Аль-Хаджж 22:61–72

The Creator and Controller of this World is Allah

Allah tells us that He is the Creator Who directs the affairs of His creation as He wills. He tells us:

(Say: "O Allah! Possessor of the power, You give power to whom You will, and You take power from whom You will, and You endue with honor whom You will, and You humiliate whom You will. In Your Hand is the good. Verily, You are able to do all things. You make the night to enter into the day, and You make the day to enter into the night, You bring the living out of the dead, and You bring the dead out of the living. And You give wealth and sustenance to whom You will, without limit.) 3:26-27 The meaning of "merging" the night into the day and the day into the night is that the one encroaches upon the other, and vice versa. Sometimes the night is long and the day is short, as in winter, and sometimes the day is long and the night is short, as in summer.

(And verily, Allah is All-Hearer, All-Seer.) He hears what His servants say, and He sees them, nothing about them or their movement is hidden from Him whatsoever. When Allah tells us that He is controlling the affairs of all that exists, and that He judges, and there is none to reverse His judgement, He says:

(That is because Allah -- He is the Truth,) meaning, the true God, besides Whom no one deserves worship. He is the Possessor of the greatest sovereignty; whatever He wills happens and whatever He does not will does not happen. Everything is in need of Him and submits to Him.

(and what they invoke besides Him, it is false.) meaning, the idols and false gods. Everything that is worshipped instead of Him -- may He be exalted -- is false, because it can neither bring benefit nor cause harm.

(And verily, Allah -- He is the Most High, the Most Great.) This is like the Ayat:

(and He is the Most High, the Most Great) 42:4

(the Most Great, the Most High) 13:9. Everything is subject to His might and power; there is no God except Him and no Lord besides Him, because He is the Almighty and there is none mightier than He, the Most High and there is none higher than He, the Most Great and there is none greater than He. Exalted, sanctified, and glorified be He far above all that the evildoers say.

Signs of the Power of Allah

This is a further sign of His might and power; that he sends the winds to drive the clouds which deliver rain to the barren land where nothing grows, land which is dry, dusty and desiccated.

(but when We send down water on it, it is stirred (to life), and it swells) 22:5.

(and then the earth becomes green) This indicates the sequence of events and how everything follows on according to its nature. This is like the Ayah:

(Then We made the Nutfah into a clot , then We made the clot into a little lump of flesh) 23:14. It was recorded in the Two Sahihs that between each stage there are forty days. Allah's saying,

(and then the earth becomes green) means, it becomes green after being dry and lifeless. It was reported from some of the people of Al-Hijaz that the land turns green after rainfall. And Allah knows best.

(Verily, Allah is the Most Kind and Courteous, Well-Acquainted with all things.) He knows what seeds are in the various regions of the earth, no matter how small they are. Nothing whatsoever is hidden from Him. Each of those seeds receives its share of water and begins to grow, as Luqman said:

("O my son! If it be equal to the weight of a grain of mustard seed, and though it be in a rock, or in the heavens or in the earth, Allah will bring it forth. Verily, Allah is Subtle, Well-Aware.) 31:16 And Allah says:

(...so they do not worship Allah, Who brings to light what is hidden in the heavens and the earth.) 27:25

(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

(And nothing is hidden from your Lord, the weight of a speck of dust on the earth or in the heaven. Not what is less than that or what is greater than that but it is (written) in a Clear Record.) 10:61

(To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on the earth.) He owns all things, and He has no need of anything besides Himself, everything is in need of Him and in a state of submission to Him.

(See you not that Allah has subjected to you all that is on the earth,) animals, inanimate things, crops and fruits. This is like the Ayah:

(And has subjected to you all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth) 45:13, meaning that all of this is a blessing and out of His kindness.

(and the ships that sail through the sea by His command) That is because He subjugates it to them and makes it easy for them. In the raging sea with its tempestuous waves, the ships sail gently with their passengers and carry them wherever they want to go for trading and other purposes from one land to another, so that they bring goods from here to there, or vice versa, whatever people want or need.

(He withholds the heaven from falling on the earth except by His leave.) If He willed, He could give the sky permission to fall on the earth, and whoever is in it would be killed, but by His kindness, mercy and power, He withholds the heaven from falling on the earth, except by His leave. He says:

(Verily, Allah is for mankind, full of kindness, Most Merciful.) meaning, even though they do wrong. As Allah says elsewhere:

(But verily, your Lord is full of forgiveness for mankind in spite of their wrongdoing. And verily, your Lord is severe in punishment) 13:6.

(It is He, Who gave you life, and then will cause you to die, and will again give you life. Verily, man is indeed Kafurun.) This is like the Ayat:

(How can you disbelieve in Allah Seeing that you were dead and He gave you life. Then He will give you death, then again will bring you to life and then unto Him you will return.) 2:28,

(Say: "Allah gives you life, then causes you to die, then He will assemble you on the Day of Resurrection about which there is no doubt.") 45:26,

(They will say: "Our Lord! You have made us to die twice, and You have given us life twice!") 40:11 So how can you set up rivals to Allah and worship others besides Him when He is the One Who is independent in His powers of creation, provision and control of the existence

(It is He, Who gave you life,) means, He gave you life after you were nothing, and brought you into existence.

(and then will cause you to die, and will again give you life.) means, on the Day of Resurrection.

(Verily, man is indeed Kafurun.) meaning, denying.

Every Nation has its Religious Ceremonies

Allah tells us that He has made Mansak for every nation. Ibn Jarir said, "This means that there are Mansak for every Prophet's nation." He said, "The origin of the word Mansik in Arabic means the place to which a person returns repeatedly, for good or evil purposes. So the Manasik (rites) of Hajj are so called because the people return to them and adhere to them." If the phrase "For every nation We have ordained religious ceremonies" means that every Prophet's nation has its religious ceremonies as ordained by Allah, then the phrase "So let them (the pagans) not dispute with you on the matter" refers to the idolators. If the phrase "For every nation We have ordained religious ceremonies" means that it is the matter of Qadar (divine decree), as in the Ayah,

(For each nation there is a direction to which they face)2:148 Allah says here:

(which they Nasikuh) meaning, which they must act upon. The pronoun here refers back to those who have these religious ceremonies and ways, i.e., they do this by the will and decree of Allah, so do not let their dispute with you over that divert you from following the truth. Allah says:

(but invite them to your Lord. Verily, you indeed are on the straight guidance.) i.e., a clear and straight path which will lead you to the desired end. This is like the Ayah:

(And let them not turn you away from the Ayat of Allah after they have been sent down to you: and invite to your Lord) 28:87

(And if they argue with you, say: "Allah knows best what you do.") This is like the Ayah:

(And if they belie you, say: "For me are my deeds and for you are your deeds! You are innocent of what I do, and I am innocent of what you do!") 10:41

(Allah knows best of what you do.) This is a stern warning and definite threat, as in the Ayah:

(He knows best of what you say among yourselves concerning it! Sufficient is He as a witness between me and you!)46: 8. Allah says here:

(Allah will judge between you on the Day of Resurrection about that wherein you used to differ.) This is like the Ayah:

(So unto this then invite, and stand firm as you are commanded, and follow not their desires but say: "I believe in whatsoever Allah has sent down of the Book.") 42:15

Allah tells us how perfect is His knowledge of His creation, and that He encompasses all that is in the heavens and on earth

Not even the weight of a speck of dust, or less than that or greater escapes His knowledge in the heavens or in the earth. He knows all things even before they happen, and He has written that in His Book, Al-Lawh Al-Mahfuz, as was reported in Sahih Muslim from `Abdullah bin `Amr, who said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

«إِنَّ اللهَ قَدَّرَ مَقَادِيرَ الْخَلَائِقِ قَبْلَ خَلْقِ السَّموَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ بِخَمْسِينَ أَلْفَ سَنَةٍ، وَكَانَ عَرْشُهُ عَلَى الْمَاء»

(Allah issued His decrees concerning the measurement and due proportion of the creatures fifty thousand years before He created the heavens and the earth, and His Throne was over the water.) In the Sunan, it was reported from a group of the Companions that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

«أَوَّلُ مَا خَلَقَ اللهُ الْقَلَمُ، قَالَ لَهُ: اكْتُبْ، قَالَ: وَ مَا أَكْتُبُ؟ قَالَ: اكْتُبْ مَا هُوَ كَائِنٌ، فَجَرَى الْقَلَمُ بِمَا هُوَ كَائِنٌ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَة»

(The first thing that Allah created was the Pen. He said to it, "Write!" It said, "What should I write" He said, "Write what will happen," so the Pen wrote everything that will happen until the Day of Resurrection.) Allah says:

إِنَّ ذلِكَ فِى كِتَبٍ إِنَّ ذلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ يَسِيرٌ

(Verily, it is (all) in the Book. Verily, that is easy for Allah.)

The Idolators' worship of others besides Allah and Their vehement rejection of the Ayat of Allah

Allah tells us that the idolators, in their ignorance and disbelief, worship besides Allah others which He has sent down no authority for, i.e., no proof or evidence for such behavior. This is like the Ayah:

(And whoever calls upon, besides Allah, any other god, of whom he has no proof; then his reckoning is only with his Lord. Surely, the disbelievers will not be successful.) 23:117 So Allah says here:

(for which He has sent down no authority, and of which they have no knowledge;) meaning, they have no knowledge in the subject that they fabricate lies about; it is only something which was handed down to them from their fathers and ancestors, with no evidence or proof, and its origins lie in that which the Shaytan beautified for them and made attractive to them. Allah warned them:

(and for the wrongdoers there is no helper.) meaning, no one to help them against Allah when He sends His punishment and torment upon them. Then Allah says:

(And when Our clear Ayat are recited to them, ) means, when the Ayat of the Qur'an and clear evidence and proof for Tawhid of Allah are mentioned to them, and they are told that there is no god besides Allah and that the Messengers spoke the truth,

(They are nearly ready to attack with violence those who recite Our Ayat to them.) then they nearly attack and do harm to those who bring proof to them from the Qur'an, and cause them harm using their tongues and hands.

(Say) O Muhammad to these people,

(Shall I tell you of something worse than that The Fire which Allah has promised to those who disbelieved,) The fire and wrath and torment of Allah are far worse than that with which you are trying to scare the believing close friends of Allah in this world. The punishment in the Hereafter for these deeds of yours is worse than that what you claim you want to do to the believers.

(and worst indeed is that destination!) how terrible is the Fire as a final destination and abode!

(Evil indeed it is as an abode and as a place to rest in. ) 25:66