Why Did Allah Create Us When He Has No Need of Our Worship?
نحن نعتقد أن الله هو مالك الملك وكل ما في هذا الكون، ما علمنا منه وما لا نعلم، هو تحت قهر الله عز وجل: فلماذا خلقنا وهو غني عن عبادتنا؟
There is no doubt that Allah is in no need of our worship:
(O humanity! It is you who stand in need of Allah, but Allah ˹alone˺ is the Self-Sufficient, Praiseworthy. If He willed, He could eliminate you and produce a new creation. And that is not difficult for Allah ˹at all˺.) [Fatir 35:15-17]
(If you disbelieve, then ˹know that˺ Allah is truly not in need of you, nor does He approve of disbelief from His servants.) [Az-Zumar 39:7]
And His Creation of the children of Adam and His order to them to worship Him are only to honor them and have mercy on them and admit them into heaven, so that man is more honored than all other creations:
(Indeed, We have dignified the children of Adam, carried them on land and sea, granted them good and lawful provisions, and privileged them far above many of Our creatures.) [Al-Isra 17:70]
And man is tested and afflicted by Allah so that he submits and achieves the obedience to Allah willingly.
(Whoever wills let them believe, and whoever wills let them disbelieve.) [Al-Kahf 18:29]
لا شك أن الله غني عن عبادتنا:
(يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ أَنتُمُ الْفُقَرَاءُ إِلَى اللَّهِ ۖ وَاللَّهُ هُوَ الْغَنِيُّ الْحَمِيدُ إِن يَشَأْ يُذْهِبْكُمْ وَيَأْتِ بِخَلْقٍ جَدِيدٍ وَمَا ذَٰلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ بِعَزِيزٍ) [فاطر 35: 15-17]
(إِن تَكْفُرُوا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَنِيٌّ عَنكُمْ ۖ وَلَا يَرْضَىٰ لِعِبَادِهِ الْكُفْرَ) [الزمر 39: 7]
وخلقه سبحانه وتعالى لبني آدم وأمره لهم بعبادته لإكرامهم ورحمتهم وإدخالهم الجنة، وحتى يكون هذا الإنسان أكرم من سائر الخلق:
(وَلَقَدْ كَرَّمْنَا بَنِي آدَمَ وَحَمَلْنَاهُمْ فِي الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ وَرَزَقْنَاهُم مِّنَ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَفَضَّلْنَاهُمْ عَلَىٰ كَثِيرٍ مِّمَّنْ خَلَقْنَا تَفْضِيلًا) [الإسراء 17: 70]
وهو في امتحان وابتلاء من الله حتى يحقق العبودية طائعا مختارا.
(فَمَن شَاءَ فَلْيُؤْمِن وَمَن شَاءَ فَلْيَكْفُرْ) [الكهف 18: 29]
1. All Creation Needs Him, and He Needs No One | أنتم الفقراء إلى الله
Ibn Kathir explains 35:15: Allah informs us that He is independent of all besides Him, that all creatures are in need of Him and humble before Him: they need Him in every movement and every stillness, while He is independent of them in His essence. And Allah alone is the Self-Sufficient, Praiseworthy means He alone has independence, with no partner, and He is praised in all that He does and says, decrees and legislates.
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ أَنتُمُ الْفُقَرَاءُ إِلَى اللَّهِ ۖ وَاللَّهُ هُوَ الْغَنِيُّ الْحَمِيدُ (سورة فاطر: 15)
قال ابن كثير في قوله تعالى: (يا أيها الناس أنتم الفقراء إلى الله والله هو الغني الحميد) (فاطر 35: 15): يخبر تعالى بغنائه عما سواه، وبافتقار المخلوقات كلها إليه، وتذللها بين يديه، أي: هم محتاجون إليه في جميع الحركات والسكنات، وهو الغني عنهم بالذات، (والله هو الغني الحميد) أي: هو المنفرد بالغنى وحده لا شريك له، وهو الحميد في جميع ما يفعله ويقوله، ويقدره ويشرعه.
2. Our Obedience Adds Nothing to His Kingdom | ما زاد ذلك في ملكي شيئا
On 39:7 Ibn Kathir recalls the words of Musa: If you along with everyone on earth were to be ungrateful, then know that Allah is indeed Self-Sufficient, Praiseworthy (14:8), and the hadith in Sahih Muslim. Abu Dharr reported that the Prophet said that Allah said: O My servants, if the first of you and the last of you, your humans and your jinn, were as pious as the most pious heart of one man among you, that would not increase My kingdom in anything; and if they were as wicked as the most wicked heart of one man, that would not decrease My kingdom in anything. O My servants, it is only your deeds that I record for you and then repay you in full; so whoever finds good, let him praise Allah, and whoever finds otherwise, let him blame no one but himself (Sahih Muslim 2577).
إِن تَكْفُرُوا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَنِيٌّ عَنكُمْ ۖ وَلَا يَرْضَىٰ لِعِبَادِهِ الْكُفْرَ (سورة الزمر: 7)
قال ابن كثير في قوله تعالى: (إن تكفروا فإن الله غني عنكم ولا يرضى لعباده الكفر) (الزمر 39: 7): يخبر تعالى عن نفسه أنه الغني عما سواه من المخلوقات، كما قال موسى: (إن تكفروا أنتم ومن في الأرض جميعا فإن الله لغني حميد) (إبراهيم 14: 8)، وعن أبي ذر رضي الله عنه عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فيما روى عن الله تبارك وتعالى: "يا عبادي لو أن أولكم وآخركم وإنسكم وجنكم كانوا على أتقى قلب رجل واحد منكم ما زاد ذلك في ملكي شيئا، يا عبادي لو أن أولكم وآخركم وإنسكم وجنكم كانوا على أفجر قلب رجل واحد ما نقص ذلك من ملكي شيئا... يا عبادي إنما هي أعمالكم أحصيها لكم ثم أوفيكم إياها، فمن وجد خيرا فليحمد الله، ومن وجد غير ذلك فلا يلومن إلا نفسه" (صحيح مسلم 2577).
3. The Worshipper Is the One Who Gains | فلأنفسهم يمهدون
The benefit of worship returns to the worshipper: those who disbelieved will bear the burden of their own disbelief; and those who did good will have prepared for themselves eternal homes (30:44). Ibn Kathir explains that Allah repays them with the reward of His grace: a good deed is rewarded ten times over, up to seven hundred times, up to whatever Allah wills, and with that He is the Just who does no wrong. And on 39:7, if you are grateful He will appreciate that from you, Ibn Kathir explains: He loves it from you and gives you more of His bounty.
مَن كَفَرَ فَعَلَيْهِ كُفْرُهُ ۖ وَمَنْ عَمِلَ صَالِحًا فَلِأَنفُسِهِمْ يَمْهَدُونَ (سورة الروم: 44)
قال تعالى: (من كفر فعليه كفره ومن عمل صالحا فلأنفسهم يمهدون) (الروم 30: 44)، قال ابن كثير: أي: يجازيهم مجازاة الفضل: الحسنة بعشر أمثالها، إلى سبعمائة ضعف، إلى ما يشاء الله، ومع هذا هو العادل فيهم الذي لا يجور، وقال في قوله تعالى: (وإن تشكروا يرضه لكم) (الزمر 39: 7): أي: يحبه منكم ويزدكم من فضله.
4. Honoured, Then Tested by Choice | فمن شاء فليؤمن ومن شاء فليكفر
Ibn Kathir explains 17:70: Allah tells of how He honoured the children of Adam in creating them in the best and most complete form, as He says: Indeed, We created humans in the best form (95:4): walking upright, eating with their hands, and given hearing, sight and a heart to understand and to tell what benefits from what harms in this world and in religion. The choice in 18:29, Whoever wills let them believe, and whoever wills let them disbelieve, is not a licence: Ibn Kathir explains that it is a threat and a severe warning, which is why the verse continues: Surely We have prepared for the wrongdoers a Fire. Why Allah created us is explained in why Allah created us, and the submission of all creation in whether only humans prostrate before Allah.
وَقُلِ الْحَقُّ مِن رَّبِّكُمْ ۖ فَمَن شَاءَ فَلْيُؤْمِن وَمَن شَاءَ فَلْيَكْفُرْ (سورة الكهف: 29)
قال ابن كثير في قوله تعالى: (ولقد كرمنا بني آدم) (الإسراء 17: 70): يخبر تعالى عن تشريفه لبني آدم وتكريمه إياهم في خلقه لهم على أحسن الهيئات وأكملها، كما قال: (لقد خلقنا الإنسان في أحسن تقويم) (التين 95: 4)، أي: يمشي قائما منتصبا على رجليه ويأكل بيديه، وجعل له سمعا وبصرا وفؤادا يفقه بذلك كله، وقال في قوله تعالى: (فمن شاء فليؤمن ومن شاء فليكفر) (الكهف 18: 29): هذا من باب التهديد والوعيد الشديد، ولهذا قال: (إنا أعتدنا للظالمين نارا).
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
Does Allah need our worship?
No. It is you who stand in need of Allah, but Allah alone is the Self-Sufficient, Praiseworthy (35:15).
Does our obedience add anything to Allah?
No. In the hadith qudsi, if all humans and jinn were as pious as the most pious heart, that would not increase His kingdom in anything (Sahih Muslim 2577).
Then why did Allah command us to worship Him?
The scholar answers: to honour the children of Adam, have mercy on them and admit them into Paradise (17:70); the reward of worship returns to the worshipper (30:44).
Does whoever wills let them disbelieve mean disbelief is allowed?
No. Ibn Kathir explains that 18:29 is a threat and a severe warning, which is why it continues: Surely We have prepared for the wrongdoers a Fire.