Verses 7–16

Chapter 13: Al-Ra’d (The Thunder) · Printed edition: Volume 22, pp. 120–158

These verses respond to the idolaters’ polemical question, ‘Why has not some sign been sent down to him from his Lord?’ and refute it by asserting that the Messenger’s role is merely to warn, as God has sent him according to the divine modus operandi of guiding humankind toward the truth. This is then elaborated below.

وَيَقُولُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ لَوْلا أُنزِلَ عَلَيْهِ آيَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّهِ إِنَّمَا أَنتَ مُنذِرٌ وَلِكُلِّ قَوْمٍ هَادٍ ٧

(13:7) The faithless say, ‘Why has not some sign been sent down to him from his Lord?’ You are only a warner, and there is a guide for every people.

This verse is not intended as a repetition of the earlier verse where it says: “They would press you for evil sooner than for good … () referring to a decisive sign that distinguishes between truth and falsehood, which leads to the nations destruction, as this is not supported by the context. If that were the intention, it would have been more appropriate to say: ‘And they say, “Why has not...” etc.

Key Debate: A Guide for Every People →

Rather, what is meant is that they are demanding another sign from the Prophet besides the Qurʾan that demonstrates the truth of his claim to be a prophet. They belittled the Qurʾan, displayed a lack of concern for it, and demanded another miraculous sign, like those given to Moses, Jesus, and others. Their saying: ‘Why has not some sign been sent down to him …?’ was a veiled reference to the Qur’an.

When God says, You are only a warner, and there is a guide for every people, it provides the Prophet with an answer. Directing the address to him alone, without instructing him to convey the answer to them, indirectly suggests that they do not merit a response due to their lack of understanding and the absence of the necessary level of intellect and comprehension in them. This is because their demand for a sign is based on their wrongheaded assumption—as many Qurʾanic references to this topic indicate—that it is obligatory for the Messenger to have absolute supernatural power over everything he wants, such that he can produce whatever he wants, and he must produce whatever is demanded of him.

The verses counter their demand: ‘Why has not some sign been sent down to him from his Lord?’ by emphasizing that the Messenger is merely a human like them, sent by God to warn them of God’s punishment and caution them against arrogantly refusing to worship Him and causing corruption on Earth. This is based on the divine modus operandi that prevails throughout His creation, that He guides everything toward its desired perfection and directs His servants toward what is beneficial for their worldly life and the hereafter.

The Messenger, being a human like them, does not possess harm or benefit, death or life, or resurrection in of himself. His only duty is to convey the message of his Lord. As for signs and miracles, they are up to God to send down as He wills and however He wills. Therefore, demanding that the Messenger produce such signs is pure ignorance.

Therefore, the meaning of the verse is: ‘They demand a sign from you—even though they have the Qurʾan, the best sign, right in front of them—and you have nothing to do with that. You are only a guide who guides them through the path of warning. It is God’s modus operandi among His servants to send a guide in every community to guide them to the truth.’

The verse indicates that the Earth is never devoid of a guide who leads people to the truth, whether it is a warning prophet or another guide who guides people by God’s command. Some related matters were dealt with in our discussions on prophethood and the imāmate earlier in this commentary.

اللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَحْمِلُ كُلُّ أُنثَى وَمَا تَغِيضُ الأَرْحَامُ وَمَا تَزْدَادُ وَكُلُّ شَيْءٍ عِندَهُ بِمِقْدَارٍ ٨

(13:8) Allah knows what every female carries, and what the wombs reduce (mā taʿghīḍu al-arḥām) and what they increase, and everything is by measure with Him,

In the Mufradāt, al-Rāghib says: ‘The verb ghāḍa means to decrease or to be decreased by something else. God has said: The waters receded (ghīḍ al-māʾ) (). The verse, and what the wombs reduce (mā taʿghīḍu al-arḥām), means what the wombs lose, making it like the water that the earth absorbs. The place where water stands and is absorbed is called a ghīḍa and the adjective ghāʾiḍ refers to a dark night.’

According to this, it makes most sense that the three matters mentioned in the verse—namely what every female carries, what the wombs reduce, and what they increase—refer to three functions of the womb during pregnancy. What every female carries is the fetus that she nurtures and protects. What the wombs reduce is the menstrual blood that is stored in them and which the womb uses to nourish the fetus. What they exceed is the blood that they expel, such as postpartum blood or the spotting sometimes seen during pregnancy, which is evident from some of what was narrated from the Imāms of the Prophet’s Household and is sometimes also attributed to Ibn ʿAbbās.

Most commentators believe that what is meant by what the wombs reduce is the time that the wombs fall short of the full term of pregnancy, which is nine months, and what is meant by what they increase is what goes beyond that.

However, this reading lacks supporting evidence, as reducing’ in this sense is a kind of figurative, which would require a contextual clue in the verse. However, no such clue exists.

Some narrate that what is meant by what the wombs reduce is what falls short of the minimum term of pregnancy, which is six months, referring to a miscarriage, and what they increase refers to what is born at the maximum term of pregnancy. Others suggest that reduce refers to a decrease in term and increase refers to an increase in it.

The two readings can be refuted in the same manner as the previous one. It has been noted that the most suitable interpretation, in the context of the verse, is that ‘reducing’ and ‘increasing’ refer to the decrease and increase in the blood that is discharged into the womb.

As for the passage, and everything is by measure (bi-miqdār) with Him: The word miqdār refers to the limit that defines and distinguishes a thing from others. Every existing thing is necessarily defined in itself and distinguished from others, otherwise, it would not exist at all.

This idea, namely that everything is accompanied by a measure and linked to a limit that it does not exceed, is a Qurʾanic truth repeatedly mentioned in God’s words, such as His saying: Certainly Allah has set a measure for everything (), and His saying: There is not a thing but that its sources are with Us, and We do not send it down except in a known measure (), among other verses.

If a thing is limited by a boundary that it cannot cross, and that limit is set for it by God that it will not overstep, and nothing is hidden from His knowledge, as He said: “Indeed Allah is witness to all things (); and: Look! He indeed comprehends all things! (); and: not an atom’s weight escapes Him (Saba: 3), it is impossible for God not to know what every female carries, what the wombs reduce, and what they increase.

Therefore, the end of the present verse, namely and everything is by measure with Him, explains the beginning of it, which is Allah knows what every female carries, and what the wombs reduce and what they increase. This verse and what follows it serve as a coda to the previous verses that stated that God knows everything, has power over everything, answers those who call on Him, and that everything is subject to Him. Therefore, He is most deserving of Lordship. So, the matter of the signs is up to Him, not you, for you are only a warner.

عَالِمُ الْغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ الْكَبِيرُ الْمُتَعَالِ ٩

(13:9) the Knower of the sensible and the Unseen, the All-great, the All-sublime.

This verse presents the Unseen (al-ghayb) and the sensible (al-shahāda) as a pair of relative terms, as we have seen on numerous occasions throughout the Qurʾan. Hence, a thing can be unseen in relation to one thing but sensible in relation to another. This is because things, as we have already discussed, are inevitably bound by limits they remain within and cannot overstep. A thing that exists within the boundary of another thing and is not outside of it is considered sensible in relation to it because it is perceivable. By contrast, a thing that exists beyond the boundary of another thing and is not within it is considered unseen in relation to it because the latter cannot perceive it.

Based on this, it becomes apparent that only God Almighty knows the Unseen absolutely. As for the Unseen becoming known to something, it is because knowledge is a form of encompassment, and there is no sense in a thing encompassing what is outside the bounds of its existence and therefore alien to its comprehension. But God Almighty knows the Unseen because He, the Exalted, is not limited in existence by any boundary, and He encompasses all things, so nothing is screened from Him by a boundary. Therefore, not a single thing is unseen to Him, even if it is posited to be unseen to all others.

The meaning of His knowledge of the sensible and the Unseen essentially devolves to the fact that there is nothing unseen to Him. Rather, both the sensible and the Unseen, which are realized among things by comparing some to others, are both plainly visible to Him. The meaning of the words, the Knower of the sensible and the Unseen, is that what can be known by the masters of knowledge, which is what does not go beyond the boundary of their existence, and what they cannot know because it is Unseen, being beyond the boundary of their existence, are both known and visible to Him, the Exalted, due to the fact that He encompasses all things.

This verse invokes the two divine names, the All-great, the All-sublime (al-Kabīr al-Mutaʿāl). Al-Kabīr is derived from kubr (‘greatness’), which is the opposite of ṣughr (‘smallness’)—yet another example of relative meanings: When bodies are measured against each other in terms of their varying sizes, whatever contains the size of the other and more is considered great, and what is not like that is considered small. Then people expanded this estimation to non-bodies. What is suitable for His sacred domain, the Exalted, from the meaning of grandeur, is that He, the Exalted, possesses every perfection of a thing and encompasses it, so He, the Exalted, is All-great, meaning He has the perfection of everything that is perfect and even more still.

Meanwhile, al-Mutaʿāl is derived from taʿālī, which means to reach great heights, as indicated by the verse, Immaculate is He, and greatly exalted above what they say (taʿālā ʿammā yaqūlūn ʿuluwwan kabīran) (). In this verse, ʿuluwwan kabīran is an absolute object (mafʿūl muṭlaq) for the verb taʿālā (‘to be above’). Therefore, God is high and exalted. As for His being high, it is because He is above everything and dominates it, and highness is domination. As for His being All-sublime, it is because He has the utmost highness, as His highness is greater in comparison to every other kind of highness, so He is the Most High, the Dominant above everything high from every angle.

Therefore, God’s saying: the Knower of the sensible and the Unseen, can be seen in a new light when followed by His saying: the All-great, the All-sublime. The combined implication of the two names is that God Almighty encompasses everything, dominates it, is not dominated by anything, and cannot be overcome by anything in any way. Therefore, He knows the unseen as easily as He knows the sensible, and He is not dominated or overcome by any unseen so that it could be absent from His knowledge, just as He is not dominated by any sensible thing. Thus, He is the Knower of the unseen and the sensible because He is great and sublime.

سَوَاء مِّنكُم مَّنْ أَسَرَّ الْقَوْلَ وَمَن جَهَرَ بِهِ وَمَنْ هُوَ مُسْتَخْفٍ بِاللَّيْلِ وَسَارِبٌ بِالنَّهَارِ ١٠

(13:10) It is the same whether any of you speaks secretly, or does so loudly, or whether he lurks in the night, or is open to view in daytime (sāribun bi al-nahār).

The root sarab or surūb means to go downhill, for tears to flow, or to follow any path. Therefore, the sārib is one who follows a path and announces to others that he is doing so.

This verse can be read as following logically from the previous one. In other words, if God Almighty knows the unseen and the sensible equally, then it is the same whether you conceal your speech or declare it. God knows and hears their speech and their conversations, without the secrets of those who conceal their speech being hidden from Him. It is also the same whether you hide by night, taking advantage of the darkness and the cover it provides to hide yourself from the eyes of observers, or whether you go forth by day, openly traveling your path without hiding yourself. God knows about both equally well, without the one using the night to conceal his plotting being hidden from Him.

لَهُ مُعَقِّبَاتٌ مِّن بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِ يَحْفَظُونَهُ مِنْ أَمْرِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّى يُغَيِّرُواْ مَا بِأَنفُسِهِمْ وَإِذَا أَرَادَ اللَّهُ بِقَوْمٍ سُوءًا فَلاَ مَرَدَّ لَهُ وَمَا لَهُم مِّن دُونِهِ مِن وَالٍ ١١

(13:11) He has guardian angels (muʿaqqibāt), to his front and his rear, who guard him by Allah’s command. Indeed Allah does not change a people’s lot, unless they change what is in their souls. And when Allah wishes to visit ill on a people, there is nothing that can avert it, and they have no protector besides Him.

It appears that the four pronouns—He has … to his front … his rear … guard him—all refer back to the same thing. There is no suitable referent for all of them except what is in the previous verse, meaning the relative pronoun in His saying: It is the same whether any of you (min-kum man) speaks secretly. This human being, who God knows in all of his states, is the one who has guardian angels before and behind him. Muʿaqqibāt is derived from the verb taʿqīb, which means to follow something or come from behind it (al-ityān min ʿaqabi-hi). Therefore, when God says that these muʿaqqibāt are coming to his front and his rear only makes sense if, as this person is traveling on a path, these angels are circulating around him. Indeed, God has often compared the human being’s condition in this world to that of a traveler on a journey, saying things like: O man! You are laboring toward your Lord laboriously, and you will encounter Him (), and in the same vein are the verses describing his eventual return to his Lord, such as His saying: … to whom you shall be brought back (), … and to Him you will be returned (). So, the human being, while he is traveling to his Lord, has angels who watch over him from in front of and behind him.

Based on this, it becomes clear that a human being is not just this physical body and material form, but rather, a being composed of a soul and a body. The main aspect to which all matters refer is the soul. It is the soul that feels and desires, to which commands and prohibitions are directed, and upon which reward and punishment, comfort and pain, happiness and misery are based. It is from the soul that good and bad deeds originate, and to it are attributed the states of faith and disbelief. The body is like a tool that it uses to achieve its aims and purposes.

With this understanding in mind, the meaning of what is in front of and behind a human being expands to include all physical and spiritual matters. All physical bodies and material entities that surround the human body throughout his life, some are in front of him and some are behind him. Similarly, all the psychological stages a human being goes through on his journey to God, and the spiritual states he experiences, such as closeness and distance, happiness and misery, good and bad deeds, and what has been stored for him of reward and punishment, all of these are either behind him or before him. These muʿaqqibāt that God has mentioned in the verse play a role in all of this, inasmuch as they are related to the human being.

The human being, whom God described as not possessing for himself harm or benefit, nor death nor life nor resurrection, is unable to protect anything of himself, nor the effects of himself on the world, whether these are with him or not. Rather, it is God who protects them for him. God said: Allah is watchful over them (), and He said: and your Lord is watchful over all things (), and He said, mentioning His intermediaries in this matter: Indeed, there are over you watchers ().

If God did not protect him through these means, which He sometimes refers to as ḥafiẓīn (‘watchers’) and other times as muʿaqqibāt (‘guardian angels’), ruin would encompass him from all sides, and destruction would hasten to him from in front of and behind him. However, just as he is protected by the command of God, his annihilation, destruction, and corruption are by the command of God, because all dominion belongs to God; there is no one who manages a person’s affairs, nor dispose them except Him. This is what the Qurʾan’s teachings point to, and the verses in these meanings are so numerous as to obviate the need to list them.

The angels also only do what they do by His command. God said He sends down the angels with the Spirit of His command (), and He said: They do not venture to speak ahead of Him, and they act by His command ().

From this, it becomes clear that these guardian angels, just as they guard what they guard by God’s command, so too do they guard it from God’s command. For the aspect of annihilation and destruction, and loss and corruption only occurs by God’s command, just as the aspect of endurance, permanence, and safety only occurs by God’s command. No physical structure persists except by God’s command, just as no structure disintegrates except by God’s command. No spiritual state or action or effect of an action is established except by a command from God, just as it is neither nullified nor made to vanish except by a command from God. So, all matters belong to God and to Him all matters return.

Based on this, these guardian angels, just as they guard a person by God’s command, so too they guard him from God’s command. Thus, it is appropriate to understand His saying in the verse under discussion as: ‘They guard him from God’s command.’

Based on the above, the connection of this with God’s saying, Indeed Allah does not change a people’s lot, unless they change what is in their souls, becomes clear. This latter passage serves as a rationale for the earlier one: who guard him by Allah’s command. The meaning is that God, the Exalted, only made these guardian angels and assigned them to the human being to protect him by His command from His command and prevent him from being destroyed or changed in any aspect of his state because His modus operandi has always been that He does not change the condition of a people until they change what is in their own selves in terms of spiritual states, such as changing gratitude to ingratitude, obedience to disobedience, and faith to polytheism. Then, and only then, God changes the blessing to a curse, guidance to misguidance, and happiness to misery, and so on.

Therefore, the passage, Indeed Allah does not change a people’s lot …, indicates in a general sense that God has decreed a certain kind of correlation between the blessings bestowed by Him upon the human being and the spiritual states of the human being, which are in line with his innate upright nature (fiṭra). If a people were to follow this upright nature, believe in God, and do good deeds, He would follow this by pouring out the blessings of this world and the Hereafter upon them, as He said: If the people of the towns had been faithful and Godwary, We would have opened to them blessings from the heaven and the earth. But they denied; so We seized them because of what they used to earn (). Their state of being blessed is stable and fixed upon them so long as they remain in their own state of uprightness in themselves. However, when they change their spiritual state from this, God changes their external state by changing the blessing into a curse.

One might also attempt to derive a universal truth from the verse, namely that there is a kind of correlation between the states of the human soul and the external conditions which the human being inhabits, whether that be on the side of good or of evil. If the people were on faith and obedience and gratitude for the blessing, God would encompass them with His apparent and hidden blessings, and that would continue to be the case until they change themselves; then, if they disbelieved and disobeyed Him, God would change His blessings into curses, and this would continue to be the case until they change; then, if they believed, obeyed, and showed gratitude toward God, He would change His curse into a blessing, and so on. This is the reality of the matter.

However, the context of the verse does not support such a reading, especially the subsequent portion of it, And when Allah wishes to visit ill on a people, there is nothing that can avert it. This clarifies the meaning of the previous parts of the verse, namely that when He is describing changing a people’s lot, He means changing it from good to bad. Therefore, the original meaning of a people’s lot is that they were in a good state.

God Almighty says: Whatever affliction that may visit you is because of what your hands have earned, and He excuses many (). He mentions that He pardons many sins and erases their effects, so there is no correlation between human actions and conditions and external effects in terms of evil, unlike in terms of good, as God Almighty says in the counterpart verse: That is because Allah never changes a blessing that He has bestowed on a people unless they change what is in their own souls ().

When God says, And when Allah wishes to visit ill on a people, there is nothing that can avert it, he does not mention this because it is His primary concern but because this relates to the guardian angels that protect a person. So, He mentioned that everything with Him is measured and that every human has guardian angels who protect them by His command and they do not leave him to perish or change or become disturbed in his existence and or in the blessings given to him by God. People remain in their state that God has bestowed on them and this state does not change until they change what is within themselves. It was necessary to mention that this change from happiness to misery and from blessing to calamity is also one of the determined matters that no one can prevent from being realized. The matter is up to God and no on besides Him has any say in it. Therefore, it is evident that people have no escape from the judgment of God in aspects of both good and evil, and they are taken over by it and in His grip.

Therefore, the meaning of this part of the verse is: ‘And when God wills ill for a people—and He does not will that except when they change what is in themselves and forsake the traits of divine servanthood and disregard the dictates of human nature—there is no repelling that ill, whether it takes the form of misery, calamity, or punishment.’

Then His saying, … and they have no protector besides Him is an explanatory addendum to His saying, And when Allah wishes to visit ill on a people, there is nothing that can avert it, as it conveys the reason for this. After all, if they have no protector to look after their affairs other than God Almighty, then there is no one to repel whatever ill God intends for them.

Based on the above, and the general tone and context of the verse, it is clear that everyone, in whatever state they are, is accompanied in their journey toward God by guardians who are in front and behind them, in their present and their past. They are preserved by God’s command from any change in their state that would lead to their destruction, corruption, or misery by virtue of another command from God. This other command that changes their state only takes effect if people change what is within themselves. At that point, God changes their blessings to calamities and intends ill for them. If God intends ill for a people, there is no repelling it because they have no guardian to manage their affairs apart from Him, so there is none who can repel whatever ill God intends for them

This makes several matters clear:

Firstly, that the verse represents a detailed explanation of what is mentioned in the previous verses, including His saying, … and everything is by measure with Him (). Indeed, it indicates that things have set limits with God that they do not transgress or fall short of such that this would remove them from His knowledge. This verse details the statement regarding humans having guardians in front of and behind them, charged with their care by God’s command, preserving them and all that relates to them from destruction or change from their present state, and they are not destroyed or changed except by virtue of another command from God.

Secondly, that there is no part of a human being, whether their soul, body, characteristics, conditions, deeds, and effects in this world except that an angel is entrusted to preserve it, and this continues in their journey to God until a change occurs within themselves. Verily, God, Glorious is He, is the Watcher, and He has watching angels over them, and this is a reality expounded by the Qurʾan.

Thirdly, that there is another matter that lies in wait for people to change what is with them. God, Glorious is He, has mentioned about the effect of this matter when people change what is within themselves, at which point God changes what blessings they have with this matter that lies in wait for them, and from its effective sources is the coming of the named term, which neither alters nor is delayed. He, the Exalted, says, We did not create the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them except with reason and for a specified term (), and He says, when Allah’s appointed time comes, it cannot be deferred (Qurʾan ).

Fourth, that the command of God Almighty is always dominant, prevailing over all aspects of things in any state, and that everything, in both its stability and in its change, is obedient to His command, submissive to His majesty. The Divine command, even though it differs in comparison from one thing to another, is divided into a preserving command and a changing command within a single unified system that does not change. He, the Exalted, says, Indeed my Lord is on a straight path (), and He says, All His command, when He wills something, is to say to it ‘Be,’ and it is. So immaculate is He in whose hand is the dominion of all things and to whom you shall be brought back ().

Fifth, that it is a part of the inevitable divine decree and the divine modus operandi that there is a correlation between benevolence, piety, and gratitude in every nation, and the influx of apparent and hidden blessings and their descent from God to that nation. These blessings remain and linger among them as long as they do not depart from these virtuous qualities, as indicated by His saying, If the people of the towns had been faithful and Godwary, We would have opened to them blessings from the heaven and the earth. But they denied; so We seized them because of what they used to earn (); His saying, And when your Lord proclaimed, ‘If you are grateful, I will surely enhance you (in blessing), but if you are ungrateful, My punishment is indeed severe (), and His saying, Is the requital of goodness anything but goodness? ().

This is what is apparent from the verse’s meaning regarding the correlation between the prevalence of righteousness of a people and the continuous outpouring of divine blessings upon them. As for the prevalence of corruption among them or its appearance from some of them and the descent of God’s wrath upon them, the verse is silent about the correlation between the two. The most that it does it to hint at this, by saying: Indeed Allah does not change a people’s lot, unless they change what is in their souls. In other words, it permits that God will change their circumstances when they change as a possibility not a matter of necessity and actuality. That is why the tone of the verse shifts when He says, And when Allah wishes to visit ill on a people, there is nothing that can avert it. He does not say, for example, ‘Then Allah will wish to visit ill upon them, and nothing can avert this.’

This reading of the verse is supported by His saying, Whatever affliction that may visit you is because of what your hands have earned, and He excuses many (), which clearly indicates that some of this change of outward circumstances is warded off by God’s forgiveness.

This is all at the level of the community. As for the level of the individual, the divine speech draws a correlation between the righteousness of his behavior and the spiritual blessings he receives, and that these will change when he changes his behavior. However, it does not draw any connection between his righteousness and his prosperity or physical blessings.

The wisdom in all this is apparent, for the correlation we are discussing is a logical corollary of the principle of harmony between the parts of the cosmic order and the teleological principle, that God is directing all things toward their ultimate goals. God has appointed for each species a goal and endowed them with whatever they need to reach it. Then, God instituted harmony between the different parts of this cosmic order, making the whole a single thing with no opposition or contradiction between its constituent parts. The logical corollary of their differing natures is for each species to live in a state of wellbeing, comfort, and dignity until it reaches its end. If humankind does not deviate from the dictates of human nature—and no other species appears to deviate from its nature in the way that humans can—then the universe continues in a state of felicity and divine blessings and does not stray from its intended trajectory. On the other hand, if the human species deviates from its path and corruption prevails among its members, then the harmony and balance that exists between the parts of the universe is likewise corrupted, which leads it to be deprived of divine blessings, for the natural course of life to be disrupted, and for corruption to appear on land and sea because of what the hands of people have earned. So that God makes them taste some of what they have done, in order that perhaps they will return.

This idea, as should be clear, applies to the species as a whole rather than individual people. Therefore, the correlation between the righteousness of the species and the general blessings bestowed upon them does not apply to individuals because the intended goals of individuals might be nullified but not that of the species as a whole. This is because to nullify the divine goal intended of an entire species logically renders the creation of the universe a pointless act. As the Almighty says, We did not create the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them for play (). We have already touched on this topic in our discussion of human deeds in the second part of this commentary.

From the above, the wrongfulness of various objections to this verse becomes apparent as, on its face, it indicates that God’s blessings for a people will not change until they change themselves by sinning, even though this is contrary to what the law has established regarding the impossibility of taking the general public to account for the sins of the specific. This is entirely foreign to the purport of the verse.

These are some of the points that arise out of contemplating the meaning of the verse. However, severe disagreements exist between the commentators on its explanation from various aspects:

One is their disagreement on who the pronoun refers to in His saying, He has guardian angels… Some say the pronoun refers to ‘any of you’ in the previous verse, any of you speaks secretly, as we have already explained.

Others say it refers to God, in which case it means: ‘God has guardian angels, in front of and behind a human, who protect him from harm.’ The problem with this reading is that it requires us for to read similar pronouns as having different referents. It also requires a transition in address in his by Allah’s command for no apparent reason.

Others still argue that the pronoun refers to the Prophet and the verse is describing the angels who protect him personally. However the problem with this reading, like the previous one, is that it necessitates a seemingly arbitrary change in pronouns, which runs contrary to the apparent meaning of the verse. This is because it also means that the verse becomes disconnected from its predecessors as the Prophet has not been mentioned immediately before it.

Yet others say the pronoun returns to the one open to view in daytime. And this is the most absurd of readings, which we will return to shortly.

Another point of disagreement among commentators concerns the meaning of muʿaqqibāt (translated as ‘guardian angels’ in the verse). Some say that it is actually a contraction of muʿtaqibāt, in the sense of either to detain or cooperate with one another, although it is reported that this is an error. Others have said it is derived from taʿqīb in the sense of one person following another as he walks, as if they are tracing his footsteps. Still others say that the muʿaqqibāt are the angels that accompany a person on his journey toward God and remain with him in order to protect him, which is what we have already said. Yet others have said that muʿaqqibāt refers to the angels that come to record a person’s deeds by night and by day, one after another, so that the angels of the night are followed by the angels of the day, who are in turn followed by the angels of the night, and these successive angels preserve a record of a person’s deeds.

Some have argued that muʿaqqibāt refer to the bodyguards, escorts, and retinues that accompany kings and rulers. Therefore, the meaning is: ‘He who is open to view in daytime (sāribun bi al-nahār) (lit. ‘he who walks by day’)—meaning the rulers and kings—are accompanied by guards and escorts, who surround them in order to protect them from God’s command—meaning His determination and decree—imagining that they are capable of such a thing.’ However, this reading is among the most foolish examples of playing with the words of God.

Another example of their disagreement about this verse can be seen in regard to His saying: to his front and his rear. Some say that this pertains to the muʿaqqibāt, meaning they follow him (yuʿaqqibūna-hu) from in front of and behind him. However, the problem with this reading is that one can only follow a person from behind them.

Another reading of this phrase is that it actually pertains to the verb who guard him (yaḥfaẓūna-hu), meaning that they protect him from in front and from behind by God’s command. However, there is an absence of evidence for that in the verse, as this requires the phrase to qualify the verb that comes after it, when, in reality, it should be the other way around.

Others have said it pertains to an implicit meaning in the verse, such as ‘surrounding him from in front and behind.’ And we have already discussed this above.

From another angle, some say that what is meant by what is in front of and behind him is the direction of place, meaning they surround him from in front of him and behind him, they protect him from danger and calamity.

Others say that what is meant by them is what precedes from his actions and what is kept back, the guardian angels keep preserve it and record it.

However, there is no evidence for either of these views.

Some others have said that what is meant by what is in front of and behind him is what pertains to the human being of physical and spiritual matters of what he has in his present state and what is beyond him. And this is the view that we have put forward.

As for the phrase, who guard him, some say that it means ‘they watch over him,’ others say ‘it is any kind of guarding (ḥifẓ),’ and others still say that it is specifically protection from harm.

As for the phrase, by Allah’s command, some say it is connected to muʿaqqibāt (i.e. ‘those who accompany him by Allah’s command’) and that the phrases to his front and rear, who guard him, and by Allah’s command are all adjectives of muʿaqqibāt. However, this runs contrary to the apparent meaning of the verse.

Others say that by Allah’s command (min amr Allāh) is connected to the phrase, who guard him and that the preposition min is used in the sense of bi, signifying causality and accompaniment (reflected in the translation here). It means that they protect him because of God’s command or with God’s command.

Others still have said that by Allah’s command is related to who guard him, but that the preposition min is used in the sense of ‘originating’ or ‘beginning,’ meaning that they protect him beginning with the command of God.

Still others say the same but that min is being used in the sense of ʿan (‘from’ or ‘against’), meaning they protect him from being overtaken and overwhelmed by God’s command. They explain this by saying that amr here is being used in the sense of baʾs (‘violence,’ ‘power’), so they protect him from God’s punishment by asking God to grant him respite whenever he sins and pleading with God to delay his chastisement of him or to put off his immiseration because he might yet repent and return to the right path. The wrongness of most of these explanations is self-evident and requires no further explanation.

As for the referent of the full phrase, He has guardian angels, to his front and his rear, who guard him by Allah’s command, some say that it is connected to ‘the one who is open to view in daytime’ (), which we have already explained.

Others say that it is connected to the phrase, Allah knows what every female carries (), or that it is connected to the phrase, the Knower of the sensible and the Unseen (). In other words, as surely as He knows them, He appoints guardian angels over them to protect them.

Some have said it is connected to the phrase, You are only a warner (), meaning that God appoints these angels to watch over the Prophet specifically.

However, the truth of the matter is that this phrase is connected to His saying, and everything is by measure with Him (), and is a kind of exposition of it, as we have already discussed.

There is also disagreement about what the phrase, Indeed Allah does not change a people’s lot …, refers to. Some say it is linked to the phrase, They would press you for evil sooner than for good, meaning that punishment does not descend on any except those who He knows have changed, and if God knows that there are still those who will believe in God among them or even that some of their descendants who are yet to be born will live in faith, His punishment will not descend on them.

Another view links it to the phrase or is open to view in daytime, meaning that when they openly commit sins, they lose their trait of divine servanthood, their divine protection is lost, and punishment descends upon them as a result. However, both opinions, as you can clearly see, do not correlate with the context of the verse. The truth is that his saying: “Indeed Allah does not change a people’s lot …, is an exposition of His previous saying: “who guard him by Allah’s command, as we have already discussed previously.

هُوَ الَّذِي يُرِيكُمُ الْبَرْقَ خَوْفًا وَطَمَعًا وَيُنْشِئُ السَّحَابَ الثِّقَالَ ١٢

(13:12) It is He who shows you (yurī-kum) the lightning, inspiring fear and hope, and He produces the clouds (saḥāb) that are laden.

The term saḥāb is the plural of sāhāba, which is why it is qualified with the broken plural adjective thiqāl.

The verb yurī, from irāʾ (‘to show’) refers to making visible what can be sensed by sight so that an observer can see it, or to making a person capable of seeing and observing in of himself. The contrast between His saying, ‘He who shows you …,’ and His saying: ‘He produces …,’ suggests that the first meaning is the one intended here.

The phrase, inspiring fear and hope, is a purposive object (mafʿūl la-hu), meaning ‘in order to cause you to experience fear and hope.’ These could also be read as two verbal nouns being used in the meaning of active participles, both of which are being used adverbially here to qualify the object of the verb yurī-kum, meaning: ‘He shows you, while you are filled with fear and hope …’

Therefore, the meaning of the verse is: ‘God is the One who makes lightning appear to your eyes that there might manifest within you the feelings of fear and hope. For the traveler fears the lightning while the resident aspires for it, the people of the sea are afraid of it, and people of the land hope for it; or people are in fear thunderbolts, and hope for its rain. And He is the one who creates clouds and sends them forth while they are laden with rainwater.’ The fact that this verse associates the divine sign of lightning with showing and the divine sign of clouds with generation is a mark of its subtle eloquence.

وَيُسَبِّحُ الرَّعْدُ بِحَمْدِهِ وَالْمَلائِكَةُ مِنْ خِيفَتِهِ وَيُرْسِلُ الصَّوَاعِقَ فَيُصِيبُ بِهَا مَن يَشَاء وَهُمْ يُجَادِلُونَ فِي اللَّهِ وَهُوَ شَدِيدُ الْمِحَالِ ١٣

(13:13) The Thunder celebrates His praise, and the angels, in awe of Him, and He releases the thunderbolts (ṣawāiʿq) and strikes with them whomever He wishes. Yet they dispute concerning Allah (yujādilūn fī Allāh), though He is great in might (shadīd al-maḥāl).

The term ṣawāʿiq (‘thunderbolts’) is the plural of ṣāʿiqa, which refers to the superheated bolts of energy that descend from the heavens and cause thunder.

Jidāl, from whence the verb yujādilūn is derived, means to argue verbally in such a way that each side is attempting to overcome the other. Its root meaning is jadalat al-ḥabl, meaning ‘to tighten the rope.’

Meanwhile, miḥāl is derived from the Form III verb māḥala-hu / yumāḥila-hu, which means to vie with someone in strength or seek to beguile them. Therefore, when God says, Yet they dispute concerning Allah, though He is great in might, this means that the idolaters, to whom the speech presenting these arguments is directed, dispute God’s lordship by fabricating arguments about the lordship of their own gods, clinging tightly to the traditions of their forefathers. Yet, God Almighty is as strong in argumentation as He is knowledgeable of their deficiencies, hence He is extremely capable of exposing and humiliating them.

لَهُ دَعْوَةُ الْحَقِّ وَالَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ مِن دُونِهِ لاَ يَسْتَجِيبُونَ لَهُم بِشَيْءٍ إِلاَّ كَبَاسِطِ كَفَّيْهِ إِلَى الْمَاء لِيَبْلُغَ فَاهُ وَمَا هُوَ بِبَالِغِهِ وَمَا دُعَاء الْكَافِرِينَ إِلاَّ فِي ضَلالٍ ١٤

(13:14) To Him belongs the true invocation (daʿwat al-ḥaqq); and those whom they invoke besides Him do not answer them (lā yastajībūn la-hum) in any wise—unless like someone who stretches his hands toward water that it should reach his mouth, but it does not reach it—and the invocations of the faithless only go awry.

Duʿāʾ and daʿwa (‘invocation,’ ‘call’) refer to efforts to direct the attention of the one being called upon to the one doing the calling, mostly in the form of either speech or gestures. Istijāba (from whence yastajībūn derives) and its cognate ijāba denote the one called upon turning toward the one doing the calling as a result of their call. As for whether the call includes asking for one’s needs or whether responding to the call entails meeting those needs, neither of these acts are inherently associated with either act.

Indeed, an invocation is only a true invocation if the one being called has attention that can be directed to the caller and has the earnestness and capability with which to respond to it. As for calling on someone who does not understand, or understands but does not possess what is needed to meet the caller’s needs, this is not a true call, even if it takes the appearance of one.

Since the verse affirms the contrast between His saying To Him belongs the true invocation and His saying and those whom they invoke besides Him …, which states that the call made to others is devoid of any response and then describes the call of the disbelievers as being in error, we learn from this that what is meant by His saying the true invocation is the true and not the false one. It is the call that the one being called upon hears and certainly responds to, and this is one of God’s attributes. He hears the call, is nearmost, and responds. He is the Rich, the Merciful. He said: I answer the supplicant’s call when he calls Me () and He has said: ‘Call Me, and I will answer you!’ (). Note that in all of these instances, He said that he will respond without setting any condition for doing so other than the invocation or call being made is genuine and that the call is directed to Him alone and no others.

In Arabic the phrase, the true invocation literally reads ‘the invocation of truth’ (daʿwat al-ḥaqq), which is a possessive construct (iḍāfa). This could be used in an adjectival sense, whereby the adjective ‘possesses’ its noun. Alternatively, it could be a literal possessive relation, in which there are invocations of truth and invocations of falsehood, and the latter invocations are those that do not achieve the goal of obtaining a response, such as those invocations directed toward beings who cannot hear or respond.

In the previous verses, God mentioned that He knows everything and has absolute power. In the present verse, He says that He possesses the reality of both invocation and response. He is the responder to the call, as He is knowledgeable and capable. This is mentioned in the verse by way of affirmation and negation, by which I mean he affirms the true invocation for Himself and denies it for others.

As for the first possibility, consider the phrase To Him belongs the true invocation, the fact that the adverbial construct (ẓarf) of ‘To Him’ is placed at the beginning of the sentence conveys a meaning of exclusivity (namely, ‘To him alone belongs the true invocation’). This is supported by the fact that what follows in this verse then negates this from all others.

As for the second, consider and those whom they invoke besides Him do not answer them in any wise—like someone who stretches his hands toward water that it should reach his mouth, but it does not reach it, in which God informs the audience in it that those whom the polytheists call on besides Him do not respond to them at all. This has been clarified in numerous places throughout the Qurʾan, for these ones they call upon are either the actual physical idols upon which the masses call—and they are inanimate objects with no consciousness or will of their own—or they are the spirits these idols are believed to represent, such as the angels or jinn, spiritual beings of stars and humans, as their elite might conceive of them. However, these do not possess any harm or benefit for themselves, nor death, nor life, nor resurrection. So how about others, and to God belongs all the kingdom, and to Him belongs all the power, so there is no hope with anyone else, Exalted be He.

Then, from this general denial of the possibility of receiving a response from these idols, God draws a single exception, which is similar to the image struck by the verse: unless like someone who stretches his hands toward water that it should reach his mouth, but it does not reach it.

Indeed, the thirsty human, when he wants to drink water, has to get close to the water, then extend his hand to scoop it, take it, reach his mouth, and quench his thirst. This is the essence of seeking something, for it conveys a person to his goal in guidance and righteousness. As for the thirsty person who is distant from water, he wants to drink, but he does not do anything to accomplish this other than extending his hand toward it to reach his mouth. In such a case, he will surely never taste a single drop of the water. Therefore, he has nothing but the appearance of seeking it.

This is the similitude drawn for those who call on beings other than God—they are like this one extending his hand to the water to reach his mouth: They have nothing of invocation except its empty form, like a name without a referent. The ones they call on besides God do not respond to them at all and they do not fulfill their needs, except in the same way that water quenches the thirst of someone who reaches toward it from far away—in other words, they achieve nothing but the appearance of invoking God, just as the one who extends his hands toward water while being far away from it does not actually obtain any water to quench his thirst.

Based on this, we can understand that this exception, unless like someone who stretches his hands toward water that it should reach his mouth, but it does not reach it, does not actually negate the generality of denial in the case of the excluded category but only invokes the form of the exception for the reader. On the contrary, it reinforces the meaning of the category from which it is supposed to be excluded. This is because it conveys that those who invoke other than God will not have their prayers answered, just as the one who outstretches his hands toward water will not be responded to. In other words, they will achieve nothing from their supplications; they will attain absolutely nothing.

This is one of the subtleties of God the Exalted’s speech, and it is alike to the subsequent verse: Have you then taken others besides Him for guardians, who have no control over their own benefit or harm?’ () And the latter verse is even firmer, as we shall discuss.

From the above, the following becomes clear:

First, when God says, the true invocation, He is referring to a real invocation, which is one that is answered and never rejected. As for those who say it refers to the profession of faith, namely the attestation that there is no god but God, there is no evidence for this reading from the context of the verse.

Second, that the implicit meaning of His saying, and those whom they invoke besides Him do not answer them in any wise, is: ‘As for those whom the idol worshippers invoke besides God, those invoked do not respond to the idolaters with anything.’

Third, that the exception to His saying, do not answer them in any wise, namely, unless like someone who stretches his hands toward water that it should reach his mouth, but it does not reach it, is presented succinctly. Its full meaning is: ‘They do not respond to them with anything and do not grant them anything except like one who stretches out his hands toward water to bring it to his mouth to drink from it.’ Perhaps the idea of receiving something is latent in the verb ‘to answer’ (istijāba).

Then God emphasizes this statement by saying, and the invocations of the faithless only go awry. This passage highlights another fundamental truth, namely that there is no goal for invocations except God, for He is the All-knowing, the All-powerful, the Utterly Needless, and the Lord of Mercy, and there is no way to Him except by turning toward Him. So, whoever calls on someone other than Him and makes it the object of His invocations has certainly lost His way to God and let His invocations go astray thereby. This is because going astray (ḍalāl) literally means to stray from the path toward God and take a route that will not bring you to your intended destination.

وَلِلَّهِ يَسْجُدُ مَن فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ طَوْعًا وَكَرْهًا وَظِلالُهُم بِالْغُدُوِّ وَالآصَالِ ١٥

(13:15) To Allah prostrates (yasjud) whoever there is in the heavens and the earth, willingly or unwillingly (tawʿan wa karhan), and their shadows at sunrise and sunset (bi al-ghuduww wa al-āṣāl).

Sujūd, from whence is derived yasjud, refers to lowering oneself onto the ground by placing one’s forehead or chin upon it. For example, God says: and they fell down prostrate before him (wa kharrū la-hu sujjadan) (). And elsewhere, He says: fall down in prostration on their faces (yakhirrūn li al-adhqān sujjadan) (), and the singular form of sujjad is sajda.

Karh / kurh refers to an action that a person performs with difficulty; when he is compelled to perform the action by external factors, it is called karh, and when he is compelled by internal factors, it is kurh. Tawʿ is the antonym of karh.

Al-Rāghib al-Iṣfahānī writes: ‘Ghuduww and ghadāt refer to the earliest parts of the morning. The Qurʾan juxtaposes ghadāt with āṣāl, such as in the verse, at sunrise and sunset (bi al-ghuduww wa al-āṣāl), and on another occasion he contrasts it with ʿashā: morning and evening (bi al-ghadāt wa al-ʿashā) ().’ Ghuduww is the plural of ghadāt, following the same pattern as qunā and qanāt. In Majmaʿ al-bayān, we read: ‘Āṣāl is the plural of uṣul, and uṣul is the plural of aṣīl. Therefore, Āṣāl is a plural of a plural, derived from the plural uṣul, and it appears to refer to the beginning of the evening, which is after mid-afternoon (ʿaṣr) until the sun has set.

Social actions that humans perform for spiritual purposes, for instance, sitting high for embodying leadership, stepping forward to symbolize sovereignty and lordship, bending to show humiliation and insignificance, and falling to the ground to express the utmost humility and prostration of the worshipper before the dignity and high status of the worshipped, are named after their purposes. They are referred to by the same names, such as calling stepping forward advancement, and sovereignty and lordship are also termed advancement. Likewise, as specific bending is called bowing, humiliation and insignificance are also called bowing. Similarly, falling to the ground is referred to as prostration, and humility is also called prostration. All these are to convey that the purpose of these social actions is the same as their objectives and outcomes, and otherwise, no purpose is inherently related to these actions themselves.

This is how the Qurʾan looks at prostration and other forms of devotion, glorification, praise, invocation, and other such acts, when it attributes them to non-human entities, as in the verses: All are obedient to Him (); There is not a thing but celebrates His praise (); Everyone in the heavens and the earth asks Him (); and To Allah prostrates whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth ().

The distinction between these matters, when attributed to creatures and when occurring in the context of human society, is as follows: their ultimate goals and objectives in the first case are real, unlike in the second case, where the purpose of those actions is realized as a form of convention or figurality. For example, the humility and prostration of creatures before the court of God’s greatness and majesty are true humility and prostration, in contrast to falling to the ground and kissing the earth in the context of human society, which is humility and prostration based on convention or figurality. This is indicated by the fact that it often happens that this falling to the ground and prostration are performed, but it is not understood as a form of veneration or as an expression of humility.

Taking the above into account in relation to the passage, To Allah prostrates whoever there is in the heavens and the earth, willingly or unwillingly, and their shadows at sunrise and sunset, this is perhaps meant specifically for those beings endowed with intellect as the Qurʾan says: whoever there is in the heavens and the earth. This is even though this humility and abasement before God encompasses all existing beings, as we shall see in our discussion of Sūrah al-Naḥl, and as is suggested at the end of the verse, which reads: and their shadows at sunrise and sunset. This is because the discourse in the present chapter is directed to the idol worshippers and arguing against them. So, in this, there is a message to them to prostrate to God willingly, just as those beyond them among the rational beings of the heavens and the earth prostrate willingly to the extent that even their shadows prostrate to Him. And for this reason, also, God calls attention to the prostration of the shadows to more forcefully rouse them to action, so ponder on this.

It must also be understood that the humility and submissiveness of all creatures before the expanse of their Sustainer is an intrinsic humility, from which no creature is disconnected or exempt. Therefore, it is certain that the submission of creatures will be voluntary and without direction. How can it be by command and compulsion when no creature possesses anything of itself to be assumed reluctant, or to refuse and rebel? Just as God Almighty has said: Then He turned to the heaven, and it was smoke, and He said to it and to the earth, ‘Come! Willingly or unwillingly!’ They said, ‘We come heartily’ ().

This verse suggests that the prostration of creatures before God Almighty is a voluntary act which they are eager to perform, and therefore leaves no room for the idea of compulsion. However, there is another way of looking at this that may allow for the attribution of compulsion to some extent for some creatures, namely humans. This is because a portion of creatures are situated in an assembled mass, and although they themselves are equipped with natures, there may be other causes that do not allow these creatures to achieve their intended goals and objectives. Indeed, creatures that are in our world, which is a world of matter and crowding, may encounter various and different obstacles in reaching the ultimate goals dictated by their natures, which are contrary to the requirements of these creatures’ nature. It is clear that whatever is against nature is detestable, just as what is agreeable to nature is desirable.

With this in mind, these creatures, in all matters concerning themselves, are prostrated and submissive to the command of God. However, in some of the matters that are against their nature such as death, corruption, rendering their effects in the world null and void, misfortunes, and diseases, and the like, their prostration and humility to this aspect of God’s command is unwilling. By contrast, in what conforms to their natures, such as life, survival, reaching their ultimate goal, success, and flourishing, this prostration is voluntary and obedient, like the submission of the angels who do not disobey God in what He orders them, but rather act accordingly.

From the above, the wrongness of the following explanation becomes clear: That what is meant by prostration is the real form of it, meaning to humble oneself on the ground by putting one’s forehead on it, for example. They are all prostrating, but the believer prostrates willingly, and the disbeliever prostrates fearing the sword—this explanation has been attributed to al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī.

The same is true of the statement of some: ‘What is meant by prostration is submission, and everyone submits. However, from the believer, it is a submission of willingness, and from the disbeliever, it is a submission of reluctance due to the pains and illnesses that befall them.’ This statement is attributed to al-Jubāʾī.

Similarly, others say: ‘What is meant by the verse is the submission of everything in the heavens and the earth, whether rational beings or others. The expression specifically applies to rational beings due to their higher importance.’

Regarding the phrase, and their shadows at sunrise and sunset, this includes the shadows of material bodies in prostration. Even though the shadow, resulting from the body blocking the light, is non-existent, it has external effects. It increases and decreases at the ends of the day, clearly changing perceptibly. It has a sort of existence through these effects, and hence it is submissive to God in its existence and effects and prostrates to Him.

These shadows prostrate to God willingly at all times. The morning and evening are specifically mentioned, not in the sense of ‘day and night’ (signifying ‘continuously’), but rather for emphasis. If continuous prostration were meant here, it would have been more appropriate to say, ‘at the ends of the day,’ covering everything before noon and after, as mentioned in His saying: and glorify Him in watches of the night and at the day’s ends, that you may be pleased ().

The point here, to the best of my knowledge, is that shadows continuously increase and decrease in size in the morning and evening, which is symbolic of falling on the ground and the humbling oneself through prostration. As for midday and the middle of the day, shadows may be absent or minimal, appearing still and not clearly displaying the image of prostration.

Undoubtedly, the fall of shadows on the ground and their representing the descent of prostration are considered in relating prostration to the shadows in their changes. This consideration is not limited to their mere existential obedience in all their conditions and effects. The evidence for this is His saying: Have they not regarded that whatever thing Allah has created casts its shadow to the right and to the left, prostrating to Allah in utter humility? (). This idea is clearly evident in this verse: It is not merely a poetic saying or an purely imaginary image used in the true call of His words—God forbid—for He has specifically emphasized that the Qurʾan is not poetry, but rather exalted truths, beyond all illusions, established for sound intellects that are far beyond sense perception by their very nature.

When such intellects encounter situations where it is possible for perception to manifest a kind of appearance, and it is represented in a way that is more free to derive it in teaching naive understandings and simple minds, and transferring them from the level of perception and imagination to the stage of the sound intellect, recognizing true forms of knowledge. For then part of perception and imagination, the truth appearing with truths, supported by truth, so there is no harm in relying on it.

In this regard, God considers the observable reality of shadows, which extend from upright objects at dawn and dusk, as acts of prostration to Him due to their falling upon the earth, similar to the prostration of rational beings.

Also, related to this aspect is the preceding verse: The Thunder celebrates His praise (). Here, the celebration of God’s praise is applied to the tremendous sound of thunder, which is personified as a speaking tongue glorifying Him, asserting His transcendence above any resemblance to His creatures and praising Him for His mercy, heralded by wind, clouds, and lightning. Even though all things inherently glorify God by virtue of the fact that the core of their existence is utterly dependent upon Him, this is an intrinsic form of glorification from them. The meaning of their glorification is conveyed through intellectual signification rather than the kind of verbal signification that is commonly found in sounds as a matter of convention. But the thunder, with its intense, tremendous sound, represents this intrinsic and existential glorification of the Divine to the hearing and imagination. God invoked this profound image to help simple minds grasp the meaning of intrinsic glorification, established by every being’s essence, without a sound ringing out or a word being uttered.

Similar to this is what has been previously mentioned in the opening of the chapter in His saying: It is Allah who raised the heavens without any pillars that you see () and His saying, In the earth are neighboring terrains… (). In the context of the idolaters arguing against God, the Qurʾan holds fast to matters whose causes are unknowable to human perception not because His causality and power is confined to such things while things with known causes are independent of Him. On the contrary, the Qurʾan asserts the general law of causality and that He is the cause above all causes. Therefore, the reason why the Qurʾan highlights things whose causes were unknown to its audience through their sense perceptions is because hidden things awaken people’s minds and help them realize they must search for a better cause. This necessitates that they investigate the causes for things, and such a search inevitably ends with the First Cause, which is God. There are many other examples of this in the Qurʾan.

In essence, the Qur’an draws a parallel between the manner in which the shadows of objects stretch across the earth at dawn and dusk and their figurative prostration to God. This imagery serves to illustrate the concept of intrinsic prostration inherent in all beings, using a tangible example to awaken the senses to a deeper spiritual truth. It simplifies the journey from a simple understanding to grasping this profound intellectual truth.

This is what contemplating on the divine speech reveals. To interpret these meanings simply as poetic metaphor is inadequate. Similarly, seeing them only as allegorical representations falls short. One such example is the notion that everything obeys God’s command by existing as He wills. Another is the idea that the shadow signifies the person; thus, when one prostrates, so does his shadow. These interpretations are superficial and do not merit serious consideration.

قُلْ مَن رَّبُّ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ قُلِ اللَّهُ قُلْ أَفَاتَّخَذْتُم مِّن دُونِهِ أَوْلِيَاء لاَ يَمْلِكُونَ لِأَنفُسِهِمْ نَفْعًا وَلاَ ضَرًّا قُلْ هَلْ يَسْتَوِي الأَعْمَى وَالْبَصِيرُ أَمْ هَلْ تَسْتَوِي الظُّلُمَاتُ وَالنُّورُ أَمْ جَعَلُواْ لِلَّهِ شُرَكَاء خَلَقُواْ كَخَلْقِهِ فَتَشَابَهَ الْخَلْقُ عَلَيْهِمْ قُلِ اللَّهُ خَالِقُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَهُوَ الْوَاحِدُ الْقَهَّارُ ١٦

(13:16) Say, ‘Who is the Lord of the heavens and the earth?’ Say, ‘Allah!’ Say, ‘Have you then taken others besides Him for guardians, who have no control over their own benefit or harm?’ Say, ‘Are the blind one and the seer equal? Or are the darkness and the light equal?’ Have they set up for Allah partners who have created like His creation, so that the creations seemed confusable to them? Say, ‘Allah is the creator of all things, and He is the One, the All-paramount.’

This verse, which bids the Prophet to debate with the idolaters, serves as an epitome of the preceding verses.

That is because the preceding verses clearly demonstrate that the governance of the heavens and the earth and everything within them is the sole purview of God, as is their creation. He alone possesses the knowledge, power, and mercy necessary for creating and sustaining the cosmos. Everyone besides Him is created and governed by Him and possess no benefit or harm for themselves. This means that He is the one and only Lord.

God commanded His Prophet to articulate a conclusion that emerges from the preceding verses, making the truth clear to the idolaters. He was to pose the question, ‘Who is the Lord of the heavens and the earth?’ This question probes who truly owns and governs the heavens, the earth, and all within them. Then, the Prophet was to provide the answer himself, stating, ‘Allah.’ This directive comes in light of the idolaters’ stubborn denial of the oneness of God’s Lordship, indicating their failure to grasp the argument and understand the discourse presented to them.

Then, based on this conclusion, a second conclusion is inferred by which the invalidity of their association of partners with God becomes clearer. It is that the implication of His proven Lordship is that He alone is the possessor of benefit and harm for others. Everyone besides Him does not possess any benefit or harm for himself, so how can they bring benefit or harm to others? Therefore, adopting lords besides God, assuming that there are protectors other than Him who manage the affairs of servants and hold benefit and harm for them in reality, makes protectors of those who cannot be protectors because they do not own benefit or harm for themselves, so how could they own it for others? This is what is meant by His saying in response to the previous question, Say, ‘Have you then taken others besides Him for guardians, who have no control over their own benefit or harm?’ Meaning, when they have no control over their own benefit or harm how can they have control over it for others? Thus, if God is the Lord of the heavens and the earth, your claim, by adopting as protectors gods besides Him, is ultimately self-refuting and plainly invalid, as it contains a clear contradiction by claiming they are protectors while they evidently are not, and lords who possess none of the traits of lordship.

Reflecting on the previous discussion, the verse echoes the core message of its previous ones. It conveys something similar to our saying: ‘Given the clarity of what has been presented, who could be the Lord of the heavens and the earth other than God? Why then would you seek protectors other than Him, protectors who neither benefit nor harm you or anyone else?’ The shift from drawing conclusions from earlier statements instructing the Prophet to articulate specific points—’Say this’ and ‘Say that’— to posing a rhetorical question, reflects a strategic distance from direct engagement (with them) due to their profound ignorance and obstinacy. This nuance is a testament to the subtle features of the Qur’an’s eloquence.

Are the blind one and the seer equal? Or are the darkness and the light equal? These analogies, provided by God, come after a complete and thorough argument presented to the idolaters. God instructs His Prophet to offer these examples, which sharpen the contrast between the state of the believer and the non-believer. Despite undeniable evidence and explicit verses, the non-believer remains unyielding, akin to one who is blind, in contrast to the believer, who is likened to one with sight. It is unreasonable for any rational person to consider these two states as similar. Furthermore, the analogy extends to illustrate that disbelief is akin to darkness, with the non-believer enshrouded in it, as if blind, whereas belief is compared to light, with the believer clearly perceiving the truth. These two conditions are incomparable in every aspect. If the polytheists possess the sound judgment they profess, they would embrace the truth, renounce all falsehood, and place their faith in the One True God alone.

Have they set up for Allah partners who have created like His creation, so that the creations seemed confusable to them?—Note that God refers to the idolaters in the third person, saying, Have they set up … and so that the creations seemed confusable to them, rather than speaking to them directly, saying: ‘Have you set up…?’ or ‘…so that the creations seemed confusable to you’ shows that God is now speaking directly to the Prophet and not commanding him to relay the contents of His speech to them

Then, note how God shifts from asking, Have they set up for Allah partners who have created like His creation, so that the creations seemed confusable to them? to commanding the Prophet, Say, ‘Allah is the creator of all things, and He is the One, the All-paramount.’ This confirms that the question is directed to the Prophet and that when God commands him to proclaim the oneness of the creator to them, this is not in response to the question He asked him. This is because they do not believe in a creator other than God, as evinced by the verse, If you ask them, ‘Who created the heavens and the earth?’ they will surely say, ‘Allah.’ Say, ‘All praise belongs to Allah!’ Yet most of them do not know (, ), and this is something God has repeatedly related about them.

The idolaters did not believe that God Almighty had a partner in the creation or origination of the cosmos. They only disputed with Islam regarding the oneness of lordship, not in the oneness of divinity, in the sense of the creation and origination of the cosmos. However, their acknowledgment of the unity of the Creator, and confining that role to God alone, refutes their own claim that he had partners in lordship, and completes the argument against them. Because creation and origination belong solely to God the Glorified, this negates any independence in existence, knowledge, or power in all others, and there can be no lordship in the absence of these attributes.

Therefore, they have no basis for claiming the lordship of the partners they associate with God the Glorified except to deny His exclusivity in creation and origination and to assign creation and origination to their gods, which they do not do. This is why God asks this question to the Prophet, without addressing it to the idolaters or commanding the Prophet to address it to them.

It is as though, by saying, Have they set up for Allah partners who have created like His creation, so that the creations seemed confusable to them?, God is telling his Prophet that the argument has been decisively completed against these people regarding the oneness of God’s lordship because of His oneness in creation. Therefore, they have no recourse except to claim that their false deities are his partners in the creation and origination of the cosmos: Are they saying that their partners have created a creation like His creation, such that the two creations seemed similar to them, so they claimed that these partners possessed lordship that was similar to that of God?

Then He commands the prophet to present to them what would completely dispel such a nation by saying, Say, ‘Allah is the creator of all things, and He is the One, the All-paramount.’ The beginning of this sentence is a claim, its end is the evidence for this, namely that He, the Almighty, is One in His creative power, with no partner in it. How can there be a partner for Him in it, when He is the Unity who conquers every number and multiplicity? We have discussed some aspects of the meaning of Him being the One, the Dominant in our commentary on the verse: Are different masters better, or Allah, the One, the All-paramount? And it is clear there that the sum of these two attributes produces the attribute of unicity (al-aḥadiyya).

From the above, we can understand why the tone of the divine discourse shifts in the passage, Have they set up for Allah partners who have created like His creation, so that the creations seemed confusable to them? from the tone that was previously being used. This is something worth contemplating further on, and know that most Qurʾanic commentators fall prey to confusion when discussing the arguments God presents in the verses of the Qurʾan to demonstrate His lordship and His oneness in it, while also negating any partners from it. Ultimately, they confused these arguments for the oneness of God’s lordship versus polytheists with the arguments for the existence of a Creator versus atheists. So be mindful of this.

Examining Narrations

1. In al-Kāfī, al-Kulaynī transmits via his chain of narrators from ʿAbd al-Rahim al-Qāsir, from Abū Jaʿfar, regarding the verse, You are only a warner, and there is a guide for every people (): ‘The Messenger of God said, “I am the warner, and ʿAlī is the guide.”

Author’s comment: Traditions with this meaning are narrated by al-Kulaynī in al-Kāfī, al-Ṣadūq in Maʿānī al-Akhbār, al-Ṣaffār in Baṣāʾir al-Darajāt, al-ʿAyyāshī and al-Qummī in their respective commentaries, and by others via numerous differing chains of narration.

The meaning of his saying, ‘I am the warner and ʿAlī is the guide’ is that I am the referent of the warner, and warning is guidance (hidāya) accompanied by a claim of prophethood (daʿwa), while ʿAlī is the referent of the guide without the claim of prophethood, and he is the Imām. It is not the case that the intended meaning of the warner is the Messenger of God and the intended meaning by the guide is ʿAlī, for that is utterly contradictory to the apparent meaning of the verse.

2. In Al-Durr al-manthūr, al-Suyūṭī cites Ibn Jarīr, Ibn Mardawayh, Abū Naʿīm’s Maʿrifa, al-Daylamī, Ibn ʿAsākir, and Ibn al-Najjār, saying: ‘When it was revealed, You are only a warner, and there is a guide for every people, the Messenger of God placed his hand on his chest and said, “I am the warner”, and he gestured with his hand to the shoulder of ʿAlī and said, “You are the guide—O ʿAlī, by you the rightly guided ones will be guided after me!”

Author’s comment: And it was narrated by al-Thaʿlabī in al-Kashf, from ʿAtāʾ b. al-Sāʾib, from Saʿīd b. Jubayr, from Ibn ʿAbbās, from the Prophet.

3. In his Mustadrak, al-Ḥākim al-Nīshābūrī transmits via his chain of narrators from Ibrāhīm b. al-Ḥakam b. Zuhayr from his father from al-Ḥakam b. Jarīr from Abī Burayda al-Aslamī, who said: ‘The Messenger of God called for water to perform ritual ablutions while ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib was with him. Then, the Messenger of God took ʿAlī’s hand after he had purified himself and stuck it to his chest—then he said, “You are only a warner” and he meant himself, then he returned it to ʿAlī’s chest—then he said, “and there is a guide for every people”, then he said to him: “You are the beacon for mankind, the ultimate guidance, and the leader of the Qurʾan reciters—I bear witness to that indeed you are as such.’

Author’s comment: And this was narrated by Ibn Shahrāshūb from al-Ḥākim in his Shawāhid al-Tanzīl, and al-Marzubānī in Mā Nazala min al-Qurʾan fī Amīr al-Muʾminīn.

4. In Al-Durr al-manthūr, al-Suyūṭī narrates it from ʿAbd Allāh b. Aḥmad in Zawāʾid al-Musnad, from Ibn Abī Ḥātim, al-Ṭabarānī in al-Awsaṭ, and al-Ḥākim, and he declared it to have a sound chain, and Ibn Madawayh and Ibn ʿAsākir both narrate from ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib concerning the verse, ‘You are only a warner, and there is a guide for every people,’ he said: ‘The Messenger of God is the warner and I am the guide.’ And in another version: ‘And the guide is a man from the Banū Hāshim, by which he meant himself.’

Author’s comment: There are many other narrations reported in Sunni sources with the same meaning.

5. In Maʿānī al-akhbār, Shaykh al-Ṣadūq narrates from Muḥammad b. Muslim, who said: ‘I asked Abū ʿAbd Allāh about God’s saying: You are only a warner, and there is a guide for every people. He said: “Every Imām is a guide for all people in their time.”’
6. And in al-Kāfī, al-Kulaynī reports via his chain of narrators from Fuḍayl, who said:’ I asked Abū ʿAbd Allāh about the saying of God, the Mighty and Sublime: … and there is a guide for every people. He said: ‘every Imām is a guide for the generation in which he lives.’
7. And in the same source, it is related via a chain of narration from Abī Baṣīr, that he said: ‘I asked Abī ʿAbd Allāh about the verse, You are only a warner, and there is a guide for every people. He said: “The Messenger of God said: ‘I am the warner and ʿAlī is the guide.’ O Abā Muḥammad, is there a guide today?” I said: “May I be your sacrifice, there has always been one guide after another from your household until it reached you!” He said: “May God have mercy on you, O Abā Muḥammad, if a verse was revealed about a man, then that man died, the verse would die, and the Book as a whole would die. However, it continues in those who remain as it continued in those who have already passed.”’

Author’s comment: The narration confirms what we have argued, namely that the verse refers to ʿAlī as a form of applying a verse’s meaning to a new instance (jarī). It continues to apply to the rest of the Imāms in the same vein, and this application is what is actual meant by those traditions stating that the verse was revealed about ʿAlī.

8. In Tafsīr al-ʿAyyāshī, it is narrated from Muḥammad b. Muslim that he said: ‘I asked Abū ʿAbd Allāh about the saying of God: Allah knows what every female carries, and what the wombs reduce and what they increase (). He said: ‘What the wombs reduce refer to whatever does not result in pregnancy, and what they increase refers to male and female both.’

Author’s comment: When he says: ‘male and female both,’ he means what increases beyond one from one as evidenced by the following narration.

9. In the same source, we read from Muḥammad b. Muslim and others from the Imām, that he said: what every female carries—every one of female or male what the wombs reduce—whatever does not result in pregnancy— and what they increase—of female or male.
10. And in al-Kāfī, al-Kulaynī transmits via his chain of narration from Ḥurayz, from someone he mentioned, from either Imām al-Bāqir or Imām al-Ṣādiq, regarding the saying of God Almighty: Allah knows what every female carries, and what the wombs reduce and what they increase. The Imām said: ‘What they reduce refers to every pregnancy less than nine months, and what they increase refers to everything that continues beyond nine months. So, whenever a woman sees pure blood in her pregnancy from menstruation, she increases by the number of days she sees blood in her pregnancy.

Author’s comment: And this is another explanation of the verse and transmitted from some of the earliest exegetes of the Qurʾan.

11. In Maʿānī al-Akhbār, it is narrated from Thaʿlaba b. Maymūn, from one of our companions, from Abī ʿAbd Allāh, concerning the words of God Almighty: the Knower of the sensible and the Unseen. He said: ‘The Unseen refers to what has not occurred, and the sensible to what has already taken place.’

Author’s comment: The meaning of ‘what has not occurred’ is not something that is still non-existent: A potentiality that has not yet entered the circumstances of actuality. What he mentioned are some examples of this, and this is obvious.

12. In Al-Durr al-manthūr, al-Suyūṭī reports from Ibn Al-Mundhir, Ibn Abī Ḥātim, al-Ṭabarānī in al-Kabir, Ibn Mardawayh, and Abū Nuʿaym in al-Dalāʾil, all of whom report via ʿAtāʾ b. Yasār from Ibn ʿAbbās that Arbad b. Qays and ʿĀmir b. al-Ṭufayl came to Medina to the Messenger of God. They approached him while he was sitting and sat before him. ʿĀmir asked, ‘What will you grant me if I embrace Islam?’ The Prophet replied: ‘For you is what is for the Muslims and upon you is what is upon them.’ He said, ‘Will you assign the command to me after you if I embrace Islam?’ He said, ‘Neither for you nor for your people, but you shall lead your own people.’ He said, ‘Then assign to me the pastures, and for you the cities.’ The Prophet said, ‘No.’ As they left his presence, he said, ‘I will surely fill it against you with horses and men.’ The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, ‘God will prevent you.’

When Arbad and ʿĀmir exited, ʿĀmir said, ‘O Arbad, I will distract Muḥammad with talk and you strike him with the sword, for if Muḥammad is killed, the people will not demand more than being content with the blood-money, and they will be averse to war, so we will give them the blood-money.’ Arbad said, ‘Do it.’ So, they returned and ʿĀmir said, ‘O Muḥammad, stand with me, I want to talk to you.’ He stood with him, and they went to the wall. ʿĀmir was talking to him and Arbad tried to draw the sword. When he put his hand on the handle of the sword to draw it, it clung to it, and he could not unsheathe it. And Arbad delayed ʿĀmir in striking, so the Messenger of God turned and saw Arbad and what he was doing and turned away from them. ʿĀmir said to Arbad, ‘Why did you hold back?’ He said, ‘I put my hand on the handle of the sword and it became stuck.’

When ʿĀmir and Arbad left the presence of the Messenger of God and traveled until they were at Ḥarra Raqim. They set down, and Saʿd b. Muʿādh and Usayd b. Ḥuḍāyr came out to them and said, “You are uncovered, O enemies of God, may God curse you both,” and attacked them. ʿĀmir said, “Who is this, O Saʿd?” Saʿd said, “This is Usayd b. Ḥuḍayr al-Katāʾib.” He said, “By God, surely Ḥuḍayr was a friend to me.”

When they were at Raqim, God sent a lightning bolt upon Arbad, killing him. And ʿĀmir continued on his way until when he was at al-Kharīb. There, God afflicted him with an ulcer, and death overtook him therein. God revealed the verses: Allah knows what every female carries … He has guardian angels, to his front and his rear …. (). He explained: “Guardian angels protect Muḥammad by God’s command, then he mentioned Arbad and his manner of death, then said: ‘It is He who shows you the lightning, inspiring fear and hope … though He is great in might’ ().

Author’s comment: A tradition with a similar meaning is narrated from al-Ṭabarī and Abū Shaykh from Ibn Zayd; at the end of it, Labīd spoke about his brother Arbad while mourning him:

‘I fear for Arbad the thunderbolts and I do not,

Fear the cloud and the lion.

Thunder and lightning surprised the knight,

On the calamitous day in the Najd.’

However, what the narration mentions about the revelation of these verses in the story does not suit the fact that the verses appear to be Meccan, nor does it suit the tone of the verses based on our prior discussions.

13. Also in Al-Durr al-manthūr, al-Suyūṭī cites Ibn al-Mundhir and Abū Shaykh, who narrate from ʿAlī, about the verse, He has guardian angels, to his front and his rear, who guard him by Allah’s command: ‘There is not a servant except with him are angels, guarding him from a wall collapsing upon him, or falling into a well, or being eaten by a lion, or drowning, or burning. But when the divine determination (al-qadr) comes, they leave him to God’s determination.’

Author’s comment: A narration with the same meaning is narrated from Abū Dāwūd about the divine determination, and Ibn Abī Dunyā, and Ibn ʿAsākir, from him. And a narration with the same meaning is also narrated from Imām al-Bāqir and Imām al-Ṣādiq.

14. And in Tafsīr al-ʿAyyāshī, it is narrated from Fuḍayl b. ʿUthmān, from Abī ʿAbd Allāh he mentioned the verse, He has guardian angels (muʿaqqibāt), to his front and his rear, who guard him by Allah’s command. Then he said: ‘From before, from after—the muʿaqqibāt are the righteous deeds that endure (bāqiyāt ṣāliḥāt).’

Author’s comment: The apparent meaning of this tradition is that the righteous deeds that endure are one of the things two which the term muʿaqqibāt used in this verse refers. In other words, these righteous deeds protect their doer from the evil of the divine decree (al-qaḍāʾ), but they do not protect their doer except through the angels who are charged with watching over him. Therefore, the meaning of this tradition accords with what we have presented in our explanation of the verse. And it is possible that ‘from before, from after’ (al-muʾakhkharāt wa al-muqaddamāt) are identical with ‘the righteous deeds that endure,’ and it is clear how this relates to our explanation.

15. In the same source, it is narrated from Abū ʿAmr al-Madāʾinī from Abū ʿAbd Allāh: ‘Surely, my father used to say: “Indeed, God has made an irrevocable decree that He will not bless a servant with a blessing and then deprive him of it before the servant commits a sin that necessitates the removal of it. This is according to God’s saying, Indeed Allah does not change a people’s lot, unless they change what is in their souls.”’
16. And in the same source, it is related from Aḥmad b. Muḥammad, from Abū al-Ḥasan al-Riḍā, regarding God’s saying, Indeed Allah does not change a people’s lot, unless they change what is in their souls. And when Allah wishes to visit ill on a people, there is nothing that can avert it: ‘So, the matter returns to God, the Exalted.’

Author’s comment: This is a reference to what we have previously explained regarding the meaning of the verse.

17. And in Maʿānī al-Akhbār, al-Ṣadūq narrates via his chain from ʿAbd Allāh b. al-Faḍl, from his father, who said: ‘I heard Abū Khālid al-Kābulī say: “I heard Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn say: ‘The sins that alter blessings are committing wrongs against people and forsaking good habits, making a pretense of virtue, ingratitude for blessings, and abandonment of thanksgiving. God Almighty said, Indeed Allah does not change a people’s lot, unless they change what is in their souls.’”’
18. And in the same source, via a chain from Ḥasan b. Faḍl, from al-Riḍā, regarding the verse, ) It is He who shows you the lightning, inspiring fear and hope (), He said: ‘Fear of the traveler and hope for the resident.’
19. And in the Tafsīr al-Nuʿmānī, from al-Aṣbagh b. Nabāta, from ʿAlī regarding God’s saying, though He is great in might (): ‘He means in plotting (makr).’
20. And in the Āmālī of al-Shaykh al-Ṭūsī, he narrates via his chain from Anas b. Mālik that that the messenger of God sent a man to one of the tyrants of the Arabs, calling him to God Almighty. He said to the messenger: ‘Inform me about this to which you call me—is it from silver or gold or from iron?’ He returned to the Prophet and informed him of what the ruler had said. The Prophet said: ‘Return to him and invite him.’ He said: ‘O Prophet of God, he is too stubborn for that.’ He said: ‘Return to him.’ The messenger returned and did as he had been told, and while he was speaking to him, a cloud suddenly thundered and cast down a lightning bolt on his head, taking the top of his head off. God Almighty then revealed the verse: ‘…and He releases the thunderbolts and strikes with them whomever He wishes. Yet they dispute concerning Allah, though He is great in might’ ().

Author’s comment: The same can be said of the end of this story as was said about that of ʿĀmir and Arbad. To this can also be added that there is no basis for this report splitting the revelation verse into different parts, such that only ‘… and He releases the thunderbolts …’ was revealed at this point.

21. In Tafsīr al-Qummī, it is narrated from Abū al-Jārūd, from from Abī Jaʿfar, regarding the verse, To Allah prostrates whoever there is in the heavens and the earth … (): ‘As for those who prostrate among the inhabitants of the heavens voluntarily, they are the angels, for they prostrate to God voluntarily. As for those who prostrate from the inhabitants of the earth who were born into Islam, they prostrate to Him voluntarily. And as for those who prostrate to Him unwillingly, they are compelled to Islam. And as for those who do not prostrate at all, their shadows prostrate for them in the morning and the evening.’

Author’s comment: The apparent of the narration contradicts the context of the verse under discussion, for the context of the verse is expounding the fact that He subjugation all beings through His greatness and exaltedness, whether they are in the heavens or the earth, and whether themselves or even their shadows. The verse informs us of their prostration to Him the Exalted through the essence of prostration. The apparent meaning of the narration is that prostration is used in the literal sense of lowering oneself and placing the forehead on the ground or the like thereof, whether by them or by their shadows. And regardless of whether they actually prostrated willingly or unwillingly or whether the falling of their shadows on the earth resembles prostration, none of this glorifies God Almighty, contrary to what we have said about the meaning of the verse.

In addition to this, the quoted narration does not accord with the inclusiveness visible in His saying: and their shadows at sunrise and sunset. Clearer than this is the inclusiveness that can be seen in His saying: Have they not regarded that whatever thing Allah has created casts its shadow to the right and to the left, prostrating to Allah in utter humility? To Allah prostrates whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth, including animals and angels, and they are not arrogant ().

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1. See verse (Ed.) ↩︎