Tafsir of Surah Fatir - Verse 11

Evidence of Life after Death

Often Allah refers to the Resurrection by using the analogy of the earth coming back to life after it has died, as in the beginning of Surat Al-Hajj, where He urges His servants to draw the lesson of the former from the latter. For the earth is dead and lifeless, with nothing growing in it, then He sends to it clouds which bring water, which He sends down upon it,

اهْتَزَّتْ وَرَبَتْ وَأَنبَتَتْ مِن كُلِّ زَوْجٍ بَهِيجٍ

(it is stirred (to life), and it swells and puts forth every lovely kind (of growth)) (22:5). So too, when Allah wishes to resurrect the bodies, He will send rain from beneath the Throne which will cover the whole earth, and the bodies will grow in their graves like seeds grow in the earth. It says in the Sahih:

«كُلُّ ابْنِ آدَمَ يَبْلَى إِلَّا عَجْبُ الذَّنَبِ، مِنْهُ خُلِقَ وَمِنْهُ يُرَكَّب»

(Every part of the son of Adam will disintegrate apart from the coccyx, from which he was created and from him he will be made anew.) Allah says:

كَذَلِكَ النُّشُورُ

As such (will be) the Resurrection! According to the Hadith of Abu Raz0n: I said, O Messenger of Allah, how will Allah bring the dead back to life؟ What is the sign of that in His creation؟ He said:

«يَا أَبَا رَزِينٍ أَمَا مَرَرْتَ بِوَادِي قَوْمِكَ مُمْحِلًا ثُمَّ مَرَرْتَ بِهِ يَهْتَزُّ خَضِرًا»

(O Abu Razin, do you not pass through the valley of your people (and see it) arid and barren, then you pass through it (and see it) stirred (to life) and green) I said, `Yes.' He said:

«فَكَذَلِكَ يُحْيِي اللهُ الْمَوْتَى»

(Thus will Allah bring the dead back to life.)"

Honor, Power and Glory in this World and in the Hereafter come only by obeying Allah

مَن كَانَ يُرِيدُ الْعِزَّةَ فَلِلَّهِ الْعِزَّةُ جَمِيعاً

(Whosoever desires Al-`Izzah then to Allah belongs all Al-`Izzah.) means, whoever desires honor, power and glory in this world and the next, let him be obedient towards Allah, may He be exalted. This will help him reach his goal, for Allah is the Sovereign of this world and the Hereafter, and to Him belong all honor, power and glory. This is like the Ayat:

الَّذِينَ يَتَّخِذُونَ الْكَـفِرِينَ أَوْلِيَآءَ مِن دُونِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَيَبْتَغُونَ عِندَهُمُ الْعِزَّةَ فَإِنَّ العِزَّةَ للَّهِ جَمِيعاً

(Those who take disbelievers for protectors instead of believers, do they seek Al-`Izzah with them Verily, then to Allah belongs all honor, power and glory.) (4:139)

وَلاَ يَحْزُنكَ قَوْلُهُمْ إِنَّ الْعِزَّةَ للَّهِ جَمِيعاً

(And let not their speech grieve you, for all Al-`Izzah belongs to Allah) (10:65).

وَلِلَّهِ الْعِزَّةُ وَلِرَسُولِهِ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَلَـكِنَّ الْمُنَـفِقِينَ لاَ يَعْلَمُونَ

(But Al-`Izzah belongs to Allah, and to His Messenger, and to the believers, but the hypocrites know not) (63:8). Mujahid said:

مَن كَانَ يُرِيدُ الْعِزَّةَ

(Whosoever desires Al-`Izzah) means, by worshipping idols,

فَإِنَّ العِزَّةَ للَّهِ جَمِيعاً

(then to Allah belongs Al-`Izzah).

مَن كَانَ يُرِيدُ الْعِزَّةَفَإِنَّ العِزَّةَ للَّهِ جَمِيعاً

(Whosoever desires Al-`Izzah then to Allah belongs Al-`Izzah.) means, let him seek honor, power and glory through obeying Allah, may He be glorified.

Righteous Deeds ascend to Allah

إِلَيْهِ يَصْعَدُ الْكَلِمُ الطَّيِّبُ

(To Him ascend the good words,) means, words of remembrance, recitation of Qur'an, and supplications. This was the view of more than one of the Salaf. Ibn Jarir recorded that Al-Mukhariq bin Sulaym said that "`Abdullah bin Mas`ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said to them, "If we tell you a Hadith, we will bring you proof of it from the Book of Allah. When the Muslim servants says, `Glory and praise be to Allah, there is no god worthy of worship except Allah, Allah is Most Great and blessed be Allah,' an angel takes these words and puts them under his wing, then he ascends with them to the heaven. He does not take them past any group of angels but they seek forgiveness for the one who said them, until he brings them before Allah, may He be glorified." Then `Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with him, recited:

إِلَيْهِ يَصْعَدُ الْكَلِمُ الطَّيِّبُ وَالْعَمَلُ الصَّـلِحُ يَرْفَعُهُ

(To Him ascend the good words, and the righteous deeds exalt it)." Imam Ahmad recorded that An-Nu`man bin Bashir, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

«الَّذِينَ يَذْكُرُونَ اللهَ مِنْ جَلَالِ اللهِ مِنْ تَسْبِيحِهِ وَتَكْبِيرِهِ وَتَحْمِيدِهِ وَتَهْلِيلِهِ، يَتَعَاطَفْنَ حَوْلَ الْعَرْشِ لَهُنَّ دَوِيٌّ كَدَوِيِّ النَّحْلِ، يَذْكُرْنَ بِصَاحِبِهِنَّ، أَلَا يُحِبُّ أَحَدُكُمْ أَنْ لَا يَزَالَ لَهُ عِنْدَ اللهِ شَيْءٌ يُذَكِّرُ بِه»

(Those who remember Allah and glory Allah by saying, `Glory be to Allah, Allah is most Great, all praise is due to Allah and La ilaha illallah, these words go around the Throne buzzing like bees, mentioning those who said them. Would one of you not like to have something with Allah mentioning him)" This was also recorded by Ibn Majah.

وَالْعَمَلُ الصَّـلِحُ يَرْفَعُهُ

and the righteous deeds exalt it. Ali bin Abi Tلalhلah reported that Ibn Abba0s, may Allah be pleased with him, said, The good word is the remembrance of Allah, may He be exalted, which is taken up to Allah, and the righteous deed is the performance of obligatory duties. Whoever remembers Allah when doing an obligatory duty, his deed carries his remembrance of Allah and takes it up to Allah, may He be exalted. Whoever remembers Allah and does not perform the obligatory duties, his words will be rejected, as will his deed.

وَالَّذِينَ يَمْكُرُونَ السَّيِّئَاتِ

but those who plot evils, Muja0hid, Sa 0d bin Jubayr and Shahr bin Hلawshab said, This refers to those who show off by their actions, i.e., they deceive the people by giving the impression that they are obeying Allah, when in fact they are hated by Allah for showing off. Allah says:

لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ شَدِيدٌ وَمَكْرُ أُوْلَـئِكَ هُوَ يَبُورُ

(theirs will be severe torment. And the plotting of such will perish.) meaning, it will fail and vanish, for their reality is apparent from up close to those who have insight and wisdom. No one conceals a secret but Allah will cause it to become known, on his face or by a slip of the tongue, or He will cause the person to wear it like a cloak (so that everyone will see it). If it is good, then the consequences will be good, and if it is bad, then the consequences will be bad. The person who shows off cannot continue to deceive anyone but the fool, but the believers who have insight are not deceived by that; from up close, they soon discover it. And nothing at all can be hidden from the Knower of the Unseen (Allah).

Allah is the Creator and Knower of the Unseen

وَاللَّهُ خَلَقَكُمْ مِّن تُرَابٍ ثُمَّ مِن نُّطْفَةٍ

(And Allah did create you from dust, then from Nutfah,) means, He initiated the creation of your father Adam from dust, then He created his offspring from semen of worthless water.

ثُمَّ جَعَلَكُمْ أَزْوَجاً

then He made you pairs. means, male and female, as a kindness and a mercy from Him, He gave you partners from your own kind, that you may find repose in them.

وَمَا تَحْمِلُ مِنْ أُنْثَى وَلاَ تَضَعُ إِلاَّ بِعِلْمِهِ

(And no female conceives or gives birth but with His knowledge.) means, He knows about that and nothing is hidden from Him at all, but,

وَمَا تَسْقُطُ مِن وَرَقَةٍ إِلاَّ يَعْلَمُهَا وَلاَ حَبَّةٍ فِى ظُلُمَـتِ الاٌّرْضِ وَلاَ رَطْبٍ وَلاَ يَابِسٍ إِلاَّ فِى كِتَـبٍ مُّبِينٍ

(not a leaf falls, but He knows it. There is not a grain in the darkness of the earth nor anything fresh or dry, but is written in a Clear Record.) (6:59) We have already discussed in this respect in the Ayah:

اللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَحْمِلُ كُلُّ أُنثَى وَمَا تَغِيضُ الاٌّرْحَامُ وَمَا تَزْدَادُ وَكُلُّ شَىْءٍ عِندَهُ بِمِقْدَارٍ - عَـلِمُ الْغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَـدَةِ الْكَبِيرُ الْمُتَعَالِ

(Allah knows what every female bears, and by how much the wombs fall short or exceed. Everything with Him is in (due) proportion. All-Knower of the unseen and the seen, the Most Great, the Most High.) (13:8-9).

وَمَا يُعَمَّرُ مِن مُّعَمَّرٍ وَلاَ يُنقَصُ مِنْ عُمُرِهِ إِلاَّ فِى كِتَـبٍ

(And no aged man is granted a length of life nor is a part cut off from his life, but is in a Book.) means, some of those sperm are granted a long life, which He knows and it is recorded with Him in the First Book.

وَلاَ يُنقَصُ مِنْ عُمُرِهِ

nor is a part cut off from his life, Here the pronoun (his) refers to mankind in general, not to a specific person, because the long life which is recorded in the Book and is known by Allah will not be cut off. It was reported via Al- Awfi that Ibn Abba0s said concerning the A0yah,

وَمَا يُعَمَّرُ مِن مُّعَمَّرٍ وَلاَ يُنقَصُ مِنْ عُمُرِهِ إِلاَّ فِى كِتَـبٍ إِنَّ ذَلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ يَسِيرٌ

(And no aged man is granted a length of life nor is a part cut off from his life, but is in a Book. Surely, that is easy for Allah.) There is no one for whom Allah has decreed a long life but he will reach the age that has been decreed for him. When he reaches the time that has been decreed for him, he will not surpass it. And there is no one for whom Allah has decreed a short life but it will end when he reaches the age that has been decreed for him. Allah says:

وَلاَ يُنقَصُ مِنْ عُمُرِهِ إِلاَّ فِى كِتَـبٍ إِنَّ ذَلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ يَسِيرٌ

(nor is a part cut off from his life, but is in a Book. Surely, that is easy for Allah.) He said, "That is recorded in a Book with Him." This was also the view of Ad-Dahhak bin Muzahim. On the other hand, some of them said, "The phrase

وَمَا يُعَمَّرُ مِن مُّعَمَّرٍ

(And no aged man is granted a length of life) means, what He decrees for him of life, and

وَلاَ يُنقَصُ مِنْ عُمُرِهِ

nor is a part cut off from his life means, his time is constantly decreasing. All of this is known to Allah year after year, month after month, week after week, day after day, hour after hour. Everything is written with Allah in His Book. This was reported by Ibn Jar0r from Abu Ma0lik, and was also the view of As-Suddi and Atلa0 Al-Khura0sa0ni. In the Tafsir of this Ayah, An-Nasa'i recorded that Anas bin Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say:

«مَنْ سَرَّهُ أَنْ يُبْسَطَ لَهُ فِي رِزْقِهِ وَيُنْسَأَ لَهُ فِي أَثَرِهِ فَلْيَصِلْ رَحِمَه»

(Whoever would like to have ample provision and a long life, let him uphold the ties of kinship.)" It was also recorded by Al-Bukhari, Muslim and Abu Dawud.

إِنَّ ذلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ يَسِيرٌ

Surely, that is easy for Allah. means, that is very easy for Him, and He has detailed knowledge of all His creation, for His knowledge encompasses all things, and nothing at all is hidden from Him.

The sense of the verse: وَمَا يُعَمَّرُ‌ مِن مُّعَمَّرٍ‌ وَلَا يُنقَصُ مِنْ عُمُرِ‌هِ إِلَّا فِي كِتَابٍ (And no aged person is made to advance in age, nor a part is curtailed from his age, but all this is (recorded) in a book - 35:11), according to the majority of the commentators is that if Allah Ta’ ala blesses a person with a long age, it is a fact already on record in the Preserved Tablet (al-lawh al-mahfuz). Similarly, when the age of a certain person is kept at a lower mark in terms of the number of years, that too already stands recorded in al-lawh al-mahfuz. The outcome of it all is that the text, at this place, is not referring to one individual person's age being long or short, instead, the statement relates to humankind as a whole, in the sense that some individuals from it are given long ages and others, a comparatively shorter ones. The explanation has been reported by Ibn Kathir from Sayyidna ` Abdullah Ibn ` Abbas ؓ . Abu Bakr al-Jassas (رح) reports the same saying from Hasan al-Basri and Dahhak رحمۃ اللہ علیہما . Therefore, in general books of Tafsir, such as, Ibn Jarir, Ibn Kathir, Rah ul-Ma’ ani and others, this very explanation has been declared as the view of the majority of commentators. However, some early commentators have said: Should the length of age concerns one single person, then, decrease in age would mean that the age of every person as already written by Allah Ta’ ala is certain, and every day that passes decreases one day from this pre-fixed age. If two days pass, two days decrease. In the same way, every day, in fact, every single breath keeps decreasing one's age. This Tafsir or explanation has been reported from Sha'bi, Ibn Jubayr, Abu Malik, Ibn ` Atiyyah and Suddiyy. (Ruh ul Ma’ ani)

This subject has been succinctly expressed in an Arabic couplet as:

حِیَاتُک اَنفَاسُ تُعَدُّ فَکُلَّمَا مَضٰی نَفَسُ مِّنھَا انتقَصَتُ بِہٖ جُزء،

Your life is (the name of) counted breaths. So, whenever passes away a breath from it, a part of it decreases.

In his explanation of this verse, Imam an-Nasa` i (رح) has reported from Sayyidna Anas Ibn Malik ؓ that he heard the Holy Prophet ﷺ saying,” مَن سَرَّہ، اَن یُبسَطَ لَہ، فِی رِزقِہٖ وَ یُنسَأ فِی اَثَرہٖ فَلیَصِلَ رَحمَۃ،”. This Hadith has also been reported by al-Bukhari, Muslim and Abu Dawud on the authority of a narration from Yunus Ibn Yazid Ayli. The Hadith means: 'He who wishes that his sustenance and age is increased should treat his close relatives well (Silatu-r-rahim).' This obviously suggests that these deeds increase one's age. But, another Hadith given below has itself clarified its sense:

Ibn Abi Hatim (رح) reports from Sayyidna Abu-d-Darda' ؓ . He says, 'when we mentioned this (subject) before the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، he said, " (Age as such is already fixed and determined by Allah), when the fixed term is over, no one is given the least respite. In fact, increase in age means (in the Hadith cited above) that Allah Ta` a1a blesses one with good children who keep praying for him. This person is not there anymore, but he keeps receiving their prayers in his grave (that is, he keeps on receiving the benefits one would have received if one were alive. Thus, in a way, his age has increased" ). (Both narrations appearing above have been reported by Ibn Kathir). In short, Ahadith that say that some deeds cause age to increase mean increase in the barakah or bliss of age.

God first created man from the elements of the earth. By dividing human beings into men and women, God caused the human race to multiply. This exemplifies the power of the Creator. At the time when a child starts developing in his mother’s womb, he finds that all the factors essential to his growth are provided without asking. This shows that the Creator of the child knew his requirements beforehand, otherwise how could He have made such perfect arrangements in advance? The same is true of a man’s age. Nobody has the power to determine his own life-span. It appears that this lies wholly in the hands of an external Being. He takes away one person at a young age, while He gives another a longer life. In all these events, nobody has any say, except God. Then, how can it be proper for a man to have fears or entertain hopes of any being other than God?