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.