35:15 Faatir (The Originator)

يخاطب تعالى جميع الناس، ويخبرهم بحالهم ووصفهم، وأنهم فقراء إلى اللّه من جميع الوجوه:فقراء في إيجادهم، فلولا إيجاده إياهم، لم يوجدوا.فقراء في إعدادهم بالقوى والأعضاء والجوارح، التي لولا إعداده إياهم [بها]، لما استعدوا لأي عمل كان.فقراء في إمدادهم بالأقوات والأرزاق والنعم الظاهرة والباطنة، فلولا فضله وإحسانه وتيسيره الأمور، لما حصل [لهم] من الرزق والنعم شيء.فقراء في صرف النقم عنهم، ودفع المكاره، وإزالة الكروب والشدائد. فلولا دفعه عنهم، وتفريجه لكرباتهم، وإزالته لعسرهم، لاستمرت عليهم المكاره والشدائد.فقراء إليه في تربيتهم بأنواع التربية، وأجناس التدبير.فقراء إليه، في تألههم له، وحبهم له، وتعبدهم، وإخلاص العبادة له تعالى، فلو لم يوفقهم لذلك، لهلكوا، وفسدت أرواحهم، وقلوبهم وأحوالهم.فقراء إليه، في تعليمهم ما لا يعلمون، وعملهم بما يصلحهم، فلولا تعليمه، لم يتعلموا، ولولا توفيقه، لم يصلحوا.فهم فقراء بالذات إليه، بكل معنى، وبكل اعتبار، سواء شعروا ببعض أنواع الفقر أم لم يشعروا، ولكن الموفق منهم، الذي لا يزال يشاهد فقره في كل حال من أمور دينه ودنياه، ويتضرع له، ويسأله أن لا يكله إلى نفسه طرفة عين، وأن يعينه على جميع أموره، ويستصحب هذا المعنى في كل وقت، فهذا أحرى بالإعانة التامة من ربه وإلهه، الذي هو أرحم به من الوالدة بولدها.{ وَاللَّهُ هُوَ الْغَنِيُّ الْحَمِيدُ } أي: الذي له الغنى التام من جميع الوجوه، فلا يحتاج إلى ما يحتاج إليه خلقه، ولا يفتقر إلى شيء مما يفتقر إليه الخلق، وذلك لكمال صفاته، وكونها كلها، صفات كمال، ونعوت وجلال.ومن غناه تعالى، أن أغنى الخلق في الدنيا والآخرة، الحميد في ذاته، وأسمائه، لأنها حسنى، وأوصافه، لكونها عليا، وأفعاله لأنها فضل وإحسان وعدل وحكمة ورحمة، وفي أوامره ونواهيه، فهو الحميد على ما فيه، وعلى ما منه، وهو الحميد في غناه [الغني في حمده].

يخبر تعالى بغنائه عما سواه وبافتقار المخلوقات كلها إليه وتذللها بين يديه فقال تعالى: "يا أيها الناس أنتم الفقراء إلى الله" أي هم محتاجون إليه في جميع الحركات والسكنات وهو تعالى الغني عنهم بالذات ولهذا قال عز وجل "والله هو الغني الحميد" أي هو المنفرد بالغنى وحده لا شريك له وهو الحميد في جميع ما يفعله ويقوله ويقدره ويشرعه.

Mankind is in need of Allah, and each Person will carry His own Burdens on the Day of Resurrection

Allah tells us that He has no need of anyone or anything else, but all of creation is in need of Him and is in a position of humility before Him. He says:

يأَيُّهَا النَّاسُ أَنتُمُ الْفُقَرَآءُ إِلَى اللَّهِ

(O mankind! it is you who stand in need of Allah.) meaning, they need Him in all that they do, but He has no need of them at all. Allah says:

وَاللَّهُ هُوَ الْغَنِىُّ الْحَمِيدُ

But Allah is the Rich, Worthy of all praise. meaning, He is unique in His being Free of all needs, and has no partner or associate, and He is Worthy of all praise in all that He does, says, decrees and legislates.

إِن يَشَأْ يُذْهِبْكُـمْ وَيَأْتِ بِخَلْقٍ جَدِيدٍ

(If He willed, He could destroy you and bring about a new creation.) means, if He wanted to, He could destroy you and bring forth another people, and this is not difficult or impossible for Him. He says:

وَمَا ذَلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ بِعَزِيزٍ

(And that is not hard for Allah.) Allah's saying:

وَلاَ تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْرَى

(And no bearer of burdens shall bear another's burden;) means, on the Day of Resurrection.

وَإِن تَدْعُ مُثْقَلَةٌ إِلَى حِمْلِهَا

(and if one heavily laden calls another to (bear) his load, ) means, if the person who is carrying a heavy burden calls someone else to help him carry his load, all or part of it,

لاَ يُحْمَلْ مِنْهُ شَىْءٌ وَلَوْ كَانَ ذَا قُرْبَى

(nothing of it will be lifted even though he be near of kin.) means, even if he is closely-related to him, even if he is his father or son, for each person will be preoccupied with his own self and his own situation. Then Allah says:

إِنَّمَا تُنذِرُ الَّذِينَ يَخْشَوْنَ رَبَّهُمْ بِالْغَيْبِ وَأَقَامُواْ الصَّلَوةَ

(You can warn only those who fear their Lord unseen and perform the Salah.) means, `the only ones who will draw a lesson from what you have brought are those who are possessed of insight and wisdom, who fear their Lord and who do as He commands.'

وَمَن تَزَكَّى فَإِنَّمَا يَتَزَكَّى لِنَفْسِهِ

(And he who purifies himself, then he purifies only for the benefit of himself.) means, who does righteous deeds, the benefit of that will come back to him,

وَإِلَى اللَّهِ الْمَصِيرُ

And to Allah is the Return. means, to Him everything will ultimately return, and He is swift in bringing to account. He will reward or punish everyone according to his deeds: if they are good, then the end will be good, and if they are bad, then the end will be bad.

O mankind! You are the ones who are in need of God in every state. And God He is the Independent without any need of His creatures the Praised the One Who is praised in whatever He does with them.

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).

O people, you are the poor toward God, and God is the Unneedy, the Praiseworthy. Know that poverty is of two sorts: the poverty of created nature and the poverty of attributes. The poverty of created nature is general, belonging to every newly arrived thing that has come into existence from nonexistence. The meaning of poverty is need. Every created thing needs the Creator-first for creation and second for nurture. Thus you know that God has no needs or requirements, and everything else has needs and requirements. This is why the Exalted Lord says, “God is the Unneedy, and you are the poor” [47:38]. As for the poverty of attributes, that is what the Lord of the Worlds said: “the poor emigrants” [59:8]. He specified the Messenger's Companions for this poverty and praised them for it, as He said: “For the poor, who are constrained in the path of God” [2:273]. He named them poor to disguise the wealth of their state and so that no one would know of their wealth. This is as they say: “Call me Arsalan so that no one will know who I am.” The Pir of the Tariqah said, “Friendship is built on disguise. The name 'king' for Solomon is the disguise of poverty. 'Disobedience' for Adam is the disguise of being chosen. The blessings that clothed Abraham disguised bosom friendship. This is because the stipulation of love is jeal-ousy. Friends do not show their state to just anyone.” Someone without an iota of being, who never gazes on the two worlds and who always keeps God's gaze before his eyes is called poor, for he lacks everything and is wealthy through the Real. One must have wealth in the breast, not in the storehouse. The poor man is he who sees no hand- hold in the two worlds other than the Real and does not gaze upon himself. He has recited the prayer of the dead over his own essence and attributes-as that chevalier said: “Endless passion has nothing to do with a heart that stays firm in its own attributes. When someone steps into the field of passion for the beautiful, night and day will recite for him the prayer of the dead.” [DS 209-10]