A proof is required

In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Beneficent

Or have they taken for worship some earthly deities who can restore the dead to life?

Had there been in heaven or on earth any deities other than God, both would surely have fallen into ruin! But limitless in His glory is God, Lord of the Throne, and exalted is He above all that they attribute to Him! He cannot be questioned about whatever He does, whereas they shall be questioned.

Or have they taken for worship some deities besides Him? Say: ‘Produce your convincing proof. This is the message of those who are with me and the message of those before me.’ But nay, most of them do not know the truth, and so they stubbornly turn away.

(The Prophets: 21: 21-24)

The surah gives us in the verses immediately preceding these a picture of creatures who are close to God, glorifying him at all times. They extol God’s praises, the One to whom belong the heavens and the earth and all they contain. Now the claims of the unbelievers concerning their multiple deities are strongly criticized. The surah provides an irrefutable evidence of God’s oneness using what we see in the consistent system that runs through the universe, testifying that it is all run by the will of God, the One who manages and conducts all affairs in the entire universe. It also provides evidence from earlier scriptures given to other communities.

"Or have they taken for worship some earthly deities who can restore the dead to life?" The question about their taking to worship different deities is a denunciation of what they are actually doing. But the description of those deities as one restoring the dead to life has a strong tone of ridicule. Indeed, one of the first qualities of the true God is that He is able to restore the dead to life. Hence, it is pertinent to ask whether the deities they have taken to worship do that. The answer is too clear to need to be stated. Indeed, they themselves do not claim that their deities initiate or restore life. As such, they do not have the very first quality of the Divine Being.

This is an argument based on the facts as we see them in our world. But there is another argument based on the universal facts: "Had there been in heaven or on earth any deities other than God, both would surely have fallen into ruin!"

The universe and its whole existence are based on a single system that brings all its parts together and ensures harmony between all its components, their operation as different parts and as components of a massive whole working in unison. This system is devised by the one will of one God. Had there been other entities, they would have had multiple wills and, consequently, multiple systems and laws. It goes without saying that a will is a manifestation of the entity that exercises it, and the system is a manifestation of the active will. Hence, had there been other deities in the universe, the unity, which provides coherence in the whole machinery of the universe and direction in its system, would totally disappear. This would lead to chaos, corruption and ruin. There will be no way to maintain the coherence and harmony acknowledged by even the most hardened atheists.

As it receives the clear message of the system governing the whole universe, strait and corrupted nature will instinctively testify to the unity of the system and the will that has initiated it, and the oneness of the Creator who conducts all affairs in this consistent and harmonious universe, which suffers from no inherent defect of formation or impediment to its progress. "But limitless in His glory is God, Lord of the Throne, and exalted is He above all that they attribute to Him!"

They assign partners to Him when He is in control of all and in need of none. For, He is "Lord of the Throne." A throne is a symbol of kingdom, real authority and exaltation. What they claim is absolutely false, and the universe, its system and freedom from corruptive elements testify to that.

"He cannot be questioned about whatever He does, whereas they shall be questioned." Since when could the One who controls the whole universe be questioned, and who could question Him when He holds sway over all His servants? Indeed, His will is free, unlimited by any factor of restraint placed by a different will, not even by the system His will has chosen to govern the universe. Questioning and accountability are subject to certain established criteria and defined limits. It is the free will that defines such limits and establishes such criteria, but such free will cannot be subject to these limits and criteria. Creatures, on the other hand, are subject to these limits and criteria. Hence, they will undoubtedly be held to account.

Sometimes arrogance takes its hold on some people, so that they impudently ask: Why has God done all that? And what is the wisdom behind it? The way they put these questions suggests that they see no purpose or wisdom in all that. When they say so, they overstep the limits of proper behavior toward God Almighty. They also overlook the limits of human understanding which is limited by its position in the universe and remains ignorant of reasons, causes, effects and objectives that apply to the universe. It is the One who knows, manages and controls all that operates His will, conducts all matters and controls all things. It is He who "cannot be questioned about whatever He does, whereas they shall be questioned."

Having provided this irrefutable evidence based on the nature of the universe, the surah asks them whether they can support their claims of multiple deities with any evidence derived from their scriptures: "Or have they taken for worship some deities besides Him? Say: Produce your convincing proof. This is the message of those who are with me and the message of those before me."

Here is the Qur’an which incorporates the message given to the Prophet’s contemporaries, and there are the scriptures containing the messages delivered by earlier messengers. In none of these is there any mention of partners with God. All Divine faiths are based on the true concept of God’s oneness. Where, then, did those unbelievers get this false concept of multiple deities when it cannot be supported by logical or religious argument? "But nay, most of them do not know the truth, and so they stubbornly turn away."

We will continue this discussion next week, God willing.