Surah Al-Furqan, Ayah 3

The Foolishness of the Idolators

Allah tells us of the ignorance of the idolators in taking other gods instead of Allah, the Creator of all things, the One Who controls the affairs of all things; whatever He wills happens and whatever He does not will does not happen. In spite of that, they still worshipped others besides Him, idols who could not even create the wing of a gnat, but were themselves created. They could neither do harm nor bring benefit to themselves, so how could they do anything for their worshippers

وَلاَ يَمْلِكُونَ مَوْتاً وَلاَ حَيَـوةً وَلاَ نُشُوراً

(and possess no power (of causing) death, nor (of giving) life, nor of raising the dead.) means, they could not do any of that at all; that power belongs only to Allah, Who is the One Who gives life and death, and is the One Who will bring all people, the first and the last, back to life on the Day of Resurrection.

مَّا خَلْقُكُمْ وَلاَ بَعْثُكُمْ إِلاَّ كَنَفْسٍ وَحِدَةٍ

(The creation of you all and the resurrection of you all are only as (the creation and resurrection of) a single person) (31:28). This is like the Ayat;

وَمَآ أَمْرُنَآ إِلاَّ وَحِدَةٌ كَلَمْحٍ بِالْبَصَرِ

(And Our commandment is but one as the twinkling of an eye.) (54:50)

فَإِنَّمَا هِىَ زَجْرَةٌ وَحِدَةٌ - فَإِذَا هُم بِالسَّاهِرَةِ

(But it will be only a single Zajrah. When behold, they find themselves on the surface of the earth alive after their death.) (79:13-14)

فَإِنَّمَا هِىَ زَجْرَةٌ وَحِدَةٌ فَإِذَا هُمْ يَنظُرُونَ

(It will be a single Zajrah, and behold, they will be staring!) (37:19)

إِن كَانَتْ إِلاَّ صَيْحَةً وَحِدَةً فَإِذَا هُمْ جَمِيعٌ لَّدَيْنَا مُحْضَرُونَ

(It will be but a single Sayhah, so behold they will all be brought up before Us!) (36:53). He is Allah besides Whom there is no other God and besides Whom there is no other Lord. No one should be worshipped except Him because whatever He wills happens and whatever he does not will does not happen. He has no offspring nor progenitor, nor equal nor likeness nor rival nor peer. He is the One, the Self-Sufficient Master, Whom all creatures need, He begets not, nor was He begotten, and there is none co-equal or comparable unto Him.

Special Wisdom in every creation

فَقَدَّرَ‌هُ تَقْدِيرً‌ا (And designed it in a perfect measure - 25:2): Here تَقْدِير‌ (designing in a perfect measure) is mentioned after تخلِیق (Creation). تخلِیق means to create something from nothing that is to bring in something without any pre-existing substance whatsoever. And (designed in a perfect measure) means that, whatever has been created, its components, appearance, properties and signs are made to suit the purpose of its creation. The form of the sky, its constituents and its shape are in conformity to that purpose for which Allah Ta’ ala has created it. Similarly, the stars and planets possess those qualities for which they are created. Whatever we see on the earth is absolutely perfect in its form, shape and construction to suit the purpose and requirement of its creation. For instance, earth is not made in such a liquid form, that anything put on it is drowned, nor is it made too hard like steel or concrete to be dug. It is made in the solid form and given a Hardness that it could be dug to take out underground water or to place foundations for the buildings. Water is given the liquid form which again is full of Divine Wisdom and helps meet the multifarious needs of the creatures spread all over the earth. Water does not reach on its own at all the places where it is needed. Man has to put in some skill and labour to take it to places where it is required. On the other hand air is a compulsory gift which reaches every place without any labour or an active role from human beings. Even if someone wants to avoid it, he has to exert extra labour. It is not the place to describe Divine creations and their characteristics as it needs volumes for the purpose. Each and every creation of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ ala is perfect in its purpose and has its own peculiar properties and traits. Imam Ghazzali has written a book on the subject by the name الحکمۃ فی مخلوقات اللہ تعالیٰ .

“The distinguisher” is the literal translation of ‘al-furqan’, which is the criterion for distinguishing between truth and falsehood. In this context “the distinguisher” means the Quran. God is all knowing and all aware and also the Absolute Sovereign. Revelation of the Book, on behalf of God, has two aspects to it. One is that it is certainly true and there is no doubt about its authenticity. The other is that, acceptance or denial of it cannot have the same outcome. God alone is the Possessor of all Powers. Nobody can influence His decision and nobody can intervene between Him and His decisions. This very fact ensures that one who adopts the Quran as his mentor, will be successful, while one who ignores it will find it impossible to save himself from failure, which is the fate ordained by God for one who ignores the Truth.