42:21 Ash-Shura (Consultation)

يخبر تعالى أن المشركين اتخذوا شركاء يوالونهم ويشتركون هم وإياهم في الكفر وأعماله، من شياطين الإنس، الدعاة إلى الكفر { شَرَعُوا لَهُمْ مِنَ الدِّينِ مَا لَمْ يَأْذَنْ بِهِ اللَّهُ } من الشرك والبدع، وتحريم ما أحل الله، وتحليل ما حرم الله ونحو ذلك مما اقتضته أهواؤهم.مع أن الدين لا يكون إلا ما شرعه الله تعالى، ليدين به العباد ويتقربوا به إليه، فالأصل الحجر على كل أحد أن يشرع شيئا ما جاء عن الله وعن رسوله، فكيف بهؤلاء الفسقة المشتركين هم وأباؤهم على الكفر.{ وَلَوْلَا كَلِمَةُ الْفَصْلِ لَقُضِيَ بَيْنَهُمْ } أي: لولا الأجل المسمى الذي ضربه الله فاصلا بين الطوائف المختلفة، وأنه سيؤخرهم إليه، لقضي بينهم في الوقت الحاضر بسعادة المحق وإهلاك المبطل، لأن المقتضي للإهلاك موجود، ولكن أمامهم العذاب الأليم في الآخرة، هؤلاء وكل ظالم.

قوله جل وعلا "أم لهم شركاء شرعوا لهم من الدين ما لم يأذن به الله" أي هم لا يتبعون ما شرع الله لك من الدين القويم بل يتبعون ما شرع لهم شياطينهم من الجن والإنس من تحريم ما حرموا عليهم من البحيرة والسائبة والوصيلة والحام وتحليل أكل الميتة والدم والقمار إلى نحو ذلك من الضلالات والجهالة الباطلة التي كانوا قد اخترعوها في جاهليتهم من التحليل والتحريم والعبادات الباطلة والأموال الفاسدة. وقد ثبت في الصحيح أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال "رأيت عمرو بن لحي بن قمعة يجر قصبه في النار" لأنه أول من سيب السوائب وكان هذا الرجل أحد ملوك خزاعة وهو أول من فعل هذه الأشياء وهو الذي حمل قريشا على عبادة الأصنام لعنه الله وقبحه ولهذا قال تعالى "ولولا كلمة الفصل لقضي بينهم" أي لعوجلوا بالعقوبة لولا ما تقدم من الإنظار إلى يوم المعاد "وإن الظالمين لهم عذاب أليم" أي شديد موجع في جهنم وبئس المصير.

The Provision of Allah in this World and the Hereafter

Here Allah speaks of His kindness towards His creation, in that He provides for every last one of them and does not forget anyone. When it comes to His provision, the righteous and the sinner are alike. Allah says:

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

(And no moving creature is there on the earth but its provision is due from Allah. And He knows its dwelling place and its deposit. All is in a Clear Book.) (11:6) And there are many similar Ayat.

يَرْزُقُ مَن يَشَآءُ

(He gives provisions to whom He wills.) means, He gives generously to whomsoever He wills.

وَهُوَ الْقَوِىُّ الْعَزِيزُ

(And He is the All-Strong, the Almighty.) means, there is nothing that can overpower Him. Then Allah says:

مَن كَانَ يُرِيدُ حَرْثَ الاٌّخِرَةِ

(Whosoever desires the reward of the Hereafter,) means, whoever does things for the sake of the Hereafter,

نَزِدْ لَهُ فِى حَرْثِهِ

(We give him increase in his reward, ) meaning, `We will give him strength and help him to do what he wants to do, and We will increase it for him. So for every good, We will multiply it and give him between ten and seven hundred good rewards,' as much as Allah wills.

وَمَن كَانَ يُرِيدُ حَرْثَ الدُّنْيَا نُؤْتِهِ مِنْهَا وَمَا لَهُ فِى الاٌّخِرَةِ مِن نَّصِيبٍ

(and whosoever desires the reward of this world, We give him thereof, and he has no portion in the Hereafter.) means, whoever strives for the purpose of worldly gains, and never pays any heed to the Hereafter at all, Allah will deny him the Hereafter; and in this world, if He wills He will give to him and if He does not will, he will gain neither. So the one who strives with this intention in mind will have the worst deal in this world and in the Hereafter. The evidence for that is the fact that this Ayah is reinforced by the passage in Subhan (i.e., Surat Al-Isra') in which Allah says: y

مَّن كَانَ يُرِيدُ الْعَـجِلَةَ عَجَّلْنَا لَهُ فِيهَا مَا نَشَآءُ لِمَن نُّرِيدُ ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَا لَهُ جَهَنَّمَ يَصْلَـهَا مَذْمُومًا مَّدْحُورًا - وَمَنْ أَرَادَ الاٌّخِرَةَ وَسَعَى لَهَا سَعْيَهَا وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ فَأُولَـئِكَ كَانَ سَعْيُهُم مَّشْكُورًا - كُلاًّ نُّمِدُّ هَـؤُلاءِ وَهَـؤُلاءِ مِنْ عَطَآءِ رَبِّكَ وَمَا كَانَ عَطَآءُ رَبِّكَ مَحْظُورًا - انظُرْ كَيْفَ فَضَّلْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ وَلَلاٌّخِرَةُ أَكْبَرُ دَرَجَـتٍ وَأَكْبَرُ تَفْضِيلاً

(Whoever desires the quick-passing, We readily grant him what We will for whom We like. Then, afterwards, We have appointed for him Hell; he will (enter) burn therein disgraced and rejected. And whoever desires the Hereafter and strives for it, with the necessary effort due for it while he is a believer -- then such are the ones whose striving shall be appreciated. On each -- these as well as those -- We bestow from the bounties of your Lord. And the bounties of your Lord can never be forbidden. See how We prefer one above another (in this world), and verily, the Hereafter will be greater in degrees and greater in preferment.) (17:18-21) It was reported that Ubayy bin Ka`b, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ  said:

«بَشِّرْ هذِهِ الْأُمَّةَ بِالسَّنَاءِ وَالرِّفْعَةِ وَالنَّصْرِ وَالتَّمْكِينِ فِي الْأَرْضِ، فَمَنْ عَمِلَ مِنْهُمْ عَمَلَ الْاخِرَةِ لِلدُّنْيَا، لَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ فِي الْاخِرَةِ مِنْ نَصِيب»

(Give the glad tidings to this Ummah of sublimity, high status, victory and power in the land. But whoever among them does the deeds of the Hereafter for the sake of worldly gain, will have no portion of the Hereafter.)"

Making Legislation for the Creatures is Shirk Allah says:

أَمْ لَهُمْ شُرَكَاءُ شَرَعُواْ لَهُمْ مِّنَ الدِّينِ مَا لَمْ يَأْذَن بِهِ اللَّهُ

(Or have they partners with Allah who have instituted for them a religion which Allah has not ordained) means, they do not follow what Allah has ordained for you of upright religion; on the contrary, they follow what their devils (Shayatin), of men and Jinn, have prescribed for them. They instituted taboos, such as the Bahirah, Sa'ibah, Wasilah or Ham. They also permitted eating flesh and blood of animals not slaughtered for consumption, gambling and other kinds of misguidance, ignorance and falsehood. These are things that they invented during Jahiliyyah, when they came up with all kinds of false rulings on what was permitted and what was forbidden, and false rites of worship and other corrupt ideas. It was recorded in the Sahih that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ  said:

«رَأَيْتُ عَمْرَو بْنَ لُحَيِّ بْنِ قَمَعَةَ يَجُرُّ قُصْبَهُ فِي النَّار»

(I saw `Amr bin Luhayy bin Qama`ah dragging his intestines in Hell) -- because he had been the first one to introduce the idea of the Sa'ibah. This man was one of the kings of the Khuza`ah tribe, and he was the first one to do these things. He was the one who had made the Quraysh worship idols, may the curse of Allah be upon him. Allah said:

وَلَوْلاَ كَلِمَةُ الْفَصْلِ لَقُضِىَ بَيْنَهُمْ

(And had it not been for a decisive Word, the matter would have been judged between them.) means, the punishment would have been hastened for them, were it not for the fact that it had already been decreed that it would be delayed until the Day of Resurrection.

وَإِنَّ الظَّـلِمِينَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ

(And verily, for the wrongdoers there is a painful torment.) i.e., an agonizing torment in Hell, what a terrible destination.

The Terror of the Idolators in the Place of Gathering

تَرَى الظَّـلِمِينَ مُشْفِقِينَ مِمَّا كَسَبُواْ

(You will see the wrongdoers fearful of that which they have earned,) means, in the arena of Resurrection.

وَهُوَ وَاقِعٌ بِهِمْ

(and it will surely befall them.) means, the thing that they fear will undoubtedly happen to them. This is how they will be on the Day of Resurrection; they will be in a state of utter fear and terror.

وَالَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ الصَّـلِحَـتِ فِى رَوْضَـتِ الْجَنَّـتِ لَهُمْ مَّا يَشَآءُونَ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ

(But those who believe and do righteous deeds (will be) in the flowering meadows of the Gardens. They shall have whatsoever they desire with their Lord.) What comparison can there be between the former and the latter How can the one who will be in the arena of resurrection in a state of humiliation and fear, deserving it for his wrongdoing, be compared with the one who will be in the gardens of Paradise, enjoying whatever he wants of food, drink, clothing, dwellings, scenery, spouses and other delights such as no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and has never crossed the minds of men. Allah says:

ذَلِكَ هُوَ الْفَضْلُ الْكَبِيرُ

(That is the supreme grace.) means, the ultimate victory and complete blessing.

Or have they the Meccan disbelievers associates — these being their devils — who have prescribed for them for the disbelievers a religion a corrupt religion which God has not given permission for? such as idolatry and denial of resurrection? And were it not for a prior decisive word in other words a prior decree to the effect that requital will take place on the Day of Resurrection it would have been judged between them and the believers by chastising the former in this world. Truly the wrongdoers the disbelievers will have a painful chastisement.

Commentary

اللَّـهُ لَطِيفٌ بِعِبَادِهِ (Allah is kind to His slaves - 42:19). The word, latif used in the text has more than one lexical meanings. Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ has translated it here as kind, and Sayyidna ` Ikrimah ؓ has translated it as benefactor.

Muqatil (رح) has said that Allah Almighty is kind to all His servants, so much so that even the infidels and sinners keep on being showered with His worldly blessings. There are many types and kinds of the divine bounties, graces and favours showered upon His servants. That is why many meanings of the word latif have been stated in the Tafsir of Qurtubi, all of which are covered by the words ` kind' and ` benefactor'.

Although Allah Ta’ ala provides sustenance to all His creatures without any exception - even to those animals on land and in waters whom nobody knows, yet the present verse states that He provides sustenance ` to whom He wills'. This is better understood from the explanation given in Tafsir Mazhari which says that there are countless' types and kinds of sustenance provided by Allah Ta’ ala; sustenance as necessary is provided to all and sundry, whereas some special kinds of sustenance are distributed by Him in degrees and quantities determined by His perfect wisdom. Somebody is given more of wealth and goods, somebody is given more of health and strength, somebody is given more of learning and knowledge and somebody is given more of other types and kinds; in this way everybody is dependent on another person and it is this dependence which persuades people to co-operate with and help each other and which is the foundation of human civilization.

Ja'far Ibn Muhammad (رح) has said that Allah Ta’ ala's kindness to His servants in the matter of sustenance is in two ways. Firstly, He provides food and other necessities to every living being as per his needs, and secondly, He does not provide sustenance for anyone for the whole of his life all at once, rather gives him gradually according to his need, otherwise its preservation would not have been feasible. (Mazhari, Qurtubi)

Note

Shah ` Abdul Ghani Phulpuri رحمۃ اللہ علیہ relates from Haji Imdadullah (رح) that anyone who recites the above verse i.e. اللَّـهُ لَطِيفٌ بِعِبَادِهِ يَرْ‌زُقُ مَن يَشَاءُ ۖ وَهُوَ الْقَوِيُّ الْعَزِيزُ seventy times every morning regularly, would be preserved from shortage of sustenance and said that experience has shown it to be very effective.