Tafseer of Yaseen · Yaseen · 36:22
And why should I not worship He who created me and to whom you will be returned?
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
Exposition of the explanation of His statement, the Exalted: وَمَا لِيَ لا أَعْبُدُ الَّذِي فَطَرَنِي وَإِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ ("And what is it with me, that I should not worship Him who created me, and to whom you will be returned?") (22)
He, exalted be His mention, says, reporting the statement of this believing man: وَمَا لِيَ لا أَعْبُدُ الَّذِي فَطَرَنِي ("And what is it with me, that I should not worship Him who created me") — that is to say: what reason would I have not to worship the Lord who created me? وَإِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ ("and to whom you will be returned") — He says: and to Him you, O people, return and are all brought back. This was at the moment when he openly proclaimed to his people his faith in Allah and His oneness (tawḥīd).
As Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, according to what had reached him, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, and on the authority of Kaʿb al-Aḥbār, and on the authority of Wahb ibn Munabbih, who said: he called out to them — that is, he called out to his people — in opposition to that which they were upon of worshipping the idols, and he made manifest to them his religion and the worship of his Lord, and he informed them that none other than He had power over his benefit or his harm. So he said: وَمَا لِيَ لا أَعْبُدُ الَّذِي فَطَرَنِي وَإِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ أَأَتَّخِذُ مِنْ دُونِهِ آلِهَةً ("And what is it with me, that I should not worship Him who created me, and to whom you will be returned? Shall I then take besides Him gods?"). Then he disparaged those [gods] and said: إِنْ يُرِدْنِ الرَّحْمَنُ بِضُرٍّ ("If the Most Merciful intends to afflict me with harm") — and with adversity — لا تُغْنِ عَنِّي شَفَاعَتُهُمْ شَيْئًا وَلا يُنْقِذُونِ ("their intercession will avail me nothing, nor will they save me").
