Tafsir of Surah Ash-Shura - Verse 11

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.)

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 phenomena of the heavens and the earth before us are so gigantic that it is absolutely unimaginable that they were brought into existence by any of those false gods whom the people revere and respect instead of God Almighty. Similarly, the procreative and survival mechanism installed in the inner system of human beings and animals is so intricate and complex that it cannot really be attributed to any human being or to any of the gods other than the one and All Powerful God. All these arrangements are so extraordinary that they can be legitimately and properly attributed only to that Unparalleled Being, God. The attributes of the Creator which come to our knowledge through observation of His creations are sufficient to prove how great the Creator is. He is All Knowing and All Observing. Most High and Almighty, He possesses all powers. Whatever one receives, is due to His Grace and whatever is taken away, is taken away by Him. He is Unique. There is nobody like Him.