Section 2
Allah, the Almighty Creator
of the Universe
The Glory, the Might and All- Supreme Authority of Allah related - He knows everything and every action be it hidden or open - His Might incomparable - His Wrath irresistible - Everything in the heavens and in the earth willingly or unwillingly makes obedience to Him - The abode of the wicked shall be Hell.
(8) اللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ ما تَحْمِلُ كُلُّ أُنْثى وَ ما تَغيضُ الْأَرْحامُ وَ ما تَزْدادُ وَ كُلُّ شَيْ ءٍ عِنْدَهُ بِمِقْدارٍ
8. " Allah knows what every female carries (in her womb) and what the wombs absorb and (that) in which they increase, and there is a measure with Him of everything. "
Commentary:
At first, the verse deals with Allah's knowledge as to the carrying by female of whatever it is pregnant with, whether it has got any womb like human beings or animals, or it has got no wombs like in animate objects or plants. Later, allusion is made to the beings which have got wombs.
The Arabic term/ qayd/ means handling (of the sperm) into oneself or infiltration. That is, Allah is aware of that 'water' which is absorbed by the womb and which undergoes alterations and growth.
At any rate, one finds that the holy verse deals with the comprehensive knowledge of Allah namely, His knowledge of the system of creation and of His subjects' behavior and, finally, of everything.
At first, the Qur'an implies that Allah is aware of what every female carries in her womb. Not only does He know of the gender and sexuality of the foetus, but He also is aware of all the characteristics, potentialities, interests, and his inherent potential powers as well. And He also knows all the shortcomings of the wombs which they may throw away before the time is ripe. The verse says:
" Allah knows what every female carries (in her womb) and what the wombs absorb and (that) in which they increase, ..."
And everything has got its measures with Allah, so that one may not think that all these extremes, whether less or more, are for no reason, as is the case with the parts of the foetus and womb's blood which are accountable by all means. The verse continues saying:
"... and there is a measure with Him of everything. "
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(9) عالِمُ الْغَيْبِ وَ الشَّهادَةِ الْكَبيرُ الْمُتَعالِ
9. " He knows the unseen and the seen, He is the Great, the Most High. "
Commentary:
The seen and the unseen is an issue involved only in the finite man whose five senses are even more limited than those of many animals. However, such a matter does not sound meaningful for Allah Who is the Creator of the world of unseen and that of the seen. The verse says:
" He knows the unseen and the seen, He is the Great, the Most High. "
Imam Sadiq (a.s.) has declared on the first phrase of the above verse that:
The unseen signifies what has not existed and/ ahadat/ (seen) signifies what has existed already. (Tafsir- i- Burhan) .
In the meantime, Allah (s.w.t.) is superior in every aspect of perfection and is cleared of whatever default and defect there might be.
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(10) سَواءٌ مِنْكُمْ مَنْ أَسَرَّ الْقَوْلَ وَ مَنْ جَهَرَ بِهِ وَ مَنْ هُوَ مُسْتَخْفٍ بِاللَّيْلِ وَ سارِبٌ بِالنَّهار
10. " It is alike (for Him) whether any of you conceals his speech or speaks openly, and whether he hides himself by night or he who exposes himself during day- time.
Commentary:
This noble verse, which is apparently an explanation of and complementary to the previous verse, is one of the many verses of the Qur'an which refers to Allah's knowledge as to the small and big, open and hidden acts of man and even man's thought and intentions. If men believe in such knowledge by Allah, it can be the best factor in one's modesty and virtue and the greatest means for one's education for it can encourage the righteous and warn the evildoers.
It is interesting that, in this verse Allah has mentioned the fact of His knowledge unto the secret speech and hidden acts done at night before referring to open words and the manifest activities in the day. The verse says:
" It is alike (for Him) whether any of you conceals his speech or speaks openly, and whether he hides himself by night or he who exposes himself during day- time.
The Arabic term/ sarib/ is derived from/ sarib/ which originally means 'running water' though it also refers to the one who goes on with a job during the day.
At any rate, Allah's knowledge is identical with respect to all things, unlike our knowledge and our awareness is relative with respect to the things, in some cases it is deeper while in other cases, it is less deep or at zero point in some cases.
(11) لَهُ مُعَقِّباتٌ مِنْ بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَ مِنْ خَلْفِهِ يَحْفَظُونَهُ مِنْ أَمْرِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يُغَيِّرُ ما بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّى يُغَيِّرُوا ما بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ وَ إِذا أَرادَ اللَّهُ بِقَوْمٍ سُوْءاً فَلا مَرَدَّ لَهُ وَ ما لَهُمْ مِنْ دُونِهِ مِنْ والٍ
11. " There are (angels) in succession, before him and behind him, who protect him by Allah's command. Verily, Allah does not change the condition of a people until they change their own condition. And if Allah intends evil upon a people, there is no turning it back; and they have, apart from Him, no protector. "
Commentary:
The Qur'anic term/ mu'aqqibat/ is the Arabic plural form of/ mu'aqqibah/ and the ending letter 't', included in it, does not allude to its grammatical gender as feminine, rather, it implies exaggeration like the Arabic word/ 'allamah/. Therefore, the subject of the term/ yahfaz unahu/ is masculine. Certainly, the purpose in the Qur'anic term/ mu'aqqibat/ is not to be considered as chasing and hunting man so as to be regarded as incompatible with the phrase/ bayna yadayh/ ( before him and behind him) . On the contrary, it refers to succession and consecutive arrival of the angels during, day and night.
The Qur'anic phrase/ 'amrullah/, mentioned in this verse, does not imply the penalty and punishment of Allah, for it does not make any sense to say that the angels protect man from Divine punishment, but it implies that they protect man from dangers and natural accidents; since the nature has been
created by Allah and whatever goes on in it, is done in accordance with His will.
Many verses of the Qur'an and Islamic traditions indicate that there are angels that guard and protect human beings from dangers and calamities and record their deeds. They protect them from those dangers which are not seriously ordained under the Will of Allah. Based upon the Islamic narrations in conformity with the Will of Allah, on various occasions, the protecting angels are allowed to abandon their role and allow some harm to come to man in accordance with Divine wisdom. Certainly, according to the inferences from quotations, as soon as the decisive Will of Allah arrives, the protecting angels abandon their protection mission and leave man to his doom and death which is certain to happen.
Thus there are two sides to Allah's commandments: those that are certain to happen and those that are not certain. The angels only save man from those accidents which are not certain to occur. It goes without saying that such a protection in fact does not relieve man of his duties and freedom of choice. The destinies of individuals and nations are always in their own hands.
The protection of angels is not confined to that of the lives of men but it also involves their acts as well as their faith and thought against deviations and satanic temptations as the Qur'anic term/ yahfazounahou/ includes both the soul and the body.
Imam Sajjad (a.s.) , alluding to this verse, said: The sins which alter blessings consist of: Oppressing the people, ingratitude of Allah, abandoning of the good deeds which one is used to do. (Nur- uth- Thaqalayn)
This holy verse deals with human societies and not with individuals one by one. That is, a decent righteous society is
covered by Allah's blessings, and a deviant one will get entangled with the Divine punishment. However, this formula does not adapt to the case of a righteous individual and an indecent one, for one may be righteous though he may, for divine trial or experimental purposes, get involved with difficulties; or one may be viscous though he may be momentarily left to himself for the respite given to him by Allah.
Any way, we read in the foregoing verse that because of the fact that 'He knows the Unseen and the Seen', Allah is aware of the visible as well as the invisible nature of men and is Omnipresent and Omnipotent.
The Qur'an adds in this verse that in addition to this, Allah is also the Protector and Guardian of His servants. There are agents commissioned for men to oversee things around man consecutively and to protect him from evil events. The verse says:
" There are (angels) in succession, before him and behind him, who protect him by Allah's command. ..."
However, to enable one not to mix every thing that such a protection and guardianship is unconditional and one can throw oneself down the pit and get involved in random acts or commit every kind of sin which merits Divine penalties, still expecting Allah's angels to protect him, the Qur'an adds:
"... Verily, Allah does not change the condition of a people until they change their own condition. ..."
To avoid any misunderstanding as to the meaningfulness of Divine punishments despite the existence of Divine agents whose mission is to protect man, the Qur'an adds at the end of the verse that once Allah determines to inflict penalties on a nation or a population there is no reversal or defense for that
nation, which will have no protector except Allah. The verse continues saying:
"... And if Allah intends evil upon a people, there is no turning it back; and they have, apart from Him, no protector. "
It is for this reason that once Allah's decree is issued as to the punishment or annihilation of a nation, the guardians and the protectors distance themselves, submitting man to his doom.
The Alterations Must Have Their Onset in Ourselves.
The Qur'anic sentence: "... Verily, Allah does not change the condition of a people until they change any alterations in the mood of any their own condition ..." which has been mentioned throughout the Qur'an on two occasions with a slight difference, reflects a general and universal law.
This Qur'anic principle, which explains one of the most important social programs of Islam, informs us that whatever external changes which occur rest on the internal changes of nations and tribes, and whatever victory or defeat is inflicted upon a nation usually has its origin in this principle. Therefore, those who seek external factors for their self- acquittal are indeed mistaken, for if such infernal powers have not got any basis within a society, they are left crippled.
This Qur'anic principle implies that in order to put an end to all misfortunes and miseries, one must turn to a revolution from within, a revolution in thinking and in culture, a revolution in faith and in ethics. In cases of miseries and deadlocks, one must immediately turn to the discovery of weak points in oneself and clear one's soul and self from them by reconstructing himself with repentance and returning to
Allah in order to wash his soul and self and to have a rebirth and a renaissance and convert one's defeats and frustrations into success.
Thereby, we all know that Allah's Will stands as superior to all wills, and His protection extends as far as man does not spoil His blessings. Otherwise, one would be deprived of the Divine favour and would be left to him.
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(12) هُوَ الَّذي يُريكُمُ الْبَرْقَ خَوْفاً وَ طَمَعاً وَ يُنْشِئُ السَّحابَ الثِّقالَ
12. " It is He Who shows you the lightning for fear and hope and produces heavy clouds. "
Commentary:
The blissful Qur'an once again here deals with the monotheistic verses and the signs of Allah's magnitude and glory as well as the secrets of creation.
At first, it alludes to the lightning which emerges from within the pieces of clouds, and implies that it is Allah Who offers you the lightning which is a source of fear as well as of greed. The verse says:
" It is He Who shows you the lightning for fear and hope ..."
On the one hand, its shining rays astound one's eyes and generate and incite terror in him.
On the other hand, as it is usually accompanied by raining which offers the thirsty desert pure water, and waters the trees and fields, it creates hope and incites greed in man, between which, he passes sensitive moments.
Then the Qur'an declares that it is He Who creates heavy clouds which are fully- loaded and which are capable of watering thirsty lands. The verse continues saying:
" ... and produces heavy clouds. "
The main thing to remember is that although natural causes pave the way for the emergence of thunder and lightning, nevertheless, the true source and origin of all these factors is Allah. The discovery of the laws of physics and chemistry of the nature must not diminish in any way our faith in Allah, for the nature and its laws are themselves created by Allah.
(13) وَ يُسَبِّحُ الرَّعْدُ بِحَمْدِهِ وَ الْمَلائِكَةُ مِنْ خيفَتِهِ وَ يُرْسِلُ الصَّواعِقَ فَيُصيبُ بِها مَنْ يَشاءُ وَ هُمْ يُجادِلُونَ فِي اللَّهِ وَ هُوَ شَديدُ الْمِحالِ
13. " And The thunder glorifies Him with His praise, and the angels, too, in awe of Him; and He sends the thunderbolts so as to smite with them whomever He pleases, while they dispute about Allah, and He is mighty in wrath. "
Commentary:
This noble verse deals with the thunderbolt which is never separable from lightning. The verse says:
" And The thunder glorifies Him with His praise, ..."
Certainly, this vibrating echoing sound of the world of nature, which is coupled with the lightning phenomenon, both act towards one goal which is the glorification of Allah. In other words, the thunder is a vocal expression of lightning, which reveals the nature of the system of creation and the magnitude of the Creator.
Not only the sound of the thunder and other particles of the material world glorify and thank Him, but all the angels are also busy thanking praising Him because of their awe and fear. The verse continues saying:
"... and the angels, too, in awe of Him; ..."
The divine angels are frightened that they might have had shortcomings and failures as to the execution of their duties and responsibilities assigned to them by Allah in the system of existence, thus facing Divine punishment. We know well that the duties and responsibilities have always been awe inspiring
and frightening for those who feel responsible, that kind of constructive fear which derives and directs them to action.
