۞ مَّآ أَشْهَدتُّهُمْ خَلْقَ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَلَا خَلْقَ أَنفُسِهِمْ وَمَا كُنتُ مُتَّخِذَ ٱلْمُضِلِّينَ عَضُدًا
Commentary:
The pronoun "them" refers to Satan and his devotees, and the verse purports to say that those who think that by following in the footsteps of Satan and by having recourse to satanic ways they can make progress in the world suffer from a grievous error. How can they, by making common cause with the Evil Spirit and his tribe, hope to make real and enduring progress when the latter had nothing to do with the creation of the heavens and the earth or with man’s own creation, i.e. all the natural faculties and instincts of man have been implanted in him by God for the promotion of good in the world. So the fleeting and ephemeral material advancement and progress of the people who have forsaken the path of God and have chosen to follow Satan should not make true believers think that God has divorced Himself from the direction and control of the universe and has entrusted its management into the hands of Satan and his devotees. God has ever maintained a firm hold over the affairs of His creatures and the management of the world and will never take leave of it. The triumphs and successes of the sons of Satan are but transitory and man eventually is bound to turn to his Lord and Creator.
A somewhat deeper reflection over the verse reveals the very important fact that in the period with which these verses particularly deal there will be general talk about a new world-order and so-called leaders of political and social thought of the time would seek and claim to establish such a world-order. These spurious leaders are told that they will never succeed in establishing a new world-order which will herald an era of permanent peace, harmony and concord in the world. God has reserved to Himself the consum-mation of this supreme task. He does not need the assistance and cooperation of the sons of darkness to establish such an order. Whenever, in His infallible wisdom, He decrees that such an order shall come into existence, His angels to whom is entrusted the direction of the affairs of the universe create circumstances which contribute to its establishment and promotion. As in the past so in the present time a healthy world-order will come into being on the ashes of the old, decayed and rotten one and mankind will recover from its moral and social ailments. But this new world-order will come into being not through material means but according to God’s own plan and decree and through the agency of a new Adam.
The verse seems to signify that at that time there will be general talk about a new world order which will herald an era of permanent peace and concord in the world and the so-called leaders of political and social thought will seek and claim to establish it, but they will not succeed in their efforts because God has reserved for Himself the consummation of this supreme task.