Tafsir of Surah Al-Anbiya' - Verse 19

Creation was made with Justice and Wisdom

Allah tells us that He created the heavens and the earth in truth, i.e. with justice.

لِيَجْزِىَ الَّذِينَ أَسَاءُواْ بِمَا عَمِلُواْ وَيِجْزِى الَّذِينَ أَحْسَنُواْ بِالْحُسْنَى

(that He may requite those who do evil with that which they have done, and reward those who do good, with what is best.) 53:31. He did not create all that in vain or for (mere) play:

وَمَا خَلَقْنَا السَّمَآءَ وَالاٌّرْضَ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا بَـطِلاً ذَلِكَ ظَنُّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ فَوَيْلٌ لِّلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ مِنَ النَّارِ

(And We created not the heaven and the earth and all that is between them without purpose! That is the consideration of those who disbelieve! Then woe to those who disbelieve from the Fire!) 38:27

لَوْ أَرَدْنَآ أَن نَّتَّخِذَ لَهْواً لاَّتَّخَذْنَـهُ مِن لَّدُنَّآ إِن كُنَّا فَـعِلِينَ

(Had We intended to take a pastime, We could surely have taken it from Us, if We were going to do (that).) Ibn Abi Najih said, narrating from Mujahid:

لَوْ أَرَدْنَآ أَن نَّتَّخِذَ لَهْواً لاَّتَّخَذْنَـهُ مِن لَّدُنَّآ

(Had We intended to take a pastime, We could surely have taken it from Us,) "Meaning, `From Ourself,' He is saying, `We would not have created Paradise or Hell or death or the resurrection or the Reckoning."'

إِن كُنَّا فَـعِلِينَ

(if We were going to do (that). ) Qatadah, As-Suddi, Ibrahim An-Nakha`i and Mughirah bin Miqsam said: "This means, `We will not do that."' Mujahid said, every time the word

أَنْ

(if) is used in the Qur'an, it is a negation.

بَلْ نَقْذِفُ بِالْحَقِّ عَلَى الْبَـطِلِ

(Nay, We fling the truth against the falsehood,) means, `We explain the truth and thus defeat falsehood.' Allah says:

فَيَدْمَغُهُ فَإِذَا هُوَ زَاهِقٌ

(so it destroys it, and behold, it disappears.) it is fading and vanishing.

وَلَكُمُ الْوَيْلُ

(And woe to you) O you who say that Allah has offspring.

مِمَّا تَصِفُونَ

(for that which you ascribe.) that which you say and fabricate. Then Allah informs of the servitude of the angels, and how they persevere in worship night and day:

Everything belongs to Allah and serves Him

وَلَهُ مَن فِى السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ وَمَنْ عِنْدَهُ

(To Him belongs whosoever is in the heavens and on earth. And those who are near Him) i.e., the angels,

لاَ يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ عَنْ عِبَادَتِهِ

(are not too proud to worship Him,) they do not feel proud and do not refuse to worship Him. This is like the Ayah:

لَّن يَسْتَنكِفَ الْمَسِيحُ أَن يَكُونَ عَبْداً للَّهِ وَلاَ الْمَلَـئِكَةُ الْمُقَرَّبُونَ وَمَن يَسْتَنْكِفْ عَنْ عِبَادَتِهِ وَيَسْتَكْبِرْ فَسَيَحْشُرُهُمْ إِلَيهِ جَمِيعاً

(Al-Masih will never be proud to reject being a servant of Allah, nor the angels who are the near. And whosoever rejects His worship and is proud, then He will gather them all together unto Himself.) 4:172

وَلاَ يَسْتَحْسِرُونَ

(nor are they weary.) means, they do not get tired or feel bored.

يُسَبِّحُونَ الْلَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ لاَ يَفْتُرُونَ

(They glorify His praises night and day, they never slacken.) They persist in their worship night and day, obeying Allah to the utmost, and they are able to do this, as Allah says:

لاَّ يَعْصُونَ اللَّهَ مَآ أَمَرَهُمْ وَيَفْعَلُونَ مَا يُؤْمَرُونَ

(who do not disobey Allah in what He commands them, but do what they are commanded) 66:6

وَمَنْ عِندَهُ لَا يَسْتَكْبِرُ‌ونَ عَنْ عِبَادَتِهِ وَلَا يَسْتَحْسِرُ‌ونَ (And those who are near Him are not arrogant against His worship, nor are they sluggish. - 21:19) It means that Allah's servants who are with Him i.e. angels pray to Him all the time without ceasing. So, if the humans do not pray to Him, it will not make any difference to Him, but they themselves will be the losers. It is human nature to judge others by applying one's own situation to them. Hence there are two possibilities preventing a person from offering acts of worship ceaselessly. One, that he regards it below his dignity to bow down before any one and therefore does not pray to Allah Ta` ala. Secondly, it is physically not possible for a man to worship without a break because he needs to rest in between. In view of these two human constraints, it is explained towards the end of the verse that the angels are free from these compulsions. They do not regard it below their dignity to worship Allah constantly nor do they get tired or need any rest or sleep.

Every object on the earth and in the skies is God’s creation. Everything behaves as has been divinely ordained. In the entire universe, it is only man who is arrogant and disobedient. Those who do not believe in God indulge in arrogance and disobedience on the plea that there is nobody to rule over them, and they are free to do as they like. Those who believe in God also indulge in arrogance and disobedience, but they offer a different explanation for this behaviour. They take some particular individuals other than God as intermediaries and recommenders. They assume them to be closer to God and presume that if from time to time they are paid homage and obeisance, they will intercede with God for their salvation. Some assume angels to be the intermediaries, while others attribute such qualities to other human beings. But all such theories are totally baseless. If one has such a deep insight as to have a clear vision of Reality at the universal level, he will see that those beings (who are supposed to have divine attributes) are themselves awe-struck by God’s majesty and kneel down before Him. Ironically, it is in their name that man has adopted an attitude of arrogance and disobedience in the world.