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wa-tilka l-ʾamthālu naḍribuhā li-n-nāsi wa-mā yaʿqiluhā ʾillā l-ʿālimūna
We draw these parables for mankind; but no one grasps them except those who have knowledge.
— Ali Quli Qarai
29Al-ʿAnkabūtالعنكبوتVerse 43 of 69
The Spider29. Al-ʿAnkabūtالعنكبوت
Al Ankabūt
The Spider
MeccanVerse 43 of 69
Surah Al-‘Ankabut - Verses 42-43
42. “Verily, Allah knows whatever thing they call upon besides Him; and He is the Mighty, the Wise.”
43. “And such are the parables We set forth for mankind, but none understand them but the learned (ones).”
The man’s inclinations to other than Allah (s.w.t.) are in the knowledge of Allah, and we must make us ready to answer for it. The verse says:
Instead of relying on other than Allah, which is as weak and baseless as the spider’s house, we must rely on Allah, Who is the Mighty, the invincible. The verse continues saying:
However, in this verse the Qur’an threatens and warns these negligent unaware polytheists, and implicitly says that Allah knows whatever they call other than Him. Neither their manifest polytheism nor their hidden one is concealed to Allah, and He is the Mighty and the Absolute Wise. If He gives respite to them, it is not for the sake that He does not know or His Power is finite, but His wisdom requires that He gives enough respite to them so that He completes the argument to all, and those who are eligible for guidance, be guided.
Some commentators have taken this sentence as an indication to the pretexts that the polytheists sought for themselves. They used to say that if they worshipped those idols, it would not be because of the idols themselves and they were, indeed, some symbols of stars of the sky and of their prophets and angels. They said, in fact, they prostrated for them and respected them, and their ‘good and evil’, and their ‘benefit and harm’ are in their authority.
The Holy Qur’an implies that Allah knows what things the polytheists call. Whomever they may be and whatever they may be, they are like the web of spider comparing the power of His command, and they have nothing to give them. The next verse may refer to the rejection of the enemies of the Prophet (S) who pointed to these parables and said that how is it possible that Allah, Who is the Creator of the earth and heaven, brings forth parables to spider, fly, insects, and the like?
In answer to them, the Qur’an says:
The importance and tenderness of a parable is not in its being small or big, but it is in its fitness with the aim. Sometimes its being small is its most significant point of strength. For example, when the words are mostly about the weak and baseless supports, the parable must be chosen from spider which can illustrate this weakness, instability and lack of resistance better than anything else. This is the identity of eloquence and elegance. That is why it is said that only the learned ones can recognize the elegance and elaborations of the Qur’an.