The first verse without exception addresses all mankind, “O mankind! It is you who stand in need of God” The meaning of Faqr here is very vast and encompasses the dependence of all humans e.g. the dependence on the sun, water air, various kinds of food, clothes and house for the safety and betterment of our material life.
For our physical life we are dependent on such parts like our hearts, veins, and the system of breathing, brain and limbs. In our intellectual life we are dependent on our intelligence to guide upon the straight path of truth from darkness, to help us distinguish between the right and the wrong and also on the apostles sent by God to guide us as well as the divine books because they have been sent by God. So we are all dependent on Him.
Some commentators (1) believe that this verse addresses those people who used to oppose the Messenger’s edict for prayers, saying, and “Is God dependent on our prayers?” Qura’n replies to them, “It is you who are dependent on Him for it are under His beneficence that you physically and spiritually have attained development.”
But this idea too cannot be an obstacle for the vast meanings and connotations of this verse because the” needlessness” of God and our dependence on Him is the remedy for a large number of our problems. This dependence exists in the core of all mankind and all beings. This dependence is not limited to just the sustenance and basic needs of life but the very existence is dependent on the Sustainer’s beneficence. The physical world would break into pieces if it became needless of Him for even a single moment.
It is only God who is above all needs in this universe. When mankind which is the symbol of greatness and a flower in bloom in this created world is totally dependent on God then we can easily understand the dependence of other beings. This is the reason that the verse finally says, “He is rich (free of al wants and needs) worthy of all praise.”
As this verse is about the all encompassing dependence, therefore, the meaning would be nothing else but that it is only God who is rich and above all needs. If we say about any person that he is above needs or is a destitute then it is a comparative assessment for he is dependent compared to someone else or rich compared to another. In other words, we can say that every being is totally dependent while the entity of God is rich and above needs.
This is the first and last truth.
God does not need our obedience and worship nor does He need our praise but instead our obedience, worship, praise are all part of dependence and humility before him and are the source of our moral and spiritual up liftment. . This is because the more we come closer to the divine light of God the more enlightened will we be and the more we come closer to the fountainhead of grace the more benefit will we reap. The most ordinary example for this is that we are like the grass, vegetables and trees which stand in the sunshine so that they get light but the sun does not need them.
This realization teaches monotheism to mankind and tells them not to submit before anyone else or to bow their heads before another in worship or respect. They should extend their hands to beg only to him because He is above all needs, the most beneficent the most merciful and the one who bestows His grace and boons.
Paying attention to this effects mankind deeply. Firstly it disembarks them from the high horse of pride and self-aggrandizement and also frees them from all attachments or in other words they are attached only to God and free from all others. A person is not lost or wayward because of this realization and his eyes are fixed only on God because he considers Him only to be the sustainer.
It is pertinent to pay attention to two meanings here; the first is that God is called “Hameed” after He is called “Ghani” and as we have said earlier this term has been mentioned ten times in the Holy Qura’n and these points out to its importance. It is possible that this important point may be that generally pride, greed and miserliness etc are found among the wealthy and rich people. It sometimes happens that his brother may have just one goat while he has ninety-nine but he wants that even, that one single goat should be his depriving its owner of his only possession. The words, self-sufficient and wealthy have become the symbol of pride, selfishness and miserliness. But God is merciful and kind while being rich, He sustains us and is generous and this is why all praise is for Him.
Yes, only God is that Rich entity who is kind, beneficent, generous, and sustaining as well as wealthy.
The second important point is that this verse addresses the human beings. The question now is that when all other beings too are dependent on God then why is it addressed to humans only?
Most commentators have answered that the being which vies for perfection has more needs and this is why the circle of human needs is very wide. In his life a person travels the long road of needs because his needs are great in numbers. He feels the need for these needs more than others. It is the same with other material beings e.g. a bird is satisfied with a simple nest and a little food while better and different houses and dresses or variety of foods does not quench a man’s thirst for more.(2)
The second verse is about charity in the way of God where in some people resort to miserliness. Those who are stingy in this truly deprive themselves because they are then deprived of God’s grace and mercy. The Book says, God is above needs and you all are dependent. It is possible that the words are so styled because a person may feel that God has ordered charity because He needs our charity but the Book says, “God does not ask for anything from your wealth.”
God is certainly above needs and everything is dependent upon Him and if He has ordered charity for us , it is not because He needs it but it is due to their dependence that He has designed it a way of achieving success and betterment easily and thereby be able to attain closeness to Him.
There is no doubt that this verse is connected with need and self-sufficiency and has been revealed about charity in the name of God but from the last part of the verse we find that its meaning is vast. It names God as the only self –sufficient entity and mankind as totally dependent so much say that need and self-sufficiency has entered the core of his being. This is why this verse can be produced as proof in a debate.
Anyway, the point to pay attention to is that God has bestowed all these graces to His subjects and then asked them to spend in His way as a measure for increase. This benefit is not limited to charity but is evident in all the commandments of God because the better result of this is for mankind only. This has been mentioned in many verses of the Qura’n like in verse 47 of Surah Saba that says, “The recompense that I ask is for you only and my recompense is with God”. Verse 6 of Surah Ankabut says, “The person who wages Jihad does it for himself, and God is free from all wants from this universe.”
The third and final verse of this discussion contains the dependency of the beings and the self-sufficiency of God in a very fresh and new manner. The Book says, “All those in the heavens and the earth beseech Him.” And He manifests Himself everyday with a new glory, (And every day He has something new to bring forth). The word “yas’al” is in continuous tense to prove the never ending creation. This verse therefore, has a vast meaning and encompasses all humans, angels, and those who live on earth and in the heavens ( and the possibility is that include all beings intelligent and otherwise) The use of the word “ mun” is for the intelligent only to show subjection because it refers to beseeching and not what is asked. We therefore learn that the verse has a vast meaning in the sense that all beings beseech Him for grace because the truth about the
Contingent being is that it is not only finite but dependent on the absolute being for its wellbeing and life.
The commentaries Ruhul Bayan and Ruhul Ma’ani have described (in similar words) that all beings existing in the heavens and on earth beseech God for themselves
their well being and for all other things because being creations they are all devoid of completeness and perfection in the sense that they will cease to exist if they are disconnected with the supreme being even for a moment.
It is in this sense that they are always beseeching Him. (3)
It is evident from this statement that those who opine that this verse describes the beseeching by the beings or begging him for their sustenance, grace or for the needs of this world and the hereafter or for saving oneself or for being aware of well being and damnation do so without concrete proof. Though all these meaning come under the purview of this verse but there is no concrete evidence about it.
1. Tafsir Kabeer and Tafsir Ruhul Ma’ani for this verse
2. Some commentators have paid their attention to the point that in this verse ‘Alfoqara’ has been used as a proper noun while in the linguistic sense it is uncertain and vague because once it is identified nothing further is needed. The reason here is that it is used as a reminder because the addressee knows that he is dependent on God. So it is said just as a reminder. In the linguistic terms when a person knows something but does not act on it then he may be termed as an ignorant to incline him towards action and deeds.
3. Tafsir Ruhul Bayan Volume 9 page 299; Tafsir Ruhul Ma’ani Volume 27 page 95
