Surah Al-Hijr, Ayah 21

The Supplies for All Things are with Allah

Allah tells us that He is the Owner of all things, and that everything is easy for Him. He has the supplies for all things with Him.

وَمَا نُنَزِّلُهُ إِلاَّ بِقَدَرٍ مَّعْلُومٍ

(and We do not send it down but in a known measure.) meaning, as He wills and as He wants. Doing so out of His great wisdom and mercy towards His servants, in a way that He is under no obligation to do. But He has decreed mercy for Himself. Yazid bin Abi Ziyad reported from Abu Juhayfah that `Abdullah said: "No year has more rain than another, but Allah divides the rain between them as He wills, it rains here a year and there a year. Then he recited:

وَإِن مِّن شَىْءٍ إِلاَّ عِندَنَا خَزَائِنُهُ

(And there is not a thing, but the supplies for it are with Us...) Reported by Ibn Jarir.

Benefits of the Winds

وَأَرْسَلْنَا الرِّيَاحَ لَوَاقِحَ

(And We send the winds fertilizing.) i.e., fertilizing the clouds so that they give rain, and fertilizing the trees so that they open their leaves and blossoms. These winds are mentioned here in the plural form because they give results, unlike the barren wind (Ar-Rih Al-'Aqim, see Adh-Dhariyat 51:41), which is mentioned in the singular and described as barren since it does not produce anything; because results can only be produced when there are two or more things.

وَأَرْسَلْنَا الرِّيَاحَ لَوَاقِحَ

(And We sent the winds fertilizing.) `Abdullah bin Mas`ud said, "The wind is sent bearing water from the sky, then it fertilizes the clouds until rain begins to generously fall, just as the milk of the pregnant camel flows generously." This was also the opinion of Ibn `Abbas, Ibrahim An-Nakha`i and Qatadah. Ad-Dahhak said: "Allah sends it to the clouds and it gets fertilized and becomes full of water." `Ubayd bin `Umayr Al-Laythi said: "Allah sends the wind which stirs up the earth, then Allah sends the wind which raises clouds, then Allah sends the wind which forms clouds, then Allah sends the fertilizing wind which pollinates the trees. Then he recited,

وَأَرْسَلْنَا الرِّيَاحَ لَوَاقِحَ

(And We sent the winds fertilizing,)

Fresh Water is a Blessing from Allah

فَأَسْقَيْنَاكُمُوهُ

(and We give it to you to drink,) This means, "and We send it down to you fresh and sweet, so that you can drink it; if We had wished, We could have made it salty (and undrinkable)", as Allah points out in another Ayah in Surat Al-Waqi`ah, where He says:

أَفَرَءَيْتُمُ الْمَآءَ الَّذِى تَشْرَبُونَ - أَءَنتُمْ أَنزَلْتُمُوهُ مِنَ الْمُزْنِ أَمْ نَحْنُ الْمُنزِلُونَ - لَوْ نَشَآءُ جَعَلْنَـهُ أُجَاجاً فَلَوْلاَ تَشْكُرُونَ

(Tell Me! The water that you drink, is it you who cause it to come down from the rain clouds, or are We the cause of it coming down If We willed, We verily could make it salty (and undrinkable), why then do you not give thanks (to Allah)) (56:68-70). And Allah says:

هُوَ الَّذِى أَنْزَلَ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَآءً لَّكُم مَّنْهُ شَرَابٌ وَمِنْهُ شَجَرٌ فِيهِ تُسِيمُونَ

(He it is Who sends water down from the sky; from it you drink and from it (grows) the vegetation on which you send your cattle to pasture.) (16:10)

وَمَآ أَنْتُمْ لَهُ بِخَـزِنِينَ

(and it is not you who are the owners of its supply.) The meaning is, "You are not taking care of it; rather We send it down and take care of it for you, making springs and wells flourish on the earth. " If Allah so willed, He could make it disappear, but by His mercy He sends it down and makes it fresh and sweet, maintaining the springs, wells, rivers and so on, so that they may drink from it all year long, water their livestock and irrigate their crops.

The Power of Allah to initiate and renew Creation

وَإنَّا لَنَحْنُ نُحْىِ وَنُمِيتُ

(And certainly We! We it is Who give life, and cause death,) Here Allah tells us of His power to initiate creation and renew it. He is the One Who brings life to creatures out of nothingness, then He causes them to die, then He will resurrect all of them on the Day when He will gather them together. He also tells us that He will inherit the earth and everyone on it, and then it is to Him that they will return. Then He tells us about His perfect knowledge of them, the first and the last of them. He says

وَلَقَدْ عَلِمْنَا الْمُسْتَقْدِمِينَ مِنكُمْ

(And indeed, We know the first generations of you who had passed away...). Ibn `Abbas said, "The first generations are all those who have passed away since the time of Adam. The present generations and those who will come afterward refer to those who are alive now and who are yet to come, until the Day of Resurrection." Something similar was narrated from `Ikrimah, Mujahid, Ad-Dahhak, Qatadah, Muhammad bin Ka`b, Ash-Sha`bi and others. Ibn Jarir reported from Muhammad bin Abi Ma`shar, from his father, that he heard `Awn bin `Abdullah discussing the following Ayah with Muhammad bin Ka`b:

وَلَقَدْ عَلِمْنَا الْمُسْتَقْدِمِينَ مِنكُمْ وَلَقَدْ عَلِمْنَا الْمُسْتَـْخِرِينَ

(And indeed, We know the first generations of you who had passed away, and indeed, We know the present generations of you (mankind), and also those who will come afterwards), and it was stated that it refers to the rows for prayer. Muhammad bin Ka`b said, "This is not the case.

وَلَقَدْ عَلِمْنَا الْمُسْتَقْدِمِينَ مِنكُمْ

(And indeed, We know the first generations of you who had passed away) it refers to those who are dead or have been killed, and;

الْمُسْتَـْخِرِينَ

(and also those who will come afterwards) meaning those who have yet to be created.

وَإِنَّ رَبَّكَ هُوَ يَحْشُرُهُمْ إِنَّهُ حَكِيمٌ عَلِيمٌ

(And verily your Lord will gather them together. Truly, He is Most Wise, (and) Knowing)." `Awn bin `Abdullah said, "May Allah help you and reward you with good."

Commentary

Divine Wisdom: Balanced Provision for Human Needs

One sense of the expression: مِن كُلِّ شَيْءٍ مَّوْزُونٍ (everything in balance - 19) is what has been taken in the present translation of the text, that is, it was in His infinite wisdom that He caused everything that grows to grow in a determined measure, not less than that which would have made life difficult, and not too much which would have also brought difficulties of a different nature. If grains like wheat and rice and the best of fruits around were to grow in such excess that stockpiles of them remain behind even after their liberal consumption by human beings and animals, then, it is obvious that they would go bad, or their possible storage (in ideal natural state) will be difficult under varying conditions, and if they had to be dumped, then, not much space will be left for such mega dumpings.

When initially deep seas and oceans were created on the earth, high hills emerged at various places on the earth in order to balance them. After this, vegetation and animals came into existence and flourished in profusion, each one of them having a great capacity to grow. But it is clear that there is a fixed measure for everything. Everything goes on growing but, at a certain limit, it stops; it is not able to go on any further. For instance, plants and trees have such an immense capacity for reproducing themselves that if one plant were allowed to grow in accordance with its internal capacity and without any restriction, within a few years that same plant would be seen covering the whole surface of the earth and there would be no room for anything else. But it is clear that there is a powerful Organizer, Who has control over everything. The same is true of animals. They too, have an unlimited capacity for procreation, but the number of offspring produced by each stops after reaching a certain limit. Similarly, the animals have the capacity to grow in size, but only to a certain degree. If a tiny fly were allowed to grow without restriction, it would be equal in size to an elephant. But natural control restricts its size to a certain limit. If the growth of these things was not restricted to certain limits, the life of man on this earth would be impossible. Human beings require innumerable things for their sustenance and for civilization to develop. All these things have been made available on earth in exact accord with human needs. The provision for all these things and the assurance of their continued existence is of God’s devising. If we were required to provide sustenance for ourselves, we would find it well-nigh impossible to do so.