This Surah begins with sending praises to Allah (swt). There are five Surahs in the Holy Quran which begin with praising Allah. They are: Surah Al-Fatihah, Surah Al-An’aam, Surah al-Kahf, Surah Sabaa, Surah Fatir.

To praise Allah (swt) is to thank Him for His Blessings and to be content with His Decree. We always say: Alhamdulillah for Alhamdulillah (All praises be to Allah for ‘All praises be to Allah’), for Allah (swt) has taught human beings that there is equalization among them, thus a person just has to say ‘Alhamdulillah’. Even if a person is afflicted with a calamity, he should say, ‘All praises be to Allah for His decree’ as Allah (swt) does not want anything but good for human beings.

The verses in Surah Al-An’aam are connected to matters of creation and the material world. Whereas the Alhamdulillah found in Surah Al-Kahf is connected to abstract matters, as Allah (swt) says:

 الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي أَنزَلَ عَلَى عَبْدِهِ الْكِتَابَ وَلَمْ يَجْعَل لَّهُ عِوَجَا 

(All praise is for Allah Who has revealed the Book to His servant, allowing no crookedness in it) (Al-Kahf: 1)

 As for the Alhamdulillah in Surah Al-Fatihah:

 الْحَمْدُ للّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِين

(All praise is for Allah—Lord of all worlds) (Al-Fatiha: 1)

It encompasses all kinds of praise; praise for the abstract things and the material things that Allah has created for us, such as the heavens, the earth, light, darkness, the air, water, food, the plants and the cattle. For the human being comes into this life and finds that everything has been prepared in the best way to welcome him. Thus, he must start by praising Allah (swt). When we say Rabbil ‘Alamin, we refer to the Lord, the One who educates and raises, the One who provides blessings for His Creations, including human beings.

(… الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ وَجَعَلَ الظُّلُمَاتِ وَالنُّورَ ) ([All] praise is [due] to Allah, who created the heavens and the earth and made the darkness and the light.…): The difference between (created) and (made) is that the first means to bring to existence from non-existence, whereas the second means to direct creation to a specific task. Allah (swt) created the heavens and earth from non-existence. Be, and it becomes. He (swt) says:

إِنَّمَا أَمْرُهُ إِذَا أَرَادَ شَيْئًا أَنْ يَقُولَ لَهُ كُنْ فَيَكُون

(All it takes, when He wills something (to be), is simply to say to it: “Be!” And it is!) (Yasin: 82)

When a human being wants to make something, he must have the resources first. For example, if he wants to make a drinking glass, he must have the necessary materials, and then he has to put them together to get the desired outcome. This product is not called a creation, as it is something which comes from non-existence.

Allah (swt) created the heavens and the earth, which were there before human beings, so who told them about these creations? The answer is that Allah (swt) created these creations, and He (swt) said:

 مَا أَشْهَدتُّهُمْ خَلْقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ وَلاَ خَلْقَ أَنفُسِهِمْ وَمَا كُنتُ مُتَّخِذَ الْمُضِلِّينَ عَضُدًا

(I did not call them to witness the creation of the heavens and the earth or (even) their own creation, nor would I take the misleaders as helpers) (Al-Kahf: 51)

This is because, the misleaders will continuously be misleading people all the time. From here, we can see that Allah (swt) says to us: ‘I am the One who created the heavens and the earth. You, O human being, came into being and saw everything in them, such as the moon, the clouds, the rain and the plantations. You breathe in the air in order to remain alive.’

Thus, since He did not call us to witness the creation of the heavens and the earth and we did not see it, we should accept the statement of the One who tells us that He created them. This is until another claim comes to contend it, saying: ‘I am the one who created the heavens and the earth.’ However, as we know that Allah (swt) is the only One who says that He created the heavens and the earth, the matter is settled. This is a logical discussion and not a fiducial one. In a fiduciary discussion, it is enough to say that we believe in Allah (swt), and that He is the Creator of the heavens and earth from nothing at all.

 To illustrate the point of creation from nothing, let’s look at the following example: Edison invented the electric light, and so he was honoured and books were written about him. What then should be our stand regarding the Creator of the sun, which has given out light since before humankind was created, and which has not had anything disrupting its light since then till today? Does its creator not deserve a saying of Alhamdulillah (All praises be to Allah) from us? This is a simple example for us to see how people honour those who invent inventions, whereas these inventors did not even create the materials they were made up of, but instead, used existing ones. All they did was to shed light on these existing things and invent things using them. Similarly, gravity was already existent before it was discovered, as Allah tells us in the Holy Quran:

 إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُمْسِكُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضَ أَن تَزُولاَ وَلَئِن زَالَتَا إِنْ أَمْسَكَهُمَا مِنْ أَحَدٍ مِّن بَعْدِهِ إِنَّهُ كَانَ حَلِيمًا غَفُورًا

(Indeed, Allah (alone) keeps the heavens and the earth from falling apart. If they were to fall apart, none but Him could hold them up. He is truly Most Forbearing, All-Forgiving.) (Fatir: 41)

From all that has been mentioned, we know that Allah (swt) is the One who created the heavens and the earth.

As we have mentioned before: If a group of people were sitting in a room and they heard a knock on the door, all of them would agree that there had been a knock. However, one of them would say: ‘It is Muhammad’, while another would say: ‘It is Ahmad’, whereas a third person would say: ‘It is the wind’ and another might say: ‘It’s the cat’. So, to know the identity of the one who had knocked, they would have to wait until he introduces himself. Once he has done this, the dispute is settled.

Just like in the above analogy -and for Allah is the perfect example- after we were created, we find all the creations there before us. Who created them? In answer to this question, Allah (swt) sent Messengers to convey to us from Him that He is the Creator of the heavens and the earth, Mighty and Majestic is He.

(… وَجَعَلَ الظُّلُمَاتِ وَالنُّورَ… ) (…and made the darkness and the light…): Observe the accuracy of the Quranic phrasing. The Arabic word of (darkness) is in the plural form, whereas the Arabic word of (light) is in the singular form. Why is this so? This is because, there are multiple darkness, such as the darkness of the night, the darkness of the ocean, the darkness of the caves and the darkness of the self. However, there is only one light, which is the light of Allah (swt), as He tells us:

 وَأَنَّ هَـذَا صِرَاطِي مُسْتَقِيمًا فَاتَّبِعُوهُ وَلاَ تَتَّبِعُواْ السُّبُلَ فَتَفَرَّقَ بِكُمْ عَن سَبِيلِهِ ذَلِكُمْ وَصَّاكُم بِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُون

(Indeed, that is My Path—perfectly straight. So follow it and do not follow other ways, for they will lead you away from His Way. This is what He has commanded you, so perhaps you will be conscious (of Allah)) (Al-An’aam: 153)

The Prophet (swt) drew a straight line, and then drew lines to its right and left. He then recited this mentioned verse.

Therefore, there are multiple darkness but only one light, which is the light of guidance. Darkness precedes light, and it is something non-existent. On the other hand, light is something existent and it diffuses darkness. The universe was once in total darkness, as the scientists have discovered.

So, Allah (swt) wills for us to understand (from the plural of darkness) that the matter of darkness and light is not merely a materialistic matter, which we can perceive through the alternation of day and night as a result of the rotation of the earth. Rather, it can bring abstract meanings, such as the light of values which will light up the darkness of the self and the darkness of ignorance and polytheism.

 Allah (swt) explains to us in this verse that He is the Creator of the heavens and the earth and that He too made darkness and light. But still:

(  ثُمَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِرَبِّهِمْ يَعْدِلُونَ… ) (…Then those who disbelieve equate [others] with their Lord.): The article (Then) used here means that this happens slowly, i.e., over the periods and generations, there are those who equate other creations with Allah (swt).

(  يَعْدِلُونَ… ) (…equate): i.e., they deviate from worshipping Allah (swt) and equate His creations with Him, Glory be to Him, exalted above all that they say!