Surah An-Naml 27:60

The Command to praise Allah and send Blessings on His Messengers

Allah commands His Messenger to say:

الْحَمْدُ للَّهِ

(Praise and thanks be to Allah,) meaning, for His innumerable blessings upon His servants and for His exalted Attributes and most beautiful Names. And He commands him to send peace upon the servants of Allah whom He chose and selected, i.e., His noble Messengers and Prophets, may the best of peace and blessings from Allah be upon them. This was the view of `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam and others; the meaning of the servants He has chose is the Prophets. He said, "This like He said in the Ayah;

سُبْحَـنَ رَبِّكَ رَبِّ الْعِزَّةِ عَمَّا يَصِفُونَ

وَسَلَـمٌ عَلَى الْمُرْسَلِينَ - وَالْحَمْدُ للَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَـلَمِينَ

(Glorified be your Lord, the Lord of honor and power! (He is free) from what they attribute unto Him! And peace be on the Messengers! And all the praises and thanks be to Allah, Lord of all that exists.) (37:180-182)." Ath-Thawri and As-Suddi said, "This refers to the Companions of Muhammad ﷺ, may Allah be pleased with them all." Something similar was also narrated from Ibn `Abbas, and there is no contradiction between the two views, because they were also among the servants of Allah whom He had chosen, although the description is more befitting of the Prophets.

ءَآللَّهُ خَيْرٌ أَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ

(Is Allah better, or what they ascribe as partners (to Him)) This is a question aimed at denouncing the idolators for their worship of other gods besides Allah. Some more Proofs of Tawhid Then Allah begins to explain that He is the Only One Who creates, provides and controls, as He says:

أَمَّنْ خَلَقَ السَّمَـوَتِ

(Is not He Who created the heavens) meaning, He created those heavens which are so high and serene, with their shining stars and revolving planets. And He created the earth, with its varying heights and densities, and He created everything in it, mountains, hills, plains, rugged terrain, wildernesses, crops, trees, fruits, seas and animals of all different kinds and colors and shapes, etc.

وَأَنزَلَ لَكُمْ مِّنَ السَّمَآءِ مَآءً

(and sends down for you water from the sky,) means, He sends it as a provision for His servants,

فَأَنبَتْنَا بِهِ حَدَآئِقَ ذَاتَ بَهْجَةٍ

(whereby We cause to grow wonderful gardens full of beauty and delight) means, beautiful and delightful to behold.

مَّا كَانَ لَكُمْ أَن تُنبِتُواْ شَجَرَهَا

(It is not in your ability to cause the growth of their trees.) meaning, `you are not able to cause their trees to grow. The One Who is able to do that is the Creator and Provider, Who is doing all this Alone and Independent of any idol and other rival.' The idolators themselves admitted this, as Allah says in another Ayah:

وَلَئِن سَأَلْتَهُم مَّنْ خَلَقَهُمْ لَيَقُولُنَّ اللَّهُ

(And if you ask them: "Who has created them" they will certainly say: "Allah.") (31:25)

وَلَئِن سَأَلْتَهُمْ مَّن نَّزَّلَ مِنَ السَّمَآءِ مَآءً فَأَحْيَا بِهِ الاٌّرْضَ مِن بَعْدِ مَوْتِهَا لَيَقُولُنَّ اللَّهُ

(And if you were to ask them: "Who sends down water from the sky, and gives life therewith to the earth after its death" they will surely reply: "Allah.") (29:63) Meaning they will admit that He is the One Who does all these things, Alone, with no partner or associate, but then they worship others alongside Him, others who they admit cannot create or provide anything. But the Only One Who deserves to be worshipped is the Only One Who can create and provide, Allah says:

أَإِلَـهٌ مَّعَ اللَّهِ

(Is there any god with Allah) meaning, `is there any god that can be worshipped alongside Allah, when it is clear to you and anyone who with reason that He is the Creator and Provider, as you yourselves admit' Then Allah says:

بَلْ هُمْ قَوْمٌ يَعْدِلُونَ

(Nay, but they are a people who ascribe equals (to Him)!) meaning, they describe others as being equal and comparable to Allah.

Pada ayat ini, Allah melontarkan beberapa pertanyaan yang menggugah perhatian mereka terhadap keberadaan-Nya, dengan memperhatikan hal-hal penting yang ada di sekeliling mereka. Pertanyaan itu berkisar pada siapakah yang menciptakan langit, bumi, dan segala isi yang terdapat di dalamnya, dan yang menurunkan air hujan dari langit untuk manusia lalu dengan sebab air hujan tumbuhlah kebun-kebun yang indah, yang manusia sendiri sekali-kali tidak mampu menumbuhkan pohon-pohonnya.

Ayat ini perlu mendapat perhatian terutama oleh mereka yang sering mengadakan perjalanan keliling sebagai wisatawan atau lainnya, ketika melihat pemandangan yang indah, seperti kebun raya, kebun binatang, aquarium, berbagai pameran hasil industri pertanian, pertekstilan, dan sebagainya. Mereka harus memandang keindahan alam yang di depan dan di sekelilingnya sebagai cermin yang menampakkan segala keindahan, keagungan, dan kesempurnaan Allah. Dengan mengamalkan cara yang demikian itu, maka ingatan manusia akan selalu tertuju kepada Allah. Dengan demikian, ketika manusia melihat setiap makhluk, pasti ia akan mengingat Khaliknya. Bila hal itu telah menjadi kebiasaan, maka ia akan merasakan ketauhidan yang murni, bersih dari segala unsur kemusyrikan. Maka pertanyaan tersebut patut dilanjutkan dengan pertanyaan kedua: "Apakah di samping Allah ada tuhan yang lain?" Tentu saja jawabannya adalah: "Tidak, sebab hanya Allah satu-satunya Tuhan yang berhak di sembah."

Sebenarnya orang-orang yang menyembah berhala itu adalah orang-orang yang menyimpang dari kebenaran. Sebab, jika mereka ditanya, "Siapakah yang menurunkan air hujan dari langit yang kemudian menghidupkan dengan air itu bumi yang tadinya mati," mereka menjawab, "Allah" sesuai dengan firman-Nya:

Dan jika kamu bertanya kepada mereka, "Siapakah yang menurunkan air dari langit lalu dengan (air) itu dihidupkannya bumi yang sudah mati?" Pasti mereka akan menjawab, "Allah." (al-'Ankabut/29: 63)

Orang-orang penyembah berhala itu sebenarnya mengakui bahwa berhala mereka tidak dapat menurunkan air hujan yang menjadi penyebab kemakmuran bumi, tetapi mengapa mereka tetap juga menyembahnya. Jawaban mereka itu hanya karena mengikuti kebiasaan nenek moyang mereka, walaupun tidak sejalan dengan logika orang yang berpikiran sehat.