⦗25–28⦘ “If you ask them who created the heavens and the earth, they will surely say, ‘Allah.’ Say, ‘Praise be to Allah!’ Yet most of them do not know. * To Allah belongs all that is in the heavens and the earth. Indeed, Allah is the Self-Sufficient, the Praiseworthy. * If every tree on earth were pens, and the sea—replenished after it by seven more seas—were ink, the words of Allah would not be exhausted. Indeed, Allah is Almighty, All-Wise. * The creation and resurrection of you all are but like those of a single soul. Indeed, Allah is All-Hearing, All-Seeing.”
That is, if you were to ask these polytheists who deny the truth, “Who created the heavens and the earth?” they would know that their idols created none of that, and they would hasten to reply that Allah alone created them.
Therefore, “say” to them—binding them by their own admission and using what they acknowledge as proof against what they deny—“Praise be to Allah,” who has made the light evident and brought forth the proof against you from your own selves. Had they possessed knowledge, they would have affirmed with certainty that the One who alone creates and governs must alone be singled out in worship and in the affirmation of His oneness.
Yet “most of them do not know.” Hence, they associate others with Him and accept the contradiction inherent in their position, proceeding out of bewilderment and doubt rather than insight. Then, in these two verses, He presented an illustration of the boundlessness of His attributes, so as to call His servants to know Him, love Him, and devote their religion sincerely to Him.
He mentioned the universal extent of His dominion: all that is in the heavens and the earth—and this encompasses the entire upper and lower realms—belongs to Him. He governs them through His decrees as Sovereign ⦗651⦘: His decrees of destiny, His prescriptive rulings, and His judgments of recompense. They are all servants under His ownership, governed and subjected, possessing no share of dominion. His self-sufficiency is boundless, so He needs nothing that any creature needs: “I seek no provision from them, nor do I seek that they should feed Me.”
The deeds of the prophets, the steadfast affirmers of truth, the martyrs, and the righteous do not benefit Allah in any way; they benefit only those who perform them. Allah has no need of them or their deeds. One manifestation of His self-sufficiency is that He has enriched them and made them content in this world and the Hereafter.
Then Allah Most High spoke of the boundlessness of the praise due to Him. His being worthy of praise is inseparable from His Essence, so He can only ever be Praiseworthy in every respect. He is Praiseworthy in His Essence and Praiseworthy in His attributes. Every one of His attributes merits the most perfect and complete praise, for they are attributes of grandeur and perfection. He is praised for everything He has done and created, for everything He has commanded and prohibited, and for every judgment He has rendered concerning His servants and between them, in this world and the Hereafter.
Then He spoke of the boundlessness of His speech and the grandeur of His words, through an explanation that penetrates the hearts to their utmost depths, astounds minds, leaves hearts bewildered, and sends those endowed with understanding and insight ranging far in the attempt to comprehend it. He said: “If every tree on earth were pens” with which to write, “and the sea—replenished after it by seven more seas—” supplied the ink, those pens would break and all that ink would be exhausted, yet the “words of Allah” Most High would not be exhausted.
This is not an exaggeration devoid of reality. Rather, Allah—Mighty and Majestic—knew that minds fall short of encompassing even some of His attributes. He also knew that His servants’ knowledge of Him is the greatest blessing He has bestowed upon them and the noblest distinction they have attained. Such knowledge cannot be attained in full as it truly is; but what cannot be grasped completely should not be abandoned completely. Allah Most High therefore drew their attention to this in a manner that illuminates their hearts and expands their breasts, so that they may use what they have come to know as evidence for what lies beyond their knowledge. They then say, as the best of them and the one most knowledgeable of his Lord said: “We cannot enumerate Your praise; You are as You have praised Yourself.” Yet the reality is still more sublime and immense.
This analogy serves to bring within the reach of minds and understanding a meaning that cannot otherwise be attained. Even if the trees were multiplied many times beyond what was mentioned, and the seas were extended (1) many times over, it would still be conceivable for them to be exhausted and come to an end, because they are created.
As for the speech of Allah Most High, its exhaustion is inconceivable. Scriptural and rational evidence demonstrates that it has neither exhaustion nor end. Everything comes to an end except the Creator and His attributes: “And to your Lord is the final end.”
When the mind conceives the reality of Allah Most High being the First and the Last, it understands that whatever ages of the past it may posit—however indefinitely supposition and estimation continue—Allah Most High existed before all of them, without limit or beginning. Likewise, whatever ages of the future the mind and intellect may posit—however indefinitely supposition and estimation continue, and however many may support that supposition with heart and tongue—Allah Most High remains after all of them, without limit or end.
At all times Allah judges, speaks, says, and acts however He wills. When He wills, nothing can prevent any of His words or deeds. Once the mind conceives this, it recognizes that the analogy Allah set forth for His speech enables His servants to grasp something of it; otherwise, the reality is still greater and more sublime.
Then He mentioned the majesty of His might and the perfection of His wisdom, saying: “Indeed, Allah is Almighty, All-Wise.” That is, all might belongs to Him. Whatever strength exists in the upper and lower realms comes only from Him, for He granted it to His creatures. There is no power or strength except through Him. By His might He has subdued all creation, exercises authority over them, and governs them. By His wisdom He created creation, originated it in wisdom, and made wisdom its end and intended purpose. Likewise, His commands and prohibitions were instituted with wisdom, and their intended end is wisdom. He is therefore All-Wise in His creation and His command.
Then He mentioned the greatness and perfection of His power, which the mind cannot fully conceive, saying: “The creation and resurrection of you all are but like those of a single soul.” This is something that bewilders the mind: the creation of all creatures, numerous though they are, and their resurrection after death and dispersion—all in a single instant—is no different from His creation of one soul. There is therefore no basis for considering resurrection, being raised from the dead, and recompense for deeds far-fetched, except ignorance of Allah’s greatness and the strength of His power.
Then He mentioned that His hearing encompasses everything audible and His sight everything visible, saying: “Indeed, Allah is All-Hearing, All-Seeing.”