Surah Az-Zukhruf, Ayah 14

The Idolators' admission that Allah is the Sole Creator, and Further Evidence of that

Allah says: `If you, O Muhammad, were to ask these idolators who associate others with Allah and worship others besides Him,'

مَّنْ خَلَقَ السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضَ لَيَقُولُنَّ خَلَقَهُنَّ الْعَزِيزُ الْعَلِيمُ

("Who has created the heavens and the earth" They will surely say: "The All-Mighty, the All-Knower created them.") In other words, they will admit that the Creator of all that is Allah Alone, with no partner or associate, yet they still worship others -- idols and false gods -- alongside Him.

الَّذِى جَعَلَ لَكُمُ الاٌّرْضَ مَهْداً

(Who has made for you the earth like a bed,) means, smooth, stable and firm, so that you can travel about in it, and stand on it and sleep and walk about, even though it is created above water, but He has strengthened it with the mountains, lest it should shake.

وَإِنَّا إِلَىٰ رَ‌بِّنَا لَمُنقَلِبُونَ (and of course, towards our Lord we have to return - 14). These words teach us that every time a man embarks on a journey, he should think of his last arduous journey to the Hereafter also, which one has to undertake in all circumstances; - and the only way to make it easy is to have a vehicle of good deeds.

In every period, the majority of people have admitted, that the Creator and Lord of the Universe is God, and that it is He who has provided them with the wherewithal for the sustenance of life. To bring the Universe into existence and to make every provision for life on the earth are such gigantic tasks that it is impossible to attribute their undertaking to anyone except the one and only God. This assertion calls for man to devote his attention to God above all; his life should be a God-oriented life. But man sets himself other goals; he places entities other than God at the centre of his attention. Almighty God has revealed the realities through His prophets. In addition to that, He has created the world in such a way that it has become the practical illustration, or analogy of hidden realities. For instance, it is a fact that human beings will be resurrected after death—a fact shown at the level of vegetation again and again. It is seen by man every year that the land becomes dry and dead. Then there are rains and the land is again covered with lush greenery. This phenomenon points to the fact that man will be brought to life again after death. Another special feature of the present world is that it is most wonderfully favourable to human existence. Everything here has been created in such a way that it can be used by man for his own purposes as he wishes. This blessing demands that a feeling of gratitude should develop in man. Whenever he happens to use anything in God’s world, he should spontaneously bow his head before God and words of acknowledgement and prayer should fall from his lips.