Tafsir of Hud 11:6

"Al-Dabbah" (the moving creature) is a name for every animal possessing a soul, whether male or female, rational or otherwise. It is derived from al-dabib, which in its origin means "soft walking." From this is the saying: "You claimed I was an old man, but I am not an old man; for the old man is he who walks with a soft gait." In common usage, it is specifically applied to quadrupeds, and sometimes specifically to the horse. However, by the consensus of the exegetes, the intended meaning here is the linguistic one: there is no animal that moves upon the earth but that its nourishment and livelihood are upon Allah the Exalted.

The intent is that this is as if it were a duty upon Him, the Exalted, for there is no "duty" upon Him, Glory be to Him, according to the People of Truth, as has been explained in the discourse. Thus, the word 'ala (upon), used here for obligation, is a metaphorical usage (isti'arah tabai'yyah) for that which resembles it; it is a figurative expression of the second degree. The Imam stated that provision is "obligatory" by virtue of His promise, grace, and beneficence—in the sense that it remains based on His grace. But since He, the Majestic, has promised it, and He does not fail in what He promises, He has portrayed it in the form of an obligation for two benefits: to certify its arrival, and to urge the servants toward reliance (tawakkul) upon Him regarding it.

Reliance does not forbid the pursuit of causes, provided one knows that He, Glory be to Him, is the Cause of those causes. In the report, it is said: "Tie your camel and rely [upon Allah]." It has also come down: "No soul shall die until it completes its provision and its appointed term, so fear Allah and be moderate in your pursuit."

It should not be believed that provision cannot be obtained without pursuing a cause, for He, the Exalted, provides for many without the pursuit of any cause at all. In some traditions, it is said that when revelation descended upon Moses (peace be upon him), his heart became attached to the condition of his family. Allah commanded him to strike a rock with his staff. He struck it, and the rock split open; a second rock emerged. He struck that, and a third emerged. He struck that, and it split open to reveal a worm like an ant, with something in its mouth serving as its food. He heard it saying: "Exalted is He who sees me, hears my speech, knows my place, remembers me, and does not forget me."

How excellent is the saying of Ibn Udhaynah: I have known—and my status is not that of the arrogant— That what is my provision shall surely come to me. If I strive toward it, its pursuit exhausts me, Yet if I sit still, it comes to me without burdening me.

Allah verified this for him on the day he visited Hisham and confronted him with these words. He returned to Medina, and Hisham regretted his action and sent him a gift. Similar to this is the story of the Thaqafi with Ubayd Allah ibn Amir, the maternal uncle of Uthman ibn Affan (may Allah be pleased with him); it is a famous story narrated by Ibn Abi al-Dunya and others. One who said, "The likeness of the provision you seek is like a shadow that walks with you; you cannot overtake it while exhausted, but if you turn your back on it, it follows you," has thoroughly dismissed the matter of causes.

In summary, one must trust in Allah the Exalted and tie one’s heart to Him. Whatever He wills comes to be, and whatever He does not will, does not.

Ahl al-Sunnah used this verse as evidence that prohibited earnings (haram) are still considered "provision." Otherwise, it would follow that one who ate nothing but prohibited food his entire life was "unprovided for." It was answered that this is a mere hypothesis, as there is at least the sustenance of the mother's milk, for example, which is lawful. Furthermore, the intent is that every animal requiring provision, if it is provided for, its provision is from Allah. This does not negate the existence of those who have no provision, such as one who consumes only the forbidden, or one who was never provided for at all until he died of hunger. This was reported from Mujahid, and the discussion on this has already preceded.

Its "place of dwelling" is its position in the loins. Its "place of storage" is its position in the wombs, and what runs in that vein, such as eggs and the like. Mustaqar and mustawda' are nouns of place. It is permissible to consider them verbal nouns (masdar), and it is permissible to consider mustawda' a passive participle because its verb is transitive. However, this is not permissible for mustaqar because its verb is intransitive. The first view is the most apparent.

Each of these nouns is specifically applied to the location it occupies—as some scholars have said—because the sperm-drop, for instance, in relation to the loins, is in its natural space and original creation, whereas in relation to the wombs, it is "deposited" therein until a specified time. Ata interpreted mustaqar as the wombs and mustawda' as the loins, seemingly taking the interpretation of the former from the saying of the Exalted: {And We settle in the wombs what We will}.

It has been permitted that mustaqar refers to their dwellings on earth where they are found in actuality, and mustawda' refers to their place in materials and locations when they were still in the state of potentiality. This applies generally to all animals, unlike the first view, as some animals do not settle in a loin, such as those generated from the corruption of the earth, for example. Perhaps the mention of their location, considering their final state, is to maintain consistency between them and the title of their being "a moving creature on the earth."

The meaning, according to what has been said, is: There is no moving creature on the earth but that Allah the Exalted provides for it wherever it is in its locations, driving it to it, and He knows its various materials—which are subsumed under the ranks of varying potentials evolving through disparate stages—and its diverse places of abode. He pours upon it, in every stage, what is suitable for it from the foundations of its existence and the perfections branching therefrom. This is not devoid of elegance, though there is some remoteness in it.

Abd al-Razzaq and a group of others narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that its mustaqar is where it dwells, and its mustawda' is where it dies. This was critiqued by saying that interpreting mustawda' in this way does not suit the context of undertaking their provisions. It might be said: perhaps this is an allusion to the end of the duration of that undertaking. In a report from Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) is an indication of what is also its beginning. Ibn Jarir and al-Hakim—the latter authenticating it—narrated that he said: "Its mustaqar is the wombs, and its mustawda' is where it dies." It is as if it were said: He, the Exalted, is the guarantor of the provision of every moving creature, and He knows its place when it first requires provision and its place when it last requires it; He drives it to it, and it must reach it until the term of its need ends. It is permissible for this clause to be an explanatory resumption (isti'naf bayani) or for it to be conjoined to the sentence {its provision is upon Allah}, falling under the scope of {except}. Al-Ajhuri limited himself to the latter.

Meaning: Everyone from the moving creatures, their provision, their place of dwelling, and their place of storage—or everything He has mentioned and more—is inscribed in the Preserved Tablet, which is clear to whoever looks into it among the angels (peace be upon them), or which makes manifest what has been inscribed in it for those who behold it.

The sentence, as al-Tibi said, is like a completion for the meaning of the obligation of undertaking provision, like one who acknowledges something in his debt and then writes a document for it. In al-Kashf, it is stated that the most apparent view is that it is a confirmation of His knowledge. It is as if the Exalted, when He mentioned that He knows what they conceal and what they reveal, followed it up with what indicates the universality of His knowledge. Then, He—the Glorified and Exalted—brought what indicates the greatness of His power, from His saying, the Blessed and Exalted: ...