21:19 Al-Anbiyaa (The Prophets)

أخبر أنه له ملك السماوات والأرض وما بينهما، فالكل عبيده ومماليكه، فليس لأحد منهم ملك ولا قسط من الملك، ولا معاونة عليه، ولا يشفع إلا بإذن الله، فكيف يتخذ من هؤلاء آلهة وكيف يجعل لله منها ولد؟! فتعالى وتقدس، المالك العظيم، الذي خضعت له الرقاب، وذلت له الصعاب، وخشعت له الملائكة المقربون، وأذعنوا له بالعبادة الدائمة المستمرة أجمعون، ولهذا قال: { وَمَنْ عِنْدَهُ ْ} أي من الملائكة { لَا يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ عَنْ عِبَادَتِهِ وَلَا يَسْتَحْسِرُونَ ْ} أي: لا يملون ولا يسأمونها، لشدة رغبتهم، وكمال محبتهم، وقوة أبدانهم.

فقال " وله من في السموات والأرض ومن عنده " يعني الملائكة " لا يستكبرون عن عبادته " أي لا يستنكفون عنها كما قال " لن يستنكف المسيح أن يكون عبدا لله ولا الملائكة المقربون ومن يستنكف عن عبادته ويستكبر فسيحشرهم إليه جميعا " وقوله " ولا يستحسرون " أي لا يعتبرن ولا يملون.

Creation was made with Justice and Wisdom

Allah tells us that He created the heavens and the earth in truth, i.e. with justice.

لِيَجْزِىَ الَّذِينَ أَسَاءُواْ بِمَا عَمِلُواْ وَيِجْزِى الَّذِينَ أَحْسَنُواْ بِالْحُسْنَى

(that He may requite those who do evil with that which they have done, and reward those who do good, with what is best.) 53:31. He did not create all that in vain or for (mere) play:

وَمَا خَلَقْنَا السَّمَآءَ وَالاٌّرْضَ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا بَـطِلاً ذَلِكَ ظَنُّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ فَوَيْلٌ لِّلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ مِنَ النَّارِ

(And We created not the heaven and the earth and all that is between them without purpose! That is the consideration of those who disbelieve! Then woe to those who disbelieve from the Fire!) 38:27

لَوْ أَرَدْنَآ أَن نَّتَّخِذَ لَهْواً لاَّتَّخَذْنَـهُ مِن لَّدُنَّآ إِن كُنَّا فَـعِلِينَ

(Had We intended to take a pastime, We could surely have taken it from Us, if We were going to do (that).) Ibn Abi Najih said, narrating from Mujahid:

لَوْ أَرَدْنَآ أَن نَّتَّخِذَ لَهْواً لاَّتَّخَذْنَـهُ مِن لَّدُنَّآ

(Had We intended to take a pastime, We could surely have taken it from Us,) "Meaning, `From Ourself,' He is saying, `We would not have created Paradise or Hell or death or the resurrection or the Reckoning."'

إِن كُنَّا فَـعِلِينَ

(if We were going to do (that). ) Qatadah, As-Suddi, Ibrahim An-Nakha`i and Mughirah bin Miqsam said: "This means, `We will not do that."' Mujahid said, every time the word

أَنْ

(if) is used in the Qur'an, it is a negation.

بَلْ نَقْذِفُ بِالْحَقِّ عَلَى الْبَـطِلِ

(Nay, We fling the truth against the falsehood,) means, `We explain the truth and thus defeat falsehood.' Allah says:

فَيَدْمَغُهُ فَإِذَا هُوَ زَاهِقٌ

(so it destroys it, and behold, it disappears.) it is fading and vanishing.

وَلَكُمُ الْوَيْلُ

(And woe to you) O you who say that Allah has offspring.

مِمَّا تَصِفُونَ

(for that which you ascribe.) that which you say and fabricate. Then Allah informs of the servitude of the angels, and how they persevere in worship night and day:

Everything belongs to Allah and serves Him

وَلَهُ مَن فِى السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ وَمَنْ عِنْدَهُ

(To Him belongs whosoever is in the heavens and on earth. And those who are near Him) i.e., the angels,

لاَ يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ عَنْ عِبَادَتِهِ

(are not too proud to worship Him,) they do not feel proud and do not refuse to worship Him. This is like the Ayah:

لَّن يَسْتَنكِفَ الْمَسِيحُ أَن يَكُونَ عَبْداً للَّهِ وَلاَ الْمَلَـئِكَةُ الْمُقَرَّبُونَ وَمَن يَسْتَنْكِفْ عَنْ عِبَادَتِهِ وَيَسْتَكْبِرْ فَسَيَحْشُرُهُمْ إِلَيهِ جَمِيعاً

(Al-Masih will never be proud to reject being a servant of Allah, nor the angels who are the near. And whosoever rejects His worship and is proud, then He will gather them all together unto Himself.) 4:172

وَلاَ يَسْتَحْسِرُونَ

(nor are they weary.) means, they do not get tired or feel bored.

يُسَبِّحُونَ الْلَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ لاَ يَفْتُرُونَ

(They glorify His praises night and day, they never slacken.) They persist in their worship night and day, obeying Allah to the utmost, and they are able to do this, as Allah says:

لاَّ يَعْصُونَ اللَّهَ مَآ أَمَرَهُمْ وَيَفْعَلُونَ مَا يُؤْمَرُونَ

(who do not disobey Allah in what He commands them, but do what they are commanded) 66:6

And to Him exalted be He belongs whoever is in the heavens and the earth as possessions and those who are near Him namely the angels wa-man ‘indahu the subject the predicate of which is the following clause do not disdain to worship Him nor do they weary.

وَمَنْ عِندَهُ لَا يَسْتَكْبِرُ‌ونَ عَنْ عِبَادَتِهِ وَلَا يَسْتَحْسِرُ‌ونَ (And those who are near Him are not arrogant against His worship, nor are they sluggish. - 21:19) It means that Allah's servants who are with Him i.e. angels pray to Him all the time without ceasing. So, if the humans do not pray to Him, it will not make any difference to Him, but they themselves will be the losers. It is human nature to judge others by applying one's own situation to them. Hence there are two possibilities preventing a person from offering acts of worship ceaselessly. One, that he regards it below his dignity to bow down before any one and therefore does not pray to Allah Ta` ala. Secondly, it is physically not possible for a man to worship without a break because he needs to rest in between. In view of these two human constraints, it is explained towards the end of the verse that the angels are free from these compulsions. They do not regard it below their dignity to worship Allah constantly nor do they get tired or need any rest or sleep.

To Him belongs whatsoever is in the heavens and the earth. Those who are with Him are not too proud to worship Him, nor do they become weary. The newly arrived things belong to Him as a possession, and the engendered beings belong to Him by decree. He is too transcendent to be beautified by conformity or to be diminished by op- position. In earth and the heavens all the engendered beings and newly arrived things, the existent things and things coming to nothing, are His kingdom and possession, His servants, slaves, and serving boys. In the view of the lords of the meanings, the reality of kingship is power to originate and devise. This reality is His attribute, and worthy kingship is His kingship-without horse and ser- vants, without drums and flags, without army and retinue. When the kings of the world display their armies, they mount up their servants and retinue, they display their horse and chattel, and then they lift up the head of boasting of their kingship and possessions, blessings and self-indulgences, cavalry and infantry, royal court and audience hall. As for the Real, He strikes the fire of unneedi- ness in the vestiges and traces of the realm of being, He turns the world into scattered dust [25:23] and He shakes the dust of the others off the skirt of power. He puts the halter of destruction on the steed of existence and lets out this call in the world: “Whose is the kingdom today?” Then He Himself answers with His own exalted majesty: “God's, the One, the All-Subjugating” [40:16]. When a person of faith believes that everything is His rightful due and kingdom and that all exaltedness is His exaltedness, it is fitting for him to break the tablet of making claims, roll up the carpet of folly, put the delusion of egoism out of his head, and pull his skirt back from the two realms of being and the two worlds. He will be ashamed to bow his head before a created thing like himself, or to bind his heart to anyone. “He who aims for the ocean has no need for rivulets.” When a diver has a high aspiration and uses his own life for give-and-take with the ocean in order to gain the night-brightening pearl, why would he give himself over to a black bead? He said beautiful words, that exalted man of the era: “He who recognizes the Real will not put up with the abasement of the creatures.”