Tafsir of Al-Hajj 22:76

His saying, Exalted is He: "He knows what is before them and what is behind them," is as an interpretation of that.

Perhaps the first is more appropriate, and this is a generalization after specification. The plural pronoun refers to those charged with religious obligations (al-mukallafin), according to what has been said: meaning He knows the future of their states and their past. According to al-Hasan, it means their initial deeds and their final ones. According to Ali ibn Isa, the pronoun refers to the messengers among the angels and mankind, and the meaning according to him is what existed before the creation of the messengers and what will be after their creation.

"And to Allah return all matters."

All of them, not to anyone else—Exalted is He—neither by way of partnership nor independence, for He is the Owner of them by Essence. Therefore, He—Majestic and Exalted is He—is not questioned regarding what He does of selection and other things. Thus it has been said, and from this it is understood that it is linked to His saying, Exalted is He: "Allah chooses..." etc., and thus is the manner of connection.

It is permissible for it to be linked to His saying, Exalted is He: "He knows..." etc., in the sense that unto Him, Exalted is He, all matters return on the Day of Resurrection, so there will be no command or prohibition for anyone other than Him—Majestic is His state—there, so He shall recompense each according to what He knew of their deeds. Perhaps this is more appropriate than what preceded.

It is possible to say: It is linked to what was mentioned, but in another manner, which is that it serves as an indication of another generalization of knowledge. That is: to Him, Exalted is He, all matters return because He, Glorified is He, is the Agent of them all, whether by means or without means, or without means in all things, according to what al-Ash’ari says. Thus, He—Glorified is He—is All-Knowing of them. The justification for this, as established by some of them, is that He, Exalted is He, is knowledgeable of His Essence in the most perfect manner, and His Essence—Exalted is He—is the Cause necessitating all that is other than Him. Perfect knowledge of the cause, or of the aspect by which it is a cause, necessitates perfect knowledge of its effect. Thus, His knowledge—Exalted is He—of all that is other than Him is consequential to His knowledge of His Essence, just as the existence of all that is other than Him is dependent upon the existence of His Essence—Glorified is He. Regarding this, there is extensive and broad discussion.