Surah At-Takwir 81:1-29 - Quran Translation Commentary

1. It may be noted that beginning with this statement: “When the sun will be darkened,” Allah has spoken of twelve events that will take place before “shall a soul see what it has brought forward” (Razi).

Ubayy b. Ka`b however holds a different opinion which may be seen in note 3 below (Au.).

The opinion of Ibn `Abbas is that the allusion by kuwwirat is the darkening and ultimate disappearance of the sun. Mujahid, Dahhak and Qatadah are very near this opinion (Ibn Kathir).

Although it is difficult, and even dangerous, to co-relate scientific knowledge with that of the events of the Hereafter, modern science does confirm the possibility of some of the events taking place as stated in the Qur’an. See for instance, ch. 101, note 6, for some information about the future of the sun as science foresees it.

Ibn Jarir (and Zamakhshari) say that since the primary meaning of takwir is to fold or wind up a thing, as one winds the `imamah around the head, it appears that the sun will be folded up in the sense of some of its parts overlapping others, which will cause it to lose its shine, before it is finally discarded.

A hadith however says that the sun will be ushered into Hell, which is alluded to by the word kuwwirat (Ibn Kathir).

It is said that when this verse was recited in the presence of Abu al-Wafa ibn `Uqayl, someone remarked: “That mankind, jinn and others should be resurrected for reckoning is understandable. But what about the sun, moon, stars and mountains? Why should they be destroyed?” He replied: “These have been created for the benefit of the people. They make their lives comfortable. They are also for the humankind to ponder over the wisdom of their creation, and, through them, reach their Lord, the sole Creator. Now, at the end of their term, when they will be transported to a new world, into a new life, these things will be destroyed in order to impress on them that these were but creations of their Lord who had them in His full control. It will also be for the worshipers of the sun, moon and various other celestial objects to see their objects of worship destroyed before their eyes, so that they will know that they were in great error” (Ibn al-Qayyim, abridged).

Sayyid Qutb phrases it differently: “The surah aims to give this idea of the inevitable upheaval well established in men’s hearts and minds so that they learn to attach little or no importance to the values and riches of this world, though these may seem to be of lasting consequence. The hearts and minds of people should establish a firm bond with the everlasting truth, i.e.. the truth of Allah the Eternal.”

2. One statement ascribed to Ibn `Abbas as well as Rabi`, Suddi, and Qatadah, is that all that Allah has created, to the last fly, will be mustered and judged by Allah in the light of principles He knows best. This, says Qurtubi, is the correct and accepted opinion.

Ibn Kathir adds: Their physical mustering (on the Day of Judgment) seems to be more plausible in view of the statement in the Qur’an about the birds: wa al-tayr mahshurah, i.e., the birds will be mustered (38: 19).

Alternatively, the allusion could be to an earlier phase, when they will escape from the forests and invade towns and cities because of the terror preceding the doomsday (Shabbir). Ubayy b. Ka`b’s opinion, as noted in Ibn Kathir, seems to be very near to this.

For Ubayy’s opinion, see note 3 below (Au.).

3. Another opinion, coming from Rabi`, Kalbi, Maqatil, Hasan and Dahhak is that the seas will be filled up as all of them now separated will be joined up including the rivers and lakes (Qurtubi).

The Boiling Seas

Yet another possible meaning has been pointed out by Sayyid Qutb. He says, “The Arabic expression may also mean that the seas will experience explosions which set them ablaze, as mentioned elsewhere in the Qur’an: "When the oceans are made to explode (82: 3)."

`Ali, Ibn `Abbas and others however believe that the seas will be boiled and turned into Hell (Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir). Qurtubi states the possibility that there could be fire under the seas which would be further intensified at that time to boil the waters of the seas, and that there is possibility that this may happen before the destruction of the world, as one of the many signs preceding the Judgment day. He also reports Mu`awiyyah b. Sa`id as saying that the Mediterranean Sea has fire beneath it. Accordingly, the opinion of `Abdullah b. `Amr b. al-`As was that the water of the seas may not be used for ablution purposes since it is the water of Hell.

It should be of interest to note that Qurtubi’s guess that there could be fire under the seas or Mu`awiyyah b. Sa`id’s statement that there is fire under the Mediterranean sea, is not at variance with the facts of modern science. Latest scientific information is that there is, in fact, fire under the seas in the sense that the crust being thinner at the sea-bed, the temperature is higher and, therefore, it is as if the seas are being heated up from below. As for there being fire beneath the Mediterranean Sea, it is confirmed by modern science that there are a number of volcanoes in the seas that erupt from time to time throwing out lots of very hot lava. As for the Red sea, it has been pointed out by a Muslim scientist (Zeghlul al-Naggar: Qafilah Al-Zayt), that at excavation of samples from certain points, (geologically known as the “hot spots”) the drilling and scooping tools become so hot that they have to be left suspended for several hours in the air before they can be touched.

Mufti Shafi` quotes Maz-hari: There is no contradiction between the apparently different interpretations. It might happen that first the sweet and bitter waters of the ponds, lakes, rivers and seas will be joined up together as a result of upheavals on earth and then the sun, moon and stars (or planets?) dipped into it, and, finally, the whole thing set ablaze, to be ultimately ushered into Hell.

Alusi precedes him with a similar opinion.

Ubayy b. Ka`b has said that six signs will precede the destruction of this world (and six more enumerated later in the chapter in verses 7-13, will take place after the resurrection): As the people would be engaged in their normal activities, the sun would lose its shine and darken up. With that the stars would become visible in the heavens. That would amaze everyone and as they’d be looking upwards the stars would begin to fall off in all direction. As they’d be watching this scene (with horror), the mountains would break up and fall to pieces. This would drive mankind to jinn and jinn to mankind. Wild beasts, domestic animals, birds and insects will also come close to each other. The jinn will say, 'Wait. We’ll get you the news from the seas.’ But when they go there they’d find them boiling. Then, as they will be in that state, the earth and the heavens will split. This will be followed by winds that will destroy all life (Ibn Jarir, Ibn Kathir, Alusi).

Imam Razi however observes that there is nothing in these verses to suggest that the first six signs (as mentioned in verses 1-6) would take place before or after the destruction of life on earth, although, the latter six seem to be of the kind that would take place after the Resurrection.

4. The predominant opinion (of the Salaf) about “Wa idhan-nufusu zuwwijat” is that it refers to the grouping together of the people: the good ones with the good ones, the evil ones with the evil ones, Jews with Jews, Christians with Christians, etc. (Abdul Razzaq, Firyabi, Sa`id b. Mansur, Ibn Abi Shaybah, `Abd b. Humayd, Ibn Jarir, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Abi Hatim, Ibn Marduwayh, Abu Nu`aym, and Hakim - who declares the report trustworthy - have reported that this is how `Umar ibn al-Khattab understood it: Shawkani). This interpretation is based on the following (56: 7-9):

{وَكُنْتُمْ أَزْوَاجًا ثَلَاثَةً (7) فَأَصْحَابُ الْمَيْمَنَةِ مَا أَصْحَابُ الْمَيْمَنَةِ (8) وَأَصْحَابُ الْمَشْأَمَةِ مَا أَصْحَابُ الْمَشْأَمَةِ} [الواقعة: 7 - 9]

“And you shall be sorted out into three groups. So that (there will be) Companions of the right hand. And who (do you know) will be the Companions of the right hand?! And the Companions of the left hand; and who (do you know) will be the Companions of the left hand?!”

Although an equally strong opinion, also coming from the Salaf, is that the verse is alluding to the bringing together of the body and the soul of all living beings (Ibn Jarir, Zamakhshari, Razi, Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir, Alusi).

Thanwi adds: The former interpretation is also strengthened by the hadith which says that a man will be raised up among those he loved.

5. It is said that in pre-Islamic times some Arab women would make a pit in the ground and give birth there. If it was a female child they would fill it up with sand, bringing back the infant only if it was a male. Nonetheless, there were some good people who prevented the practice. Farazdaq’s grand-father Sa`sa`ah, for instance, is reported to have saved the lives of seventy new-born girls by purchasing them off (Zamakhshari, Razi, Qurtubi, Alusi).

Some others brought up the female child until she was six years old. At that age the father would ask the mother to dress her up, perfume her and get her ready. Then he would take her to a previously dug pit, push her in and cover her up with sand. This they did either out of shame of having to give their daughters away to someone in marriage when they grew up, or from fear of poverty (Zamakhshari). Others did so because they feared kidnap (Alusi).

Female Infanticide

(If female infanticide was not an uncommon practice in the pre-Islamic Arabs, it was not unfashionable too in the lands of their cousins-in-faith of India, down to our times: Au.). Majid quotes: “`Among all the races of India, there is none more noble than the Rajput; and among the Rajputs, the first rank belongs to the Chuhans ... These people are numerous in the United Province. In the district of Manipuri there are more than 30,000 of them, and not fifty years ago it was discovered that among them was not a single girl. Every daughter that was born was killed. The higher the rank of the family the more constant and systematic was the crime ... This not relative but the statement of a fact. In 1856 special inquiries were instituted. It was found that this practice of infanticide although equally prevalent among the Rajputs, was by no means confined to them, and it was common not only in the North-Western Provinces but also in Oudh, the Punjab, and in parts of the Bombay Presidency. Numbers of villages were visited where there was not a single girl and where there had never been one within the memory of man. In 1869 another investigation showed that there was little change for the better (Strachy, India, pp. 396, 397).’ And: `Infanticide of female infants has been practiced in India from unknown times amongst the ancient Gukhar race in the Punjab, and it has been a constant custom, and continued in several parts of India down to the later third of the 19th century (EIn. II, p. 397).’ As a matter of fact, wherever polyandry is in existence baby-girls are killed in large numbers.”

The custom, however, has not entirely died down. Even today, thousands of abortions of female fetus are being carried out in India (Au.).

There are several reports narrated by `Umar ibn al-Khattab that Qays b. `Asim came to the Prophet (saws) and confessed having buried alive eight (or thirteen) female children. The Prophet (saws) told him to sacrifice a camel for each in expiation, which he did (Ibn Jarir, Ibn Kathir).

Mawdudi remarks: It is reported in Sunan Darimi that once a man came to the Prophet (saws) and narrated how he pushed into a pit one of his daughters who loved him much. The last of her that he heard from was: “My father, My father.” It is said that the Prophet (saws) asked him to repeat the story and cried so much that his beard became wet. Picking up from there, what tremendous change Islam brought among the Arabs should be apparent (to every student of history). This was achieved through such moral exhortations of the Prophet (saws) as:

a)

مَنِ ابْتُلِىَ مِنَ الْبَنَاتِ بِشَىْءٍ فَأَحْسَنَ إِلَيْهِنَّ كُنَّ لَهُ سِتْرًا مِنَ النَّارِ

“He who is tested in any way by these girls, will have them shielding him from the Fire” (Bukhari, Muslim).

b)

مَنْ عَالَ جَارِيَتَيْنِ حَتَّى تَبْلُغَا جَاءَ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ أَنَا وَهُوَ ». وَضَمَّ أَصَابِعَهُ.

“He who brought up two girls until they reached adulthood will arrive for reckoning with me by his side (as close to me)” – he closed his fingers” (Muslim).

c)

ما من مسلم تدركه ابنتان فيحسن صحبتهما إلا أدخلتاه الجنة

“No Muslim will have two daughters whom he treats well but they will usher him into Paradise” (Bukhari, Al-Adab al-Mufrad).

d)

ألا أدلكم على أفضل الصدقة ؟ ابنتك مردودة إليك ليس لها كاسب غيرك - تعليق الذهبي قي التلخيص : على شرط مسلم

The Prophet (saws) told Suraqa b. Ju`tham: “May I not tell you about the greatest charity?” He said: “Sure, O Apostle of Allah.” He said: “Supporting your daughter after she is rejected (by her husband, especially), when she has no one to support her except you” (Ibn Majah, abridged).

Mawdudi’s quotation ends here.

Shanqiti states that it is reported of `Umar (ra) that he used to say: “Two incidents of the days of Jahiliyyah: one of them makes me cry and the other makes me laugh. What I cry about is the incident of a daughter of mine removing sand from my beard while I dug a hole in the ground to bury her. And what I laugh at is that I would make an idol of dates which I would place on guard near my head at night but which I would eat off when starving.”

Muslim, Ibn Majah, Tirmidhi, Abu Da’ud and Nasa’i have preserved the following report: `Ukasha’s sister Judhamah says :

حضرت رسول الله {صلى الله عليه وسلم} في أناس وهو يقول لقد هممت أن أنهى عن الغيلة فنظرت في الروم وفارس فإذا هم يغيلون أولادهم فلا يضر أولادهم ذلك شيئاً ثم سألوه عن العزل فقال رسول الله {صلى الله عليه وسلم} ذلك الوأد الخفي وهي ( وإذا الموءودة سئلت )

“Once I went to the Prophet. He was among the people and saying: 'I thought I would prohibit men from going into their women during their suckling period. But I noticed that the Romans and the Persians do that and yet children born of pregnancy during that period do not seem to suffer from any deficiency.’ Then, (continues Judhamah), he was asked about coitus interruptus and he said: 'This is the secret burying alive of the infant (wa’d ‘l-khafiyy) that the Qur’an has spoken of’” (Ibn Kathir, Shanqiti)ز

Hadith literature does not disallow coitus interruptus. Yet, there are several ahadith that recommend Muslims to procure numerous children and warns them against birth prevention. And the reconciliation consists in allowing the former on pressing need and disallowing birth control methods as a matter of policy and an enduring practice (Alusi, Shanqiti, Shafi`).

Legal Points

1. Abortion is a major sin (kabirah) after the completion of four months of pregnancy (Shafi`).

2. If a person causes death of the fetus after completion of four months, by a stroke on the womb for instance, he has to pay blood wit equal in amount to that of a slave (Shafi`); i.e., half the amount payable for a free man.

3. If the child emerges alive, after such a stroke, (but dies later) then the blood wit is equal to that of a free adult man (Shafi`). See surah Al-Baqarah, note 365 for details of the value: Au.

4. All such medicines or operations are prohibited (haram) that may cause permanent disability to bear child (Shafi`).

5. Some scholars say that masturbation follows the same rule, that is, if someone fears falling into sin he may resort to it, otherwise it is forbidden (Alusi).

Alusi observes: A complication has risen because of a hadith which states that both the one who buried an infant alive as well as the infant that was buried will be in Fire. This is understandable in case of a polytheist who buried his offspring, since polytheists will anyway be in Fire. But what is the sin of the one buried? Will pagan children be straightaway ushered into Fire? In answer he quotes Nawawi as saying, in his commentary on Sahih Muslim, that there are three opinions. The majority opinion is that they will be in Hell-fire in view of ahadith to this effect. One of the report says,

عَنْ عَائِشَةَ قَالَتْ قُلْتُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ذَرَارِىُّ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فَقَالَ « هُمْ مِنْ آبَائِهِمْ ». فَقُلْتُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ بِلاَ عَمَلٍ قَالَ « اللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا كَانُوا عَامِلِينَ ». قُلْتُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ فَذَرَارِىُّ الْمُشْرِكِينَ قَالَ « مِنْ آبَائِهِمْ ». قُلْتُ بِلاَ عَمَلٍ قَالَ « اللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا كَانُوا عَامِلِينَ ».

`A’isha asked the Prophet about the children of the faithful. He said, “They will be with their parents.” She asked, “Messenger of Allah, without any deed?” He answered, “Allah knows best what their deeds would have been.” She asked about the pagan children. He answered, “With their parents.” She asked, “Messenger of Allah, without any deed?” He answered, “Allah knows best what their deeds would have been had they grown up.”

The second opinion is: “No opinion;” i.e., we have no definite knowledge. The third and right opinion is that they will be in Paradise in view of the hadith in Bukhari. It says that our Prophet saw Ibrahim (during mi`raj) surrounded by children of all faiths who died before adulthood. This opinion is backed by a verse of surah al-Tawbah which states the general principle about pagans of the past in words:

{وَمَا كُنَّا مُعَذِّبِينَ حَتَّى نَبْعَثَ رَسُولًا } [الإسراء: 15]

“And We were not going to destroy them before sending a warner to them.”

These were the opinions stated by Nawawi. Alusi adds a few other opinions. One for instance is that some scholars, including Ibn Taymiyyah and Jalaluddin Suyuti, believe that they will be subjected to a test of tawhid and obedience, and will be rewarded or punished in accordance with the results.

6. Umm Salamah reports the Prophet having said that the people will be resurrected naked and barefooted. She asked about women. He said the people will be too busy for that. She asked him what will they be busy with. He replied:

نشر الصحف فيها مثاقيل الذر ومثاقيل الخردل

“With the scrolls that will be laid open; with weights like dust particles and weights like mustard seeds” (Zamakhshari, Qurtubi).

The above hadith is from Majm`u al-Fawa’id, treated trustworthy, but varies slightly from that quoted in Zamakhshari and Qurtubi.

Sayyid Qutb adds: “This is a reference to the records of people’s deeds. They are laid open in order that they may be known to everybody. This, in itself, is hard to bear. Many a breast has closely hidden a secret, the remembrance of which brings a feeling of shame and a shudder to its owner. Yet all secrets are made public on that eventual day. This publicity, representative of the great upheaval which envelops the whole universe, is part of the fearful events which fill men’s hearts with horror on the day.”

7. The Prophet has said:

مَا مِنْكُمْ مِنْ أَحَدٍ إِلاَّ سَيُكَلِّمُهُ اللَّهُ لَيْسَ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَهُ تُرْجُمَانٌ فَيَنْظُرُ أَيْمَنَ مِنْهُ فَلاَ يَرَى إِلاَّ مَا قَدَّمَ وَيَنْظُرُ أَشْأَمَ مِنْهُ فَلاَ يَرَى إِلاَّ مَا قَدَّمَ وَيَنْظُرُ بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ فَلاَ يَرَى إِلاَّ النَّارَ تِلْقَاءَ وَجْهِهِ فَاتَّقُوا النَّارَ وَلَوْ بِشِقِّ تَمْرَةٍ

“There is none among you but who will speak to his Lord directly, without a mediator. At that time a man will look to his right and find nothing but his deeds. He will look to his left and see nothing but his deeds. He will look in front of him and will find himself facing the Fire. So let him who wishes to save himself from the Fire, do it now, even if it is with a single date” (Bukhari and Muslim: Qurtubi).

8. The “la” here is zaidah (Qurtubi); and is not a negative la. The “no” in the translation is for emphasis (Au.).

9. In explanation of “al-khunnas, al-jawar al-kunnas” (verses 15-16), there are two opinions. One, “it is the planets that disappear.” Ibn Jarir, Zamakhshari, Alusi, Ashraf `Ali, Shafi`, say these are five: Bahram (Mars), Zuhal (Saturn), `Utarid (Mercury), Zuhra (Venus) and Mushtari (Jupiter).

Qurtubi replaces Bahram with Mirrikh and adds that a similar opinion has come from Farra’. This is the opinion that originated from `Ali (ra) and gained currency among Hasan, Qatadah, and Ibn Zayd (although it is not clear whether `Ali meant stars or had planets in mind: Au.).

Alusi adds the rejoinder that by his time (d. 1270 A.H.) they had discovered five more planets, which he names and says he could give the diameter, distance, rotational periods and other details of each, if not for the fear of space. He also adds that the new-generation astronomers pioneered by Herschel (Sir Frederick Williams Herschel 1738-1822, British, of German origin: Au.) exclude the moon from the list of planets and include the earth, being of opinion that the earth also revolves around the sun.

Another opinion about the words “al-khunnas, al-jawar al-kunnas” is that the allusion is to “the wild cow that takes shelter in its den in the forest.” This is the opinion of Ibn Mas`ud, Ibn `Abbas, Dahhak and Sa`id ibn Jubayr. Mujahid says: “We always used to hear that it is the wild cow that has been alluded to, but now a days people say something else.”

`Abdul Razzaq, Firyabi, Ibn Sa`d, Sa`id b. Mansur, `Abd b. Humayd, Ibn Jarir, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Abi Hatim, Tabarani and Hakim (who declares the report trustworthy), have all reported that the above is the opinion of Ibn Mas`ud (Shawkani).

A third opinion is that the reference is to “the gazelle” (Qurtubi, Alusi).

Ibn Jarir mentions all the three opinions but does not state his own preference (Ibn Kathir).

10. With reference to verses 15-18 some have said that in the appearance, movement, brief stop, continuation of the journey and final disappearance of the stars and planets is a simile drawn to illustrate the sending down of the (light) of revelation to the Messengers of Allah, the effects of such revelations lasting over a period, its dimming off and then finally disappearing over a period. The appearance of the night and the spread of its darkness (in verse 17) refers to the period of lull between our own and the previous prophet, when the light of revelation had completely disappeared. The breath of the dawn refers to the appearance of prophet Muhammad, and the coming of a new revelation to him filling the cosmos with the light of guidance (Shabbir).

11. Ibn `Abbas has said: Jibril’s power can be inferred from the way he scooped the people of Lut up from the ground with two of his wings and then smashed them against the ground (Qurtubi). Alusi adds that “the power” could also be an allusion to memory power.

12. “Accordingly,” Ibn `Abbas has said, “we notice that when our Prophet went to the heavens in the nocturnal journey Jibril ordered Ridwan, the keeper of Paradise, to open the door for them and he was obeyed. Similarly, he ordered Malik, the keeper of Hell, to open the door for them and he did it” (Qurtubi).

13. That is, he is not an ordinary angel, rather an outstanding one.

14. The use of the word “your companion” has a hint for the Quraysh that this Prophet is your own well-known colleague whom you have known over a long period as an entirely dependable, sagacious and intelligent person. Does the coming down of revelation qualify him for madness?

15. That is, Muhammad (saws) saw Jibril in his true form and shape which, with its six hundred wings, was so enormous as to cover the whole of the horizon (Ibn Jarir, Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir).

Since this verse was revealed before night journey (al-isra’ wa ‘l-mi`raj) took place, it can possibly be only Jibril who could have been meant here as one whom the Prophet (saws) saw. He saw him twice in his original shape and size. The second sighting is mentioned in another set of verses which say (53: 4-10):

إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا وَحْيٌ يُوحَى (4) عَلَّمَهُ شَدِيدُ الْقُوَى (5) ذُو مِرَّةٍ فَاسْتَوَى (6) وَهُوَ بِالْأُفُقِ الْأَعْلَى (7) ثُمَّ دَنَا فَتَدَلَّى (8) فَكَانَ قَابَ قَوْسَيْنِ أَوْ أَدْنَى (9) فَأَوْحَى إِلَى عَبْدِهِ مَا أَوْحَى

“This is naught but a revelation being revealed; taught by one (i.e., Jibril) terrible in power, very strong. He stood poised, being on the higher horizon, then drew near and suspended hung, two bow’s lengths away, or nearer, then he revealed to His servant what he revealed” (Ibn Kathir).

16. That is, the Prophet is not such as to withhold anything of what is revealed to him out of miserliness: Mujahid, Qatadah, Hasan, Sufyan, Ibn Zayd and others. Alternatively, he is not one who can be accused of withholding any part of the Message: Ibn `Abbas, Sa`id b. Jubayr, Ibrahim, Zirr and Dahhak (Ibn Jarir, Ibn Kathir).

What is meant is that, misled by his prophecies you think that the Prophet is a soothsayer. But he is not. For, soothsayers give out their information grudgingly, incomplete, in return of monetary rewards, and, consequently, in proportion to how much they are paid (Shabbir).

17. That is, it is beyond Shaytan to be able to receive it or teach it to others. Allah (swt) said in another place (26: 210-212):

{وَمَا تَنَزَّلَتْ بِهِ الشَّيَاطِينُ (210) وَمَا يَنْبَغِي لَهُمْ وَمَا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ (211) إِنَّهُمْ عَنِ السَّمْعِ لَمَعْزُولُونَ} [الشعراء: 210 - 212]

“Satans never brought it down. It behooves them not, neither are they able. In fact, they are barred from listening” (Ibn Kathir).

Sayyid Qutb remarks: “They (the Makkans) knew the Prophet perfectly well. They knew that he was a man of steady character, great sagacity and complete honesty. But in spite of all this they claimed that he was mad, and that he received his revelations from the devil. Some of them adopted this attitude as a basis for their sustained attack on the Prophet and his Islamic message. Others did so out of amazement and wonder at his revelation, which is unlike anything said or written by man. Their claim confirmed their traditional belief that each poet had a devil who wrote his poems, and each monk had a devil who uncovered for him the secrets of the unknown world. They also believed that the devil may come in contact with some people causing them to say some very strange things.”

They also believed that the Prophet (saws) was concealing part of what was shown to him by the devils, was not revealing the whole truth, and hence Allah said in refutation, “Neither is he (i.e., the Prophet) as one to grudgingly withhold (knowledge of) the unseen” (Au.).

18. What is meant is that a word’s value depends on its narrator. Now this revelation has come through two narrators, Jibril and Muhammad. And these are their qualities. So where are you going? (Shabbir).

19. As Allah said (6: 111):

{وَلَوْ أَنَّنَا نَزَّلْنَا إِلَيْهِمُ الْمَلَائِكَةَ وَكَلَّمَهُمُ الْمَوْتَى وَحَشَرْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ قُبُلًا مَا كَانُوا لِيُؤْمِنُوا إِلَّا أَنْ يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ } [الأنعام: 111]

“Were We to send the very angels to them, and the dead were to speak to them, and brought up everything right before them, they would still not believe unless Allah were to wish so...”

And (10: 100):

{وَمَا كَانَ لِنَفْسٍ أَنْ تُؤْمِنَ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ } [يونس: 100]

“It is not for a soul to believe but with the will of Allah...”

And (28: 56):

{إِنَّكَ لَا تَهْدِي مَنْ أَحْبَبْتَ وَلَكِنَّ اللَّهَ يَهْدِي مَنْ يَشَاءُ } [القصص: 56]

“You will not be able to guide whomsoever you love, rather, Allah guides whom He will...” (Qurtubi, Alusi, Shawkani).

It is said that when the previous verse: “(This is a reminder) for whoever of you that wishes to go straight,” was revealed, Abu Jahl said: “If that is the case then it is up to us. If we wish we’ll take the straight path (and if we do not, we will not).” Upon this Allah revealed this verse: “Yet, you cannot will unless wills Allah, the Lord of the Creation” (Ibn Jarir, Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir).

Shawkani adds: the report comes from Abu Hurayrah (ra) and is in Ibn Abi Hatim and Ibn Marduwayh.

Hasan (al-Busri) has remarked: “By God. The Arabs never wished for Islam. It was Allah who decided it for them” (Qurtubi).

Sayyid Qutb writes: “The surah concludes by stating that the operative will behind everything is the will of Allah... We notice that the Qur’an makes a statement of this type whenever the will of human beings or creatures is generally mentioned. The reason for this is that the Qur’an wants to keep the fundamental concepts of faith absolutely clear. These include the fact that everything in the universe is subject to the will of Allah. No one has a will which is independent of that of Allah. That He grants man a free will is part of His own Divine Will, like everything else.”

Predetermination and Free Will

The concepts of freedom and determinism are quite complicated ones and require much space for a detailed discussion. For the moment it might help to quote what Laplace had to say on the possibility of prediction: “If an ideal observer knew the position of all the particles at a given instant and knew all the laws governing their movements, he could predict and retrodict the entire history of the universe.” (John Searle: Minds, Brains and Science, p. 87). To this we can add to say that were the observer to have the 'power' too - in addition to knowledge - then, obviously, he could, not only predict, but also determine the course of events. In that case his knowledge would circumscribe the accomplishments of his power. Further, it must be obvious that without these elements, viz., Knowledge and Power, nothing could come into existence nor an event could take place. A single will, therefore, is the elementary requirement of the system to work.

Moreover, what has been said by Laplace, applies, of course, primarily to the physical world. Humans with 'freedom to will' and the 'power to act' can be said to be able to determine their own future. They can, after all, move their hands at will, and do and say what they wish to. But, in the ultimate analysis, these can also be shown to be of the pre-determined nature, or, in other words, Allah’s own creation, like any other creation. In fact, physicists have been unable to decide whether the laws of nature are deterministic or statistical. The former will require an external “agency” to create them, and the latter will allow them to come into existence by themselves. The century-long debate among the scientists has produced no satisfactory results. Nevertheless even if the latter were to be proved as true, the question that will then arise is, who determined their “orderly” appearance and behavior?

Hence the standard Islamic position in this regard is, in the words of Sheikh `Abdul Qadir Jeelani, (who was perhaps echoing the idea promulgated by Abul Hasan al-Ash`ari in his “Confession of Faith”): “Our actions belong to Allah in point of creation (khalq), and to His servants in point of acquisition (kasb).” (Futuh ‘l-Ghayb: tr. Muhtar Holland).

Imam Ghazali took a step forward in trying to resolve the issue by stating, in the words of Murad Hoffman: “God, the only cause of the action of His creatures, does not prevent them from accomplishing willful action through acquisition (maqdura); for God created will (qudra) and that which is willed (maqdur), the ability to choose as well as that which is chosen.” “How can acquired actions be completely attributed to inevitability (jabr), when everyone instinctively understands the difference between voluntary and involuntary (daruri) reflexes?” (Islam the Alternative, Garnet Publishing, 1993, pp. 59-60).

The above is not only in theory. The world of physical science has long been facing intriguing phenomena in nature that lead the scientists to believe that they live in a world which is both determined as well as undetermined and that the matter that they encounter can both be considered living as well as dead. Consider for instance the fact that the sub-atomic particles behave both as particles as well as waves and that during experiments it has been found that the wave-particles 'remember’ their form and shape before their collision to return to their original form and shape afterwards. These particles can tunnel through an otherwise impenetrable barrier - as if they know which ways to turn in a complex structure so that they do not end up coming out on the same side that they entered. Or, consider the 'uncertainty principle,’ which in scientific terms dictates that an event will only happen if it is not observed!

Experiments have also revealed that when a pair of photons were fired in the opposite directions, and their polarization changed selectively, the change in one automatically altered the polarization of the other. And this, the scientists predict, can happen even if the other photon were to be at the other end of the universe!

To be sure, Allah’s Will is easily discernable in the living organisms. For instance, it has been found out by experiments that if all the soldier ants of a nest are destroyed, more number of soldier ants (than the worker ants) emerge out of the previously laid eggs, and, contrarily, if the worker ants are destroyed, more worker ants and less soldier ants hatch out of the eggs laid previous to destruction. If we rule out Allah’s Will, it would mean that the genes in the eggs lying in the nests know what’s happening outside!

If such is the pattern of behavior of matter at the smallest level, organic or inorganic, how can humans, who are made up of these determinable as well as indeterminable elements, and who share the same environment as the organic matter, said to be acting either entirely independently, or, conversely, endowed with volition and will, declared totally exempt of any responsibility?

In fact, the tables have almost turned full. Today it is the scientists who are inclined to a greater degree to believe that human actions are predetermined than the religious people. Physiologists of our age do not believe that the 'mind’ (very near to the concept of nafs in Islam) is a separate entity able to interfere physically with the neuronal activities that go on in the brain during the decision making process conducted entirely within it. The dominant idea is that the brain is independent in making its choices and that the decisions made by it are physically determined. It is only because of the information fed to the brain by way of current inputs, which in turn play an important role in the process of making decisions, that the scientist would admit that the humans are capable of making independent choices.

Therefore, with such uncertainty existing both at the basic levels of the brain as well as matter - it is almost impossible to decide whether men’s actions are acquired or created. Further, to what extent do we enjoy freedom in the kasb allowed to us, within the framework of thought and action imposed upon us by their creation that precedes acquisition, and, the power that the outside world enjoys in influencing our decisions, are truly mind-boggling questions. Hence, not only the philosophers, but even the scientists admit that (in the words of John Searle again) “the problem (of free will and determinism) will stay with us.”

It might also be interesting to quote the following. Hoffman (The Alternative, p. 62) writes: “Surprisingly this stance (of kasb and khalq: Au.) has been rehabilitated by modern physics. As has been well-known since Werner Heisenberg’s discovery of the uncertainty principle in 1952, physics has learned to describe the inner-atomic reality not using alternatives but complementary states (particle versus waves). It was discovered that particle physics can be well-grasped using the Islamic theory of predestination, i.e., its concept of simultaneously determined and undermined behavior. And, by the same token, Muslims - as Ulrich Schoen has shown - can point out that their own attempts to explain a theoretical and scientific problem (the problem of causality as a part of the problem of predestination) can no longer be belittled as medieval obscurantist nonsense.”

Accordingly, there is wisdom in the statement of Muslim scholars that “qadr” is one of the well-guarded secrets of Allah and in the Prophet’s counsel that it be left to itself. `Ali illustrated the dubious nature very well when asked by someone about the extent to which one was bound by the Qada’ and Qadr and the extent to which free. `Ali asked him to lift one of his feet. When he did that, he asked him to lift the other one also. The man said he could not. `Ali told him that those were the limits of his freedom and choice.

Also see surah 91 note 9, and surah 92 note 7 for relevant ahadith (Au.).