Al-Qasas · Makki · ayah 68 of 88

Al-Qasas 28:68

وَرَبُّكَ يَخْلُقُ مَا يَشَآءُ وَيَخْتَارُ ۗ مَا كَانَ لَهُمُ ٱلْخِيَرَةُ ۚ سُبْحَـٰنَ ٱللَّهِ وَتَعَـٰلَىٰ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ

“And your Lord creates what He wills and chooses; not for them was the choice. Exalted is Allāh and high above what they associate with Him.”

Saheeh International

Essence

The One who alone creates alone chooses whom and what to honour; no one is consulted, and He is far above every partner they propose.

A reflection

Who did you expect Him to consult?

Several commentators link this ayah to an objection the Quran records elsewhere. Why was this Quran not sent down to some great man of the two towns (43:31)? Makkah and Taif had their candidates, men of wealth and standing. Another view ties it to the partners people chose as intercessors. One later commentator doubts the occasion altogether. On every view, the ayah's reply is the same.

Your Lord creates what He wills, and He chooses. The One who alone brought a thing into being is the One who alone decides what it is for. As one scholar put it, He has no partner in creating, so He has none in choosing.

The ego dislikes this. We assume we get a vote on whom God honours. Watch a long-standing mosque regular when a recent convert is asked to give the Friday reminder. Something in him bristles. Who chose her? I have been here twenty years. That bristle is a small cousin of the objection about the two towns.

Is it arrogant for Allah to say 'I choose, and the choice is not yours'? Arrogance is claiming a rank one does not truly hold. For the Creator, choosing among what He made is simply the truth stated. One commentator adds that He is free of any benefit or harm from the choosing. He gains nothing by preferring one over another. The declaration exists to free us from a false claim, not to feed a need in Him.

The ayah ends with subḥāna Allāh. The word carries putting at a distance. Far is He from sharing this with any partner people propose. Your pride, too, is invited to step back to its proper distance.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.