Surah al-An`am (The Cattle) 6 : 73

Explanatory Note

“He it is who has created the heavens and the earth in truth.” This is another undeniable fact mentioned here to influence people into choosing the right course of submission to God. If they do, they only surrender to the One who has created the heavens and the earth. Needless to say, the one who creates is the one who owns, controls and determines the destiny of the heavens and the earth and all that lives in or on them. Moreover, this creation has been made `in truth’. This is to refuse all the conjectural theories advanced by philosophers, particularly Plato and the Utopians, which suggest that this physical world of ours is a delusion and has no real substance. The Qur’anic statement goes further than refuting such theories. It makes it clear that the truth is an essential element in the foundation, as well as the destiny of this universe. The truth which people seek and to which they turn is supported by the truth which is essential in the nature of existence. Thus, it becomes an overpowering force which sweeps all falsehood away. Indeed, falsehood cannot establish any roots in the structure of the universe. It is only `like an evil tree torn out of the earth and shorn of all its roots’. Falsehood is like swelling foam surfacing over running water: it has no substance. This is again a profoundly powerful statement of fact.

“Whenever He says, ‘Be,’ it shall be.” His power dominates all, and His will is unrestrained. He creates, changes and replaces as He pleases. This fact is mentioned here for a dual purpose: it helps the proper formulation of the correct concept of faith in the believers’ hearts and it inspires those who are called upon to submit to God, the Lord of all the worlds, the Creator of everything, the One who says to anything He wishes to create, “Be”, and it is instantly there.

“His word is the truth.” This fact applies to God’s word, “Be”, which causes creation. This His commandment that all creation should submit to Him alone, this His word providing legislation for mankind to implement, and this His word which tells us about the past, present and future, the origin of creation, resurrection, reckoning and reward. In all this, His word is the truth. Hence, those who associate with Him partners that can cause no benefit or harm, those who follow the bidding of anyone other than Him, or who adopt any philosophy other than that of the divine faith, or who implement any legislation other than His code are advised to surrender themselves to Him alone.

“All sovereignty shall be His on the Day when the trumpet is blown.” On the Day of Resurrection, the trumpet is sounded in a way that no human being has thus far heard. It is part of what God has kept to Himself. The nature of that trumpet and how people respond to it remain unknown to anyone other than God. The reports available to us suggest that it is a horn-like trumpet, made of light. It is blown by an angel. As the dead in their graves hear it, they immediately rise up. Indeed, this is the second blow given on that trumpet. The first one causes all creatures in the heavens and on earth to be stunned, with the exception of those God chooses to exempt. This is mentioned in verse 68 of Surah 39: “The trumpet will be sounded, and all creatures that are in the heavens and all that are on earth will fall down senseless, unless they be such as God wills to exempt. And then it will be sounded again, and they all stand up and will begin to see.” These descriptions of the trumpet and the effects of its blowing make it clear to us that it is something different from what human beings have seen or heard on this earth or what they visualize. It belongs to the world that lies beyond the reach of human perception. We know about it only by virtue of what God has chosen to inform us of its shape and effect. We confine ourselves to this information so as not to indulge in speculation which lacks solid foundation.

On that day when the trumpet is sounded, even the rejecters and the blind will begin to see and realize that all sovereignty belongs to God alone. No one has any power other than Him. No will can operate other than His. Hence, those who in this life refuse to submit to Him willingly are well advised to change their attitude before they have to submit to His absolute power on the day when the trumpet is blown.

“He knows all that is beyond the reach of human perception, and all that is manifest.” His knowledge is perfect, absolute. It includes everything that is kept away from us as well as that which we see in the universe. Nothing of people’s affairs and no part of their lives can be hidden from Him. Again, they will follow good counsel if they surrender themselves to Him, worship Him and be God-fearing. This fact is mentioned here for its own sake and is used as something with which to influence those who reject the faith. “He alone is truly wise, all-aware.” He conducts all the affairs of the universe which He has created, as well as the affairs of the creatures over whom He has absolute power in this life and in the life to come. All that He does is characterized by wisdom and is based on unbounded knowledge. When they submit to His law, they will enjoy the happiness that is imparted to their lives by His wisdom. They will bring themselves out of their loss and bewilderment to enjoy His guidance and learn happiness from His wisdom.