35:14 Faatir (The Originator)

ومع هذا { إِنْ تَدْعُوهُمْ } لا يسمعوكم لأنهم ما بين جماد وأموات وملائكة مشغولين بطاعة ربهم. { وَلَوْ سَمِعُوا } على وجه الفرض والتقدير { مَا اسْتَجَابُوا لَكُمْ } لأنهم لا يملكون شيئا، ولا يرضى أكثرهم بعبادة من عبده، ولهذا قال: { وَيَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ يَكْفُرُونَ بِشِرْكِكُمْ } أي: يتبرأون منكم، ويقولون: { سُبْحَانَكَ أَنْتَ وَلِيُّنَا مِنْ دُونِهِمْ } { وَلَا يُنَبِّئُكَ مِثْلُ خَبِيرٍ } أي: لا أحد ينبئك، أصدق من الله العليم الخبير، فاجزم بأن هذا الأمر، الذي نبأ به كأنه رَأْيُ عين، فلا تشك فيه ولا تمتر. فتضمنت هذه الآيات، الأدلة والبراهين الساطعة، الدالة على أنه تعالى المألوه المعبود، الذي لا يستحق شيئا من العبادة سواه، وأن عبادة ما سواه باطلة متعلقة بباطل، لا تفيد عابده شيئا.

ثم قال تعالى: "إن تدعوهم لا يسمعوا دعاءكم" يعني الآلهة التي تدعونها من دون الله لا تسمع دعاءكم لأنها جماد لا أرواح فيها "ولو سمعوا ما استجابوا لكم" أي لا يقدرون على شيء مما تطلبون منها "ويوم القيامة يكفرون بشرككم" أي يتبرءون منكم كما قال تعالى: "ومن أضل ممن يدعوا من دون الله من لا يستجيب له إلى يوم القيامة وهم عن دعائهم غافلون وإذا حشر الناس كانوا لهم أعداء وكانوا بعبادتهم كافرين" وقال تعالى: "واتخذوا من دون الله آلهة ليكونوا لهم عزا كلا سيكفرون بعبادتهم ويكونون عليهم ضدا" وقوله تعالى "ولا ينبئك مثل خبير" أي ولا يخبرك بعواقب الأمور ومآلها وما تصير إليه مثل خبير بها قال قتادة يعني نفسه تبارك وتعالى أخبر بالواقع لا محالة.

The gods of the Idolators do not even own a Qitmir

Another aspect of His perfect power and might is that He has subjugated the night with its darkness and the day with its light. He takes from the length of the one and adds it to the shortness of the other, until they become equal. Then He takes from the latter and adds to the former, so one becomes long and the other becomes short, so they take from one another in summer and in winter.

وَسَخَّرَ الشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ

(And He has subjected the sun and the moon,) and the stars and planets, with their light. All of them run in their appointed courses and in the manner prescribed for them, as decreed by the Almighty, All-Knowing.

كُـلٌّ يَجْرِى لاًّجَـلٍ مُّسَـمًّى

each runs its course for a term appointed. means, until the Day of Resurrection.

ذَلِكُـمُ اللَّهُ رَبُّـكُمْ

Such is Allah, your Lord؟ means, the One Who has done all this is the Almighty Lord besides Whom there is no other true God.

وَالَّذِينَ تَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِهِ

(And those, whom you invoke or call upon instead of Him,) means, `the idols and false gods whom you claim to be in the form of angels who are close to Allah,'

مَا يَمْلِكُونَ مِن قِطْمِيرٍ

own not even a Qitلm0r. Ibn Abba0s, may Allah be pleased with him, Muja0hid, Ikrimah, Ata0 , Atلiyah Al- Awfi, Al-Hلasan, Qata0dah and others said, This is the thread that is attached to the pit of a date. In other words, they do not possess anything in the heavens or on earth, not even anything equivalent to this Qitلm0r. Then Allah says:

إِن تَدْعُوهُمْ لاَ يَسْمَعُواْ دُعَآءَكُمْ

(If you invoke them, they hear not your call;) means, `the gods upon whom you call instead of Allah, do not hear your supplication, because they are inanimate and have no soul in them.'

وَلَوْ سَمِعُواْ مَا اسْتَجَابُواْ لَكُمْ

(and if (in case) they were to hear, they could not grant it to you.) means, `they are not able to do any of the things that you ask them for.'

وَيَوْمَ الْقِيَـمَةِ يَكْفُرُونَ بِشِرْكِـكُمْ

And on the Day of Resurrection, they will disown your worshipping them means, `they will disown you.' This is like the Ayat:

وَمَنْ أَضَلُّ مِمَّن يَدْعُو مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ مَن لاَّ يَسْتَجِيبُ لَهُ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَـمَةِ وَهُمْ عَن دُعَآئِهِمْ غَـفِلُونَ - وَإِذَا حُشِرَ النَّاسُ كَانُواْ لَهُمْ أَعْدَآءً وَكَانُواْ بِعِبَادَتِهِمْ كَـفِرِينَ

(And who is more astray than one who calls on besides Allah, such as will not answer him till the Day of Resurrection, and who are (even) unaware of their calls to them And when mankind are gathered, they (false deities) will become their enemies and will deny their worshipping.) (46:5-6), and

وَاتَّخَذُواْ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ ءالِهَةً لِّيَكُونُواْ لَهُمْ عِزّاً

كَلاَّ سَيَكْفُرُونَ بِعِبَـدَتِهِمْ وَيَكُونُونَ عَلَيْهِمْ ضِدّاً

(And they have taken gods besides Allah, that they might give them honor, power and glory. Nay, but they will deny their worship of them, and become opponents to them.) (19:81-82)

وَلاَ يُنَبِّئُكَ مِثْلُ خَبِيرٍ

(And none can inform you like Him Who is the All-Knower.) means, no one can tell you about the consequences of things and how they will end like the One Who is the All-Knower of them. Qatadah said, "He is referring to Himself, may He be blessed and exalted, for He undoubtedly tells the truth."

If you call on them they will not hear your call and even if they heard —hypothetically speaking — they would not be able to respond to you; and on the Day of Resurrection they will disown your idolatrous associations in other words your associating them with God in power that is to say they will declare themselves innocent of you and of your worship of them. And none can inform you about the state in the two abodes like One Who is Aware Knower and this is God exalted be He.

In the last verse: إِن تَدْعُوهُمْ لَا يَسْمَعُوا دُعَاءَكُمْ وَلَوْ سَمِعُوا مَا اسْتَجَابُوا لَكُمْ (If you call them, they do not hear your call, and even if they were to hear, they would not respond to you. - 35:14). To explain, it can be said that if you call those idols or some prophets or angels you take as god and worship them asking them to help you in distress, they will, first of all, be unable to listen to you because idols do not have the ability to listen. Though, prophets and angels have this ability, yet they are not present everywhere nor do they hear that which is said by everybody. Further on, it was said that, should they, as a matter of supposition, be able to listen, as in the case of angels and prophets, still, they would not fulfill your request, because they themselves have no control over it, and cannot intercede with Allah on behalf of anyone without His permission.

In the last verse: إِن تَدْعُوهُمْ لَا يَسْمَعُوا دُعَاءَكُمْ وَلَوْ سَمِعُوا مَا اسْتَجَابُوا لَكُمْ (If you call them, they do not hear your call, and even if they were to hear, they would not respond to you. - 35:14). To explain, it can be said that if you call those idols or some prophets or angels you take as god and worship them asking them to help you in distress, they will, first of all, be unable to listen to you because idols do not have the ability to listen. Though, prophets and angels have this ability, yet they are not present everywhere nor do they hear that which is said by everybody. Further on, it was said that, should they, as a matter of supposition, be able to listen, as in the case of angels and prophets, still, they would not fulfill your request, because they themselves have no control over it, and cannot intercede with Allah on behalf of anyone without His permission.

The issue of the ability of the dead to hear سماع الموتی sama`-ulmawta) has appeared earlier. The present verse neither confirms nor rejects it. Arguments and proofs relating to this issue are different. They have already been mentioned in details under the commentary on Surah Ar-Rum [ 30] (Ma` ariful-Qur an, Volume VI).