( وَلَقَدْ ذَرَأْنَا) (And We have certainly created): The Arabic word which translated into (Created) literally means ‘to spread’ or ‘to scatter’.

( لِجَهَنَّمَ كَثِيرًا مِّنَ الْجِنِّ وَالْإِنسِ) (for Hell many of the jinn and mankind): Some people might ask: ‘As long as Allah (swt) create them solely for Hell, why are they held accountable?’ as it may appear from the verse. Here, it is crucial to clarify that lack of knowledge in the Arabic language, its grammatical structures, and the science of interpreting the Holy Quran may elude the minds of deniers and the ignorant. Islam is a religion of reason, knowledge, and action. It does not accept anything unless scrutinized by reason. This fact is crystal clear in Allah’s (swt) saying:

وَلَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ

(and that they might give thought) (An-Nahl: 44)

 أَفَلَا يَتَدَبَّرُونَ

(Then do they not reflect) (An-Nisaa: 82)

(To reflect upon something) means to contemplate matters using intellect.

Thus, no one can claim to have a better appreciation of mind and reason over Islam, the Holy Quran, or the Sunnah of our Prophet (saws) because that would be considered as total ignorance. Indeed, intellect means to think based on evidence and proof. We know that Allah (swt) has created many objects in the universe as willingly worshippers and obedient:

 ثُمَّ اسْتَوَىٰ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ وَهِيَ دُخَانٌ فَقَالَ لَهَا وَلِلْأَرْضِ ائْتِيَا طَوْعًا أَوْ كَرْهًا قَالَتَا أَتَيْنَا طَائِعِينَ

(Then He directed Himself to the heaven while it was smoke and said to it and to the earth, “Come [into being], willingly or by compulsion.” They said, “We have come willingly.”) (Fussilat: 11)

   أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَسْجُدُ لَهُ مَن فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَن فِي الْأَرْضِ وَالشَّمْسُ وَالْقَمَرُ وَالنُّجُومُ وَالْجِبَالُ وَالشَّجَرُ وَالدَّوَابُّ وَكَثِيرٌ مِّنَ النَّاسِ ۖ وَكَثِيرٌ حَقَّ عَلَيْهِ الْعَذَابُ

(Do you not see that to Allah prostrates whoever is in the heavens and whoever is on the earth and the sun, the moon, the stars, the mountains, the trees, the moving creatures and many of the people? But upon many the punishment has been justified.) (Al-Hajj: 18)

In this aforementioned verse, ‘many’ is mentioned with ‘people’ because some will obey while others will not out of their free will. So, in the verse of discussion, Allah (swt) says: (And We have certainly created for Hell many of the jinn and mankind), we have a particular particle in Arabic which is translated here as (for). This particle is used to state the consequence which occurred in a way that might not have been the same as that which you intended and wanted. This means that the ultimate objective behind the creation of man is to worship Him (swt), not created them to go to Hell. Allah (swt) says:

وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ

(And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.) (Adh-Dhaariyat: 56)

The same article is used in the lateral verse (to), but it indicates reason or cause. To worship Allah (swt) is not only to pray, fast, go to pilgrimage, and pay alms, but it is each good deed that causes goodness for others. If a peasant working on the field is working with the fear of Allah (swt) in his heart, then his work is considered as an act of worship. The same goes for a worker in a factory or an employee at his desk. Each person who does something that leads to goodness upon others is considered as an act of worship. Thus, the question of why would Allah (swt) hold people accountable for their deeds as long as He (swt) has created many people and jinn for Hell is an invalid question, because they were not created for Hell, but rather to worship Allah (swt), and consequently who disobeys will go to Hell. Herewith we understand that the particle used in this current verse is particularly for consequences. This same particle is used in the verse which talks about the mother of Prophet Moses (PBUH) when she threw him in the river, Allah (swt) says:

  فَالْتَقَطَهُ آلُ فِرْعَوْنَ لِيَكُونَ لَهُمْ عَدُوًّا وَحَزَنًا

(And the family of Pharaoh picked him up [out of the river] so that he would become to them an enemy and a [cause of] grief) (Al-Qasas: 8)

The Arabic text of the verse uses the same particle (so that) which mentioned in the previous two verses, it is not used to indicate reason and cause. The family of the Pharaoh would have let Prophet Moses (PBUH) drown had they known that he (PBUH) will become their enemy and a cause of grief for them, but they rather picked him up to bring them joy and love. Hence, this particle is used to sequence; meaning that this was the result of what happened, that he (PBUH) became an enemy of Pharao.

( لَهُمْ قُلُوبٌ لَّا يَفْقَهُونَ بِهَا وَلَهُمْ أَعْيُنٌ لَّا يُبْصِرُونَ بِهَا وَلَهُمْ آذَانٌ لَّا يَسْمَعُونَ بِهَا ) (They have hearts with which they do not understand, they have eyes with which they do not see, and they have ears with which they do not hear): What are the reasons that Allah (swt) created for Hell many of the jinn and mankind while they are the only two types of creatures in the universe that have the choice to be obedient or disobedient. Allah (swt) has destined many of them to Hell because of their disobedience.:

(They have hearts with which they do not understand): (To understand) means to comprehend something, and when we say “the comprehension of the heart,” it refers to comprehending the issues to distinguish what is good and what is bad. In other words, the heart is the locus of this understanding; however, when the heart does not comprehend, and the eye does not see signs of Allah (swt), and the ear does not hear the remembrance of Allah (swt), then these individuals are like cattle, rather, they are even more astray. That is because the animals lack the intellect to distinguish what is good and what is bad through their senses. Therefore, when a person negates the intellect that enables him to select between alternatives and does not use the senses in the right way, then such an individual becomes even more misguided than cattle.

( أُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْغَافِلُونَ ) (It is they who are the heedless): The heedless ones are those who overlook the reality that this universe has a Creator (swt) and that Allah (swt) is the One Who issues commands. The existence of humans in this life is contingent upon obedience to the Creator (swt) of this life. One cannot regulate for himself what he desires, claiming that there is no God, or acknowledging his love to Allah (swt) but claiming that he is free to do as he pleases. The response is:

You disobey God while professing your love for Him,

Indeed, in my life, this is a wondrous paradox.

If your love were sincere, you would obey Him,

Truly, the lover is obedient to the one they love.

Worship involves obedience, doing what is allowed and avoiding what is forbidden. These are the limits set by Allah (swt). To claim belief in Allah (swt) while nullifying His commands and laws is a false claiming of faith in Him (swt).