قُلْ مَن يَرْزُقُكُم مِّنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ أَمَّن يَمْلِكُ ٱلسَّمْعَ وَٱلْأَبْصَـٰرَ وَمَن يُخْرِجُ ٱلْحَىَّ مِنَ ٱلْمَيِّتِ وَيُخْرِجُ ٱلْمَيِّتَ مِنَ ٱلْحَىِّ وَمَن يُدَبِّرُ ٱلْأَمْرَ ۚ فَسَيَقُولُونَ ٱللَّهُ ۚ فَقُلْ أَفَلَا تَتَّقُونَ 31
Translations
Say, "Who provides for you from the heaven and the earth? Or who controls hearing and sight and who brings the living out of the dead and brings the dead out of the living and who arranges [every] matter?" They will say, "Allāh," so say, "Then will you not fear Him?"
Transliteration
Qul man yarzuqukum min as-sama'i wal-ard am man yamliku as-sama'a wal-absara wa man yukhrigu al-hayya min al-mayti wa yukhrigu al-mayta min al-hayyi wa man yudabbiru al-amra fasayaqulun Allah faqul afalā tattaqun
Tafsir (Explanation)
Allah commands the Prophet (ﷺ) to pose rhetorical questions to the idolaters, asking who provides sustenance from the heavens and earth, who controls hearing and sight, who brings forth the living from the dead and the dead from the living, and who directs all affairs—demonstrating that only Allah possesses these divine attributes. When the idolaters inevitably admit it is Allah, they are challenged as to why they do not fear Him and abstain from idolatry. Ibn Kathir notes this ayah uses logical proof to establish monotheism, while Al-Tabari emphasizes the rhetorical structure designed to convict the disbelievers with their own admission.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in the Meccan period when the Prophet (ﷺ) was addressing the polytheists of Mecca who acknowledged Allah as the Supreme Creator yet associated partners with Him. The broader context of Surah Yunus deals with establishing Allah's absolute power and wisdom, and refuting the logical inconsistency of those who recognize Allah's dominion while committing shirk (associating partners with Allah).
Related Hadiths
The hadith of Abu Hurayrah in Sahih Bukhari and Muslim states that the Prophet (ﷺ) said, 'Allah said: The son of Adam denies Me, and he has no right to do so. And he insults Me, and he has no right to do so. As for his denying Me, it is his saying: He will not remake me as He made me before.' This relates to the theme of acknowledging Allah's power while rejecting faith.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that intellectual acknowledgment of Allah's oneness and power must lead to conscious obedience and piety; admitting Allah is the Creator while disobeying Him is a logical contradiction that believers must transcend. For modern readers, this is a call to align beliefs with actions and to recognize that true faith requires both mind and heart working in harmony toward God-consciousness.
Related Ayahs
وَإِن يَمْسَسْكَ ٱللَّهُ بِضُرٍّ فَلَا كَاشِفَ لَهُۥٓ إِلَّا هُوَ ۖ وَإِن يُرِدْكَ بِخَيْرٍ فَلَا رَآدَّ لِفَضْلِهِۦ ۚ يُصِيبُ بِهِۦ مَن يَشَآءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِۦ ۚ وَهُوَ ٱلْغَفُورُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ
And if Allāh should touch you with adversity, there is no remover of it except Him; and if He intends for you good, then there is no repeller of His bounty. He causes it to reach whom He wills of His servants. And He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.
وَلَا تَكُونَنَّ مِنَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا۟ بِـَٔايَـٰتِ ٱللَّهِ فَتَكُونَ مِنَ ٱلْخَـٰسِرِينَ
And never be of those who deny the signs of Allāh and [thus] be among the losers.
قُلْ أَرَءَيْتُم مَّآ أَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ لَكُم مِّن رِّزْقٍ فَجَعَلْتُم مِّنْهُ حَرَامًا وَحَلَـٰلًا قُلْ ءَآللَّهُ أَذِنَ لَكُمْ ۖ أَمْ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ تَفْتَرُونَ
Say, "Have you seen what Allāh has sent down to you of provision of which you have made [some] lawful and [some] unlawful?" Say, "Has Allāh permitted you [to do so], or do you invent [something] about Allāh?"
وَإِذَآ أَذَقْنَا ٱلنَّاسَ رَحْمَةً مِّنۢ بَعْدِ ضَرَّآءَ مَسَّتْهُمْ إِذَا لَهُم مَّكْرٌ فِىٓ ءَايَاتِنَا ۚ قُلِ ٱللَّهُ أَسْرَعُ مَكْرًا ۚ إِنَّ رُسُلَنَا يَكْتُبُونَ مَا تَمْكُرُونَ
And when We give the people a taste of mercy after adversity has touched them, at once they conspire against Our verses. Say, "Allāh is swifter in strategy." Indeed, Our messengers [i.e., angels] record that which you conspire.