Tafseer Ibn Kathir of AZ ZUKHRUF [81]

81. Say: ”If the Most Gracious had a son, then I am the first of the worshippers.'' 82. Glorified is the Lord of the heavens and the earth, the Lord of the Throne! Exalted be He from all that they ascribe (to Him). 83. So leave them (alone) to speak nonsense and play until they meet the Day of theirs which they have been promised. 84. It is He Who is the only God in the heaven and the only God on the earth. And He is the All-Wise, the All-Knower. 85. And Blessed be He to Whom belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them, and with Whom is the knowledge of the Hour, and to Whom you (all) will be returned. 86. And those whom they invoke instead of Him have no power of intercession -- except for those who bear witness to the truth knowingly, and they know. 87. And if you ask them who created them, they will surely say: ”Allah.'' How then are they turned away 88. And his saying: ”O my Lord! Verily, these are a people who believe not!'' 89. So turn away from them, and say: Salam (peace!) But they will come to know.

(and you will not find any change in the way of Allah.) (33:62) Allah says: `If you, O Muhammad, were to ask these idolators who associate others with Allah and worship others besides Him,'

(and as an adornment; and the raiment of the Taqwa, that is better) (7:26).   Here Allah speaks of the lies and fabrications of the idolators, when they devoted some of their cattle to their false gods and some to Allah, as He described in Surat Al-An`am where He said:

(They have no knowledge whatsoever of that. They do nothing but lie!) Mujahid said, ”They do not appreciate the power of Allah.''   Allah condemns the idolators for worshipping others instead of Allah with no evidence or proof for doing so.

(then see what was the end of those who denied) means, see what became of them, how they were destroyed and how Allah saved the believers.   Allah tells us about His servant, Messenger and close Friend, the leader of the monotheists and the father of all subsequent Prophets, from whom Quraysh were descended and claimed to have taken their religion. He disowned his father's and his people's worship of idols and said:

n(If this world were worth a gnat's wing before Allah, He would never give a disbeliever a drink of water.)'' At-Tirmidhi said: ”Hasan Sahih.''  

(And verily, We have sent among every Ummah (nation) a Messenger (proclaiming): ”Worship Allah, and avoid all false deities.'') (16:36) Mujahid said that `Abdullah bin Mas`ud recited it: (وَاسْأَلِ الَّذِينَ أَرْسَلْنَا إِلَيْهِمْ قَبْلَكَ (مِنْ) رُسُلِنَا) (And ask those whom We sent before you of Our Messengers.) This was narrated by Qatadah, Ad-Dahhak and As-Suddi from Ibn Mas`ud, may Allah be pleased with him. Yet this appears to be an explanation rather than an alternate version of recitation. And Allah knows best. Here Allah tells us about His servant and Messenger Musa, peace be upon him, and how He sent him to Fir`awn and his chiefs. That is, his governors, ministers, leaders and followers among the Egyptians and the Children of Israel. Allah sent him to call them to worship Allah alone, with no partner or associate, and to forbid them from worshipping anything other than Him. He sent him with mighty signs, such as his hand and his staff, other signs such as the flood, locusts, Qummal, frogs and blood, and the loss of their crops and lives. Yet despite all that they remained arrogant and stubbornly refused to follow him; they rejected his message and made fun of it, and laughed at the one who had brought it.

(So We sent on them: the flood, the locusts, the Qummal, the frogs, and the blood; manifest signs, yet they remained arrogant, and they were of those people who were criminals. And when the punishment struck them, they said: ”O Musa! Invoke your Lord for us because of His promise to you. If you remove the punishment from us, we indeed shall believe in you, and we shall let the Children of Israel go with you.'' But when We removed the punishment from them to a fixed term, which they had to reach, behold! they broke their word!) (7:133-135)   Allah tells us how Fir`awn stubbornly persisted in his rebellion and disbelief. He assembled his people and addressed them in a vainglorious fashion, boasting of his dominion over Egypt.

(And We made them a precedent, and an example to later generations.) Abu Mijlaz said, ”Precedent for others who do the same as they did.'' He and Mujahid said, ”An example, i.e., a lesson to those who come after them.'' Allah is the One Who guides to the straight path, and unto Him is the final return.   Allah tells us how the Quraysh persisted in their disbelief and stubborn arguments:

(So woe to those who do wrong from the torment of a painful Day)!   Allah says, `do these idolaters who disbelieve in the Messengers wait'

(of which you will eat.) means, whatever you choose and desire. When food and drink are mentioned, fruit is also mentioned to complete the picture of blessing and joy. And Allah knows best.   The description of the state of the blessed is followed by a description of the state of the doomed.

(If the Most Gracious had a son, then I am the first of the worshippers.) meaning, `if this were so, then I would worship Him on that basis, because I am one of His servants; I obey all that He commands me and I am not too arrogant or proud to worship Him.' This conditional phrase does not mean that what is described could happen nor that is possible as Allah says:

(Had Allah willed to take a son, He could have chosen whom He willed out of those whom He created. But glory be to Him! He is Allah, the One, the Irresistible.) (39:4). Allah says here:

(Glorified is the Lord of the heavens and the earth, the Lord of the Throne! Exalted be He from all that they ascribe (to Him).) meaning, exalted and sanctified and glorified be the Creator of all things far above having any offspring, for He is Unique, One and Eternally Self-Sufficient. There is none equal to Him or like Him, and He does not have any offspring.

(So leave them (alone) to speak nonsense) means, in their ignorance and misguidance,

(and play) in their world,

(until they meet the Day of theirs which they have been promised.) which is the Day of Resurrection, i.e., then they will come to know what their end and destination will be on that Day.  

(It is He Who is the only God in the heaven and the only God on the earth.) means, He is the God of those who are in the heavens and the God of those who are on earth; all of them worship Him and are humbled before Him.

(And He is the All-Wise, the All-Knower.) This Ayah is like the Ayah:

(And He is Allah in the heavens and on the earth; He knows what you conceal and what you reveal, and He knows what you earn.) (6:3) which means, He is the One who is called Allah in the heavens and on the earth.

(And Blessed be He to Whom belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them,) means, He is their Creator and Sovereign, the One Who is controlling them with none to resist or oppose His rule. Blessed and exalted be He far above the notion of His having a child. He is eternally free of all faults and shortcomings, because He is the Lord, the Exalted, the Almighty, the Sovereign of all things, Who is in control of all affairs.

(and with Whom is the knowledge of the Hour, ) means, no one knows when it will happen except Him.

(and to Whom you (all) will be returned.) means, and each person will be requited for his deeds; if they are good, then he will be rewarded, and if they are bad, then he will be punished.

(And those whom they invoke instead of Him have no power) means, the idols and false gods.

(of intercession) means, they are not able to intercede for them.

(except for those who bear witness to the truth knowingly, and they know.) This means, but the one who bears witness to the truth has knowledge and insight, so his intercession with Allah will avail, by His leave.  

(And if you ask them who created them, they will surely say: ”Allah.'' How then are they turned away) means, `if you ask these idolators who associate others in worship with Allah,'

(who created them, they will surely say: ”Allah.'') means, they will admit that He Alone is the Creator of all things and He has no partner in that. Yet despite that they still worship others alongside Him who have nothing and are able to do nothing. This is the utmost foolishness and stupidity. Allah says:

(How then are they turned away)  

(And his saying: ”O my Lord! Verily, these are a people who believe not!'') means, Muhammad said this; he complained to his Lord about his people who did not believe in him, and said, `O Lord, these people do not believe.' This is like the Ayah:

(And the Messenger will say: ”O my Lord! Verily, my people deserted this Qur'an.'') (25:30). This is the view of Ibn Mas`ud, may Allah be pleased with him, Mujahid and Qatadah, and this is how Ibn Jarir interpreted it. Al-Bukhari said: ”`Abdullah -- meaning Ibn Mas`ud, may Allah be pleased with him -- recited (Ayah 88 of Az-Zukhruf): (وَقَالَ الرَّسُولُ ياربِّ) (And the Messenger will say: ”O my Lord!'') Mujahid said concerning the Ayah:

(And his saying: ”O my Lord! Verily, these are a people who believe not!'') ”Allah is stating what Muhammad said.'' Qatadah said, ”These are the words of your Prophet , when he complained about his people to his Lord.''

(So turn away from them, ) means, from the idolators.

(and say Salam (peace!)) means, `do not respond to them in the same evil manner in which they address you; but try to soften their hearts and forgive them in word and deed.'

(But they will come to know.) This is a warning from Allah for them. His punishment, which cannot be warded off, struck them, and His religion and His word was supreme. Subsequently Jihad and striving were prescribed until the people entered the religion of Allah in crowds, and Islam spread throughout the east and the west. And Allah knows best. This is the end of the Tafsir of Surat Az-Zukhruf.