42:11 Ash-Shura (Consultation)

{ فَاطِرِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ } أي: خالقهما بقدرته ومشيئته وحكمته. { جَعَلَ لَكُمْ مِنْ أَنْفُسِكُمْ أَزْوَاجًا } لتسكنوا إليها، وتنتشر منكم الذرية، ويحصل لكم من النفع ما يحصل.{ وَمِنَ الْأَنْعَامِ أَزْوَاجًا } أي: ومن جميع أصنافها نوعين، ذكرا وأنثى، لتبقى وتنمو لمنافعكم الكثيرة، ولهذا عداها باللام الدالة على التعليل، أي: جعل ذلك لأجلكم، ولأجل النعمة عليكم، ولهذا قال: { يذرؤكم فيه } أي: يبثكم ويكثركم ويكثر مواشيكم، بسبب أن جعل لكم من أنفسكم، وجعل لكم من الأنعام أزواجا.{ لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ } أي: ليس يشبهه تعالى ولا يماثله شيء من مخلوقاته، لا في ذاته، ولا في أسمائه، ولا في صفاته، ولا في أفعاله، لأن أسماءه كلها حسنى، وصفاته صفة كمال وعظمة، وأفعاله تعالى أوجد بها المخلوقات العظيمة من غير مشارك، فليس كمثله شيء، لانفراده وتوحده بالكمال من كل وجه. { وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ } لجميع الأصوات، باختلاف اللغات، على تفنن الحاجات. { الْبَصِيرُ } يرى دبيب النملة السوداء، في الليلة الظلماء، على الصخرة الصماء، ويرى سريان القوت في أعضاء الحيوانات الصغيرة جدا، وسريان الماء في الأغصان الدقيقة.وهذه الآية ونحوها، دليل لمذهب أهل السنة والجماعة، من إثبات الصفات، ونفي مماثلة المخلوقات. وفيها رد على المشبهة في قوله: { لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ } وعلى المعطلة في قوله: { وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْبَصِيرُ }

وقوله جل جلاله "فاطر السموات والأرض" أي خالقهما وما بينهما "جعل لكم من أنفسكم أزواجا" أي من جنسكم وشكلكم منة عليكم وتفضلا جعل من جنسكم ذكرا وأنثى "ومن الأنعام أزواجا" أي وخلق لكم من الأنعام ثمانية أزواج وقوله تبارك وتعالى "يذرؤكم فيه" أي يخلقكم فيه أي في ذلك الخلق على هذه الصفة لا يزال يذرؤكم فيه ذكورا وإناثا خلقا من بعد خلق وجيلا بعد جيل ونسلا بعد نسل من الناس والأنعام وقال البغوي يذرؤكم فيه أي في الرحم وقيل في البطن وقيل في هذا الوجه من الخلقة. قال مجاهد نسلا بعد نسل من الناس والأنعام وقيل في بمعنى الباء أي يذرؤكم به "ليس كمثله شيء" أي ليس كخالق الأزواج كلها شيء لأنه الفرد الصمد الذي لا نظير له "وهو السميع البصير".

Allah is the Protector, Ruler and Creator

Here Allah denounces the idolators for taking other gods instead of Allah, and declares that He is the True God, and it is not right to worship anyone except Him Alone. He is the One Who is able to bring the dead back to life and He is Able to do all things. Then He says:

وَمَا اخْتَلَفْتُمْ فِيهِ مِن شَىْءٍ فَحُكْمُهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ

(And in whatsoever you differ, the decision thereof is with Allah.) means, in whatever issue you differ. This is general in meaning and applies to all things.

فَحُكْمُهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ

(the decision thereof is with Allah.) means, He is the Judge of that, according to His Book and the Sunnah of His Prophet . This is like the Ayah:

فَإِن تَنَازَعْتُمْ فِى شَىْءٍ فَرُدُّوهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَالرَّسُولِ

((And) if you differ in anything amongst yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger) (4:59).

ذَلِكُمُ اللَّهُ رَبِّى

(Such is Allah, my Lord) means, (He is) the Judge of all things.

عَلَيْهِ تَوَكَّلْتُ وَإِلَيْهِ أُنِيبُ

(in Whom I put my trust, and to Him I turn in repentance. ) means, `I refer all matters to Him.'

فَاطِرَ السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ

(The Creator of the heavens and the earth.) means, the Maker of them both and everything in between.

جَعَلَ لَكُمْ مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ أَزْوَاجًا

(He has made for you mates from yourselves,) means, of your own kind. As a blessing and a favor from Him, He has made your kind male and female.

وَمِنَ الاٌّنْعَـمِ أَزْوجاً

(and for the cattle (also) mates.) means, and He has created for you eight pairs of cattle.

يَذْرَؤُكُمْ فِيهِ

(By this means He creates you.) means, in this manner He creates you, male and female, generation after generation of men and cattle.

لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَىْءٌ

(There is nothing like Him,) means, there is nothing like the Creator of these pairs, for He is the Unique, the Self-Sufficient Master, Who has no peer or equal.

وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْبَصِيرُ

(He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer.)

لَهُ مَقَـلِيدُ السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ

(To Him belong the keys of the heavens and the earth. ) We have already discussed the interpretation of this phrase in Surat Az-Zumar (39:63), the conclusion of which is that He is the One Who is controlling and governing them.

يَبْسُطُ الرِّزْقَ لِمَنْ يَشَآءُ وَيَقَدِرُ

(He expands provision for whom He wills, and straitens.) means, He gives plentiful provision to whomsoever He wills and He reduces it for whomsoever He wills, and He is perfectly Wise and Just.

إِنَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عَلِيمٌ

(Verily, He is the All-Knower of everything.)

The Originator of the heavens and the earth the One Who created them without precedent. He has made for you from your own selves pairs when He created Eve from Adam’s rib and also pairs males and females of the cattle He multiplies you read yadhra’ukum by such means by the mentioned ‘making’ that is to say He multiplies you through this means by way of propagation the suffixed pronoun -kum in yadhra’ukum ‘He multiplies you’ refers to both human beings and cattle but predominantly to humans. There is nothing like Him ka-mithlihi the kāf is extra as there is no likeness of Him exalted be He. He is the Hearer of what is said the Seer of what is done.

Commentary

وَمَا اخْتَلَفْتُمْ فِيهِ مِن شَيْءٍ فَحُكْمُهُ إِلَى اللَّـهِ (Whatever dispute you have in any matter, its judgment lies with Allah. - 10) It means that the judgment in all those matters in which you dispute lies with Allah, because the sovereignty belongs to Allah only, as stated in another verse:إِنِ الْحُكْمُ إِلَّا لِلَّـهِ (The Decision belongs to none but Allah - 6:57). The direction in many verses to obey Rasulullah ﷺ and in some verses to obey those in authority does not contradict the above, because the orders of Rasulullah ﷺ and of the authorities are also, in a way, orders of Allah. If the order has been received through ` wahy' or based upon the clear and definite verses (nusus) of the Qur'an and sunnah, then its being an order of Allah is obvious. And if the order is an 'ijtihad' (inference) which in turn is based upon nusus of Qur'an and sunnah, then also, in a way, it is an order of Allah. ijtihadat' (plural of ` ijtihad' ) of the ` mujtahidin' of the ummah (those who are competent to interpret the Qur'an and Sunnah, and infer Islamic laws from them) on this basis, are included in orders of Allah. That is why the learned scholars have declared that the fatwa (ruling) given by a ` mufti' (A competent Islamic scholar) is to be taken as a part of the religious law by the common masses who do not have the ability to understand the Qur'an and the Sunnah directly.

The Creator of the heavens and the earth, He made for you from yourselves pairs and from your cattle pairs, thereby multiplying you. Nothing is as His likeness, and He is the Hear- ing, the Seeing. The Creator of the seven heavens and the seven earths is God, and in creation He is one and unique. He gives being to nonbeings, from what was not He brings forth what is, and He is not similar to any being. His power has no slackening, His strength no shortcoming, and His measure is far from perception. His act has no instrument, His artisanry no cause, His doing no contrivance. He cre- ated the tremendous Throne and made it the crown on the head of being's realm. He created the tiny dust mote and concealed it from the eyes. In terms of power, the Throne is like a dust mote, and in terms of wisdom, the dust mote like a Throne. If you look at the world of power, the Throne will appear to you as a dust mote, and if you look at the world of wisdom, the dust mote will come to you as a Throne. Judging on the basis of the world of unneediness and the exalted divine majesty, in reality there is no need for the existence of creatures, so their realm of being appears to be an intrusion. Nonetheless, He Himself says, “'We created you so you would profit from Us, not so that We would profit from you.' When I created you, I did not create you to seek profit from you or to join My exalted majesticness with your existence.” Her own face had itself as a moon, her own eye had itself as collyrium. “Rather, I created you so that you would seek profit from Me and you would take your own share from My bounty.” The attribute of bounty stood up seeking the obedient, the attribute of severity stood up seek- ing the disobedient, and the attribute of majesty and beauty stood up seeking the passionate. He had a severity and a gentleness to perfection, a never-ending majesty and beauty. He wanted to scatter these treasures. He placed the throne of gentleness on the head of one person in the garden of bounty, He put the burning brand of severity on another's liver in the prison of justice, He melted one in the fire of majesty, and He caressed another in the light of beauty.