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Al-Kahf - 18:51
| Previous: Ayah 46-50 | Next: Ayah 56-60 | Tafsir by Ibn Kathir |
The gods of the Idolators did not witness the Creation of anything, not even Themselves
Allah says:
مَا أَشْهَدتُّهُمْ خَلْقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالاْاَرْضِ وَلَاا خَلْقَ أَنفُسِهِمْ
They did not witness the creation of the heavens and the earth nor their own creation
Allah says that these whom you take as helpers instead of Me are creatures just like you. They do not possess anything and did not witness the creation of heaven and earth, because they did not exist at that time.'
Allah says, 'I am the One Who independently and exclusively creates and controls all things, and I have no partner, associate or advisor in that.'
As Allah says:
قُلِ ادْعُواْ الَّذِينَ زَعَمْتُمْ مِّن دُونِ اللَّهِ لَا يَمْلِكُونَ مِثُقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ فِى السَّمَـوَتِ وَلَا فِى الاٌّرْضِ وَمَا لَهُمْ فِيهِمَا مِن شِرْكٍ وَمَا لَهُ مِنْهُمْ مِّن ظَهِيرٍ
وَلَا تَنفَعُ الشَّفَـعَةُ عِندَهُ إِلاَّ لِمَنْ أَذِنَ لَهُ
Say:"Call upon those you claim besides Allah, they possess not even a speck of dust in the heavens or on the earth, nor have they any share in either, nor is there for Him any assistant among them.
Intercession with Him profits not except for him whom He permits.
(34:22-23)
Similarly Allah says here:
وَمَا كُنتُ مُتَّخِذَ الْمُضِلِّينَ عَضُدًا
Nor did I take those who mislead as 'Adudan
Malik said:"Assistants."
Al-Kahf - 18:52
Their Partners are not able to respond and the Criminals are brought to the Fire
Allah tells;
وَيَوْمَ يَقُولُ
And (remember) the Day He will say
Allah tells us how He will address the idolators on the Day of Resurrection before all of creation, rebuking and scolding them,
نَادُوا شُرَكَايِيَ الَّذِينَ زَعَمْتُمْ
Call those (so-called) partners of Mine whom you claimed
Meaning, in the world. Call them today to save you from the situation you are in!
Allah says:
وَلَقَدْ جِيْتُمُونَا فُرَادَى كَمَا خَلَقْنَـكُمْ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ وَتَرَكْتُمْ مَّا خَوَّلْنَـكُمْ وَرَاءَ ظُهُورِكُمْ وَمَا نَرَى مَعَكُمْ شُفَعَأءَكُمُ الَّذِينَ زَعَمْتُمْ أَنَّهُمْ فِيكُمْ شُرَكَأءُ لَقَد تَّقَطَّعَ بَيْنَكُمْ وَضَلَّ عَنكُم مَّا كُنتُمْ تَزْعُمُونَ
And truly, you have come unto Us alone as We created you the first time. You have left what you were given behind your backs and We do see not with you your intercessors whom you claimed were your partners. Now all relations between you and them have been cut off, and all that you used to claim has vanished from you.
(6:94)
فَدَعَوْهُمْ فَلَمْ يَسْتَجِيبُوا لَهُمْ
Then they will cry unto them, but they will not answer them
As Allah says:
وَقِيلَ ادْعُواْ شُرَكَأءَكُمْ فَدَعَوْهُمْ فَلَمْ يَسْتَجِيبُواْ لَهُمْ
And it will be said (to them):"Call upon those partners of yours," then they will call upon them, but they will not answer them.
(28:64)
And the Ayah:
وَمَنْ أَضَلُّ مِمَّن يَدْعُو مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ مَن لاَّ يَسْتَجِيبُ لَهُ
And who is more astray than one who calls others besides Allah, such as will not answer him.
(46:5)
Until the end of the two Ayat;
And:
وَاتَّخَذُواْ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ ءالِهَةً لِّيَكُونُواْ لَهُمْ عِزّاً
كَلَّ سَيَكْفُرُونَ بِعِبَـدَتِهِمْ وَيَكُونُونَ عَلَيْهِمْ ضِدّاً
And they have taken gods besides Allah, that they may grant them honor.
Nay, but they will deny their worship of them, and become opponents to them.
(19:81-82)
وَجَعَلْنَا بَيْنَهُم مَّوْبِقًا
And We shall put Mawbiq between them
Ibn Abbas, Qatadah and others said: "Destruction."
The meaning is that Allah is stating that these idolators will have no way of reaching the gods they claimed in this world. He will separate them in the Hereafter and neither party will have any means of reaching the other. There will be devastation, great horrors and other terrible things in between them.
Abdullah bin Amr understood the pronoun in the phrase "between them" to refer to the believers and the disbelievers, meaning that the people of guidance and the people of misguidance will be separated.
This then is like the Ayat:
وَيَوْمَ تَقُومُ السَّاعَةُ يَوْمَيِذٍ يَتَفَرَّقُونَ
And on the Day when the Hour will be established -- that Day shall (all men) be separated.
(30:14)
يَوْمَيِذٍ يَصَّدَّعُونَ
On that Day men shall be divided.
(30:43)
وَامْتَازُواْ الْيَوْمَ أَيُّهَا الْمُجْرِمُونَ
(It will be said), "And O you the criminals! Get you apart this Day (from the believers).
(36:59)
وَيَوْمَ نَحْشُرُهُمْ جَمِيعًا ثُمَّ نَقُولُ لِلَّذِينَ أَشْرَكُواْ مَكَانَكُمْ أَنتُمْ وَشُرَكَأوُكُمْ فَزَيَّلْنَا بَيْنَهُمْ
And on the Day when We shall gather them all together, then We shall say to those who joined partners, "Stop in your place! You and your partners." Then We shall separate between them... until,
وَضَلَّ عَنْهُمْ مَّا كَانُواْ يَفْتَرُونَ
And what they invented will vanish from them.
(10:28-30)
Al-Kahf - 18:53
Then Allah says
وَرَأَى الْمُجْرِمُونَ النَّارَ فَظَنُّوا أَنَّهُم مُّوَاقِعُوهَا
And the criminals shall see the Fire and apprehend that they are to fall therein
Meaning when they see Hell with their own eyes, since it is being dragged forth by seventy thousand reins, each pulled by seventy thousand angels. When,
وَرَأَى الْمُجْرِمُونَ النَّارَ
(the criminals shall see the Fire)
they will realize that they cannot escape being thrown into it, and that will only intensify their anxiety and distress, because the anticipation and fear of punishment is in itself a real punishment.
وَلَمْ يَجِدُوا عَنْهَا مَصْرِفًا
And they will find no way of escape from it
Means, they will have no way of fleeing, it will be inevitable.
Al-Kahf - 18:54
Examples put forth in the Qur'an
Allah says,
وَلَقَدْ صَرَّفْنَا فِي هَذَا الْقُرْانِ لِلنَّاسِ مِن كُلِّ مَثَلٍ وَكَانَ الاِْنسَانُ أَكْثَرَ شَيْءٍ جَدَلاً
And indeed We have given every kind of example in this Qur'an for mankind. But, man is ever more quarrelsome than anything
Allah says, 'In this Qur'an, We have explained to mankind and given clear details of matters so that they will not stray from the truth or be misled from the path of guidance. Despite this explanation, man is very quarrelsome and opposes truth with falsehood,' except for those whom Allah guides to the path of salvation.
Imam Ahmad recorded that Ali bin Abi Talib said that; the Messenger of Allah came to visit him and Fatima, the daughter of Allah's Messenger at night, and said,
أَلَا تُصَلِّيَانِ
Are you not going to pray?
I said, "O Messenger of Allah, our souls are in the Hand of Allah. If He wills to wake us, He will wake us."
When I said that, he went away without returning.
Then I heard him as he was walking away, slapping his thigh and saying,
وَكَانَ الاِْنسَانُ أَكْثَرَ شَيْءٍ جَدَلاً
"But, man is ever more quarrelsome than anything."
It was also recorded in the Two Sahihs
Al-Kahf - 18:55
The Rebellion of the Disbelievers
Allah tells:
وَمَا مَنَعَ النَّاسَ أَن يُوْمِنُوا إِذْ جَاءهُمُ الْهُدَى وَيَسْتَغْفِرُوا رَبَّهُمْ
And nothing prevents men from believing, while the guidance has come to them, and from asking forgiveness of their Lord
Allah tells us about the rebellion of the disbelievers in ancient times and in more recent times, and how they rejected the obvious truth even when they witnessed clear signs and proofs. Nothing stopped them from following the truth except their demand to witness with their own eyes the punishment which they were being warned about. As some of them said to their Prophet:
فَأَسْقِطْ عَلَيْنَا كِسَفاً مِّنَ السَّمَأءِ إِن كُنتَ مِنَ الصَّـدِقِينَ
So cause a piece of the heaven to fall on us, if you are of the truthful!
(26:187)
Others said:
ايْتِنَا بِعَذَابِ اللَّهِ إِن كُنتَ مِنَ الصَّـدِقِينَ
Bring Allah's torment upon us if you are one of the truthful.
(29:29)
The Quraysh said:
اللَّهُمَّ إِن كَانَ هَـذَا هُوَ الْحَقَّ مِنْ عِندِكَ فَأَمْطِرْ عَلَيْنَا حِجَارَةً مِّنَ السَّمَأءِ أَوِ ايْتِنَا بِعَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ
O Allah! If this is indeed the truth from You, then rain down stones on us from the sky or bring upon us a painful torment.
(8:32)
وَقَالُواْ يأَيُّهَا الَّذِى نُزِّلَ عَلَيْهِ الذِّكْرُ إِنَّكَ لَمَجْنُونٌ
لَّوْ مَا تَأْتِينَا بِالْمَلَـيِكَةِ إِن كُنتَ مِنَ الصَّـدِقِينَ
And they say:"O you to whom the Reminder has been sent down! Verily, you are a mad man!
Why do you not bring angels to us if you are of the truthful!"
(15:6-7)
There are other Ayat referring to the same thing.
Then Allah says:
إِلاَّ أَن تَأْتِيَهُمْ سُنَّةُ الاَْوَّلِينَ
Except that the ways of the ancients be repeated with them
Meaning, their overwhelming punishment, destroying every last one of them.
أَوْ يَأْتِيَهُمُ الْعَذَابُ قُبُلً
Or the torment be brought to them face to face
They see it with their own eyes, being directly confronted with it.
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