The Commentary of Al-Qasidah — Page 72
72 The commentary of al-Qa si dah ᅓ ؒ. Hast thou seen him who takes his own evil desire for his god? Couldst thou then be a guardian over him? Dost thou think that most of them hear or understand? They are only like cattle; nay they are worst astray from the path. ( al-Furq a n , 25:44–45 ) In these verses, All a h is referring to those people who have taken their desires as idols. All a h says in the above verse that most of these people have lost their human qualities such as hearing and understanding, and He says they are just like animals, some being even worse. In this couplet, worldly desires are likened to idols, composing a very beautiful and accurate metaphor. The fact is that All a h made human beings His vicegerents in the earth and He has said: Meaning, ‘Indeed, We have honoured the children of Adam. ’ ( Ban i Isr a ’ i l , 17:71 ) Allah has subdued for mankind the sky, earth, sun, moon, stars, canals, rivers, oceans, cliffs and high mountain tops. In short, everything found in the heavens and the earth has been created for the benefit of human beings. Thus, a human being is subjected to All a h and the rest of creation is subjected to human beings.