Tafsir of Surah Az-Zariyat - Verse 56

All Messengers met the Same Type of Denial from Their Nations

Allah comforts His Prophet by saying to Him, `just as these idolators denied you, the disbelievers of old used the same words with their Messengers,'

كَذَلِكَ مَآ أَتَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ مِّن رَّسُولٍ إِلاَّ قَالُواْ سَـحِرٌ أَوْ مَجْنُونٌ

(Likewise, no Messenger came to those before them but they said: "A sorcerer or a madman!") Allah the Exalted and Most Honored said,

أَتَوَاصَوْاْ بِهِ

(Have they transmitted this saying to these), meaning, have those of the past taught these words to the people of the present

بَلْ هُمْ قَوْمٌ طَـغُونَ

(Nay, they are themselves a people transgressing beyond bounds!) They are tyrannical people whose hearts are the same. Therefore, the latter said the same as those before them have said. Allah the Exalted said,

فَتَوَلَّ عَنْهُمْ

(So turn away from them,) meaning, `O Muhammad, turn away from the Quraysh idolators,'

فَمَآ أَنتَ بِمَلُومٍ

(you are not blameworthy.) meaning, `We blame you not if you turn away from them,'

وَذَكِّرْ فَإِنَّ الذِّكْرَى تَنفَعُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ

(And remind, for verily, the reminding profits the believers.) meaning, for only the believing hearts benefit from being reminded.

Allah Only created Mankind and Jinns to worship Him Alone

Allah the Exalted and Most Honored said,

وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالإِنسَ إِلاَّ لِيَعْبُدُونِ

(And I created not the Jinn and mankind except that they should worship Me.) meaning, `I, Allah, only created them so that I order them to worship Me, not that I need them.' `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn `Abbas commented on the Ayah,

إِلاَّ لِيَعْبُدُونِ

(...except that they should worship Me.) meaning, "So that they worship Me, willingly or unwillingly." Allah the Exalted said,

مَآ أُرِيدُ مِنْهُم مِّن رِّزْقٍ وَمَآ أُرِيدُ أَن يُطْعِمُونِ - إِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الرَّزَّاقُ ذُو الْقُوَّةِ الْمَتِينُ

(I seek not any provision from them nor do I ask that they should feed Me. Verily, Allah is the All-Provider, Owner of power, the Most Strong.) Imam Ahmad recorded that `Abdullah bin Mas`ud said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ taught the following: (إنِّي أَنَا الرَّزَّاقُ ذُو الْقُوَّةِ الْمَتِين) `Verily, I am the Provider, Owner of power, the Most Strong.' Abu Dawud, At-Tirmidhi and An-Nasa'i also collected this Hadith. At-Tirmidhi said, "Hasan Sahih. " The meaning of this Ayah (51:56) is that, Allah the Exalted, the Blessed created the creatures so that they worship Him Alone without partners. Those who obey Him will be rewarded with the best rewards, while those who disobey Him will receive the worst punishment from Him. Allah stated that He does not need creatures, but rather, they are in need of Him in all conditions. He is alone their Creator and Provider. Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,

«قَالَ اللهُ تَعَالَى: يَاابْنَ آدَمَ تَفَرَّغْ لِعِبَادَتِي أَمْلَأْ صَدْرَكَ غِنًى وَأَسُدَّ فَقْرَكَ، وَإِلَّا تَفْعَلْ، مَلَأْتُ صَدْرَكَ شُغْلًا وَلَمْ أَسُدَّ فَقْرَك»

(Allah the Exalted said, "O Son of Adam! Busy yourself in worshipping Me, and I will fill your chest with riches and dissipate your meekness. Otherwise, I will fill your chest with distracting affairs and will not do away with your meekness.") At-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah collected this Hadith and At-Tirmidhi said, "Hasan Gharib." The statement of Allah the Exalted,

فَإِنَّ لِلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُواْ ذَنُوباً

(And verily, for those who do wrong, there is a portion), indicates that they will receive their due share of the torment,

مِّثْلَ ذَنُوبِ أَصْحَـبِهِمْ فَلاَ يَسْتَعْجِلُونِ

(like the evil portion (which came for) their likes (of old); so let them not ask Me to hasten on!) let them not ask that the punishment is rushed to them, for it will surely come,

فَوَيْلٌ لِّلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ مِن يَوْمِهِمُ الَّذِى يُوعَدُونَ

(Then woe to those who disbelieve from their Day which they have been promised.) meaning, the Day of Resurrection. This is the end of the Tafsir of Surat Adh-Dhariyat; all praise is due to Allah and all the favors come from Him Alone.

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The Purpose of Jinn's and Mankind's creation

وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ (And I did not create the Jinns and the human beings except that they should worship Me."...51:56). This apparently may raise two questions: [ 1] If Allah has created a creature for a particular task, and it is His will that it should perform that task, rationally it is impossible for it to deviate from that task, because doing anything contrary to the will of Allah is inconceivable. [ 2] The purpose of jinn's and man's creation has been restricted to the worship of Allah whereas there are many other underlying reasons and benefits in their creation.

Scholars have made different approaches to solve these problems. Some say that this verse pertains to the believers only, that is, only believing jinn and believing mankind are created for worship and for no other task. It is obvious that the believers are more or less steadfast to worship. This is the view of Dahhak, Sufyan Thawri and others. According to one version of Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ ، the word mu'minin does occur in the verse thus: وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنسَ مِنَ المُؤمِنِینَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ And I have not created the believing jinn and mankind except that they should worship Me'. This version supports the view that the verse is only in connection with the believers.

Another answer to the question, given by Moulana Ashraf ` Ali Thanawi (رح) is that: Allah has commanded all to worship, but at the same time He has equipped them with free will. Some of them exercised their God-given free will correctly and chose to worship Him, but others used their God-given free will incorrectly and deviated from worshipping Him. This is what Sayyidna Ali ؓ has said, as quoted by Baghawi. Tafsir Mazhari gives a plain and simple explication of this verse: Allah has equipped every jinn and man with the innate capacity to worship. Some use the capacity rightly and succeed, while others employ it wrongly in sinning and fulfilling their base emotions, and thus destroy it. The Messenger ﷺ is reported to have said:

کُلُّ مَولُودِ یُّولَدُ عَلَی الفِطرَۃِ فَاَبَوَاہُ یُھَوِّدَانِہٖ اَو یُمَجِّسَانِہٖ

"Every child is born according to the fitrah but his parents [ cause him to deviate from the unadulterated propensity ] and turn him into a Jew or a Christian or a Magian."

According to the majority of the scholars, fitrah here refers to the religion of Islam. Just as this Tradition tells us that every man is born with the natural capacity for Islam and true faith, but his parents adulterate and destroy that capacity, and put him on to the ways of disbelief, in the same way the phrase 'except that they should worship Me' could mean that every member of jinn and mankind has the natural, inborn capacity to worship. Allah, the Pure and Exalted, knows best.

Answer to the second question is that bringing any creation into being for the purpose of worship does not necessarily imply that they are unfit for other functions of life.

God Himself possesses all kinds of powers. However, He has created the angels to effect the administration of His vast domain. But, the case of human beings is different. Human beings were not created to fulfill any administrative or other need of God. The sole purpose of their creation was their devotion and servitude (‘ibadah) to God. This implies bowing down without any reservation before God completely and dedicating oneself entirely to Him. The substance of this devotion is deep inner realisation of God (ma‘rifah) (Tafsir ibn Kathir). In other words, it is required of man that God should be a discovery for him. He should recognise God without seeing him. This is essential to ma‘rifah. The shape which the life of a man takes as a result of this ma‘rifah is one of devotion and subservience.