ءَأَنتُمْ تَخْلُقُونَهُۥٓ أَمْ نَحْنُ ٱلْخَـٰلِقُونَ 59
Translations
Is it you who creates it, or are We the Creator?
Transliteration
A-antum takhluqunahu am nahnu al-khaliqun
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah poses a rhetorical question challenging the disbelievers' assumption of their own creative power, specifically regarding human procreation. Allah is asserting His exclusive role as the true Creator (Al-Khaliq) of human life, while humans are merely instrumental causes. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir emphasize this as a powerful refutation of shirk (associating partners with Allah), demonstrating that humans cannot create life and therefore should not associate anyone with Allah's creative power.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in the Meccan surah Al-Waqi'ah within a passage (verses 57-74) where Allah presents evidence of His oneness and power through creation. The broader context addresses the skepticism of Meccan polytheists who denied resurrection and divine uniqueness. The rhetorical question serves to awaken consciousness about humanity's dependence on Allah and inability to create.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: 'Each one of you is created in the womb of your mother for forty days as a drop (of semen), then for forty days as a clot, then for forty days as a lump of flesh...' (Sahih Bukhari 3208). This hadith complements the ayah by detailing Allah's creative process in human development.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah reminds believers that true creation belongs only to Allah, and recognizing this fundamental truth is essential to authentic faith and humility. For modern readers, it encourages reflection on life's origins and fosters gratitude toward the Creator rather than pride in human accomplishment.
Related Ayahs
قُلْ فَلِلَّهِ ٱلْحُجَّةُ ٱلْبَـٰلِغَةُ ۖ فَلَوْ شَآءَ لَهَدَىٰكُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ
Say, "With Allāh is the far-reaching [i.e., conclusive] argument. If He had willed, He would have guided you all."
يُدَبِّرُ ٱلْأَمْرَ مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ إِلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ ثُمَّ يَعْرُجُ إِلَيْهِ فِى يَوْمٍ كَانَ مِقْدَارُهُۥٓ أَلْفَ سَنَةٍ مِّمَّا تَعُدُّونَ
He arranges [each] matter from the heaven to the earth; then it will ascend to Him in a Day, the extent of which is a thousand years of those which you count.
هُوَ ٱلَّذِى يُسَيِّرُكُمْ فِى ٱلْبَرِّ وَٱلْبَحْرِ ۖ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا كُنتُمْ فِى ٱلْفُلْكِ وَجَرَيْنَ بِهِم بِرِيحٍ طَيِّبَةٍ وَفَرِحُوا۟ بِهَا جَآءَتْهَا رِيحٌ عَاصِفٌ وَجَآءَهُمُ ٱلْمَوْجُ مِن كُلِّ مَكَانٍ وَظَنُّوٓا۟ أَنَّهُمْ أُحِيطَ بِهِمْ ۙ دَعَوُا۟ ٱللَّهَ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ ٱلدِّينَ لَئِنْ أَنجَيْتَنَا مِنْ هَـٰذِهِۦ لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ ٱلشَّـٰكِرِينَ
It is He who enables you to travel on land and sea until, when you are in ships and they sail with them by a good wind and they rejoice therein, there comes a storm wind and the waves come upon them from every place and they expect to be engulfed, they supplicate Allāh, sincere to Him in religion, "If You should save us from this, we will surely be among the thankful."
قُلْ إِنَّمَآ أَنَا۠ مُنذِرٌ ۖ وَمَا مِنْ إِلَـٰهٍ إِلَّا ٱللَّهُ ٱلْوَٰحِدُ ٱلْقَهَّارُ
Say, [O Muḥammad], "I am only a warner, and there is not any deity except Allāh, the One, the Prevailing,