Scattering Winds (Al-Dhariyat)
Verses 56-60 GROUP_1399 51.56-60
56
وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ
I created the jinn and mankind only so that they might worship Me:
57
مَا أُرِيدُ مِنْهُم مِّن رِّزْقٍ وَمَا أُرِيدُ أَن يُطْعِمُونِ
I seek no sustenance from them, nor do I want them to feed Me—
58
إِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الرَّزَّاقُ ذُو الْقُوَّةِ الْمَتِينُ
it is God who is the great Sustainer, the Mighty One, the Invincible.
59
فَإِنَّ لِلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا ذَنُوبًا مِّثْلَ ذَنُوبِ أَصْحَابِهِمْ فَلَا يَسْتَعْجِلُونِ
The wrongdoers will meet the same fate as their predecessors—let them not ask Me to hasten on [the punishment]—
60
فَوَيْلٌ لِّلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِن يَوْمِهِمُ الَّذِي يُوعَدُونَ
woe, then, to those who are bent on denying the truth, when the Day arrives which they have been promised.
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Commentary
(a) God Himself possesses all kinds of powers. However, He has created the angels to effect the administration of His vast domain. But, the case of human beings is different. Human beings were not created to fulfill any administrative or other need of God. The sole purpose of their creation was their devotion and servitude (‘ibadah) to God. This implies bowing down without any reservation before God completely and dedicating oneself entirely to Him. The substance of this devotion is deep inner realisation of God (ma‘rifah) (Tafsir ibn Kathir). In other words, it is required of man that God should be a discovery for him. He should recognise God without seeing him. This is essential to ma‘rifah. The shape which the life of a man takes as a result of this ma‘rifah is one of devotion and subservience. (b) A pail when being filled with water sinks in water the moment it is full. Similarly, when the time given to a man to perform his life’s work is over, he dies immediately. One who reforms himself before the overflowing of the pail may save himself, but one who remains careless and negligent till the last moment faces destruction. If transgressors are not immediately seized upon, they should not imagine that they have been left free to do as they choose. They go free because it is not God’s way to catch hold of human beings in haste. It is certainly not because God has no plan ever to bring them to book.