Tafsir of Surah Ar-Rahman - Verse 30

Allah is the Ever Living, Free of all Need

Allah states that all the residents of earth will perish and die. The residents of the heavens will die, except whomever Allah wills. Only Allah's Honorable Face will remain, because our Lord, the Exalted, the Blessed, is the Ever Living Who never dies. Qatadah said, "First, Allah mentioned His creatures and then He said that all of this will perish." And in the reported supplication: `O You the Ever Living Who sustains all that exists! O You Who created the heavens and the earth without precedence. O You, Who Owns the glory and the honor, none has the right to be worshipped except You. We seek refuge with Your mercy. Grant Us success in all of our matters. Please, do not abandon us to rely on ourselves even for an instant nor on any of Your creation." Ash-Sha`bi said, "When you have recited,

كُلُّ مَنْ عَلَيْهَا فَانٍ

(Whatsoever is on it (the earth) will perish.) do not stop, continue reading,

وَيَبْقَى وَجْهُ رَبِّكَ ذُو الْجَلْـلِ وَالإِكْرَامِ

(And the Face of your Lord Dhul-Jalal wal-Ikram will remain forever.)" This Ayah is similar to Allah's statement,

كُلُّ شَىْءٍ هَالِكٌ إِلاَّ وَجْهَهُ

(Everything will perish save His Face.)(28:88) In this Ayah, Allah describes His Noble Face as being Dhul-Jalal wal-Ikram, indicating that He is Worthy of being revered, and thus, never defied; and obeyed, and thus, never disobeyed,

وَاصْبِرْ نَفْسَكَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ رَبَّهُم بِالْغَدَاةِ وَالْعَشِىِّ يُرِيدُونَ وَجْهَهُ

(And keep yourself patiently with those who call on their Lord morning and afternoon, seeking His Face.)(18:28), And as He said about those giving charity:

إِنَّمَا نُطْعِمُكُمْ لِوَجْهِ اللَّهِ

(We feed you seeking Allah's Face only.)(76:9) Ibn `Abbas commented on the meaning of Dhul-Jalal wal-Ikram, by saying, "Owner of greatness and pride." After Allah stated that all of the inhabitants of the earth will die and end up in the Hereafter when He, Dhul-Jalal wal-Ikram, will judge them by His fair judgement, He said,

فَبِأَىِّ ءَالاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ

(Then which of the blessings of your Lord will you both deny) Allah said,

يَسْأَلُهُ مَن فِى السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ كُلَّ يَوْمٍ هُوَ فِى شَأْنٍ

(Whosoever is in the heavens and on the earth begs of Him. Every day He is (engaged) in some affair.) In this Ayah, Allah affirms that He is Rich, Free of all wants for anyone else and that all creatures stand in need of Him, in all conditions and situations. They all seek His help willingly or unwillingly. Everyday, He is engaged in some affair. Al-A`mash reported from Mujahid, from `Ubayd bin `Umayr,

كُلَّ يَوْمٍ هُوَ فِى شَأْنٍ

(Every day He is (engaged) in some affair.) He said, "Of His affairs is that He answers the supplicant, or gives to the one requesting, or removing adversity, or cures the one seeking to be cured."

يَسْأَلُهُ مَن فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْ‌ضِ كُلَّ يَوْمٍ هُوَ فِي شَأْنٍ (All those in the heavens and the earth beseech Him. Every day He is at some task...55:29). The verse signifies that all creatures stand in need of Allah, in all conditions and situations. They all seek His help willingly or unwillingly. The earthly creatures ask for their specific needs. In this world, they need sustenance, health and welfare, and comfort; and in the Hereafter, they need forgiveness, mercy and Paradise. The celestial creatures do not eat and drink, they do however need Allah's mercy and grace. Allah's grace, forgiveness and so on surround them all the time. The phrase کُلَّ یَومِ every day' is the adverb of time of the verb يَسْأَلُهُ 'beseech'.(1) The 'day' is not used in its popular sense, but in the sense of 'time' in general. All His creation, in different regions, in different languages implore for their needs all the time. Obviously, each member of the earthly and celestial beings has countless needs. Who else besides the Absolutely Powerful Being, the Lord of Majesty, is able to respond to their needs every moment of the time? Therefore, 'every day' is followed by the sentence هُوَ فِي شَأْنٍ 'He is at some task', that is, His Attributes know no limit or count, and keep finding their manifestations in diverse ways all the time. He gives life to some and causes others to die. He elevates some and others He abases. Some He

(1) This is according to one construction of the sentence. Other exegetes have taken the phrase 'every day' as relating to 'He is at some task'. The translation of the verse given above is based on this latter construction, which is also adopted by Moulana Thanawi (رح) . (Muhammad Taqi Usmani). causes to become ill and others He cures. He alleviates the adversity of some; He causes the aggrieved ones to smile; He grants the requests of suppliants; He forgives the sins of the sinners and makes them deserving of Paradise; He gives power to some, and He snatches it away from others and abases them. In sum, every Attribute of Allah keeps finding its manifestation in diverse ways all the time

The present world is a place of trial. So long as the period of testing lasts, everybody has the opportunity to be as arrogant as he pleases. But, in spite of this complete freedom, no jinn or human being has the power to go beyond the limits of the universe. This fact itself is enough to prove that man is completely in the grip of God. On the expiry of the test period, when He starts seizing hold of people, it will not be possible for anybody to save himself.