Yunus: (31-33) Say: Who provides for you...

Know that when the Almighty established the disgrace of the idolaters, He followed it by mentioning the proofs indicating the corruption of this doctrine.

The first argument is what He mentioned in this verse: the states of sustenance, the states of the senses, and the states of death and life.

As for sustenance, it is only obtained from the heaven and the earth. From the heaven, it comes through the descent of appropriate rain. From the earth, it is because nourishment is either plant-based or animal-based. Plants only sprout from the earth. Animals, too, require nourishment. It is impossible for the nourishment of every animal to be another animal, otherwise, it would lead to an infinite regress, which is impossible. Thus, it is established that the nourishment of animals must ultimately trace back to plants, and it is established that plants originate from the earth. Therefore, it is definitively concluded that provisions are only obtained from the heaven and the earth. It is known that the administrator of the heavens and the earths is none other than God, the Exalted. Thus, sustenance is only from God.

Similarly, regarding the states of the senses, the noblest of which are hearing and sight. Ali (may God be pleased with him) used to say: "Glory be to the One who grants sight through flesh, hearing through bone, and speech through flesh."

As for the states of death and life, it is His saying: {And who brings the living out of the dead, and brings the dead out of the living}. There are two interpretations for this:

1. He brings forth the human being and the bird from the semen drop (nutfa) and the egg. And {brings the dead out of the living} means He brings the semen drop and the egg out of the human being and the bird.
2. What is meant is that He brings the believer out of the disbeliever, and the disbeliever out of the believer.

The majority adhere to the first interpretation, as it is closer to the literal meaning.

Then, after mentioning this detailed breakdown, the Almighty followed it with a general statement, which is His saying: {And who manages the affair?} This is because the divisions of God's management in the upper world, the lower world, and the worlds of spirits and bodies are infinite matters, and mentioning all of them is practically impossible. Therefore, after mentioning some details, it was necessary to follow them up with the general statement to indicate the rest.

Then the Almighty clarified that when the Messenger (peace be upon him) asks them about the administrator of these affairs, they will say that it is God, the Exalted. This indicates that those addressed by this speech knew God and acknowledged Him—they are the ones who said regarding their worship of idols: "These bring us nearer to God in station," and that these idols are their intercessors with God. They knew that these idols neither benefit nor harm.

At that point, He commanded His Messenger (peace be upon him): {Say: Do you not then fear?} Meaning, do you not fear making these idols partners with God in worship, while you acknowledge that all good things in this world and the Hereafter are obtained only through the mercy and grace of God, and you acknowledge that these idols absolutely do not benefit or harm?

Then the Almighty said: {That is God, your Lord}. This means that the One possessing this power and mercy is {the true Lord}, whose Lordship is established with undeniable certainty. If it is established that this is the truth, then everything else must be falsehood, because the two opposites cannot both be true, nor can they both be false. If one is true, the other must be false.

Then He said: {So how are you turned away?} The meaning is: Since you have recognized this clear and evident matter, {how are you turned away?} How do you permit yourselves to deviate from this manifest truth?

Know that Al-Jubba'i used this verse as evidence to refute the position of the Jabriyyah (fatalists) who claim that God turns disbelievers away from faith. If that were the case, it would not be permissible to say: {So how are you turned away?}, just as one would not say, "I have become blind," if God had blinded someone's sight. Know that the response to this will come shortly.

As for His saying: {Thus has the word of your Lord been justly decreed against those who were defiantly disobedient: that they will not believe}, there are several issues concerning it:

Our companions (the Ash'arites) used this verse as proof that disbelief is by the decree and will of God. The argument is: God informed them with a decisive and absolute statement that they will not believe. If they were to believe, then either that statement would remain true or it would not. The first is false, because the statement that "they will not believe" cannot remain true while belief exists in them. The second is also false, because God's statement turning into a lie is impossible. Thus, the occurrence of belief from them is impossible. What is impossible is not intended. Therefore, it is established that God did not intend belief for this disbeliever, but rather intended disbelief from him. Then we say: If the verse {So how are you turned away?} indicates the correctness of the Qadariyyah's doctrine, then this verse placed right next to it indicates the falsehood of their doctrine. It would have been incumbent upon Al-Jubba'i, given the strength of his intellect when he used that verse to support his view, to mention this argument and answer it to achieve his objective.

Nafi' and Ibn 'Amir recited {kalimāt} (words, plural) with an alif (long vowel) after the lam, and similarly in: {Indeed, those against whom the word of your Lord has been justly decreed} (Yunus: 96) and in Hā Mīm al-Mu'min: {Thus has the word} (Ghafir: 6), all using the plural form with alif. The rest recited {kalimatu} (word, singular) in all these instances, using the singular form.

The kāf in {Kadhālika} (Thus) is for comparison (tashbīh). There are two opinions regarding it:

1. Just as it is established and true that after truth there is only error, similarly, the word of your Lord has been justly decreed that they will not believe.
2. Just as the occurrence of disobedience from them was established as true, similarly, the word of punishment has been justly decreed against them.

{that they will not believe} is a substitute (badal) for {kalimatu} (the word), meaning the decree against them is the negation of belief.

What is meant by the Word of God is either His report about that—and His report is true and cannot change or cease—or His knowledge of that, and His knowledge cannot accept change or ignorance. Some profound scholars said: God's knowledge was attached to their non-belief, and His report was attached to their non-belief. His power was not attached to creating belief in them, but to creating disbelief in them. His will was not attached to creating belief in them, but to creating disbelief in them. He established this in the Preserved Tablet, made His angels witnesses to it, revealed it through His prophets, and made them witnesses to it. If belief were to occur, all these things would be invalidated: His knowledge would turn into ignorance, His true report into a lie, His power into impotence, His will into compulsion, His making witnesses into falsehood, and the reports of angels and prophets into lies. All of this is impossible.

{Say: Is there any of your partners who initiates creation and then repeats it? Say: God initiates creation and then repeats it. So how are you deluded?}