Surah al-An`am (The Cattle) 6 : 3

Explanatory Note

A third touch in these short verses combines the two previous ones within the same framework, making it clear that God is the only deity in the whole universe, including the human world: “He alone is God in the heavens and on earth. He has full knowledge of all that you keep secret and all that you do openly. He knows what you earn.” 

The One who has created the heavens and the earth is the only God in them. All attributes and qualities of Godhead belong to Him alone and both the heavens and the earth acknowledge them without hesitation. This acknowledgement is reflected in their submission to the laws God has set in operation in them and in their willing fulfilment of His commandments. The same should apply to human life. God is the Creator of man, the heavens and earth alike. In man’s original making is the clay of this earth. All his qualities which combine to make of him a human being have been given to him by God. His physical entity is subject to the laws of nature God has set in operation. Man has no say in all this. He is created and given his existence by God’s will, not by his parents’ design. They may have intercourse, but they cannot effect conception by their own will. Man is born according to the laws God has established for the term of pregnancy and the conditions of childbirth. Man uses for breathing the air God has placed over the earth in the quantities and ratios He has willed. His breathing conforms to the quantity and method God has chosen for him. He feels pain, hunger, thirst, happiness, or in short, he lives in accordance with God’s law; he has no say in any of it. In all this he is in the same position as the heavens and the earth.

Moreover, God knows what man keeps secret and what he does in the open. He knows what he does and what he earns, be it done in public or in private. It is, then, more befitting for man to follow God’s laws in that area of his life over which he has been given full control. This includes his chosen faith, values and practices. If he does, he achieves harmony between his natural life which is subject to God’s law and his free-will in those areas where he exercises his free choice. Thus, he precludes internal conflict and saves himself from being pulled in opposite directions by two unequal laws: one set by God and one made by man. The two cannot be placed on the same level.

This powerful opening to the sūrah addresses man’s heart and mind, pointing out the evidence derived from creation and from life, for man is able to see such evidence in the world around him and within himself. It is an address which moves away from theology and philosophy in order to awaken human nature as it portrays the movement of creation according to a deliberate scheme and in a manner that states facts without indulging in argumentation. The creation of the heavens and the earth, their organization according to a clear system, and the creation of life — the most important aspect of which is human life — and its movement along its definite course, put human nature face to face with the truth and strongly reassure it of God’s oneness. God’s oneness is the core topic of the whole sūrah. It is what the entire Qur’ān aims to establish. The question is not confined to God’s existence, as such. Throughout human history, the basic problem was not that of accepting the existence of a deity, but rather the inability of recognizing that true deity and giving Him His true attributes.