۞ قُلْ مَن يَرْزُقُكُم مِّنَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۖ قُلِ ٱللَّهُ ۖ وَإِنَّآ أَوْ إِيَّاكُمْ لَعَلَىٰ هُدًى أَوْ فِى ضَلَـٰلٍ مُّبِينٍ 24
Translations
Say, "Who provides for you from the heavens and the earth?" Say, "Allāh. And indeed, we or you are either upon guidance or in clear error."
Transliteration
Qul man yarzuqukum mina as-samawati wa-al-ardi qul Allah wa-inna aw iyyakum la-ala hudan aw fi dalalim mubin
Tafsir (Explanation)
Allah commands the Prophet (ﷺ) to ask the disbelievers: 'Who provides for you from the heavens and the earth?' and to answer definitively: 'Allah.' The ayah then presents a stark contrast between two paths—guidance and clear misguidance—emphasizing that either the believers or disbelievers must be upon one of these two states, with no middle ground. Classical scholars like Al-Tabari and Ibn Kathir interpret this as a rhetorical challenge to force the disbelievers to acknowledge Allah's provision while simultaneously confronting them with the reality that their denial of His oneness constitutes manifest error.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in the Meccan Surah Saba, which addresses the polytheists of Mecca who acknowledged Allah as the Creator and Sustainer yet associated partners with Him in worship. The context reflects the early Islamic period when the Prophet (ﷺ) repeatedly challenged the Quraysh's logical inconsistency: they admitted Allah provided for them, yet refused to worship Him exclusively. This forms part of a broader argument in the surah exposing the irrationality of shirk (associating partners with Allah).
Related Hadiths
While no hadith directly quotes this ayah, the theme relates to Sunan At-Tirmidhi (2954) where the Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'Whoever dies while he associates any partner with Allah will enter the Hellfire,' reinforcing that tawhid (monotheism) and shirk represent the fundamental division between guidance and misguidance.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that acknowledging Allah's creative power and provision should naturally lead to exclusive worship of Him alone; any inconsistency between belief in divine provision and polytheistic practice is a clear sign of spiritual misguidance. For modern believers, it encourages reflection on whether our actions and beliefs are aligned with the logical conclusion that only Allah deserves worship.