Surah Al-Insan 76:28
ﱒ ﱓ ﱔ ﱕ ﱖ ﱗ ﱘ ﱙ ﱚ ﱛ
We have created them and strengthened their forms, and when We will, We can change their likenesses with [complete] alteration.
Tafsir of Al-Insan 76:28
Tafsir
Mafatih al-Ghayb
Verse range: 76:28
| Al-Insan (Man): (28) We created them and strengthened...
The meaning intended here is that their love for the transient world necessitates their obedience to God, both out of desire and out of fear.
As for desire: It is because He is the One who created them and gave them sound limbs by which they can benefit from worldly pleasures, and He created everything that can be utilized. If they love these transient pleasures, and those pleasures are only attained upon the existence of the beneficiary and the thing benefited from, and both of these only come about through God's decree and creation, then this obligates them to submit to God and His injunctions, and to abandon rebellion and turning away.
As for fear: It is because He has the power to cause them to die, to strip them of blessings, and to cast them into every tribulation and affliction. Therefore, because He is the One who can take away these transient pleasures, they must obey God and abandon this rebellion.
The essence of the discourse is as if it were said to them: Suppose your love for these transient pleasures is a commendable path. Even so, that love necessitates your belief in God and submission to Him. If you were to use that love as a means to disbelief in God and turning away from His judgment, you would indeed have rebelled. This is an excellent structure for the question and answer, and a subtle method.
In this verse, there are several issues:
Issue 1: Linguists state that *Asr* (أَسْر) means binding and tying fast. From this comes *Asara ar-rajul* (the man was bound), meaning he was tied with a rope. Also, a *faras ma'sur al-khalq* (a horse whose conformation is tightly bound) and a *faras ma'sur bil-'aqib* (a horse tied by the hocks). The meaning here is that We strengthened the connection of their limbs to one another and secured their joints with sinews.
Issue 2: **{And when We will, We can change their likenesses}** (وَإِذَا شِئْنَا بَدَّلْنَا أَمْثَالَهُمْ). This means: If We will, We can destroy them and bring forth their counterparts, making them substitutes for them. This is like His saying: **{on the condition that We replace your likenesses}** (عَلَى أَنْ نُبَدِّلَ أَمْثَالَكُمْ).
The purpose here is to demonstrate complete self-sufficiency, as if it were said: We have absolutely no need for any of the created beings. Even if a need were presumed, there would be no need for these specific people, for We are capable of annihilating them and bringing forth their likenesses. Similar to this is His saying: {If He wills, He can remove you, O mankind, and bring forth others. And Allah is ever competent to do that} (An-Nisa: 133), and He said: {If He wills, He can remove you and bring forth a new creation. And that is not difficult for Allah} (Ibrahim: 19-20).
Then, it is said: "We change their likenesses" (بَدَّلْنَا أَمْثَالَهُمْ), meaning in creation, even if they are their opposites in deeds. Another view is that they are their likenesses in disbelief.
Issue 3: The author of *Al-Kashshaf* commented on the phrase **{And when We will}** (وَإِذَا شِئْنَا), stating that it should have been preceded by *In* (إِنْ) instead of *Idha* (إِذَا), similar to His saying: **{And if you turn away, He will substitute in your place another people}** (وَإِنْ تَتَوَلَّوْا يَسْتَبْدِلْ قَوْمًا غَيْرَكُمْ) (Muhammad: 38), and **{If He wills, He can remove you}** (إِنْ يَشَأْ يُذْهِبْكُمْ) (An-Nisa: 133).
Know that this statement seems to be a critique of the wording of the Qur'an, but it is weak. This is because both In and Idha are conditional particles. However, the particle In is not used for events whose occurrence is known to be certain. Thus, one does not say: In the sun rises, I will honor you. But the particle Idha is used for that which is known to be certain to occur. You say: I will come to you Idha the sun rises. Here, since God Almighty knows that a time will certainly come when He will replace those disbelievers with others similar to them in creation but opposite to them in obedience, the use of the particle Idha is appropriate.