Tafsir of Ar-Ra'd 13:14

Surah Ar-Ra'd (13): Verse 15

{لَهُ دَعْوَةُ الْحَقِّ . . .} (To Him belongs the call of truth...)

Know that His saying: {لَهُ دَعْوَةُ الْحَقِّ} (To Him belongs the call of truth) means that the call directed to Allah is the true call. In this, there are two points of inquiry:

There are several views regarding this phrase:

1. Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him), as narrated by 'Ikrimah, said: {دَعْوَةُ الْحَقِّ} (the call of truth) means the declaration: Lā ilāha illā Allāh (There is no god but Allah).
2. Al-Hasan said: Allah Himself is the Truth (al-Ḥaqq), so the call to Him is the truth. This suggests that turning exclusively to Him in supplication is the true path.
3. It means that His worship ('ibādah) is the truth and the reality.

Know that al-Ḥaqq (the Truth) is that which exists. Existence is of two types:

1. A type that is susceptible to non-existence (it can become false).
2. A type that is not susceptible to non-existence, meaning it cannot become false. This is the Absolute Truth (al-Ḥaqq al-Ḥaqīqī).

Since the Necessary Existent by its very essence (wājib al-wujūd li-dhātihi) exists and is not susceptible to non-existence, He is the most deserving of all existing things to be called the Truth. Likewise, the belief in His existence is the most deserving of all beliefs to be called true, and mentioning Him with praise, divinity, and perfection is the most deserving of all remembrances to be called true. Therefore, He said: {لَهُ دَعْوَةُ الْحَقِّ}.

The author of Al-Kashshāf mentioned two possibilities for the structure of {دَعْوَةُ الْحَقِّ}:

1. Addition to the Attribute: The da'wah (call) is added to al-Ḥaqq (the Truth) as the opposite of falsehood (al-bāṭil), similar to how the word (kalimah) is added to Truth in the verse {كَلِمَةَ الْحَقِّ} (the word of truth). The intent is to indicate that this call is exclusively characterized by being true and devoid of any indication of falsehood. This is an example of adding a thing to its attribute.
2. Addition to the Caller (Allah): The da'wah is added to Allah (Exalted is He) in the sense of "the call to the True One who hears and responds." Al-Hasan also stated that al-Ḥaqq is Allah, so every supplication directed to Him is the call of truth.

Then the Almighty said: {وَالَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِهِ} (And those whom they invoke besides Him), meaning the idols that the disbelievers call upon apart from Allah: {لَا يَسْتَجِيبُونَ لَهُم بِشَيْءٍ} (do not respond to them at all) regarding what they request, except with a response like the response of one spreading his palms toward water.

Water is inanimate; it does not perceive the spreading of the palms, nor the thirst or need of the person, nor can it answer his call or reach his mouth. Similarly, what they invoke are inanimate objects; they do not sense their call, nor are they capable of answering them, nor can they benefit them.

It is also said that their invocation of their idols is likened to the futility of one who wishes to scoop water with his hands to drink, so he spreads his palms, but his hands do not reach the water, and he does not attain his goal of drinking.

It has also been recited with the verb {تَدْعُونَ} (you invoke) using the tā’ (second person plural) and {كَبَاسِطِ كَفَّيْنِ} (like one spreading his two palms) with tanwīn (indefiniteness).

Then He said: {وَمَا دُعَاءُ الْكَافِرِينَ إِلَّا فِي ضَلَالٍ} (And the invocation of the disbelievers is only in vain), meaning it is lost, having no benefit. This is because if they call upon Allah, He does not answer them (in the way they desire from their false gods), and if they call upon the idols, they are unable to respond.

{وَلِلَّهِ يَسْجُدُ مَن فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ طَوْعًا وَكَرْهًا وَظِلَالُهُم بِالْغُدُوِّ وَالْآصَالِ} (And to Allah prostrates whoever is in the heavens and the earth, willingly or unwillingly, and their shadows in the mornings and the evenings.)