Surah al-An`am (The Cattle) 6 : 12

قُل لِّمَن مَّا فِى ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۖ قُل لِّلَّهِ ۚ كَتَبَ عَلَىٰ نَفْسِهِ ٱلرَّحْمَةَ ۚ لَيَجْمَعَنَّكُمْ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ ٱلْقِيَٰمَةِ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ ۚ ٱلَّذِينَ خَسِرُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَهُمْ فَهُمْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ

Translations

 
 Muhsin Khan
 Pickthall
 Yusuf Ali
Quran Project
Say, "To whom belongs whatever is in the heavens and earth?" Say, "To Allāh." He has decreed upon Himself mercy. He will surely assemble you for the Day of Resurrection, about which there is no doubt. Those who will lose themselves [that Day] do not believe.

1. Lessons/Guidance/Reflections/Gems

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Explanatory Note

Here, the surah adopts an attitude of confrontation that aims to state the issues very clearly before drawing the lines that separate the believers from all others. It gives the Prophet certain instructions to take up this confrontation with those who are fully aware that God is the Creator of the whole universe, but who, nevertheless, worship other beings even though these have no power to create anything equal to Him. That is, they associate partners with Him whom they claim have a say in how they conduct their lives. The Prophet is instructed to confront them with a question about the ownership, which follows creation, of everything in the heavens and on earth. As the question is put, it is meant to include every single element in the whole universe. It is followed by a statement of fact over which they did not and could not argue. The Qur’an tells us elsewhere that they used to acknowledge it fully: “Say: To whom belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth? Say: To God.” 
 
The  Qur’anic  verse  follows  this  statement  asserting  God’s  ownership  of  the heavens and earth by stating that “He has committed Himself to bestow grace and mercy.” He is the sole, undisputed owner of the whole universe. He, however, out of His generosity and by His own will, has committed Himself to bestow grace and mercy. No one could suggest this exercise of bestowing grace to Him or require it of Him, apart from His absolutely freewill and His compassionate lordship over the universe.  Grace  and  mercy  provide  the  basic  rules  in  His  treatment  of,  and judgement  over, His  servants  both  in  this  present  life  and  in  the  life  to  come. Believing in this rule is one of the constituents of the Islamic concept of life. Even when God tests His servants with hardship, His mercy takes precedence. Indeed, the test is meant to prepare a group of them for the fulfilment of the trust He assigns to them after they have proven their dedication to His cause and preparedness to sacrifice themselves for it. He actually sorts out the good from the bad among them: those among them who are keen to follow God’s Messenger distinguish themselves from those who turn back on their heels. The exercise of mercy and the bestowing of grace in all this are clearly manifest.
  
What immediately attracts our attention in this statement is the fact that God, the Creator, the Owner, the Almighty who has power over all His servants, has granted them the favour of making the exercise of His mercy and grace a commitment to which He has bound Himself out of His own free-will. This is a great fact, one which we  can  hardly  contemplate  let  alone  appreciate.  There  is,  however,  yet  another favour here which attracts our attention. This is manifested in the fact that He has also favoured His servants by telling them about this commitment. Who are human beings that they deserve the favour of being told of what God has willed, and for the communication  to  be  given  in  God’s  own  words  through  His  Messenger?  It  is nothing short of a great favour that can only be bestowed by God, the Most Gracious.
  
It is further reflected in the fact that God forgives man his sins every time he repents of them. In the same vein, we can mention the fact that when God punishes man, His punishment is administered on the basis of what is exactly equivalent to his bad deeds. On the other hand, God rewards man for his good deeds at least ten times their value and He may increase that manifold for whomever He wills. Furthermore, a good deed erases bad ones. All this is part of God’s grace because no human being can earn admission into heaven on the basis of his or her actions alone, unless God bestows His mercy on them. God’s Messenger states that this also applies to him, thereby acknowledging man’s shortcomings and God’s grace.
 
Before God favoured the Arabs with this religion and elevated them to its noble level, they used to deny the Day of Resurrection in the same way as the proponents of the present-day jahiliyyah deny it. Hence, this fact of gathering God’s creatures has been expressed in the most emphatic style: “He will certainly gather you all together on the Day of Resurrection, about which there is no doubt.
 
The only losers on that day are those who have not believed during this life. These shall not gain anything to compensate for their loss, because they have lost everything. Indeed, they have lost themselves and are no longer capable of anything. After all, man tries to make a gain for himself. When he has lost his own soul, what can he gain? And for whom? “Those who squandered their own souls will not believe.” (Verse 12)

2. Linguistic Analysis

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Frequency of Root words in this Ayat used in this Surah *


3. Surah Overview

4. Miscellaneous Information

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5. Connected/Related Ayat

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6. Frequency of the word

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7. Period of Revelation

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According to Ibn Abbas, the whole of the Surah was revealed at one sitting at Makkah [during the night]. Asma bint Yazid says, ‘During the revelation of this Surah the Prophet was riding on a she-camel and I was holding her nose-string. The she-camel began to feel the weight so heavily that it seemed as if her bones would break under it.’ We also learn from other narrations that it was revealed during the last year before the migration (Hijrah) and that the Prophet dictated the whole of the Surah the same night that it was revealed. [Mawdudi]

8. Reasons for Revelation

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After determining the period of its revelation it is easier to visualize the background of the Surah. Twelve years had passed since the Prophet had been inviting the people to Islam. The antagonism and persecution by the Quraysh had become most savage and brutal and the majority of the Muslims had to migrate to Abyssinia. Additionally, the two great supporters of the Prophet, Abu Talib and his wife Khadijah were no longer there to help him, so he was deprived of all worldly support. In spite of this he carried on his mission. As a result of this all the good people of Makkah and the surrounding clans gradually began to accept Islam but there the community as a whole was still bent on obstinacy and rejection. Therefore if anyone showed an inclination towards Islam they were subjected to taunts and derision, physical violence and social boycott.

It was in these dark circumstances that a ray of hope gleamed from Yathrib, where Islam began to spread freely by the efforts of some influential people of the tribes of Aws and Khazraj, who had embraced Islam at Makkah. At that time, none but God knew the great hidden potential in this.

To a casual observer it appeared as if Islam was a weak movement, with no material backing, except for some limited support from the Prophet's own family and a few poor followers. Obviously the latter could not give much help because they themselves were being persecuted.

9. Relevant Hadith

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10. Wiki Forum

Comments in this section are statements made by general users – these are not necessarily explanations of the Ayah – rather a place to share personal thoughts and stories…

11. Tafsir Zone

 

Overview (Verses 12 - 13)

A Commitment Made by God
 
Say: To whom belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth? Say: To God. He has committed  Himself  to  bestow  grace  and  mercy.  He  will  certainly  gather  you  all together on the Day of Resurrection, about which there is no doubt. Those who squandered their own souls will not believe. To Him belongs whatever takes its rest in the night or in the day. He alone hears all and knows all. (Verses 12-13)

 
Here, the sūrah adopts an attitude of confrontation that aims to state the issues very clearly before drawing the lines that separate the believers from all others. It gives the Prophet certain instructions to take up this confrontation with those who are fully aware that God is the Creator of the whole universe, but who, nevertheless, worship other beings even though these have no power to create anything equal to Him. That is, they associate partners with Him whom they claim have a say in how they conduct their lives. The Prophet is instructed to confront them with a question about the ownership, which follows creation, of everything in the heavens and on earth. As the question is put, it is meant to include every single element in the whole universe. It is followed by a statement of fact over which they did not and could not argue. The Qur’ān tells us elsewhere that they used to acknowledge it fully: “Say: To whom belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth? Say: To God.” (Verse 12)
 
Despite the depth of their ignorance, which resulted in deviant concepts that devalued their quality of life, the Arabs in their pre- Islamic days were superior in this particular aspect to later-day jāhiliyyah. This new jāhiliyyah shuts its mind to this fact while the Arabs used to recognise and admit that God owned everything in the heavens and on earth. However, they did not bring that recognition to its logical conclusion which would have required them to acknowledge God’s total authority over what He owns and that the only proper way to use what God has created is to obtain His permission and to act according to His law. Because of this, the Arabs were described as idolaters and their lifestyle as ignorant. How then should those who deny God’s authority to legislate for human existence and, instead, exercise that authority themselves, be described? They must be given a description other than that of idolatry. God describes them as unbelievers, as wrongdoers and transgressors, no matter how strongly they claim to be Muslims and regardless of what religion is entered on their birth certificates.
 
The  Qur’ānic  verse  follows  this  statement  asserting  God’s  ownership  of  the heavens and earth by stating that “He has committed Himself to bestow grace and mercy.” (Verse 12) He is the sole, undisputed owner of the whole universe. He, however, out of His generosity and by His own will, has committed Himself to bestow grace and mercy. No one could suggest this exercise of bestowing grace to Him or require it of Him, apart from His absolutely freewill and His compassionate lordship over the universe.  Grace  and  mercy  provide  the  basic  rules  in  His  treatment  of,  and judgement  over,  His  servants  both  in  this  present  life  and  in  the  life  to  come. Believing in this rule is one of the constituents of the Islamic concept of life. Even when God tests His servants with hardship, His mercy takes precedence. Indeed, the test is meant to prepare a group of them for the fulfilment of the trust He assigns to them after they have proven their dedication to His cause and preparedness to sacrifice themselves for it. He actually sorts out the good from the bad among them: those among them who are keen to follow God’s Messenger distinguish themselves from those who turn back on their heels. The exercise of mercy and the bestowing of grace in all this are clearly manifest.
 
If we were to try to make an exhaustive list of the incidents and occasions wherein God bestows His mercy and how it is reflected in life, we would need to devote our whole lives to it. Indeed, generations can come and go before this task could be accomplished. In every moment God’s grace is showered over people. We have only identified that mercy which is reflected in hard tests, because often people do not see it  as  such.  We  have  no  intention  to  attempt  a  full  list  of  the  occasions  and  the incidents where God’s mercy is brought into action. We will instead only make some brief references to it. However, we need to reflect a little on the way this Qur’ānic statement is phrased: “He has committed Himself to bestow grace and mercy.” (Verse 12) The same statement is repeated again in Verse 54 of this sūrah with a slight variation: “Your Lord has committed Himself to bestow grace and mercy.”
 
What immediately attracts our attention in this statement is the fact that God, the Creator, the Owner, the Almighty who has power over all His servants, has granted them the favour of making the exercise of His mercy and grace a commitment to which He has bound Himself out of His own free-will. This is a great fact, one which we  can  hardly  contemplate  let  alone  appreciate.  There  is,  however,  yet  another favour here which attracts our attention. This is manifested in the fact that He has also favoured His servants by telling them about this commitment. Who are human beings that they deserve the favour of being told of what God has willed, and for the communication  to  be  given  in  God’s  own  words  through  His  Messenger?  It  is nothing short of a great favour that can only be bestowed by God, the Most Gracious.
 
When we reflect on this fact in this way, we feel a mixture of surprise and happiness that no words can describe. Indeed, such facts and the effects they have on the human mind are indescribable in human language. Humans, however, can appreciate these facts even though they may not be able to define them.
 
To appreciate this fact forms a part of our understanding of the nature of Godhead and the relationship between God and His servants. It is a pleasant, comforting and reassuring understanding which makes us wonder at those perverted minds which level accusations at Islam because it rejects the very idea of God having a son. Islam has no time for such insupportable visions. At the same time, it describes the relationship of grace and mercy between God and His servants in a way that has a profound effect on peoples’ hearts and minds. God’s mercy is extended to all His servants throughout their lives. Here, we can only refer to some of its main aspects. It is reflected in the very existence of mankind who originate from where they do not know and who are given a noble position, easily recognised in the qualities God bestows on many of His servants. It is also reflected in the forces and resources of the universe which God has made subservient to man. This is, indeed, the broader view of the meaning of the provisions God has given to man to enable him to live in comfort and affluence. It is further reflected in granting man the ability to learn and to make his talents and abilities responsive to the world around him. The result is the knowledge man achieves through God’s grace and on account of which some miscreants reject God’s existence. Again, the knowledge God has given to man is part of the grace He has bestowed on him.
 
God’s grace is clearly seen in the role God has assigned to man as His vicegerent, and the care He takes of him by sending messengers to him to give him guidance. Nevertheless, God treats man with forbearance despite his stubborn refusal to listen to the warnings of God’s messengers. It is so easy for God to punish him but God’s grace oversteps His punishment.
 
It is further reflected in the fact that God forgives man his sins every time he repents of them. In the same vein, we can mention the fact that when God punishes man, His punishment is administered on the basis of what is exactly equivalent to his bad deeds. On the other hand, God rewards man for his good deeds at least ten times their value and He may increase that manifold for whomever He wills. Furthermore, a good deed erases bad ones. All this is part of God’s grace because no human being can earn admission into heaven on the basis of his or her actions alone, unless God bestows His mercy on them. God’s Messenger states that this also applies to him, thereby acknowledging man’s shortcomings and God’s grace.
 
It is only appropriate to acknowledge that it is impossible for us to attempt to make an exhaustive list of the aspects of God’s mercy and grace. Suffice it to say that it is beyond human ability to fully reflect on and appreciate the full significance of one moment in which God opens the gates of His mercy to His servant so as to give him  security  and  reassurance.  To  describe  such  a  moment  and  the  feelings  it generates is a much harder task.
 
An Outline of Divine Mercy
 
Let us now consider a number of aĥādīth which give us an insight into how the Prophet portrayed God’s grace so as to make it properly appreciated by ordinary people.
 
Abū Hurayrah quotes the Prophet as saying: “When God created His creation, He wrote in a book which He keeps with Him above the Throne: My grace overspeeds My anger.” (Related by al-Bukhārī and Muslim with slight variations.) In another version related by al- Bukhārī, the last sentence is quoted as, “My grace oversteps My anger.”
 
Both al-Bukhārī and Muslim relate on the authority of Abū Hurayrah that God’s Messenger said that: “God has made mercy into one hundred parts. He then retained ninety-nine parts and placed on earth one part. It is from that one part that creatures show mercy to one another, to the extent that a female animal lifts its hoof away from its young in order not to harm it.”
 
Muslim also relates on the authority of Salmān that God’s Messenger said: “God has one hundred acts of mercy. One of these is the one by which creatures show mercy to one another. The other ninety-nine parts are reserved to the Day of Judgement.” In yet another ĥadīth related by Muslim, we read: “When God created the heavens and the earth, He also created one hundred mercies, each one of them filled the space between the heavens and the earth. He placed one mercy on earth. It is through this that a mother is compassionate to her baby, and so are wild beasts and birds. On the Day of Judgement, God complements them with this one mercy.”
 
This is an inspiring description by the Prophet, one which makes it easy for the human mind to visualise the extent of God’s grace. We only need to reflect on how mothers are so kind-hearted to their youngsters and the sympathy and kindness people show towards the very young and very old, the sick and the invalid, and to relatives and friends. We should also contemplate how birds and animals sometimes manifest their mercy to one another in amazing ways. Now let us consider that all this mercy is the result of a single part out of one hundred parts of God’s mercy. We can, thus, appreciate the extent of God’s abounding, and inexhaustible grace.
 
Time after time, the Prophet spoke to his Companions about God’s grace, reminding them that its benefits go to His servants. `Umar ibn al-Khaţţāb reports that once a group of slaves was sent to the Prophet in Madinah. A woman slave was seen walking fast with her breast oozing with milk. She found a young boy among the slaves, picked him up and put him to her breast to feed him. The Prophet put this question to his Companions: “Do you think that this woman would throw her boy in the fire?” They replied: “No! By God, she would not if she has any way of avoiding that.” He said: “God is more merciful to His servants than this woman to her child.” (Related by al-Bukhārī and Muslim.) How could it be otherwise when the woman’s kindness to her child is produced by her share of a single mercy God has placed into the world out of one hundred He has created?
 
Having taught his Companions this important fact and its great significance in such an inspiring way, God’s Messenger moved them on another step so that they became merciful in their dealings with others and so that they were compassionate to one another and to all living things. The Prophet wanted them to enjoy the happiness of being merciful, just as they were happy to appreciate the extent of God’s grace. `Abdullāh  ibn  `Amr  quotes  the  Prophet  as  saying:  “The  merciful  are  granted mercy by God. Show mercy to those on earth so that you are shown mercy by the One in heaven.” (Related by Abū Dāwūd and al- Tirmidhī.) Jarīr quotes God’s Messenger as saying: “God does not bestow His grace on those who do not show mercy to people.” (Related by al-Bukhārī, Muslim and al-Tirmidhī.) Abū Hurayrah quotes  the  Prophet  as  saying:  “No  one  but  a  miserable  creature  is  deprived  of mercy.” (Related by Abū Dāwūd and al-Tirmidhī.)
 
Abū Hurayrah also reports that God’s Messenger (peace be upon him) kissed al-Ĥasan ibn `Alī, his grandson, when al-Aqra` ibn Ĥābis was in the Prophet’s presence. Al-Aqra` said: “I have ten children but I never kissed any one of them.” The Prophet looked at him and said: “Mercy is not granted to one who is not merciful.” (Related by al- Bukhārī and Muslim.)
 
In teaching his Companions, the Prophet did not stop at extending mercy to mankind. He was fully aware that God’s grace encompasses everything, and that the believers are required to cultivate within themselves the moral principles which form the attributes of God. Man does not attain his full humanity unless he is merciful to every living thing. The Prophet’s instructions in this regard were, as always, highly inspiring. Abū Hurayrah quotes the Prophet as saying: “A man was travelling along a road when he was very thirsty. He found a well, so he went down into it to drink. As he came up he found a gasping dog who was apparently so thirsty that he licked the dust. The man thought, `this dog is now as thirsty as I was a short while ago’. Therefore, he went down the well again and filled his shoe with water. Holding it in his mouth, he came up and gave the water to the dog to drink. God rewarded him for his action by forgiving him. “The Prophet’s audience asked: `Messenger of God, are we to be rewarded for kindness to animals?” He answered: “You get a reward for every kindness you do to any living creature.” (Related by al-Bukhārī, Muslim and Mālik.)
 
In another report, a prostitute is mentioned as having seen a dog walking to and fro in front of a well on a very hot day. His tongue was hanging out because of his thirst. She used her shoe to give him water to drink. So, God forgave her because of her kindness. `Abd al-Raĥmān ibn `Abdullāh transmits the following report by his father, who says: “We were travelling with God’s Messenger when we saw a small bird with two chicks. We took the chicks away. The bird came over us lowering her wings and flying close to the earth. When the Prophet came over, he asked, `Who has taken the chicks of this bird? Give her back her chicks.’ He also saw that we burnt a number of ant dwellings. When we owned up to the fact in response to his question, he said, `No one may punish any creature with fire except the Lord of the Fire’.” (Related by Abū Dāwūd.)
 
Abū Hurayrah quotes the Prophet as saying: “An ant bit one of the earlier prophets, so he ordered the ant dwellings to be burnt. Through inspiration God asked  him:  If  you  are  bitten  by  an  ant,  would  you  burn  a  whole  nation  which glorifies God?” (Related by al-Bukhārī and Muslim.)
 
Such was the Prophet’s method in cultivating among his Companions a keen sense of appreciation of Qur’ānic guidance. This enabled them to appreciate how limitless God’s grace is, through their own mercy to one another. It was clear to them that all aspects of mercy in their world come only from one out of a hundred parts of God’s mercy.
 
When All Gather for Judgement
 
When this concept of mercy is engrained in a Muslim’s thinking, it leaves a profound impact on his life, his view of things and his manners and moral values. A full study of such impact is beyond the scope of this commentary. Therefore, we have to be content with only a few very brief observations.
 
When a Muslim truly appreciates the significance of God’s commitment to being merciful to His servants, he experiences a profound sense of reassurance which remains with him even when he goes through periods of hardship and severe trials that are enough to turn people away from their Lord. A believer is certain that at every moment and in every situation and condition, God’s grace is present and sure to be bestowed. He knows that his Lord does not put him to the test because He has abandoned him or denied him His mercy. God does not deny His grace to anyone who sincerely hopes to receive it. It is human beings who deny themselves God’s mercy when they disbelieve in Him and reject His grace. A believer’s reassurance that God’s grace is close at hand fills his heart with strength, perseverance, hope and comfort. He knows that he is in good, caring hands and he enjoys the comfort of God’s grace as long as he does not go far astray.
 
Moreover, when a believer recognises this fact in this particular manner, his sense of modesty in front of God is enhanced. Hoping for God’s mercy and forgiveness does not motivate people to disobey God as some would have us believe. Indeed, it makes  a  believer  very  shy  in  his  dealings  with  God,  the  Much-Forgiving,  the Merciful. A person who is tempted to disobey God because of God’s mercy is one who has not experienced the true taste of being a believer. For example, some Sufis or mystics claim that they deliberately indulge in sin, in order to enjoy the sweetness of God’s forbearance, forgiveness and mercy. This is twisted logic, which is alien to the proper nature of a believer.
 
A true recognition by a believer of God’s unfailing grace is bound to leave a very strong influence on his moral values and manners. He knows that he is required to cultivate within himself the same manners and values as God. As he recognises that despite his shortcomings, slips and mistakes, he still enjoys an abundance of God’s grace, he learns that he must show mercy to others, forgive them their mistakes and treat them with forbearance. It is to strengthen this principle that the Prophet tried to cultivate a sense of mercy in his Companions.
 
One of the aspects of God’s mercy which is stated in the Qur’ānic verse is that God has decreed that all people will be gathered together on the Day of Judgement. This undoubted gathering is certainly an aspect of His grace. It tells us that for certain, God looks after His servants whom He has created for a particular purpose, and placed them in charge of this earth for a definite objective. He has not created them in vain and has not abandoned them altogether. He has made the Day of Resurrection the end of their journey, as travellers arrive at their destination. He will then give them the reward of their endeavours and compensate them for their toil in this life. Nothing is lost and no one is without reward on the Day of Judgement. In taking such care of His servants, an important aspect of God’s grace is discerned. Other aspects are manifest in the fact that God’s punishment of any sin is equivalent to it, but He rewards a person with ten times the value of his good deeds, and may multiply that further to whomever He wills. He may also forgive any slips or sins to whom He chooses of His servants.
 
Before God favoured the Arabs with this religion and elevated them to its noble level, they used to deny the Day of Resurrection in the same way as the proponents of the present-day jāhiliyyah deny it. Hence, this fact of gathering God’s creatures has been expressed in the most emphatic style: “He will certainly gather you all together on the Day of Resurrection, about which there is no doubt.” (Verse 12)
 
The only losers on that day are those who have not believed during this life. These shall not gain anything to compensate for their loss, because they have lost everything. Indeed, they have lost themselves and are no longer capable of anything. After all, man tries to make a gain for himself. When he has lost his own soul, what can he gain? And for whom? “Those who squandered their own souls will not believe.” (Verse 12)
 
Since they have forfeited their souls, they no longer have what they need in order to believe. It is a very apt and accurate description of a real condition. Those who reject this religion, in spite of its profound appeal to human nature and despite its irrefutable arguments and all the signs and pointers which direct them to faith, must have already lost their share of uncorrupted nature. Their receptive and responsive systems must have either been totally destroyed or locked up and screened over. In such a condition, they lose themselves and they are unable to believe since they no longer have the souls that will respond to faith. This is the underlying explanation of their refusal to believe despite all the evidence around them supporting faith. Alas! This is what determines their destiny on the Day of Resurrection. That destiny is the greatest loss of all that comes in consequence of their having lost themselves.
 
The sūrah then refers to all creatures in terms of time, as it has referred to them in terms of place in the preceding verse. It states that God, limitless is He in His glory, owns them all, has full knowledge of them and hears everything they say and do: “To Him belongs whatever takes its rest in the night or in the day. He alone hears all and knows all.” (Verse 13) The Arabic term used in the Qur’ānic verse and rendered here by the phrase `takes its rest’ also means `to dwell, stop moving, etc.’ The reference in the verse is then made to every creature that rests at night or in the day. As such, it includes all creatures. The Qur’ānic verse states the fact that they all belong to God alone. This is the second statement of this fact although it came in the first verse in terms of place: “Say: ‘To whom belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth?’ Say:’ To God.’” (Verse 12) The reference here, in the second verse, is made in terms of time: “To Him belongs whatever takes its rest in the night or in the day. He alone hears all and knows all.” (Verse 13) This tendency to include all, and to use every aspect, is perfectly familiar in the Qur’ān.
 
The final comment is that which concerns God’s attributes of hearing all and knowing all. It implies having complete and perfect knowledge of all these creatures and all that is said about them by the unbelievers. The pagan Arabs used to acknowledge that the Creator and the Owner is one. Nevertheless, they claimed for their false gods a portion of the fruits, cattle and children as will be told later, in Verse 136 of this sūrah. Hence, their acknowledgement of God’s ownership of everything is stated clearly here so that they will be confronted with it later on as part of a reference to what they assign to those partners they associate with God. Moreover, the establishment of this fact of God’s ownership of everything is given here as a prelude to the statement that God has mastery over everything and all creatures since He is the owner of all, who hears and knows everything that is said and done.


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