Page 286
qul law kāna maʿahū ʾālihatun ka-mā yaqūlūna ʾidhan la-btaghaw ʾilā dhī l-ʿarshi sabīlan
Say, ‘Were there [other] gods besides Him, as they say, they would surely have encroached on the Lord of the Throne.
— Ali Quli Qarai
17Al-Isrā’الإسراءVerse 42 of 111
The Night Journey17. Al-Isrā’الإسراء
Al Isrā’
The Night Journey
MeccanVerse 42 of 111
Surah Isra’ – Verse 42
42. “Say: ‘If there were (other) gods with Him as they (the pagans) claim, then, they would certainly have sought a way unto the Lord of the ‘Arsh.”
The pagans believed in the Lord and regarded ‘Allah’ as the creator of the world of existence. Nevertheless, they used to consider the icons as their intercessors or as the Lord’s partners. This verse refutes the existence of such a relationship between the Lord and the icons, for the idols can neither grasp the power from the hands of the great Almighty; nor can they find the means for their own reinforcement. The hierarchy of the system of creation proves best the monotheistic nature of Allah. Were there other gods besides the Almighty, that would certainly require competition, in which case, there would necessarily be disruptions appearing in the entire system.
Therefore, this noble verse alludes to one of the evidences for monotheism, which, in the context of literature of the scientists and the philosophers, has been referred to as ‘the mutual hindrance proof’. This means that type of the anarchical world run by ‘dualism’ the nature of which requires the existence of various gods, centered around all kinds of disruptions1. It is for this reason that the Qur’an addresses the Prophet (S) to tell them that if there were other gods alongside the Almighty, as they claim, then these gods would certainly try to seek their way through to the great Lord of the heavens and thus dominate Him, for it is natural that every powerful person wishes to add up to his power, extending his sphere of influence further.
If there were other gods, truly speaking, such a kind of struggle and incompatibility over the extension of their power would result in anarchy and disruptions in all spheres of life. The verse says:
“Say: ‘If there were (other) gods with Him as they (the pagans) claim, then, they would certainly have sought a way unto the Lord of the ‘Arsh.”
Footnotes