Al-An'am (The Cattle): (164) Say, "Shall I seek a lord other than Allah..."

Know that when the Almighty commanded the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to affirm pure Monotheism—saying: {Indeed, my prayer, and my sacrifice...} up to {He has no partner}—He then commanded him to mention what serves as proof for the soundness and establishment of this Monotheism, in two ways:

The First Way: The categories of polytheists are four:

1. Worshippers of idols: They associate partners with Allah.
2. Worshippers of the stars: They associate partners with Allah.
3. Those who believe in Yazdan and Ahriman (Dualists): These are those concerning whom Allah said, {And they have made for Allah partners, the jinn}; they associate partners with Allah.
4. Those who claim the Messiah is the son of Allah and the angels are His daughters: They also associate partners with Allah.

These are the sects of polytheists. All of them confess that Allah is the Creator of everything.

• The idol worshippers admit that Allah (glorified be He) is the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and everything existing in the universe, including the idols themselves.
• The star worshippers admit that Allah is their Creator and Originator.
• The believers in Yazdan and Ahriman admit that Satan is an originator, and his originator is Allah (glorified be He).
• Those who believe in the divinity of the Messiah and the angels admit that Allah is the Creator of everything.

Thus, it is established by what we have mentioned that all groups of polytheists agree and concur that Allah is the Creator of these supposed partners.

Once this is known, the Almighty said to the Prophet (peace be upon him): {Say, "Shall I seek a lord other than Allah...} when those who took a lord other than Allah the Exalted still acknowledged that Allah is the Creator of those things. Is it conceivable to make the created (the dependent) a partner to the Lord, the servant a partner to the Master, and the created thing a partner to the Creator? Since this is the case, it is established by this proof that taking a lord other than Allah is a corrupt statement and a false religion.

The Second Way: To establish this statement, existence is either Necessary by Itself (wājib li-dhātihi) or Contingent by Itself (mumkin li-dhātihi). It has been established that the Necessary by Itself is One. Therefore, everything else must be Contingent by Itself. The Contingent by Itself cannot exist except through the creation of the Necessary by Itself. Since this is the case, the Almighty is the Lord of everything.

If this is established, we say: Pure intellect testifies that it is impermissible to make the dependent a partner to the Lord, or the created thing a partner to the Creator. This is what is meant by His saying: {Say, "Shall I seek a lord other than Allah, while He is the Lord of all things?"} (Al-An'am: 164).

Then, after establishing this overwhelming and decisive proof for Monotheism, the Almighty clarified that there is no blame or punishment returning upon them for their disbelief and polytheism: {And no soul earns [evil] except against itself, and no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another} (Al-An'am: 164). This means the sin of the transgressor is upon him, not upon anyone else. (This is supported by: {And no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another} [Al-Isra: 15]).

Then the Almighty clarified that the return of these polytheists will be to a place where there is no judge or commander except Allah the Exalted. This is His saying: {Then to your Lord is your return, and He will inform you concerning that over which you used to differ} (Al-An'am: 164).

{And it is He who has made you successors (khalā'if) on the earth and has raised some of you above others in degrees, that He may test you in what He has given you. Indeed, your Lord is swift in penalty; and indeed, He is Forgiving and Merciful.} (Al-An'am: 165)