This third passage of the sūrah is again devoted to the major issue of God’s oneness. The first three verses make it clear that God is one without partners, and that to Him alone the entire universe and all that it contains belong, and that He is the One who bestows all bounty and grace. The passage concludes with two comparisons between a master who owns and provides, and a slave who is able to do nothing of his own accord. Can these two be equal? How is it, then, that God, the Master of all and the Provider for all, is assigned equals who have no power and provide nothing? How can it be said that He is God and they are gods like Him?

In this passage a picture is painted of people suffering affliction and turning to God alone for help. When their affliction is removed, they associate partners with Him.

The passage also portrays some aspects of the superstitious nature of pagan beliefs, in that their followers attribute some of what God has provided for them to their false deities, while they themselves do not share with their slaves anything they own. They attribute females to God as His daughters while they hate to have daughters born to themselves: “When any of them is given the happy news of the birth of a girl, his face darkens and he is filled with gloom.” (Verse 58) Yet at the same time they boast that they will have all the good things, and that they will be rewarded handsomely for their deeds. All these misconceptions they have inherited from earlier communities that held idolatrous beliefs.

In this passage the sūrah portrays a few examples of God’s creation, showing how only God is able to produce such things and sustain them. In itself, this constitutes a great evidence of God’s control of the whole universe. It is God who sends down water from the skies to bring life to the earth after it has been lifeless. It is He who produces pure milk from the bellies of cattle, so that people may have a wholesome drink. He it is who brings out the fruits of the date-palms and the vines, from which people make their intoxicating drinks and derive good sustenance. Through His inspiration, the bees take up their homes in hills, trees and in wooden trellises people put up, and then produce honey which provides a cure for many ailments. It is God also who creates people and then gathers them in death. Some of them He leaves to old age, when they forget what they had learnt in life and become naïve. He it is who provides for some in abundance while He gives less to others. And it is God who gives them spouses and enables them to have children and grandchildren. Yet despite all these favours, people take to worshipping beside God things that can give them no sustenance, and which are themselves powerless, claiming that such things are equal to Him. All such fabrications are indeed false.

All these aspects are within people’s own environment and even within themselves. They are directed to them so that they will appreciate God’s power and its work in the world around them. The conclusion depicts the two clear examples we have already referred to. Thus, the whole passage addresses the human mind and conscience, striking powerful notes that are certain to influence any human being.

God has said: Do not take [for worship] two deities, for He is but one God. Hence, of Me alone stand in awe. His is all that is in the heavens and the earth, and to Him alone submission is always due. Will you then fear anyone but God? Whatever blessing you have comes from God; and whenever harm befalls you, it is to Him that you cry out for help. Yet no sooner does He remove the harm from you than some among you associate partners with their Lord, [as if] to show their ingratitude for what We have given them. Enjoy, then, your life [as you may]; before long you will come to know [the truth]. (Verses 51-55)

God has commanded that people do not worship two deities, for there is only one God, without partner or equal. The style here relies on the repetition of numbers for emphasis. This is not easily reflected in translation. Arabic, the language of the original text of the Qur’ān, admits a repetition of the number two to the dual form of deity in the first sentence. If we were to give a literal translation, the sentence would read: “Do not take for worship two deities in doubles.” Again repetition is employed in the next sentence to emphasize God’s oneness. This is re-emphasized in the use of ‘alone’ in the last part of the verse: “Of Me alone stand in awe.” There is a sense of reiterated warning in this verse. This added emphasis reminds us that the issue in question is that of faith. God’s oneness must be a concept of complete and perfect clarity in the mind of every believer.

God, the only deity, is also the One to whom everything belongs: “His is all that is in the heavens and the earth.” (Verse 52) All true faith also belongs to Him: “To Him alone submission is always due.” (Verse 52) It is a continuous process, ever since there was a faith and people to believe in it. Such belief means submission, and no faith is true unless it is based on submission to Him. He alone gives blessings and bestows grace: “Whatever blessing you have comes from God.” (Verse 53) It is also ingrained in human nature that whenever people experience hardship and difficulty, they turn to God, seeking His help. At such times, there is no room for the superstitions of idolatry or pagan beliefs. To Him alone people turn with their appeals to remove their hardship: “Whenever harm befalls you, it is to Him that you cry out for help.” (Verse 53)

Thus we see that Godhead and dominion in the universe belong to God alone. All submission is addressed to Him, and all grace is bestowed by Him, and to Him alone everyone should turn in all situations. Human nature is a witness to this. When it experiences affliction, harm or hardship, it returns to its purity and turns to God alone. Yet despite all this, no sooner does God save people from some type of harm that could destroy them than some of them associate partners with Him. This leads them to disbelief in God’s guidance and to denying His grace. Such people should think clearly about what will happen to them after their brief enjoyment: “Enjoy, then, your life [as you may]; before long you will come to know [the truth].” (Verse 55)

“They assign a share of the sustenance We provide for them to what they know nothing of” (Verse 56) They thus prohibit themselves some types of cattle, not allowing themselves to ride these or to eat their meat, or they allow these animals’ use to men, forbidding them to women, as we saw in Sūrah 6, Cattle. They do this in the name of their alleged deities of which they know nothing. They are simply false inventions which they inherited from earlier ignorant generations. It is God who gave them this bounty, the cattle which they ride and use. Yet they give a portion of these to things which are in reality unknown to them. Their false deities did not give them the cattle.

The cattle were created by God who has made them available to them. He calls on people to believe in His oneness, but they stubbornly associate partners with Him.

The whole situation is full of irony which no human being of sound mind can accept.

Despite the fact that the faith based on God’s oneness is well established, some people continue to assign a portion of the sustenance God provides for them to beings or things similar to the idols of ignorant days. Some, for example, set loose a calf, which they call, ‘Sayyid Al-Badawī’s calf.’ The calf is thus sanctified. It is allowed to roam freely, eat whatever it will, with no one benefiting from it in any way, until it is slaughtered in honour of Sayyid Al-Badawī, a mystic buried in Ţanţa, an Egyptian city. Others pledge sacrificial animals to dead ‘saints’ in the same way as the ignorant Arabs used to do when they assigned portions of God’s provisions to their idols. Such sacrificial animals are forbidden to be pledged in this way, forbidden to be eaten when they are slaughtered, even though God’s name is mentioned at their slaughter, because they have been sanctified to things other than God.

“By God, you shall certainly be called to account for your false inventions.” (Verse 56)

This is stated emphatically, with an oath. It is an invention that destroys the very foundation of faith, because it flies in the face of the concept of God’s oneness.

And they assign daughters to God, who is limitless in His glory, whereas for themselves they choose what they desire. And when any of them is given the happy news of the birth of a girl, his face darkens and he is filled with gloom. He tries to avoid all people on account of the [allegedly] bad news he has received, [debating within himself] shall he keep the child despite the shame he feels, or shall he bury it in the dust? Evil indeed is their judgement. (Verses 57-59)

Deviation from the right faith is not limited to beliefs. Indeed when people deviate from the essence of faith, their deviation spreads into their social life and its traditions. Whether faith is given prominence or kept in the background in any society, it continues to be the prime influence on living conditions. The Arabs of the days of ignorance, or jāhiliyyah, used to claim that God had daughters, i.e. the angels, yet they themselves hated that daughters should be born to them. Thus daughters can be assigned to God, while they give themselves the sons they love.

By nature, Islam differs with all other creeds and societies in concepts and outlook.

The difference between the two is as wide as the difference between the unbelievers’ characteristics and God’s own attributes. For He is far above all comparison: “To those who do not believe in the life to come applies the attribute of evil, whereas to God applies the attribute of all that is most sublime, for He is Almighty, Wise.” (Verse 60)

At this point the question of associating partners with God is closely related to that of denying the life to come. Both stem from the same sort of deviation. They are interlinked in people’s minds, leading to clear influences on the individual, human society and life altogether. Whilst the unbelievers are evil, in thought, behaviour, beliefs, concepts, and practices, God has the most supreme attributes. He cannot be compared with anyone, least of all those unbelievers. He is mighty, setting everything in its right place, wise, acting always on the basis of infinite wisdom.

He certainly can punish people for their wrongdoing. Had He chosen to do so, He would have brought everything down over their heads. But in His wisdom, He has decided to give them respite, for a definite term:

If God were to take people to task for their wrongdoing, He would not leave a single living creature on the face [of the earth]. But He gives them respite for a set term.

When their time arrives, they cannot delay it by an hour, nor can they hasten it.

(Verse 61)

God has created man and bestowed on him grace and blessings of all types. Man is the only creature on earth that spreads corruption, commits injustice, denies his Creator, allows tyranny within his own social set up and inflicts harm on other species. Yet despite all this, God is merciful to him, gives him one chance after another, and never abandons him altogether. His wisdom goes hand in hand with His might; His grace with His justice. But human beings are short-sighted, deluded by the respite given them. They do not feel how graceful God is to them until His justice brings them to account at the end of the term He has appointed for them. But “when their time arrives, they cannot delay it by an hour, nor can they hasten it.” (Verse 61)

What is even more amazing is that those who associate partners with God assign to Him what they dislike for themselves, whether daughters or other things. They then falsely claim that they will only have what is good in return for what they do and allege. The Qur’ān states what they shall have, and this differs widely from what they claim: “They attribute to God what they hate [for themselves]. And their tongues assert the lie that theirs is the supreme reward. Without doubt, it is the Fire that awaits them, and they will be hastened on into it.” (Verse 62)

The translation of this verse here is the nearest one possible. But the original Arabic expression, taşifu alsinatuhum al-kadhib, describes their tongues as though they are the lie itself, or a reflection of it giving its exact likeness, as we say of a woman walking gracefully, ‘she is grace itself.’ Literally, the verse states, ‘their lie of a tongue asserts.’ They have been lying for such a very long time that they themselves represent a symbol indicating falsehood.

At this point, the sūrah reviews some of the aspects pointing to God’s oneness in what God has created in the universe, and in the qualities and characteristics He has given man, as well as in the aspects of grace He has bestowed on him which none but God could have provided. In the verse we have just discussed He mentions His book, the Qur’ān, which is the best aspect of grace God has bestowed on man as it imparts life to souls. Now, this is followed by mentioning the water God sends down from the sky to give physical life to man and other creatures. “And God sends down water from the skies, giving life to the earth after it has been lifeless. In this there is surely a sign for people who listen.” (Verse 65) Water is indeed the source of life for every living thing.

This verse makes it the source of life for the whole earth, implying that this includes all that exists on earth. The One who transforms death into life is indeed the One who deserves to be God and to whom worship is addressed: “In this there is surely a sign for people who listen.” They should indeed reflect on what they hear and listen to its message. In fact the Qur’ān repeatedly mentions the signs pointing to God and His authority, and how He brings life into what is dead. It draws people’s attentions to this, because it provides irrefutable proof for anyone who reflects on what he sees and hears.

Another sign is derived from the creation of cattle and their lives: “In cattle too you have a worthy lesson: We give you to drink of that [fluid] which is in their bellies, produced alongside excretions and blood: pure milk, pleasant to those who drink it.” (Verse 66) How is milk produced through the udders of cattle? It is made of what remains in the bellies of cattle after they have digested their food and the absorption of the excretions in the intestines to transform it into blood. The blood is then circulated to every cell in the body, but when it reaches the milk glands or the udder, it becomes milk through a fine process set by God. This is indeed an aspect of His fine and inimitable creation.

Indeed the whole process that transforms the food intake into blood, and gives every cell what it needs of the blood’s ingredients is a highly remarkable process. Yet this goes on all the time inside the body, just like the metabolism process. At every moment complicated processes of maintenance and destruction take place in this unique organism, which continue until the spirit departs from the body. No fair minded human being could contemplate such remarkable processes without feeling that every atom in his being glorifies the Creator. Even the most complex man-made apparatus fades into insignificance when compared to the human constitution or to any one of its systems or even its countless cells.

Indeed beyond the general description of the metabolism processes we find details that fill us with wonder. Within this process, the function of a single cell in the human body is remarkably wonderful.

All this has remained a secret until recently. This scientific fact mentioned in this sūrah about how milk is produced alongside excretions and blood was unknown to mankind. Indeed no contemporary of the Prophet could have ever imagined it, let alone described it so accurately. No self respecting human being could ever argue about this. The mention of one such fact is sufficient to prove that the Qur’ān is God’s revelation. All mankind was at the time totally ignorant of such facts.

Your Lord has inspired the bee: ‘Take up homes in the mountains, in the trees and in structures people may put up. Then eat of all manner of fruit, and follow humbly the paths your Lord has made smooth for you. ‘There issues from its inside a drink of different colours, a cure for people. Surely in this there is a sign for people who think.

(Verses 68-69)

The bees work on the prompting of their nature which God has given them. It is an inspiration that they follow. The work the bees do is so detailed, accurate and well planned that the rational mind finds it difficult to contemplate. This applies to the building of the hives, the division of the work between the tees, and to their production of pure honey.

The bees take up home, according to their nature, in hills and mountains, in trees and in structures people put up for their vines or other plants. God has smoothed things for the bees through what He has planted in their nature and through the nature of the world around them. The verse states that honey provides a cure for people. Although this has already been fully explained by some medical experts, it is also true for the simple reason that the Qur’ān states it. This is what every Muslim should believe, based on the complete truth embodied in the Qur’ān. This is what the Prophet expressed very clearly.

Al-Bukhārī and Muslim relate on the authority of Abū Sa`īd al-Khudrī that “a man came to the Prophet telling him that his brother was suffering from diarrhoea. The Prophet told him: ‘Give him a drink of honey.’ The man did, then he came again and said: ‘Messenger of God, I have given him honey, but his complaint has worsened.’ The Prophet said to him: ‘Go and give him a drink of honey.’ The man went away again before returning the third time to say: ‘Messenger of God, that has only aggravated his condition.’ The Prophet said emphatically: ‘God tells the truth and your brother’s belly tells lies. Go and give him a drink of honey.’ The man did just that and his brother took the drink and was cured.” [Related by al-Bukhārī and Muslim] This report is so significant because it demonstrates the Prophet’s complete trust in the face of the patient’s seeming deterioration when given honey to drink. But the situation ended with a clear confirmation of the truth stated in the Qur’ān. A Muslim should always have such complete trust in the truth of what the Qur’ān says, even though reality may appear to contradict it at times. In other words, what is stated in the Qur’ān is more truthful than apparent reality, which could easily change, giving way to a new reality that will confirm the Qur’ānic statement.

We need to reflect a little on the fine harmony in portraying these blessings: the sending down of water from the sky, the production of milk alongside excretions and blood, the derivation of intoxicants and wholesome food from the fruits of date and vine trees, and the production of honey by bees. All are drinks produced from materials that possess totally different shapes and forms. Since the context is that of drinks, the only aspect of blessings related to cattle mentioned here is their milk. This adds to the harmony of the vocabulary employed in this panoramic scene. In the next passage we will see how the sūrah mentions the hide, wool and hair of cattle, because the context then is one of dwellings, homes and places of refuge. Hence the aspects of cattle mentioned there are those that fit that scene. This is an essential element of the artistic harmony evident in the Qur’ān.

The sūrah moves on to touch on something much closer to human beings, because it relates to their very being, their life on earth, provisions, spouses, children and grandchildren. They are more likely to feel an affinity with this and to respond positively to the message it provides:

It is God who has created you; and in time will cause you to die. Some of you are left to the most feeble stage of life, so that they no longer know what they had previously known. God is indeed All- Knowing, infinite in His power. To some of you God has given more than He has given to others. Those who are so favoured are unwilling to share their provisions with those whom their right hands possess, so that they are all equal in this respect. Will they, then, deny God’s favours? And God has given you spouses of your own kind and has given you, through your spouses, children and grandchildren, and provided you with wholesome sustenance. Will they, then, believe in falsehood and deny God’s grace and blessings? Instead of God, they worship something that can provide them with no sustenance from the heavens or the earth.

Never can they have such power. (Verses 70-73)

The first aspect points to life and death which affect every human being. It is a simple fact that people love life, and when they reflect on this it may well bring about an appreciation of God’s power and grace. Similarly, fear for one’s life may engender a sense of caution and reliance on God who gives life. Furthermore, the image of the elderly, being feeble, forgetting what they have learned and languishing in a naïve state similar to that of a helpless child may make people reflect on the various stages of life and adopt a more humble attitude. They will begin to look at man’s strength, knowledge and ability in a different light. The final comment of the verse is, “God is indeed All-Knowing, infinite in His power.” (Verse 70) This portrays the fact that true, absolute and eternal knowledge belongs to God alone, as does the irresistible power which is never weakened by time. All knowledge and power people possess are imperfect, partial and Limited by time.

The second aspect demonstrates what God has provided for people. In this respect people clearly differ with some having more than others. Such differences have their reason in accordance with God’s law. Nothing takes place haphazardly. A man may have intelligence, knowledge and common sense, but his talent in earning a living remains limited. This does not detract from the fact that he may be talented in other areas. Another person may appear dull, lacking in knowledge or naïve, but he has an eye for what brings profit and how to make the best of any financial investment. At a casual glance, it seems that affluence has nothing to do with ability, but the fact is that it is the fruit of a special type of ability. Moreover, it may be that God gives someone in abundance to test that person, and He may test another by giving him limited provisions. Whichever test a person has to go through is determined by God’s wisdom.

Instead of God, they worship something that can provide them with no sustenance from the heavens or the earth. Never can they have such power. (Verse 73)

It is indeed amazing that human nature can become so twisted as to allow the worship of things that can provide people with nothing. They prefer such things to God, the Creator who provides them with all they have and all the blessings they enjoy. Yet they go even further, attributing to them similarities with God. Hence the commandment: “Do not, then, compare anything with God. Indeed, God knows all, whereas you have no knowledge.” (Verse 74) God has no peers, so people must never claim that there is anyone equal or similar to Him.

The sūrah then gives two examples of a master who can give and provide and a disabled slave who earns nothing. These examples are given to bring the eternal truth they had overlooked closer to their understanding. That truth is that God has no peers and that they must never equate God with anyone in their worship.

Everyone and everything other than God is created by Him, and all are His servants.

God makes this comparison between a man enslaved, unable to do anything of his own accord, and a [free] man on whom We have bestowed goodly favours, and he gives of it both in private and in public. Can these two be equal? All praise is to God alone, but most people have no knowledge. And God makes another comparison between two men, one of whom is dumb and can do nothing of his own accord. He is a sheer burden to his master: wherever he sends him, he accomplishes no good. Can he be considered equal to one who enjoins justice and follows a straight path? (Verses 75-76)

The first example is taken from their own lives. They had slaves who owned nothing and who had no power over anything. They would never put the slave who has no independent will on the same level as his master who enjoys considerable power. How then can they justify their equation of the Master and Owner of all with any of His creation, when they all serve Him?

The second example depicts a dumb, dull and weak person who understands nothing and can do no good, and another who is eloquent, able, encouraging fairness, hard working for every good cause. No reasonable person would equate the two. How is it, then, that dumb idols of stone are equated with God Almighty, who enjoins only what is reasonable and guides to the path of truth?

With these two examples we come to the end of this passage which started with God’s order that people must not worship two deities. It ends with amazement at the attitude of those who attribute Godhead to other deities. God has replaced Joseph’s trials with his new position of power, and also with the promise of better things to come in the life to come. All this reward is for faith, righteousness and perseverance in the face of difficulty.