Tafsir

Allah is the Creator Who arranges the Affairs of the Universe

Allah tells us that He is the Lord of the entire existence. He tells us that He created the heavens and the earth in six days. It was said: "Like these days (meaning our worldly days)." It was also said: "Every day is like a thousand years of what we reckon." Later, this will be discussed further. ثُمَّ اسْتَوَى عَلَى الْعَرْشِ(and then rose over (Istawa) the Throne.)" The Throne is the greatest of the creatures and is like a ceiling for them. Allah's statement: يُدَبِّرُ الاٌّمْرَ(arranging the affair of all things.) means that He controls the affairs of the creatures. لاَ يَعْزُبُ عَنْهُ مِثْقَالُ ذَرَّةٍ فِى السَّمَـوَتِ وَلاَ فِى الاٌّرْضِ(Not even the weight of a speck of dust escapes His Knowledge in the heavens or in the earth.) (34:3) No affair distract' Him from other affairs. No matter troubles Him. The persistent requests of His creatures do not annoy Him. He governs big things as He governs small things everywhere, on the mountains, in the oceans, in populated areas, or in wastelands.

وَمَا مِن دَآبَّةٍ فِي الاٌّرْضِ إِلاَّ عَلَى اللَّهِ رِزْقُهَا(And no moving creature is there on earth but its provision is due from Allah.) (11:6) وَمَا تَسْقُطُ مِن وَرَقَةٍ إِلاَّ يَعْلَمُهَا وَلاَ حَبَّةٍ فِى ظُلُمَـتِ الاٌّرْضِ وَلاَ رَطْبٍ وَلاَ يَابِسٍ إِلاَّ فِى كِتَـبٍ مُّبِينٍ(Not a leaf falls, but He knows it. There is not a grain in the darkness of the earth nor anything fresh or dry, but is written in a Clear Record.) (6:59) Ad-Darawardi narrated from Sa`d bin Ishaq bin Ka`b bin `Ujrah that he said: "When this Ayah was revealed, إِنَّ رَبَّكُمُ اللَّهُ الَّذِى خَلَقَ السَمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضَ(Surely, your Lord is Allah Who created the heavens and the earth) they met a great caravan whom they thought should be Arabs. They said to them: `Who are you' They replied: `We are Jinns. We left Al-Madinah because of this Ayah."' This was recorded by Ibn Abi Hatim.

Allah said: مَا مِن شَفِيعٍ إِلاَّ مِن بَعْدِ إِذْنِهِ(No intercessor (can plead with Him) except after He permits.) This is similar to what is in the following Ayat: مَن ذَا الَّذِى يَشْفَعُ عِندَهُ إِلاَّ بِإِذْنِهِ(Who is he that can intercede with Him except with His permission) (2:255) and, وَكَمْ مِّن مَّلَكٍ فِى السَّمَـوَتِ لاَ تُغْنِى شَفَـعَتُهُمْ شَيْئاً إِلاَّ مِن بَعْدِ أَن يَأْذَنَ اللَّهُ لِمَن يَشَآءُ وَيَرْضَى (And there are many angels in the heavens, whose intercession will avail nothing except after Allah has given leave for whom He wills and is pleased with.)(53:26), and; وَلاَ تَنفَعُ الشَّفَـعَةُ عِندَهُ إِلاَّ لِمَنْ أَذِنَ لَهُ(Intercession with Him profits not except for him whom He permits. )(34:23). Allah then said: ذلِكُمُ اللَّهُ رَبُّكُمْ فَاعْبُدُوهُ أَفَلاَ تَذَكَّرُونَ(That is Allah, your Lord; so worship Him (alone). Then, will you not remember) meaning worship Him alone with no partners.

أَفَلاَ تَذَكَّرُونَ (Then will you not remember) meaning "O idolators, you worship gods with Allah while you know that He alone is the Creator," as He said: وَلَئِن سَأَلْتَهُم مَّنْ خَلَقَهُمْ لَيَقُولُنَّ اللَّهُ(And if you ask them who created them, they will surely say: "Allah.")(43:87), قُلْ مَن رَّبُّ السَّمَـوَتِ السَّبْعِ وَرَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ سَيَقُولُونَ لِلَّهِ قُلْ أَفَلاَ تَتَّقُونَ ("Say: "Who is (the) Lord of the seven heavens, and (the) Lord of the Great Throne They will say: "Allah." Say: "Will you not then have Taqwa") (23:86-87), Similar is mentioned in the Ayah before this Ayah and after it.

In the third verse, the Oneness of Allah (Tauhid) has been proved through the undeniable reality that there is no associate or partner to Allah Ta` ala when it comes to the creation of the heavens and the earth and then to the management and operation of this entire universal system. When this reality stands established, how could someone else be made an associate or partner in His pristine Divinity or in worship for Him and in obedience to Him? In fact, doing so is the highest conceivable injustice.

It was said in this verse that Allah Ta'ala has created the heavens and the earth in six days. But, the day as we know it denotes the time from sunrise to sunset - and it is obvious that the sun did not exist be-fore the creation of the heavens, earth and stars. How then could sunrise and sunset be calculated? Therefore, intended here is the measure of time utilized in between sunrise and sunset.

Making this huge world composed of the heavens, the Earth, the planets and the universe as a whole, ready and functional (a virtual turn-key job, so to say), can only be attributed to the Being who is the purest of the pure and exercises power that is absolute. When He in-tends to create, He needs no raw materials in advance or any staff to assist. Such is the station and degree of His perfect power that He, as and when He intends to create what He wills, creates instantly, with-out any raw materials or personnel or technical support. The time duration of these six days has only been chosen in consideration of His particular wisdom. Otherwise, it was also within His power that He could have created the heavens and the Earth and what it contained in a single instant.

After that it was said: ثُمَّ اسْتَوَىٰ عَلَى الْعَرْ‌شِ (then He took a straight position on the Throne). That which stands proved from the Qur'an, and Hadith is that the Arsh عَرش (Throne) of the Rahman رَحمٰن (the All-Merciful Allah) is some created object which encompasses the entire heavens and the Earth and the whole universe thereof. Thus, seen conversely, all that there is fits into the room inside it. Knowing anymore about its reality is beyond any human effort. No doubt, scientific knowledge in our time is at its zenith. Man is getting ready to reach planets comparatively nearer with mixed measures of success. However, scientists still confess that the distant planets are so far away from us that information about these through available instrumentation cannot be relied upon as a mirror of reality. Then, there are stars in the firmament even light from where has not yet reached our Earth - even though, as we know, the speed of light is 1, 86, 000 miles per second.

When this is the graph of human limitations in scaling planets and stars, how could human efforts to find out what we know as the heavens farther and higher from stars and planets be taken as credible (or even reasonable). And finally, what is believed to be the ` Arsh of the Rahman - encompassing all there is, even above what is termed as the seventh heaven - is a reality seeking access to which through technical ingenuity needs no comment.

So, up to this point, the third verse has told us that Allah Ta` ala created the heavens and the earth and the whole system of the universe in six days, and ` after that He took a position on the Throne'. (The last sentence is a word arrangement in English for the words of the text: ثُمَّ اسْتَوَىٰ عَلَى الْعَرْ‌شِ [ thumma 's-tawa ala 'l-'arsh ] which should be understood in the light of the comments appearing below).

This is certain, and evident enough that Allah, the high and the true, is above and beyond the human concepts of body and mass and of all attributes and characteristics they may have. Neither does His existence relate to any direction or form, nor is His stay in a place like the staying of the things of the world where they belong. Now then, how are we to explain the nature, mode or manner of His staying, establishing or positioning on the ` Arsh or Throne? This can be explained only by saying that these are from what is called ` mutashabihat' (statements of hidden meaning) in the terminology of Qur'an, a phenomena that cannot be comprehended by human reason. Therefore, about it, says the Qur'an: وَمَا يَعْلَمُ تَأْوِيلَهُ إِلَّا اللَّـهُ ۗ وَالرَّ‌اسِخُونَ فِي الْعِلْمِ يَقُولُونَ آمَنَّا بِهِ (no one knows its interpretation except Allah. And those [ who are ] well-grounded in knowledge say: "We believe therein; - 3: 7) - and just do not bother to go digging out its reality.

Therefore, there is a standard approach in all such matters where the attribution of Allah Ta` ala has been made to a place or form, or where words, such as hand, face and shank, have appeared in the Qur'an for Allah Ta` ala. The ` Aqidah (belief) of the majority of the ` Ulama of the Muslim Ummah is that one believes these words to be true in their place, and believes what Allah Ta` ala means by them is correct, and believes that the concern to know about its nature and reality should be set aside as being beyond one's ability to comprehend it.

As for the later day ` Ulama who have suggested some meanings to these things, they have done it only in a degree of probability, even in their own sight. They simply suggest - perhaps, it may mean this. They never say that the meanings they have given are certain. As obvious, probabilities disclose no reality. Therefore, the only simple and straight creed (maslak مَسلَک) is that of the Sababah (Companions), the Tabi` in (Successors to Companions) and the Salaf (the righteous and worthy forebears and elders of the Faith). They were satisfied to live with the approach of entrusting the reality of such matters with Di-vine Knowledge.

This brings us to the next statement: يُدَبِّرُ‌ الْأَمْرَ‌ (He manages all matters). It means that, positioned on the Throne, He Himself manages all universes by virtue of His power. Then, comes the succeeding sentence: مَا مِن شَفِيعٍ إِلَّا مِن بَعْدِ إِذْنِهِ translated as: ` There is no intercessor except after His permission.' It tells us that such is the majesty of Allah Ta'ala that even a Prophet and Messenger cannot intercede on behalf of anyone, on their own, before Him - unless Allah Ta` ala Himself grants them the permission to intercede, without which even they could not do that.