Surah Fussilat — Verse 9

Word Meanings:

• Andād (أندادًا): Equals, rivals, or partners—referring to beings or objects that the polytheists worshipped alongside Allah, setting them up as comparable to Him in divinity and reverence.
• Rabb al-‘Ālamīn (رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ): The Lord and Sustainer of all worlds—every creation that exists, from the heavens and the earth to everything in between, known and unknown.

Tafsir (Explanation):

O Messenger, say to these polytheists who reject the truth, rebuking them and expressing amazement at their audacity: "Do you truly disbelieve in the One who created the earth in two days—Sunday and Monday—and yet you set up rivals and partners to worship alongside Him? You attribute divinity to idols and false deities that have no power to create or sustain, while He alone brought this vast earth into existence from nothing!"

This is a rhetorical question that strikes at the very heart of their contradiction: they acknowledge that the earth was created, yet they refuse to credit its sole Creator and instead associate others with Him in worship. The verse then affirms the undeniable truth: That Creator is the Lord of all the worlds—the One who fashioned every being, every creature, and every realm of existence. He alone deserves your worship, your gratitude, and your devotion.

Reflect, dear reader, on the sheer power of Allah: He created the entire earth—with its mountains, oceans, plains, and all that sustains life—in just two days. This is not a distant, abstract deity; this is your Lord, who knows you, provides for you, and watches over you. How then can a person turn away from such a Creator to worship stones, statues, or mortal beings that cannot even benefit or harm themselves?

Let this verse awaken your heart: If you truly recognize that Allah created this world and everything in it, then your worship, your hope, your fear, and your love should all be directed to Him alone. He is the One who answers when you call, who provides when you are in need, and who will judge you with perfect justice on the Day you return to Him. Do not let pride or heedlessness distance you from the One who gave you life—come back to Him, submit to Him, and find peace in His remembrance. For there is no god worthy of worship but Him, the Lord of all that exists.