Tafsir of Surah An-Nahl - Verse 73

Denouncing the Worship of anything besides Allah

Allah tells us about the Mushrikin who worship others besides Him, even though He alone is the bountiful Provider, the Creator and Sustainer, without partners or associates, but they still worship idols and make rivals for Him. He says:

مَا لاَ يَمْلِكُ لَهُمْ رِزْقًا مِّنَ السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ شَيْئًا

(such as do not have power to grant them any provision from the heavens or the earth) meaning, nobody can cause rain to fall, or make plants and trees grow. They cannot do these things for them- selves, even if they wanted to. Thus Allah says:

فَلاَ تَضْرِبُواْ لِلَّهِ الاٌّمْثَالَ

(So do not give examples on behalf of Allah.) meaning, do not set up rivals to Him or describe anything as being like Him.

إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنتُمْ لاَ تَعْلَمُونَ

(Truly, Allah knows and you know not.) meaning, He knows and bears witness that there is no god but Him, but you are ignorant and associate others in worship with Him.

Commentary

In verse 72: جَعَلَ لَكُم مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ أَزْوَاجًا (Allah has created spouses from among you), a special blessing has been mentioned in that Allah Ta’ ala has created spouses from the same genus so that they remain mutually familiar and their distinction and nobility inherent in the human species also remains stable through generations.

Given here, there may be another hint towards the fact that spouses belong to each other's genus and, as such, their needs and feelings are common to both, therefore, mutual consideration is but necessary for them.

The next sentence of the verse: وَجَعَلَ لَكُم مِّنْ أَزْوَاجِكُم بَنِينَ وَحَفَدَةً has been translated as: 'and created for you from your spouse’ s sons and grandsons.

'Though children are born to father and mother both, yet in this verse, their birth has been identified with mothers only. The indication given here is suggestive of the fact that the role of the mother in the birth and the creational formation of the child is more pronounced that that of the father. The father contributes only a lifeless drop. The locale where this drop goes through different kinds of stages from the transformation into human form and shape to becoming alive, and where all these inimitable achievements of nature take place, is a place no other than the womb of the mother. Therefore, in the Hadith, the right of the mother has been made to precede the right of the father.

There is yet another hint visible in this sentence which mentions grandsons along with sons, that is, the real purpose behind creating spouses is the procreation and survival of human race so that they have children, then, their children have their children. What else would this be, if not the survival of human species?

After that, by saying: وَرَ‌زَقَكُم مِّنَ الطَّيِّبَاتِ (and gave you provision from good things), mention was made of things which guarantee personal survival. In other words, once a human child is born, food is needed for its personal survival. That too was provided by Allah Ta’ ala. The real meaning of the word: حَفَدَةً - (hafadah) in this verse is that of one who helps and serves. That this word has been used for children suggests that children should always be at the service of their father and mother. (Qurtubi)

The human being is a creature who has countless needs and the perfect arrangement to fulfill all these needs exists in this world. All this is provided by God, but in every age human beings have made the mistake of attributing all these blessings of God to some entities other than God. Polytheists attribute these blessings to gods or goddesses or to some living or dead beings other than God. Those who are atheists attribute them to the result of the blind activity of natural laws. This system of Divine blessing was brought into existence by God in order to ensure that a feeling of gratitude emerged in human beings. But due to man’s self-devised imaginings, this system nourished in him the feeling of disbelief in God. Generally, misguidance in belief has occurred due to false parallels being drawn. Since man has sons and daughters, it has been assumed on the same basis that God also has sons and daughters. In this world, people of high position have some individuals who are close to them and who enjoy the position of intermediaries. On the basis of this example it has been assumed that, even in the court of God, there are beings who are close to Him and that their recommendations are effective in His eyes. Many types of polytheism (shirk) and misguidance have come into existence through reference to such analogies. But this amounts to placing the Creator on a par with that of His creatures, which shows absolute ignorance. The Creator is different from His creatures in every way. Explaining something with the help of an example is not wrong in itself. But the example will be useful only when there is an awareness of the original as well as its analogy. When man does not know the reality of God, how can he formulate an analogy with any true relevance to it?