Surah Sad 38:5
ﱥ ﱦ ﱧ ﱨ ﱩ ﱪ ﱫ ﱬ ﱭ
Has he made the gods [only] one God? Indeed, this is a curious thing."
Tafsir of Sad 38:5
Tafsir
Ruh al-Ma'ani
Verse range: 38:5
( *A-ja‘ala al-ālihata ilahan wahida* ) (By negating divinity from them and restricting it to One). The verb *ja‘ala* here signifies "transformation" (*tas-yir*), but not a transformation in external reality or in naming, as in the Almighty’s saying: *"And they made the angels, who are servants of the Most Merciful, females."* This is not a matter of denying the unity of existence in any sense, such that it would be said that Allah—glory be to Him—condemned the disbelievers for that denial, thereby proving the doctrine of [existential] unity; for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not assert that their gods were identical to Him—Almighty and Exalted is He—in existence.
( *Inna hadha lashay'un ‘ujab* ) (That is, exceedingly strange, for *fu‘al* is a structure for intensification, like *tawwal* [very tall] and *sira‘* [very swift]). The basis for their astonishment was that it contradicted what they were accustomed to from their forefathers, who had reached a consensus on the plurality of gods and had persisted in their worship. Their standard in everything they did or left undone was imitation (*taqlid*); thus, they considered anything contrary to their customs as strange, or even impossible.
It has been said that the basis of their astonishment was their claim that the knowledge and power of One are insufficient for the multitude of things. However, this [argument] is not complete unless they claim knowledge and power for their gods, and it is apparent that they did not claim such things for them, for: "And if you asked them, 'Who created the heavens and the earth?' they would surely say, 'Allah'."
'Ali (may Allah honor his countenance), al-Sulami, ‘Isa, and Ibn Miqsam read ‘ujjab with a shaddah on the jim, which is more intensive than the unweighted form. Muqatil said that ‘ujjab is the dialect of the Azd Shanu'ah.
Ahmad, Ibn Abi Shaybah, ‘Abd ibn Humayd, al-Tirmidhi (who authenticated it), al-Nasa’i, Ibn Jarir, and others recorded from Ibn ‘Abbas that he said: When Abu Talib fell ill, a group from Quraysh, including Abu Jahl, entered upon him and said: "Your nephew insults our gods, and says such and such. If you would send for him and forbid him..." So he sent for him, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) came and entered the house, there being enough space for a man to sit between them and Abu Talib. Abu Jahl feared that if the Prophet sat next to Abu Talib, he would be more tender toward him, so he jumped up and sat in that spot. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) found no place near his uncle, so he sat by the door.
Abu Talib said to him: "O nephew, what is the matter with your people? They complain that you insult their gods and say such and such," and they continued to speak against him. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) spoke and said: "O uncle, I only desire one word from them, by which the Arabs would submit to them and the non-Arabs would pay them tribute." They were pleased by his word and his statement, and they said: "What is it? By your father, we will give it to you—and ten [like it]!" He said: "There is no god but Allah." They stood up in alarm, shaking their garments, saying: "Has he made the gods one God? Indeed, this is a strange thing."
In another narration, they said: "Ask of us something other than this." He (peace and blessings be upon him) replied: "If you were to bring me the sun and place it in my hand, I would not ask of you anything else." They became angry and rose in rage, saying: "By Allah, we will surely insult you and the God who commands you to do this."