وَلَئِن سَأَلْتَهُم مَّنْ خَلَقَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ لَيَقُولُنَّ خَلَقَهُنَّ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْعَلِيمُ 9
Translations
And if you should ask them, "Who has created the heavens and the earth?" they would surely say, "They were created by the Exalted in Might, the Knowing,"
Transliteration
Wa-la'in sa'altahum man khalaqa as-samawati wa-al-arda layaqulunna khalaqahunna al-Azizu al-Alim
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah presents a rhetorical challenge to the polytheists of Mecca, asserting that even they acknowledge Allah as the Creator of the heavens and earth when directly questioned, yet they persist in associating partners with Him. Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari note this demonstrates the incoherence of their belief system—their own intellects testify to Allah's oneness and absolute power, yet their hearts reject monotheism. The attributes 'Al-Aziz' (The Mighty) and 'Al-Alim' (The All-Knowing) emphasize that only One possessing infinite power and knowledge could create such a vast universe.
Revelation Context
This ayah is part of Surah Az-Zukhruf, a Meccan surah addressing the idolatrous practices of the Quraysh. The broader context of the surah refutes polytheism through logical argumentation, presenting the dissonance between what the pagans intellectually acknowledge about Allah's creative power and their continued idolatry. This particular verse uses the Socratic method—questioning the Meccans about their own beliefs to expose their contradiction.
Related Hadiths
The hadith in Sahih Bukhari (Volume 1, Book 3) records that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, 'Every child is born upon the Fitra (natural disposition to believe in Allah's oneness), but his parents make him a Jew, Christian, or Magian.' This connects to the ayah's implication that people innately recognize Allah's oneness but are led astray by cultural and familial conditioning.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that truth is self-evident to the human conscience—even those who reject Allah's oneness cannot deny His role as Creator when confronted directly. The lesson for contemporary believers is to trust in the rational clarity of monotheism and use logical argumentation when calling others to Islam, while recognizing that rejection often stems from stubbornness rather than intellectual doubt.