THE CREATOR【Quran commentary】Surah 35 Fatir

Commentary By Maulana Wahiduddin khan

1-2. God created angels to carry messages…

God created angels to carry messages and execute orders. But, Satan misled people to believe that the angels had a distinct identity of their own and that they could be the source of bringing blessings in this world and salvation in the Hereafter. So, some communities drew imaginary pictures of them, giving them names ‘Lat’ and ‘Manat’ and started worshipping them. Some communities treated them with the reverence due to gods and goddesses. In the present age, reverence for the ‘law of nature’ is the modern version of a similar misconception. But the fact is that both the angels and the law of nature are subject to the will of One God alone.

3-4. Man is in need of innumerable things to…

Man is in need of innumerable things to sustain his life, for example, light, water, air, food, minerals, etc. Each of these elements require the combined and concerted actions of universal forces to come into existence. Who else except the one God is capable of bringing about such a big event? When the Creator and Organiser of all these things is the One God, then how could it be reasonable for people to worship any entity other than Him?

It is a peculiar historical experience that those who accord a position of greatness to things other than God are intractable when it comes to re-assigning that greatness to God, even though the call for this may be made by a prophet in person. The reason for this is that people find it easy to continue with previously accepted notions; whereas accepting a new prophet would mean putting one’s faith in something different. For the individual to acquire this type of ‘iman’ (faith), he must activate his own thinking powers; he should discover the Truth through his own insight. Undoubtedly, this has always been the most difficult task for a man to perform.

On the face of it, the facts of life (and hereafter), though conveyed to us by God through His prophets, appear to be figments of human imagination, because they are not immediately encountered. Conversely, the things of the present world appear to be real, because man encounters them today itself.

Sudden death, the upheaval of earthquakes and other such incidents shake a man’s composure. These, in fact, remind one of Doomsday, before its actual occurrence. But, Satan immediately diverts the attention of the people by saying that these events have natural causes and are not a result of divine intervention. That day is bound to come when a distinction will be drawn between the true and the false; righteous people will be rewarded for their virtue and wrongdoers will be punished for their evil deeds.

Almighty God has blessed every man with the capability to think and distinguish between truth and untruth. One who utilizes this innate talent, receives proper guidance and one who does not is left to go astray.

When Truth appears before a man, he has two options before him. If he accepts the Truth, his mind starts off in the right direction and he becomes a wayfarer journeying towards the Truth. But if some extraneous consideration or some psychological complication comes in his way and, under its influence, he refuses to accept the Truth, he then starts devising ways and means of justifying his rejection of it and tries to prove that his bad deeds are actually good deeds. Those who suffer from such psychological barriers never admit the Truth. It is only when, after death, they come face to face with God that they reap what they have sown.

9-10. The present world gives us an intro…

The present world gives us an introduction to the Hereafter. Rain, a common phenomenon, indicates that a force is at work which is beyond our ken. Rain results from the action of universal forces. The sun, the air, the sea, gravitational force and many other factors combine with each other in perfect co-ordination to produce the rain which makes dry land come alive.

This process of rain-making proves that the Organizer of the universe has full powers over it. He brings about an event according to His plan.

Re-vitalizing a barren piece of land and resurrecting a dead man are both feats of the same calibre. If the possibility of the first event is proved, then by analogy, the possibility of the second event automatically stands proved.

The present world is a testing ground. Therefore, here even an undeserving person may temporarily receive honour, but in the Hereafter all the honours will fall to the lot of those who are really deserving of them. The criteria for judging worthiness will be righteous words (al-kalim at-tayyib) and pious deeds (al-‘amal as salih), that is, man’s expression – in thought, word and deed – of his discovery of God and the devotion of all his strength to the service of the Almighty. Those who build their lives in piety are bound to secure God’s help.

11. God first created man from the elem…

God first created man from the elements of the earth. By dividing human beings into men and women, God caused the human race to multiply. This exemplifies the power of the Creator.

At the time when a child starts developing in his mother’s womb, he finds that all the factors essential to his growth are provided without asking. This shows that the Creator of the child knew his requirements beforehand, otherwise how could He have made such perfect arrangements in advance?

The same is true of a man’s age. Nobody has the power to determine his own life span. It appears that this lies wholly in the hands of an external Being. He takes away one person at a young age, while He gives another a longer life. In all these events, nobody has any say, except God. Then, how can it be proper for a man to have fears or entertain hopes of any being other than God?

12-14. There is a large store of water on the…

There is a large store of water on the earth – salt water in the oceans and seas, and fresh water in rivers, lakes and springs. This water is the source of innumerable advantages for man. It is used for drinking and irrigation. The creatures which live in water provide valuable food for man. The oceans and seas, spread over three fourths of the Earth enable transportation and form a vast storehouse of valuable objects like pearls, mineral ores, etc.

God causes the earth to revolve around the sun and rotate on its axis in a regulated manner, thereby causing the seasons, and the alternation of day and night. There are similar innumerable arrangements which have been brought into being by the all-powerful God. As such, who else is there other than God who deserves man’s utmost gratitude? It is God with His unfathomable powers who can fulfill the needs of man, and not those imaginary gods who possess absolutely no powers.

15-18. Man is an extremely vulnerable crea…

Man is an extremely vulnerable creation. His whole existence depends on a particular balance of natural factors. If this balance were to be disturbed, the very existence of man would be threatened.

If, for instance, the sun reduced its distance from the earth and came near it, then all human beings would be burnt and reduced to ashes. Also, a large part of the inside of the earth consists of an extremely hot, semi-liquid material. If this hot matter moved upwards, the surface of the earth would experience terrible earthquakes which would reduce all human settlements to ruins. Moreover, meteors constantly fall upon Earth from outer space, but the atmosphere shields us against their effects. If the present balanced arrangement of this phenomenon were to be disrupted, the shower of meteors might turn into such a terrible barrage of stones that it would be impossible to save humanity from it. Man is surrounded by innumerable deadly possibilities of this kind; being totally dependent explains why man needs God and not vice versa.

The burden of Doomsday will be that of one’s sins. Were it only a question of a physical burden, any individual could share another’s burden. But, the denigration and pain one suffers due to one’s bad deeds are of an extremely personal nature and there is no question of anybody else sharing them.

The Truth is very clear, but it is understood only by one who wants to understand. One who is not serious about knowing what is Truth and what is Untruth, cannot be made to understand anything.

19-26. It is a fact that the expectations one…

It is a fact that the expectations one has of light are not applicable to darkness. What one gets from the shade cannot be derived from sunlight. The same is the case with man. Among human beings, some have vision and some are blind. A man with eyes immediately sees his way and recognizes it. But one who is blind will simply go on groping in the dark. Similarly, with regard to insight there are two types of people, – one consisting of the living and the other consisting of the dead. The living man is one who sees things in depth – who tears apart the deceptive veil of words and grasps hidden meanings – who goes beyond superficial matters and tries to understand the inner reality – who assesses intrinsic values and not outward appearances – whose eyes are concentrated on real facts and not on irrelevant hair-splitting theories – who, after knowing the Truth, submits to it?he is the one who is alive. He is one who has been fortunate enough in this world to accept the Truth. Those whose behaviour is the very reverse of this are dead. They never come anywhere near accepting the Truth in this world of trial. They remain deaf to the call for Truth, until after death, when they go to God to face the result of their blindness.

27-28. The same rain cycle causes rain every…

The same rain cycle causes rain everywhere in the world but it causes different types of things to grow – useful plants as well as wild bushes. Similarly, there exist varied fauna; while man domesticates some and put them to use, others remain wild.

God showers His blessings to all His creations without any discrimination, but in the case of man, the advantage taken depends upon individual capacity. The grace of God which presents itself in the form of the call for Truth is available to all, but its impact on different people varies, depending upon individual temperaments. Some find in it nourishment for the spirit and therefore, immediately accept the Truth and associate themselves with it. However, the mindset of others may present an impediment to their acceptance of the Truth, they may refuse to submit to it. Some even go to the extent of taking a stand against it.

One who finds the call for Truth to be in consonance with the inner voice of his heart, is truly a man of knowledge; the natural Divine light of God was aflame in his heart, and that is why he recognized the Truth the moment it appeared. Unlike him, there are those who, out of ignorance, have hidden their natural divine light behind a screen and so fail to recognize the Truth when it reveals itself to them.

29-31. The man of knowledge is one who exp…

The man of knowledge is one who experiences a deep realization of God (ma‘rifah) and one who attains this state, makes the Book of God, a guide in his thinking processes; he becomes a pious subject of God. Moreover, he becomes so kind to his fellow human beings that he sets apart a share from his hard-earned income for them. He gathers the courage to devote himself body and soul to God’s tasks and is content with the knowledge that he will be rewarded in the Hereafter.

One of the proofs of the Quran being true is that it tallies exactly with forecasts made in the previous divine scriptures. If a man is serious and sincere, this very fact will be enough to make him have faith in Quran.

32-35. Jacob was Abraham’s grandson. From…

Jacob was Abraham’s grandson. From Jacob up to the time of Jesus, all the prophets were from among the tribes of the Children of Israel. In this way, the chain of Jewish prophets remained unbroken for about two thousand years. But, latter day Jews did not remain capable of bearing aloft the Book of God. Therefore, another community, the Children of Isma‘il, was selected to be the guardian of the divine scriptures. The Prophet Muhammad was born into this tribe.

When the Prophet Muhammad presented the Quran before the tribe (Children of Isma‘il), three groups emerged?one which consisted of those who stood in opposition, a second which adopted a middle way, and a third which believed in the message he presented. It was the last group, who stood by the Prophet at all times. They had to forego every comfort and lived lives of gruelling hard work during which time they exhibited great patience. As a reward for their sacrifice God admitted them in the everlasting gardens of paradise where no sorrow or trouble could ever affect them.

36-37. Those who deny the Truth in this world…

Those who deny the Truth in this world will admit the Truth in the Hereafter. But this will be of no avail, because in the Hereafter, such an admission will be made under compulsion, whereas God seeks voluntary submission from man. It is the denial and obstinacy of such wrongdoers which will make them incur the eternal wrath of God.

38-39. In this verse, being given ‘the earth to…

In this verse, being given ‘the earth to inherit’ (khalifah) means that ‘after the decline of the previous nations, a new nation was settled on the earth in their place.’ It is the way by which God gives a nation the opportunity to settle and make progress on the earth. If the nation proves itself incapable, He replaces it by another nation. This process of the transfer of power shall continue right until Doomsday.

The advancements in the present age have made it possible even to take photographs in the dark and make an apparently inaudible sound audible to the human ear. Such possibilities indicate that the Creator of this universe is a Being who knows the unknown and is aware of the secrets hidden in one’s heart. Man therefore, is accountable before the all-knowing and all-powerful God from whom no offence remains concealed.

40-41. The creation of the universe, with its…

The creation of the universe, with its unlimited space and the innumerable astronomical bodies suspended in it, is an awe-inspiring phenomenon. Such colossal creation – an unimaginally gigantic feat – cannot be wholly or even partially attributed to any of the beings whom people worship as deities.

The fact is that worship of entities other than God is entirely based on fraudulence. Such practices will continue only till Doomsday, for on that Day, they will vanish as if they had never existed.

42-43. When the Arab people used to hear that…

When the Arab people used to hear that the Jews and other people had flouted and disobeyed their prophets, they used to say enthusiastically that if any prophet appeared among them, they would accept him wholeheartedly and obey him. But, when their prophet did appear among them, they became his dire opponents.

This mentality in some form or the other exists in all people. In this world, every man presents himself as a protagonist of Truth. He professes that whenever Truth appears before him, he will readily accept it. But, when the Truth emerges before him with clear supporting arguments, he ignores it and even opposes it.

The denial of Truth therefore, is not the peculiarity of any particular community, but is an outcome of man’s psychology. The acceptance of Truth very often amounts to damaging one’s own importance, and naturally man does not want his stature to be diminished. That is why he refuses to accept the Truth. He forgets that although he has the option to reject the Truth, he has no power to save himself from the result of doing so.

44-45. Man has been given freedom of action…

Man has been given freedom of action in the world, but he misuses it. His wrongs are so many that if he were caught hold of immediately for his wrongdoings, the entire human race would be wiped out from the world. But, human freedom is purely for the purpose of putting man to the test, and there is a period fixed for this. The period for an individual lasts till his death and the period fixed for humanity as a whole is till Doomsday. For this reason, the human race is still extant in the world. However, just as it is a fact that God does not seize hold of anybody before the expiry of the trial period, it must also be seriously considered that after the expiry of the trial period, He will definitely do so and nobody will escape the trial.