The Qur’ān (16: 51-55) says: “Allah has said: Do not take [for worship] two deities, for He is but one Allah. Hence, of Me alone stand in awe. His is all that is in the heavens and the earth, and to Him alone submission is always due. Will you then fear anyone but Allah? Whatever blessing you have comes from Allah; and whenever harm befalls you, it is to Him that you cry out for help. Yet no sooner does He remove the harm from you than some among you associate partners with their Lord, [as if] to show their ingratitude for what We have given them. Enjoy, then, your life [as you may]; before long you will come to know [the truth].”
Allah has commanded not to worship two deities, for there is only one Allah, without partner or equal. Again, Allah’s oneness is re-emphasised in the use of ‘alone’ in the last part of the ayah: “Of Me alone stand in awe.” This added emphasis reminds us that the issue in question is that of faith. Allah’s oneness must be a concept of complete and perfect clarity in our minds. Allah, the only deity, is also the One to whom everything belongs: “His is all that is in the heavens and the earth.” (Ayah 52)
In other words, it means that the entire system of the universe exists by its obedience to Him. It is a continuous process, ever since there was a faith and people to believe in it. Such belief means submission, and no faith is true unless it is based on submission to Him. He alone gives blessings and bestows grace: “Whatever blessing you have comes from Allah.” (Ayah 53)
It is also ingrained in human nature that whenever people experience hardship and difficulty, they turn to Allah, seeking His help. At such times, there is no room for the superstitions of idolatry. To Him alone people turn with their appeals to remove their hardship: “Whenever harm befalls you, it is to Him that you cry out for help.” (Ayah 53) That is, the fact that we run to Allah for help in our distress and not to anyone else is a clear proof of the Oneness of Allah, which has been embedded in our own hearts. Thus, the ayah 53 means that at the time of your affliction, your true nature, which had been suppressed by the gods you had forged, involuntarily comes to the surface and invokes Allah for it knows no other god or lord or master, having any real power.
Indeed, when either some great calamity befalls us or when death starkly stares us in the face, it is only to Allah that we turn for refuge. On such occasions even the staunchest polytheists forget their false gods and cry out to the One True God, and even the most ardent atheists stretch out their hands in prayer to Him. It shows that devotion to Allah and monotheism are ingrained in the human soul.
It was the observation of this sign which led Ikrimah, the son of Abu Jahl, to the true faith. For when Makkah was conquered at the hands of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, Ikrimah fled to Jeddah and sailed from there towards Abyssinia. During the voyage the boat ran into a severe storm which threatened to capsize it. At first people began calling on their gods and goddesses. Later on, when the storm grew even worse and the passengers were sure that the boat would sink, they began to feel it was time to call on Allah alone, for He alone could save them. This opened the eyes of Ikrimah, whose heart cried out to him that if there was no effective helper for them in that situation, how could there be one elsewhere? He also recalled that this was precisely what Allah’s Messenger ﷺ had constantly told people, and that it was precisely because of this preaching that they had been engaged in unnecessary violent conflict with him. This was a turning-point in Ikrimah’s life. He instantly made up his mind that if he survived the storm, he would go straight to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and place his hand in his, binding himself in allegiance. Thereafter he not only remained true to his word by becoming a Muslim, but spent the rest of his life struggling in the cause of Islam.
“Yet no sooner does He remove the harm from you than some among you associate partners with their Lord.” (Ayah 54) That is, at the time of showing gratitude to Allah for removing his affliction, he begins to make offerings also to some god, goddess or saint to show that Allah’s kindness to him was due to the intercession of his patron, for he imagines that otherwise Allah, the Exalted, would not have removed his distress. Thus we see that divinity and dominion in the universe belong to Allah alone. All submission is addressed to Him, and all grace is bestowed by Him, and to Him alone we should turn in all situations. Human nature is witness to this. When it experiences affliction, harm or hardship, it returns to its purity and turns to Allah alone. Yet despite all this, no sooner does Allah save people from some type of harm that could destroy them then some of them associate partners with Him. This leads them to disbelief in Allah’s guidance and to denying His grace. Such people should think clearly about what will happen to them after their brief enjoyment: “Enjoy, then, your life [as you may]; before long you will come to know [the truth].” (Ayah 55)
The surah portrays here a picture of a certain type of human being which is found across every generation. When harm and affliction strikes, our hearts turn to Allah for help. By nature, we know that He is the only One to protect us when no one else can. In times of comfort and pleasure, we are preoccupied with enjoyment, weakening our relationship with Allah: “Whenever harm befalls you, it is to Him that you cry out for help. Yet no sooner does He remove the harm from you than some among you associate partners with their Lord.” (Ayat 53-54) They deviate from His path, following diverse ways which may lead to outright idolatry, or may take the form of ascribing divinity to values and situations, even though they may not describe these as deities.
Indeed deviation may be even more extreme so as to prevent people from turning to Allah in times of hardship. Instead, they may turn to some other creature, appealing to them to save their skins. They may do so under the pretext that such creatures enjoy a special position with Allah, or they may have some other excuse.
Lastly, we must always remember that Allah, the Exalted, alone possesses all power and authority, and has full control over the things which cause either benefit or harm to us, and that He alone holds the joystick of our destiny.