Tafsir of Surah Saba' - Verse 23

The Helplessness of the gods of the Idolators Here

Allah states clearly that He is the One and Only God, the Self-Sufficient Master, Who has no peer or partner; He is independent in His command and there is no one who can share or dispute with Him in that, or overturn His command. So, He says:

قُلِ ادْعُواْ الَّذِينَ زَعَمْتُمْ مِّن دُونِ اللَّهِ

(Say: "Call upon those whom you assert besides Allah...") meaning, the gods who are worshipped besides Allah.

لاَ يَمْلِكُونَ مِثُقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ فِى السَّمَـوَتِ وَلاَ فِى الاٌّرْضِ

(they possess not even the weight of a speck of dust, either in the heavens or on the earth,) This is like the Ayah:

وَالَّذِينَ تَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِهِ مَا يَمْلِكُونَ مِن قِطْمِيرٍ

(And those, whom you invoke or call upon instead of Him, own not even a Qitmir) (35:13).

وَمَا لَهُمْ فِيهِمَا مِن شِرْكٍ

nor have they any share in either, means, they do not possess anything, either independently or as partners.

وَمَا لَهُ مِنْهُمْ مِّن ظَهِيرٍ

(nor there is for Him any supporter from among them. ) means, nor does Allah have among these rivals any whose support He seeks in any matter; on the contrary, all of creation is in need of Him and is enslaved by Him. Then Allah says:

وَلاَ تَنفَعُ الشَّفَـعَةُ عِندَهُ إِلاَّ لِمَنْ أَذِنَ لَهُ

(Intercession with Him profits not except for him whom He permits.) meaning, because of His might, majesty and pride, no one would dare to intercede with Him in any matter, except after being granted His permission to intercede. As Allah says:

مَن ذَا الَّذِى يَشْفَعُ عِندَهُ إِلاَّ بِإِذْنِهِ

(Who is he that can intercede with Him except with His permission) (2:255),

وَكَمْ مِّن مَّلَكٍ فِى السَّمَـوَتِ لاَ تُغْنِى شَفَـعَتُهُمْ شَيْئاً إِلاَّ مِن بَعْدِ أَن يَأْذَنَ اللَّهُ لِمَن يَشَآءُ وَيَرْضَى

(And there are many angels in the heavens, whose intercession will avail nothing except after Allah has given leave for whom He wills and is pleased with.) (53:26)

وَلاَ يَشْفَعُونَ إِلاَّ لِمَنِ ارْتَضَى وَهُمْ مِّنْ خَشْيَتِهِ مُشْفِقُونَ

(and they cannot intercede except for him with whom He is pleased. And they stand in awe for fear of Him) (21:28). It was reported in the Two Sahihs through more than one chain of narration that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ , who is the leader of the sons of Adam and the greatest intercessor before Allah, will go to stand in Al-Maqam Al-Mahmud (the praised position) to intercede for all of mankind when their Lord comes to pass judgement upon them. He said:

«فَأَسْجُدُ للهِ تَعَالَى فَيَدَعُنِي مَااَشاءَ اللهُ أَنْ يَدَعَنِي، وَيَفْتَحُ عَلَيَّ بِمَحَامِدَ لَا أُحْصِيهَا الْانَ، ثُمَّ يُقَالُ: يَامُحَمَّدُ ارْفَعْ رَأْسَكَ وَقُلْ تُسْمَعْ، وَسَلْ تُعْطَهُ، وَاشْفَعْ تُشَفَّع»

(Then I will prostrate to Allah, may He be exalted, and He will leave me (in that position), as long as Allah wills, and He will inspire me to speak words of praise which I cannot mention now. Then it will be said, "O Muhammad, raise your head. Speak, you will be heard; ask, you will be given; intercede, your intercession will be accepted...")

حَتَّى إِذَا فُزِّعَ عَن قُلُوبِهِمْ قَالُواْ مَاذَا قَالَ رَبُّكُمْ قَالُواْ الْحَقَّ

(So much so that when fear is banished from their hearts, they say: "What is it that your Lord has said" They say the truth.) This also refers to the great degree of His might and power. When He speaks words of revelation, the inhabitants of the heavens hear what He says, and they tremble with fear (of Allah) so much that they swoon. This was the view of Ibn Mas`ud, may Allah be pleased with him, Masruq and others.

حَتَّى إِذَا فُزِّعَ عَن قُلُوبِهِمْ

(So much so that when fear is banished from their hearts,) means, when the fear leaves their hearts. Ibn `Abbas, Ibn `Umar, Abu `Abdur-Rahman As-Sulami, Ash-Sha`bi, Ibrahim An-Nakha`i, Ad-Dhahhak, Al-Hasan and Qatadah said concerning the Ayah,

حَتَّى إِذَا فُزِّعَ عَن قُلُوبِهِمْ قَالُواْ مَاذَا قَالَ رَبُّكُمْ قَالُواْ الْحَقَّ

(So much so that when fear is banished from their hearts, they say: "What is it that your Lord has said" They say the truth.) "When the fear is lifted from their hearts." When this happens, some of them say to others, "What did your Lord say" Those (angels) who are carrying the Throne tell those who are next to them, then they in turn pass it on to those who are next to them, and so on, until the news reaches the inhabitants of the lowest heaven. Allah says,

قَالُواْ الْحَقَّ

They say the truth. meaning, they report what He said, without adding or taking away anything.

وَهُوَ الْعَلِىُّ الْكَبِيرُ

(And He is the Most High, the Most Great.) In his Tafsir of this Ayah in his Sahih, Al-Bukhari recorded that Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him said, "The Prophet of Allah said:

«إِذَا قَضَى اللهُ تَعَالَى الْأَمْرَ فِي السَّمَاءِ ضَرَبَتِ الْمَلَائِكَةُ بِأَجْنِحَتِهَا خُضْعَانًا لِقَوْلِهِ،كَأَنَّهُ سِلْسِلَةٌ عَلَى صَفْوَانٍ، فَإِذَا فُزِّعَ عَنْ قُلُوبِهِمْ قَالُوا: مَاذَا قَالَ رَبُّكُمْ؟ قَالُوا لِلَّذِي قَالَ: الْحَقَّ، وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْكَبِيرُ، فَيَسْمَعُهَا مُسْتَرِقُ السَّمْعِ، وَمُسْتَرِقُ السَّمْعِ هَكَذَا بَعْضُهُ فَوْقَ بَعْضٍ وَوَصَفَ سُفْيَانُ بِيَدِهِ فَحَرَّفَهَا، وَنَشَرَ بَيْنَ أَصَابِعِهِ فَيَسْمَعُ الْكَلِمَةَ فَيُلْقِيهَا إِلَى مَنْ تَحْتَهُ، ثُمَّ يُلْقِيهَا الْاخَرُ إِلَى مَنْ تَحْتَهُ، حَتْى يُلْقِيَهَا عَلَى لِسَانِ السَّاحِرِ أَوِ الْكَاهِنِ، فَرُبَّمَا أَدْرَكَهُ الشِّهَابُ قَبْلَ أَنْ يُلْقِيَهَا، وَرُبَّمَا أَلْقَاهَا قَبْلَ أَنْ يُدْرِكَهُ، فَيَكْذِبُ مَعَهَا مِائَةَ كَذْبَةٍ فَيُقَالُ: أَلَيْسَ قَدْ قَالَ لَنَا يَوْمَ كَذَا وَكَذَا، كَذَا وَكَذَا؟ فَيُصَدَّقُ بِتِلْكَ الْكَلِمَةِ الَّتِي سُمِعَتْ مِنَ السَّمَاء»

(When Allah decrees a matter in heaven, the angels beat their wings in submission to His Words, making a sound like a chain striking a smooth rock. When the fear is banished from their hearts, they say, "What is it that your Lord has said" They say the truth, and He is the Most High, the Most Great. Then the one who is listening out hears that, and those who are listening out are standing one above the other) -- Sufyan one of the narrators demonstrated with his hand, holding it vertically with the fingers outspread. (So he hears what is said and passes it on to the one below him, and that one passes it to the one who is below him, and so on until it reaches the lips of the soothsayer or fortune-teller. Maybe a meteor will hit him before he can pass anything on, or maybe he will pass it on before he is hit. He tells a hundred lies alongside it, but it will be said, "Did he not tell us that on such and such a day, such and such would happen" So they believe him because of the one thing which was heard from heaven.)" This was recorded by Al-Bukhari, not by Muslim. Abu Dawud, At-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah also recorded it. And Allah knows best.

Commentary

These verses are meant to prove the falsity of three different types of idol-worshippers. The first group among them, and the most absurd of all, was of the people who believed that these idols, made of stones are the partners of Allah and His associates in all His powers. The beginning part of the verse 22 refutes their presumption by saying, "They do not possess (anything) even to the measure of a particle...". The second group of them used to believe that these idols are the helpers of Allah in managing affairs of the universe. The last part of Verse 22 deals with this group by saying, "And He (Allah) has no helper from among them." There was a third group of people who did not hold the idols as gods or helpers of god, but they maintained that these idols are so close to Allah that their intercession is always approved by Him, and whoever has the advantage of their intercession, his desires may well be fulfilled. Verse 23 has refuted this belief by saying, "And intercession before Him is of no benefit, but for the one whom He has permitted." The sense is that their assumption that idols are close to Allah is not correct. They are neither close to Allah, nor do they have any power of intercession before Him. Then the text clarifies that even angels who are close to Allah cannot intercede for anyone without Allah's permission, and even if they are allowed to intercede, it is not easy for them to do that, because of Allah's awe they' have in their hearts. The usual way in which they receive a command from Allah is that they become nervous, due to Allah's awe, when they receive it. Then once they return to their normal condition, they ask each other about the command to ensure its correct nature. This is the sense of the later part of Verse 23 where it is said, "Until when fear is removed from their hearts, they will say (to each other), "What did your Lord say?" They say, "the Truth".] l ]

[ 1] This part is abridged from Khulasa-e-tafsir.(` Uthmani)

As for angels becoming nervous out of awe referred to in verse 22, its full description is given in a report from Sayyidna Abu Hurairah ؓ appearing in the Sahih of al-Bukhari. Says the relevant part of the long Hadith report: When a command from Allah Ta’ ala issues forth through the heavens, all angels start flapping their wings in humility and emotional readiness to obey (as if dazed or benumbed of consciousness). When that effect of nervousness, awe and majesty recedes from their hearts, they say: 'What did your Lord say?' Others tell them that He has spoken the truth and that such and such command has come from Him.

And it appears in the Sahih of Muslim that Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ reports from some Sahabi that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said, 'When our Rabb, may His name be exalted, gives a command, the angels hold in the Divine Throne start reciting tasbih (saying glory) for Him. Hearing the tasbih done by them, angels of the next lower level of the heavens follow suit until this chain of glorification reaches the lowest level that is the firmament of the world (making it a simultaneously recited tasbih by angels from all heavens). Then, they ask the angels who are close to the Throne, 'What did your Lord say?' This they tell them. Then, in the same manner, those of the lower heavens ask those of the upper the same question until this chain of question and answer extends up to the firmament of the world' - excerpt from a long Hadith. (Mazhari)

Every age has had many believers in the Hereafter, yet Satan has propagated such erroneous beliefs as have made the unbelievers fearless of the Hereafter. One of these is the false belief that certain beings enjoy such an elevated status before God that they can secure God’s pardon for others. Any such belief amounts to underestimating the powers of God. It is ridiculous that while these beings are themselves awe-struck by the majesty of God, they are expected by their adorers to use their influence for their salvation. Ironically, it is believed that this would suffice before God.