or power has any value except Allah’s, then this person cannot remain a polytheist, whereas those people continued to associate partners with Allah and deny the messengers. It is clear that they themselves did not believe in their own argument. (Tafsir Qasimi)

➐ Mufti Muhammad Abduh said: “To use predestination as an argument for abandoning action is the belief of heretics. The Noble Qur’an has condemned this belief and declared it blameworthy, and has quoted the statement of these polytheists as a condemnation for us. Therefore, it is not permissible for any of us, while claiming to believe in the Qur’an, to ever present the argument that the polytheists used to present.” (Qasimi)