Commentary by Syed Qutb
In the name of God, the Lord of Grace, the Ever Merciful
Say: ‘Have you considered those beings whom you claim to be partners with God and whom you call upon besides Him? Show me what is it that they have created on earth! Or do they have a share in the heavens?’ Have We ever vouchsafed them a book on which they could rely as evidence? No. What the unbelievers promise one another is nothing but delusion.
It is God alone who holds the celestial bodies and the earth, lest they deviate (from their courses). If they should ever deviate, no one else could uphold them after Him. He is indeed Ever Forbearing, Much-Forgiving.
They swear by God with their most solemn oaths that if a warner should ever come to them, they would follow his guidance better than some other community, but when a warner did come to them, they turned away with increased aversion.
(The Originator, Fatir, 35: 40-42)
The first of these three verses takes us across the heavens and the earth to look for evidence of those whom the unbelievers allege to be God’s partners. However, neither the heavens nor the earth bare any trace of them. The argument given here is strong and the evidence is clear. This is the earth, stretched before us in all directions. Which part of it, and which creature on it, can anyone claim to have been created by other than God? Should anyone dare to make such a claim, everything on earth will rebut it loud and clear. Indeed, everything tells the same thing: All have been created by God Almighty. Everything bears the mark of the inimitable work of the Maker.
“Or do they have a share in the heavens?” This is even more evident. No one claims that such alleged deities have any part in the creation or ownership of the heavens. Not a single one makes such a claim, not even for the jinn or the angels. All that they can claim is that they sought the jinn’s help to bring them news from on high. All they hope for is that the angels will intercede with God on their behalf. Yet at no time did they claim that their alleged deities had a portion of the heavens.
“Have We ever vouchsafed them a book on which they could rely as evidence?” Their alleged partners cannot even reach this stage of having a book given to them by God and of which they are certain to be true. The question, however, admits another possibility whereby it is addressed to the idolaters themselves. Their persistence with false claims that God has partners may suggest that their faith is based on solid proof in the form of a book given to them by God. Again this is untrue, and they cannot claim it. If we take the question in this second sense, it implies that faith can only be based on a book given by God: This is the only reliable source. Again, they can make no such claim. The Prophet (peace be upon him), on the other hand, has a book given him by God which he presents to them. Why, then, are they turning away from it when it is the only source of true faith?
“No. What the unbelievers promise one another is nothing but delusion.” The wrongdoers are quick to promise each other that their methods are the correct ones and that they will eventually prevail. They are indeed deluded. Moreover, they live in worthless delusion.
Another round reveals the limitless nature of God’s power as He is the One who holds the heavens and the earth and sustains them in place. No one else has any say or role in all this: “It is God alone who holds the celestial bodies and the earth, lest they deviate (from their courses). If they should ever deviate, no one else could uphold them after Him. He is indeed Ever-Forbearing, Much-Forgiving.”
A glance at the heavens and the earth, and the celestial bodies moving in their orbits, without error or deviation, maintaining their speeds without the slightest increase or decrease, should open our minds to the mighty hand that holds them all in position. Should these celestial bodies or the heavens or the earth deviate from their courses and scatter no one would ever be able to hold them back. This is indeed the time frequently mentioned in the Qur’an as signaling the end of the world: A point when the system holding all celestial bodies in position is broken, and destruction ensues. It is the time God has appointed for reckoning and reward for whatever takes place in this present life. This signals a transfer to the next world, which is totally different from the world we currently live in.
Hence the statement that God holds the universe in place ends with the comment: “He is indeed Ever-Forbearing, Much-Forgiving.” He forbears allowing people time. He does not put an end to their world or hold them to account before the term He has appointed. He gives them chances to repent, begin the good work and prepare for their future lives. Nor does He make people account for everything they do. On the contrary, He forgives much of their wrongdoing when they show any inclination to do well. This statement, then, should make people seize the opportunity provided before it is too late.
The surah then speaks about the Arab idolaters and the pledges they made to God, which they then breached, spreading corruption on earth. They are warned that God’s laws will always operate, never fail: “They swear by God with their most solemn oaths that if a warner should ever come to them, they would follow his guidance better than some other community, but when a warner did come to them, they turned away with increased aversion, behaving arrogantly in the land and plotting evil. Yet such evil scheming will engulf none but its authors. Can they expect anything but the way of those unbelievers of old times? No change will you ever find in God’s ways; no deviation will you ever find there.”
The Arabs had Jewish neighbors in the Arabian Peninsula and they realized how far the Jews had deviated from the right path. They had heard much of their history and how they had killed their prophets, turning away from the truth these prophets advocated. The Arabs used to blame the Jews, and to swear most earnestly that “if a warner should ever come to them, they would follow his guidance better than some other community.” They deliberately made their oaths in this way, not mentioning the Jews although clearly referring to them.
Thus were their oaths, which the Qur’an presents to everyone so as to make them witnesses to what the Arabs used to say in pre-Islamic days.
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