Tafseer Ibn Kathir of AN NAML [59]

59. Say : ”Praise and thanks be to Allah, and peace be on His servants whom He has chosen! Is Allah better, or what they ascribe as partners'' 60. Is not He Who created the heavens and the earth, and sends down for you water from the sky, whereby We cause to grow wonderful gardens full of beauty and delight It is not in your ability to cause the growth of their trees. Is there any god with Allah Nay, but they are a people who ascribe equals! Allah commands His Messenger to say:

(Praise and thanks be to Allah,) meaning, for His innumerable blessings upon His servants and for His exalted Attributes and most beautiful Names. And He commands him to send peace upon the servants of Allah whom He chose and selected, i.e., His noble Messengers and Prophets, may the best of peace and blessings from Allah be upon them. This was the view of `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam and others; the meaning of the servants He has chose is the Prophets. He said, ”This like He said in the Ayah;

(Glorified be your Lord, the Lord of honor and power! (He is free) from what they attribute unto Him! And peace be on the Messengers! And all the praises and thanks be to Allah, Lord of all that exists.) (37:180-182).'' Ath-Thawri and As-Suddi said, ”This refers to the Companions of Muhammad , may Allah be pleased with them all.'' Something similar was also narrated from Ibn `Abbas, and there is no contradiction between the two views, because they were also among the servants of Allah whom He had chosen, although the description is more befitting of the Prophets.

(Is Allah better, or what they ascribe as partners (to Him)) This is a question aimed at denouncing the idolators for their worship of other gods besides Allah. Some more Proofs of Tawhid Then Allah begins to explain that He is the Only One Who creates, provides and controls, as He says:

(Is not He Who created the heavens) meaning, He created those heavens which are so high and serene, with their shining stars and revolving planets. And He created the earth, with its varying heights and densities, and He created everything in it, mountains, hills, plains, rugged terrain, wildernesses, crops, trees, fruits, seas and animals of all different kinds and colors and shapes, etc.

(and sends down for you water from the sky,) means, He sends it as a provision for His servants,

(whereby We cause to grow wonderful gardens full of beauty and delight) means, beautiful and delightful to behold.

(It is not in your ability to cause the growth of their trees.) meaning, `you are not able to cause their trees to grow. The One Who is able to do that is the Creator and Provider, Who is doing all this Alone and Independent of any idol and other rival.' The idolators themselves admitted this, as Allah says in another Ayah:

(And if you ask them: ”Who has created them'' they will certainly say: ”Allah.'') (31:25)

(And if you were to ask them: ”Who sends down water from the sky, and gives life therewith to the earth after its death'' they will surely reply: ”Allah.'') (29:63) Meaning they will admit that He is the One Who does all these things, Alone, with no partner or associate, but then they worship others alongside Him, others who they admit cannot create or provide anything. But the Only One Who deserves to be worshipped is the Only One Who can create and provide, Allah says:

(Is there any god with Allah) meaning, `is there any god that can be worshipped alongside Allah, when it is clear to you and anyone who with reason that He is the Creator and Provider, as you yourselves admit' Then Allah says:

(Nay, but they are a people who ascribe equals (to Him)!) meaning, they describe others as being equal and comparable to Allah.