Welcome to our weekly program "Path towards Enlightenment" in which we present you a fluent and easy-to-understand explanation of the ayahs of the holy Quran. First we start with ayahs 22 and 23 of Surah Saba:

7. قل ادْعوا الّذین زعمْتم مّن دون اللّه لا یمْلکون مثْقال ذرّةٍ فی السّماوات ولا فی الأرْض وما لهمْ فیهما من شرْکٍ وما له منْهم مّن ظهیرٍ
8. ولا تنفع الشّفاعة عنده إلاّ لمنْ أذن له حتّى إذا فزّع عن قلوبهمْ قالوا ماذا قال ربّکمْ قالوا الْحقّ وهو الْعلیّ الْکبیر

 “Say, ‘Invoke them whom you claim [to be gods] besides Allah! They do not control [even] an atom’s weight in the heavens or the earth, nor have they any share in [either of] them, nor is any of them1 His supporter.”

“Intercession is of no avail with Him except for those whom He permits; when fear is lifted from their hearts, they say, ‘What did your Lord say?’ They say, ‘The truth, and He is the All-Exalted, the All-Great.”

The wordings of these ayahs are crystal clear since it is Allah Who is the Creator and Owner of the heavens, the Earth, and the entire universe, without having any partner or helper in the orderly management of the whole creation. These ayahs refer to the idolaters and the polytheists by posing to them some logical questions on their weird beliefs. It exposes as baseless their belief that the idols they worship would intercede with God on their behalf. It means the idols which are the imagination of their warped minds and creation of their hands, have no power over anything. These lifeless objects do not hear the pleas and prayers of their worshippers, let alone solve their problem.

The next ayah means to say intercession with God is not possible except by His permission and not through idols, but through special persons He the Almighty has chosen because of their special merits. The awe of God the Glorious will be all evident on the Day of Resurrection for all His creatures, and when this fear is lifted from the hearts, all alike, whether believers or disbelievers, will acknowledge the Manifest Truth and the Greatness of the Lord Most High.

The mention of “Shafa’a” or intercession in the holy Qur’an, is a clear refutation of the faulty beliefs of the Wahhabis and Takfiris who masquerade as Muslim, but deny Divine Commandments. God the All-Merciful has clarified the medium of intercession, and as is clear it is not for the disbelievers, but for the believers, who during life may have been negligent of their duties, despite their firm belief. In this case, the All-Compassionate God has allowed Prophets, the Imams and the saintly persons to intercede in the Divine Court on their behalf. Their shortcomings will surely be forgiven by God Almighty.

From these ayahs we learn that:

1. It is a cardinal sin to worship idols, or anything else, beside the One and Only Creator of the universe.
2. God the Glorious has no partners or assistants; and any intercession in the Divine Court is by His permission and through the Prophets, Imams and the saintly persons.
3. On the Day of Resurrection, the disbelievers will eventually admit the truthfulness of Islam and the path of the Prophets, but this will not benefit them that day, since they had died in disbelief, sins, and disobedience.

Now we listen to and read ayah 24 of Surah Saba:

قلْ من یرْزقکم مّن السّماوات والأرْض قل اللّه وإنّا أوْ إیّاکمْ لعلى هدًى أوْ فی ضلالٍ مّبینٍ

“Say, ‘Who provides for you from the heavens and the earth?’ Say, ‘Allah! Indeed either we or you are rightly guided or in manifest error.”

This ayah refers to the issue of sustenance and after asking as to who provides sustenance from everywhere, whether from the sky or from the earth, answers that is the One and Only Allah Alone the Creator of the universe. It is obvious by the use of the words “from the heavens” in this ayah, and it means the winds and the clouds that the Almighty has set in motion to cause rainfall that makes dry land fresh, green and suitable for growth of vegetation, which yields fruits, vegetable, grains and even survival of the livestock that provide milk, meat, wool and hides for clothing, tents, and a variety of other basic necessities. At the same time, through the Mercy of God the Glorious, the light and heat of the sun is beneficial for all, whether plants, animals or human beings.

As God says towards the end of the ayah regarding guidance and manifest error, this is a form of argument with the disbelievers after awakening their conscience. This statement points to this matter that there is clear contrast in our belief and yours, therefore it is impossible that both could be right, because never two diametrically opposite things gather together. Therefore it means one group is upon guidance and the second group is in error. Now we have to contemplate which group is on guidance and which is on misguidance. One can see the signs in both groups and observe which group contains the signs of guidance and which group has the signs of misguidance. And this is one of the best methods of discussion and dispute which makes the opposite party contemplate.

From this ayah we learn that:

1. God Alone provides sustenance and through various means.
2. Although human beings produce their choice of food, it is only through soil, water, temperature, wind, light, and other natural factors sustenance is made possible for mankind, whose survival depends on the development of agriculture and livestock.