Home > Surah 37 - Those Who Set the Ranks
Introduction to the Verse:
The Surah touches briefly on the mission of the Prophet Elijah (Ilyas) as he confronts his pagan contemporaries over their idol worship.
The Quran Verse
Surah 37:123–125:
And indeed, Elijah was among the messengers, When he said to his people, 'Will you not fear Allah? Do you call upon Baal and leave the best of creators (aḥsana l-khāliqīn)?'
Elijah asks his people how they can worship the idol Baal while abandoning the "best of creators."
The Linguistic Inconsistency:
The phrase "best of creators" is a superlative that implies the existence of a pool of other creators, among whom Allah is simply the most skilled.
For a text that fiercely preaches absolute, uncompromised monotheism (Tawhid), using a phrase that grammatically validates the existence of other creators is highly problematic. While apologists argue "creator" here means human inventors or fashioners, the context is explicitly contrasting God with a false deity (Baal), making the use of a polytheistic linguistic idiom a glaring theological oversight.