Surah An-Nahl: Verses 17–21

Verse 17: {أَفَمَن يَخْلُقُ كَمَن لَّا يَخْلُقُ ۗ أَفَلَا تَذَكَّرُونَ}

(Is then He who creates like one who does not create? Will you not then remember?)

The purpose is that since these dazzling and overwhelming proofs established the existence of a Capable, Wise God, and confirmed that He is the Bestower of all these blessings and the Giver of all these good things, how can it be rational to occupy oneself with worshipping anyone other than Him, especially when that being is an inanimate object that neither understands nor perceives?

For this reason, He said after those verses: {Is then He who creates like one who does not create? Will you not then remember?}

The meaning is: Is He who creates these things we have mentioned like one who does not create, rather, has no power over anything at all? Will you not then remember? This matter does not require deep contemplation, reflection, or scrutiny. It is sufficient for you to realize what is already in your minds: that worship is only fitting for the Greatest Benefactor. You observe in the tangible world a rational, understanding human being who bestows great blessings, yet you know that worshipping him is improper. These idols are mere inanimate objects, possessing no understanding, power, or choice. How then do you proceed to worship them, and how do you permit engaging in their service and obedience?

Response 1: Since the disbelievers named them gods (āilah) and worshipped them, they were treated as if they possessed knowledge. Do you not see the subsequent verse: {And those they invoke besides Allah create nothing, while they themselves are created}?

Response 2: The reason is for parallelism (mushākalah) between the Creator and those who are invoked.

Response 3: The meaning could be: He who creates is not like one who does not create among those possessing knowledge. How then can He be compared to one who possesses no knowledge? This is like His saying: {Do they have feet with which they walk?} (Al-A'rāf: 195). This implies that the gods you invoke have a status lower than those who possess feet, hands, ears, and hearts, because these latter beings are alive, whereas the idols are dead. How can worshipping them be valid? It is not meant that if they possessed these limbs, their worship would become valid.

Objection: If the intent was to refute the idolaters, who equate the non-creator with the Creator by naming them "god" and worshipping them, then the logical refutation should have been: Is one who does not create like one who creates?

Answer: The intent is that He who creates these great things and bestows these clear benefits—how can He be equated with these lowly, inanimate objects in being named "god," in being worshipped, and in the extreme veneration shown to them? This meaning is conveyed by saying: {Is then He who creates like one who does not create?}

If this were true, it would imply that if the servant were a creator of some things, he would necessarily deserve to be a god and be worshipped. Since this is false, we conclude that the servant has no power over creation and origination.

The Mu'tazilites' Responses (Several Points):

Response 1: The meaning is: Is He who creates what was previously mentioned—the heavens, the earth, humans, animals, plants, seas, stars, and mountains—like one who cannot create anything at all? This implies that whoever creates these things is a god, but it does not necessitate that whoever is capable of his own actions must be a god.

Response 2: The meaning of the verse is that the Creator is superior to the non-creator, so equating them in divinity and worship is impossible. This does not prove that every creator must be a god. The proof for this is His saying: {Do they have feet with which they walk?} (Al-A'rāf: 195). This means that the one who possesses feet with which he can walk is superior to the one who possesses feet but cannot walk with them. This necessitates that man is superior to the idol, and it is not fitting for the superior to be worshipped by the inferior. This is the purpose of this verse; it does not imply that whoever possesses feet with which he can walk must be a god. Similarly here, the purpose is to show that the Creator is superior to the non-creator, making their equation in divinity impossible, but it does not require that the mere possession of the attribute of creation makes one a god.

Response 3: Many Mu'tazilites do not apply the term Khāliq (Creator) to the servant. Al-Ka'bi stated in his Tafsir: "We do not say that we create our actions," and whoever uses that term has erred, except in cases mentioned by Allah, such as {when you shape from clay the likeness of a bird} (Al-Mā'idah: 110) and {then blessed is Allah, the best of creators} (Al-Mu'minūn: 14).

However, the followers of Abu Hashim apply the term Khāliq to the servant. Abu Abdullah Al-Basir even went so far as to say that applying the term Khāliq to the servant is literal, while applying it to Allah is metaphorical, because Khāliq means estimation (taqdīr), which refers to conjecture and assumption, something present in the servant but impossible for Allah.

Conclusion: These responses are strong, and using this verse to prove our doctrine [that the servant does not create his actions] is not very strong. And Allah knows best.

Verse 18: {وَإِن تَعُدُّوا نِعْمَتَ اللَّهِ لَا تُحْصُوهَا ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَغَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ}

(And if you should count the favors of Allah, you could not enumerate them. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.)

This is because engaging in thanks is conditional upon knowing those favors in detail. If a favor is not conceived, understood, or known, it is impossible to thank for it. Detailed knowledge of Allah's favors is unattainable for the servant because Allah's favors are numerous, and their divisions and branches are vast and immense. Human intellects are incapable of encompassing their origins, let alone their ultimate ends; they are not known in detail. What is like this makes it impossible to thank them in a manner befitting those favors.

This is the meaning of {And if you should count the favors of Allah, you could not enumerate them}: You cannot know them completely and perfectly. If you cannot know them, it is impossible for you to thank them perfectly and completely. This indicates that the thanks of the created falls short of the favors of the Truth, that the obedience of the created falls short of the Lordship of the Truth, and that the knowledge of the created falls short of the essence of the Truth's Majesty.

A definitive proof that human intellects are incapable of knowing the divisions of Allah's favors is that if the slightest defect appeared in any part of the human body, life would become miserable, and a person would wish to spend the entire world to remove that defect. Yet, Allah manages the affairs of the human body in the most perfect and suitable manner, even though the human has no knowledge of the existence of that part, nor of how to maintain its welfare, nor how to repel its harm. Keep this example in mind, then reflect upon everything Allah created in this universe—minerals, plants, and animals—and how He prepared them for your benefit, until you realize that the intellects of creation would be exhausted merely trying to know the wisdom of the Merciful in creating man, let alone all other aspects of grace and favor.

Objection: You established that engaging in thanks depends on knowing the divisions of favors, and you proved that knowing the divisions of favors is impossible or unrealized. So, why did Allah command creation to be thankful?

Answer: The way to fulfill this is to thank Allah for all His favors, both detailed and summarized. This is the path by which one can escape the responsibility of thanks. And Allah knows best.

The proof is that the bestowing of favors includes creating the heavens and the earth, creating man from a drop of fluid, creating livestock (horses, mules, and donkeys), creating various kinds of sustenance like crops, olives, palms, and grapes, and subjugating the sea so that man may eat fresh meat from it and extract ornaments to wear. All of this is shared between the believer and the disbeliever. Allah further emphasized this by saying: {And if you should count the favors of Allah, you could not enumerate them}, which indicates that all these things are favors from Allah for everyone. This proves that Allah's favors reach the disbelievers. And Allah knows best.

Verse 19: {إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَغَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ}

(Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.)

In Surah Ibrāhīm, Allah said: {And if you should count the favors of Allah, you could not enumerate them. Indeed, man is unjust and ungrateful} (14:34). Here, He says: {Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful}.

The meaning is that after explaining that man cannot fulfill the detailed expression of thanks, He said: {Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful}—meaning, He forgives the deficiency that occurs from you in fulfilling the thanks due to His favors, and He is Merciful to you by not cutting off His favors due to your shortcomings.

Verse 20: {وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تُسِرُّونَ وَمَا تُعْلِنُونَ}

(And Allah knows what you conceal and what you reveal.)

There are two interpretations:

First: The disbelievers, while engaging in the worship of other than Allah, secretly plotted against the Messenger (peace be upon him). This serves as a reprimand to them concerning that.

Second: In the first verse, Allah invalidated the worship of idols because they lack the power to create and bestow favors. In this verse, He invalidates their worship because a god must be one who knows the secret and the manifest. These idols are inanimate objects that possess no knowledge of anything whatsoever. How then can worshipping them be proper?

Verse 21: {وَالَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ لَا يَخْلُقُونَ شَيْئًا وَهُمْ يُخْلَقُونَ}

(And those they invoke besides Allah create nothing, while they themselves are created.)

Allah described these idols with several attributes:

Objection: Does not the beginning of the verse, {Is then He who creates like one who does not create?}, indicate that these idols create nothing, and does not this verse, {create nothing}, indicate the same meaning? Would this not be mere repetition?

Answer: What was mentioned in the first part is that they create nothing. What is mentioned here is that they create nothing and that they themselves are created by others. Thus, this is an addition to the meaning. It is as if Allah began by explaining their deficiency in their essence and attributes: first, He clarified that they create nothing; second, that just as they create nothing else, they themselves are created by others.

Objection: Since He said {dead}, it is known that they are not living. What is the purpose of adding {not living}?

Answer (Two Points): First: The true God is the Living One whose life is not followed by death. These idols are dead; life does not follow their death. Second: This discourse is directed at the disbelievers who worship idols, who are at the peak of ignorance and misguidance. When speaking to an extremely ignorant and foolish person, it is appropriate to express one meaning using multiple phrases. The purpose is to indicate the extreme stupidity of the addressee, and that repeating the words is necessary because the listener is extremely ignorant and does not grasp the intended meaning with a single expression.

First: It refers to the worshippers of the idols. Meaning: The idols do not know when their worshippers will be resurrected. This is a mockery of the polytheists, implying that their gods do not know the time of their resurrection, so how can they have a time for recompense based on their worship?

Second: It refers back to the idols themselves. Meaning: These idols do not know when Allah will resurrect them. Ibn 'Abbās said that Allah resurrects the idols, and they will have souls and their devils with them, and they will be commanded to the Fire.

Objection: Idols are inanimate objects, and inanimate objects cannot be described as dead, nor can they be described as not perceiving this or that.

Answer (Several Points): First: Inanimate matter can be described as dead, as Allah says: {He brings the living out of the dead} (Ar-Rūm: 19). Second: Since the people described these idols as divine and worthy of worship, they were told that this is not the case; rather, they are dead and know nothing. These expressions were revealed in accordance with their beliefs. Third: It could mean that {Those they invoke besides Allah} refers to the angels, whom some disbelievers used to worship. Allah says that they are dead, that death must occur to them, {not living}, meaning their life is not permanent. {And they do not perceive when they will be resurrected}, meaning they have no knowledge of the time of their resurrection. And Allah knows best.

Verse 22: {إِلَٰهُكُمْ إِلَٰهٌ وَاحِدٌ ۖ فَالَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْآخِرَةِ قُلُوبُهُم مُّنكِرَةٌ وَهُم مُّسْتَكْبِرُونَ}

(Your God is one God. But those who do not believe in the Hereafter—their hearts are in denial, and they are arrogant.)

This verse establishes that your God is One God. As for those who do not believe in the Hereafter, their hearts are in denial (of the truth), and they are arrogant (rejecting the truth out of pride).

Verse 23: {لَا جَرَمَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ مَا يُسِرُّونَ وَمَا يُعْلِنُونَ ۚ إِنَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ الْمُسْتَكْبِرِينَ}

(Undoubtedly, Allah knows what they conceal and what they reveal. Indeed, He does not love the arrogant.)

It is inevitable that Allah knows what they conceal and what they reveal. Indeed, He does not love the arrogant.