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“There is no creature on earth but that its provision rests upon Allah. He knows its dwelling-place and its resting-place; all is recorded in a clear Book.” (6)
His saying, exalted is He: “There is no creature on earth”—that is, there is not a single creature; min is supplementary. A creature is every living being that moves upon the face of the earth.
His saying, “but that its provision rests upon Allah,” means that He graciously undertakes to provide it; yet this is subject to His will: if He wills, He provides for it, and if He wills, He does not provide for it.
It was also said that ʿalā means min: that is, its provision is from Allah.
﴿وَمَا مِنْ دَابَّةٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ إِلَّا عَلَى اللَّهِ رِزْقُهَا وَيَعْلَمُ مُسْتَقَرَّهَا وَمُسْتَوْدَعَهَا كُلٌّ فِي كِتَابٍ مُبِينٍ (٦) ﴾ .
قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَمَا مِنْ دَابَّةٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ﴾ أَيْ: لَيْسَ دَابَّةٌ، "مِنْ" صِلَةٌ. وَالدَّابَّةُ: كُلُّ حَيَوَانٍ يَدِبُّ عَلَى وَجْهِ الْأَرْضِ.
وَقَوْلُهُ ﴿إِلَّا عَلَى اللَّهِ رِزْقُهَا﴾ أَيْ: هُوَ الْمُتَكَفِّلُ بِذَلِكَ فَضْلًا وَهُوَ إِلَى مَشِيئَتِهِ إِنْ شَاءَ رَزَقَ وَإِنْ شَاءَ لَمْ يَرْزُقْ.
وَقِيلَ: "عَلَى" بِمَعْنَى: "مِنْ" أَيْ: مِنَ اللَّهِ رِزْقُهَا.