13:33 Ar-Ra'd (The Thunder)

يقول تعالى: { أَفَمَنْ هُوَ قَائِمٌ عَلَى كُلِّ نَفْسٍ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ } بالجزاء العاجل والآجل، بالعدل والقسط، وهو الله تبارك وتعالى كمن ليس كذلك؟ ولهذا قال: { وَجَعَلُوا لِلَّهِ شُرَكَاءَ } وهو الله الأحد الفرد الصمد، الذي لا شريك له ولا ند ولا نظير، { قُلْ } لهم إن كانوا صادقين: { سَمُّوهُمْ } لتعلم حالهم { أَمْ تُنَبِّئُونَهُ بِمَا لَا يَعْلَمُ فِي الْأَرْضِ } فإنه إذا كان عالم الغيب والشهادة وهو لا يعلم له شريكا، علم بذلك بطلان دعوى الشريك له، وأنكم بمنزلة الذي يُعَلِّمُ الله أن له شريكا وهو لا يعلمه، وهذا أبطل ما يكون؛ ولهذا قال: { أَمْ بِظَاهِرٍ مِنَ الْقَوْلِ } أي: غاية ما يمكن من دعوى الشريك له تعالى أنه بظاهر أقوالكم. وأما في الحقيقة، فلا إله إلا الله، وليس أحد من الخلق يستحق شيئا من العبادة، ولكن { زُيِّنَ لِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مَكْرُهُمْ } الذي مكروه وهو كفرهم وشركهم، وتكذيبهم لآيات الله { وَصُدُّوا عَنِ السَّبِيلِ } أي: عن الطريق المستقيمة الموصلة إلى الله وإلى دار كرامته، { وَمَنْ يُضْلِلِ اللَّهُ فَمَا لَهُ مِنْ هَادٍ } لأنه ليس لأحد من الأمر شيء.

أي حفيظ عليم رقيب على كل نفس منفوسة يعلم ما يعمل العاملون من خير وشر ولا يخفى عليه خافية " وما تكون في شأن وما تتلو منه من قرآن ولا تعملون من عمل إلا كنا عليكم شهودا إذ تفيضون فيه " وقال تعالى " وما تسقط من ورقة إلا يعلمها " وقال " وما من دابة في الأرض إلا على الله رزقها ويعلم مستقرها ومستودعها كل في كتاب مبين " وقال " سواء منكم من أسر القول ومن جهر به ومن هو مستخف بالليل وسارب بالنهار " وقال " يعلم السر وأخفى " وقال " وهو معكم أين ما كنتم والله بما تعملون بصير " أفمن هو كذلك كالأصنام التي يعيدونها لا تسمع ولا تبصر ولا تعقل ولا تملك نفعا لأنفسها ولا لعابديها ولا كشف ضر عنها ولا عن عابديها ؟ وحذف هذا الجواب اكتفاء بدلالة السياق عليه وهو قوله " وجعلوا لله شركاء " أي عبدوها معه من أصنام وأنداد وأوثان " قل سموهم " أي أعلمونا بهم واكشفوا عنهم حتى يعرفوا فإنهم لا حقيقة لهم ولهذا قال " أم تنبئونه بما لا يعلم في الأرض " أي لا وجود له لأنه لو كان لها وجود في الأرض لعلمها لأنه لا تخفى عليه خافية " أم بظاهر من القول " قال مجاهد: بظن من القول وقال الضحاك وقتادة بباطل من القول أي إنما عبدتم هذه الأصنام بظن منكم أنها تنفع وتضر وسميتموها آلهة " إن هي إلا أسماء سميتموها أنتم وآباؤكم ما أنزل الله بها من سلطان إن يتبعون إلا الظن وما تهوى الأنفس ولقد جاءهم من ربهم الهدى " " بل زين للذين كفروا مكرهم " قال مجاهد قولهم أي ما هم عليه من الضلال والدعوة إليه آناء الليل وأطراف النهار كقوله تعالى " وقيضنا لهم قرناء فزينوا لهم " الآية " وصدوا عن السبيل " من قرأها بفتح الصاد معناه أنه لما زين لهم ما هم فيه وأنه حق دعوا إليه وصدوا الناس عن اتباع طريق الرسل ومن قرأها بالضم أي بما زين لهم من صحة ما هم عليه صدوا به عن سبيل الله ولهذا قال " ومن يضلل الله فما له من هاد " كما قال " ومن يرد الله فتنته فلن تملك له من الله شيئا " وقال " إن تحرص على هداهم فإن الله لا يهدي من يضل وما لهم من ناصرين ".

There is no Similarity between Allah and False Deities in any Respect

Allah said,

أَفَمَنْ هُوَ قَآئِمٌ عَلَى كُلِّ نَفْسٍ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ

(Is then He (Allah) Who takes charge of every person and knows all that he has earned) Allah is the guard and watcher over every living soul and knows what everyone does, whether good or evil, and nothing ever escapes His perfect observation. Allah said in other Ayat,

وَمَا تَكُونُ فِى شَأْنٍ وَمَا تَتْلُواْ مِنْهُ مِن قُرْءَانٍ وَلاَ تَعْمَلُونَ مِنْ عَمَلٍ إِلاَّ كُنَّا عَلَيْكُمْ شُهُودًا إِذْ تُفِيضُونَ فِيهِ

(Neither you do any deed nor recite any portion of the Qur'an, nor you do any deed, but we are witness thereof, when you are doing it.) 10:61 and Allah said,

وَمَا تَسْقُطُ مِن وَرَقَةٍ إِلاَّ يَعْلَمُهَا

(Not a leaf falls, but He knows it.) 6:59

وَمَا مِن دَآبَّةٍ فِي الاٌّرْضِ إِلاَّ عَلَى اللَّهِ رِزْقُهَا وَيَعْلَمُ مُسْتَقَرَّهَا وَمُسْتَوْدَعَهَا كُلٌّ فِى كِتَابٍ مُّبِينٍ

(And no moving creature is there on earth but its provision is due from Allah. And He knows its dwelling place and its deposits. All is in a Clear Book.)11:6,

سَوَآءٌ مِّنْكُمْ مَّنْ أَسَرَّ الْقَوْلَ وَمَنْ جَهَرَ بِهِ وَمَنْ هُوَ مُسْتَخْفٍ بِالَّيْلِ وَسَارِبٌ بِالنَّهَارِ

(It is the same (to Him) whether any of you conceals his speech or declares it openly, whether he be hid by night or goes forth freely by day.) 13:10

يَعْلَمُ السِّرَّ وَأَخْفَى

(He knows the secret and that which is yet more hidden.) 20:7 and,

وَهُوَ مَعَكُمْ أَيْنَ مَا كُنتُمْ وَاللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ

(And He is with you wherever you may be. And Allah is the All-Seer of what you do.) 57:4 Is He Who is like this similar to the idols, that the polytheists worship, which can neither hear nor see nor do they have a mind nor able to bring good to themselves or to their worshippers nor prevent harm from themselves or their worshippers The answer to the question in the Ayah was omitted, because it is implied, for Allah said next,

وَجَعَلُواْ للَّهِ شُرَكَآءَ

(Yet, they ascribe partners to Allah.) which they worshipped besides Him, such as idols, rivals and false deities,

قُلْ سَمُّوهُمْ

(Say: "Name them!") make them known to us and uncover them so that they are known, for surely, they do not exist at all! So Allah said,

أَمْ تُنَبِّئُونَهُ بِمَا لاَ يَعْلَمُ فِى الاٌّرْضِ

(Is it that you will inform Him of something He knows not in the earth) for had that thing existed in or on the earth, Allah would have known about it because nothing ever escapes His knowledge,

أَم بِظَـهِرٍ مِّنَ الْقَوْلِ

(or is it (just) a show of words) or doubts expressed in words, according to Mujahid, while Ad-Dahhak and Qatadah said, false words. Allah says, you (polytheists) worshipped the idols because you thought that they had power to bring benefit or harm, and this is why you called them gods,

إِنْ هِىَ إِلاَّ أَسْمَآءٌ سَمَّيْتُمُوهَآ أَنتُمْ وَءَابَآؤُكُم مَّآ أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ بِهَا مِن سُلْطَـنٍ إِن يَتَّبِعُونَ إِلاَّ الظَّنَّ وَمَا تَهْوَى الاٌّنفُسُ وَلَقَدْ جَآءَهُم مِّن رَّبِّهِمُ الْهُدَى

(They are but names which you have named - you and your fathers - for which Allah has sent down no authority. They follow but a guess and that which they themselves desire, whereas there has surely come to them the guidance from their Lord!)53:23 Allah said next,

بَلْ زُيِّنَ لِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ مَكْرُهُمْ

(Nay! To those who disbelieved, their plotting is made fair seeming,) or their words, according to Mujahid. This Ayah refers to the misguidance of the polytheists and their propagation night and day. Allah said in another Ayah,

وَقَيَّضْنَا لَهُمْ قُرَنَآءَ فَزَيَّنُواْ لَهُم

(And We have assigned for them (devils) intimate companions, who have made fair-seeming to them.) Allah said next,

وَصُدُّواْ عَنِ السَّبِيلِ

(and they have been hindered from the right path;) Some read with Fatha over the Sad (i.e. wa Saddu), which would mean, `and they hindered from the right path, feeling fond of the misguidance they are in, thinking that it is correct, they called to it and thus hindered the people from following the path of the Messengers.' Others read it with Damma over the Sad (i.e. wa Suddu), which would mean, `and they have been hindered from the right path,' explained it this way: because they thought that their way looked fair or correct, they were hindered by it from the right path, so Allah said,

وَمَن يُضْلِلِ اللَّهُ فَمَا لَهُ مِنْ هَادٍ

(and whom Allah sends astray, for him there is no guide.) Allah said in similar instances,

وَمَن يُرِدِ اللَّهُ فِتْنَتَهُ فَلَن تَمْلِكَ لَهُ مِنَ اللَّهِ شَيْئاً

(And whomsoever Allah wants to suffer a trial, you can do nothing for him against Allah.) 5:41, and,

إِن تَحْرِصْ عَلَى هُدَاهُمْ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يَهْدِى مَن يُضِلُّ وَمَا لَهُمْ مِّن نَّـصِرِينَ

(If you covet for their guidance, then verily, Allah guides not those whom He makes to go astray. And they will have no helpers.)16:37

Is He Who stands watches over every soul what it has earned? what it has done of good or evil — and this is God — like the idols who are not so? No! This response is suggested by the following words Yet they ascribe to God associates. Say ‘Name them! for Him who are they? Or will you inform Him will you inform God of something that is of an associate which He does not know in the earth? an interrogative of disavowal; in other words He has no associate for if He did He would know him — exalted be He above such a thing. Or is it — nay — you call them associates merely a manner of speaking?’ that is it is merely on the basis of false conjecture without any truth in it. Nay but their scheming their unbelief has been adorned for those who disbelieve and they have been barred from the way from the path of guidance; and whomever God sends astray for him there is no guide.

In the verse: أَفَمَنْ هُوَ قَائِمٌ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ نَفْسٍ (Is then He, who is watchful over everyone ... 33), the ignorance and irrationality of the disbelievers has been exposed by saying that these people are certainly short on sense when they equate inert idols with His pure Being, a Being that watches everyone and is the ultimate reckoner of everyone's deeds. Then, it was said that the real reason behind their unreasonable attitude is that shaitan has made their very ignorance look good in their sight and, therefore, this they take to be 'achievement' and 'success.'