Al-Anbya · Makki · ayah 22 of 112

Al-Anbya 21:22

لَوْ كَانَ فِيهِمَآ ءَالِهَةٌ إِلَّا ٱللَّهُ لَفَسَدَتَا ۚ فَسُبْحَـٰنَ ٱللَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلْعَرْشِ عَمَّا يَصِفُونَ

“Had there been within them [i.e., the heavens and earth] gods besides Allāh, they both would have been ruined. So exalted is Allāh, Lord of the Throne, above what they describe.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Had there been other gods besides Allah in the heavens and the earth, both would have fallen into ruin; their steady order is His signature.

A reflection

Two head chefs in one kitchen

Had there been gods in them other than Allah, both would have been ruined. One commentator explains the ayah with a picture every listener knew. Subjects are ruined when two kings rule them, because of the rivalry, the contradiction and the disagreement that grows between them. He quotes an old Arab saying: two stallions do not share one herd. A later scholar of the heart extends the image. A city falls apart with two equal kings. A herd falls apart with two stallions. Some things cannot be shared.

Picture a busy restaurant on a Saturday night where the owner has hired two head chefs and never decided who is in charge. One calls for the fish to go out; the other countermands it. One wants the sauce reduced; the other thins it. The junior cooks stand frozen between them, plates cooling under the lights. By nine o'clock the dining room is full of untouched food and angry customers. Nothing was wrong with either chef's skill. The kitchen simply had two wills.

Now raise that to the scale of the heavens and the earth. The sun rises on time. Seasons turn. Rain follows the same laws in every valley. If there were two absolute wills behind it all, the commentators argue, that order could not hold.

The ayah ends: so glory be to Allah, Lord of the Throne, above what they describe. An early commentator says simply: He glorifies Himself because a slander was spoken about Him.

That answers the sceptic who hears this as vanity. Self-glorification here is not boasting. It is the correction of a lie. People had described Him as one of a crowd of gods. He describes Himself as He is. Human pride, by contrast, wants to share the throne, to be one of the voices in charge. The ayah's majesty shrinks that wish. There is one kitchen, and one Head.

The full entry has 6 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.