Tafsir of Al-Jathiyah 45:13

(And He has subjected to you whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth), meaning: from all existents, by placing in them benefits for you—some apparent and some hidden. He followed this with [the command to] "think" to alert [us] that reflection is what leads to what was mentioned of priority, and to demonstrate that reflection is the foundation of the matter in arranging the objective upon what was made a sign of faith, certainty, and gratitude.

(All from Him): "All" (jami'an) is a state (hal) from "what is in the heavens and what is in the earth," or it is an emphasis (tawkid) for it. His saying, the Exalted, (from Him), is also a state from that [same referent]. The meaning is: He subjected all these things while they are originating from Him and resulting from His presence, meaning that He, the Exalted, is their Constitutor and Originator by His power and wisdom, and then He subjected them for His creation.

Other possibilities have been proposed:

1. That it is the predicate (khabar) of a deleted subject (mubtada'). Thus, "all" (jami'an) is a state from the hidden pronoun in the prepositional phrase, based on the permissibility of the state preceding such a governor, or from the subject, based on the permissibility of the state from it—meaning: they are all from Him, the Exalted. It is said: "All" (jami'an) is [based] on how it was, and in conceptualizing the meaning, the subject pronoun is estimated to follow it, qualified by "all." On both accounts, the sentence is a new beginning (isti'naf) brought as an emphasis for His saying, "subjected" (sakhkhara)—meaning that He, the Majestic and Exalted, brought them into existence and then subjected them, not that they were acquired by Him, the Exalted, from others as is the case with kings.

2. That "whatever is in the heavens" is the subject, and "it" [the hidden pronoun in minhu] is its predicate, and "all" (jami'an) is a state from the hidden pronoun in the prepositional phrase that functions as a conjunctive clause (silah). The clause "and He has subjected to you" (wa sakhkhara lakum) is then an emphasis for the first—meaning: He subjected and [again] subjected. The conjunction (waw) implies that the second subjection is as if it were distinct from the first, signifying that the one who reflects increases in faith regarding the perfection of the subjection and the favor [bestowed] upon them. The sentence "whatever is in the heavens" is a new beginning for further clarification of [His] power and wisdom.

An objection is raised that if linguistic emphasis is intended, it is not free from weakness because the conjunction of its like in sentences is not customary. And if technical emphasis is intended, as has been said regarding His saying, "No! You are going to know, then no! You are going to know," it contradicts what Ibn Malik mentioned in al-Tashil, that the conjunction of emphasis is restricted to thumma. Al-Radi said: It occurs with fa' as well, while here it is with waw, and none of them permitted it, even if they did not mention the reason for the difference. Furthermore, it has been established in the science of meanings (al-ma'ani) that conjunction does not occur in emphasis absolutely due to the intensity of the connection. It is also objected that it involves deleting the object of "subjected" without a context, and this is as you see.

3. That "whatever is in the earth" is the subject and "from Him" is the predicate. It is not hidden that this is weak according to the context.

Ibn al-Mundhir recorded via 'Ikrimah that Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) used to not interpret this verse. Perhaps this is correctly understood as him not having elaborated upon it, for Ibn Jarir recorded from him that he said regarding it: "Every thing is from Allah, the Exalted."

'Abd al-Razzaq, 'Abd ibn Humayd, Ibn al-Mundhir, al-Hakim (who authenticated it), and al-Bayhaqi in al-Asma' wa al-Sifat recorded from Tawus: A man came to 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As and asked him, "From what was the creation created?" He said, "From water, light, darkness, wind, and soil." The man asked, "From what were these created?" He said, "I do not know." Then the man came to 'Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr and asked him, and he gave the same reply as 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr. Then he came to Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) and asked him, "From what was the creation created?" He said, "From water, light, darkness, wind, and soil." He asked, "From what were these created?" Ibn 'Abbas recited: And He has subjected to you whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth, all from Him. "None could have brought this except a man from the household of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)."

Scholars differed regarding what Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) intended by this. Al-Bayhaqi said: He meant that the source of all is from Him, the Exalted—meaning from His creation, origination, and invention. He created water first, or water and whatever He willed from His creation, not from an origin or a preceding example, and then He, the Exalted, made it the origin of the rest of creation. He, the Majestic, is the Originator, and He, the Glorified, is the Creator; there is no god but Him, and no creator other than Him. This is the position of the majority of traditionists, exegetes, and those who followed their path.

Sheikh Ibrahim al-Kurani, from the Sufis, said: The creatures are manifestations of the overflowing existence which is the form of the "Merciful Breath" (al-nafas al-rahmani) named the "Cloud" (al-'ama'). This is because the Cloud has spread over the realities, which are non-existent matters distinguished in the knowledge of the Divine (al-nafs al-amr). The spreading is a contingent event, and the Cloud, in terms of its association with essences, is not the Essence of the Truth, for He, the Exalted, is the Pure Existence not associated with them. Thus, the existents are contingent forms in the Cloud, subsisting through it, and Allah, the Exalted, is their Sustainer, for He, the Majestic and Exalted, is the First, the Inward, the One providing those forms with subsistence. It does not follow from this that contingent things subsist in the Essence of the Truth, nor that He, the Exalted, is a substance for them, because His existence, the Exalted, is abstracted from essences and not associated with them. That which is manifested according to them is the Cloud, which is the overflowing existence. Thus, Ibn 'Abbas intended that the things are all from Him, the Exalted—meaning from His light, the Exalted, which is the Cloud and the existence overflowing from Him through His bringing into existence, the Majestic. By this, the answer matches the question without artificiality or prohibited implications.

If Ibn 'Abbas's intention were merely what al-Bayhaqi mentioned—that the source of all is from His creation—then His saying, "Allah is the creator of all things," would have sufficed. But the question was "From what?" and the answer occurred with "from Him" in his recitation of the verse. It is apparent that what the questioner understood from his recitation (may Allah be pleased with them) is not merely what was mentioned, evidenced by his praise: "None could have brought this except..." For what al-Bayhaqi mentioned is known to everyone who believes in His saying, "Allah is the creator of all things," so there is no apparent reason for the statement of Ibn 'Amr and Ibn al-Zubayr "I do not know," as they are among the best of believers that Allah is the creator of all things. Rather, what he understood is what we have indicated. This is the position of the majority of the people of Wahdat al-Wujud.

The former [scholars] responded that Ibn 'Abbas’s intention was to stop the infinite regress in the question after mentioning the material for some of them, by returning the matter to the fact that all things were created by the power of the Exalted, not from anything. This is a wise statement, the speaker of which is praised, to which Ibn al-Zubayr and Ibn 'Amr were not guided. His saying, "Or were they created by nothing?" does not invalidate this, according to what the exegetes said about it, and it will come, God willing, in its proper place. Reflect on that, and may Allah take charge of your guidance.

Al-Husayn ibn 'Ali ibn Waqid presented this verse in the assembly of al-Rashid as a rebuttal to some Christians regarding their claim that His saying regarding 'Isa (peace be upon him), "and a spirit from Him," points to their claim about him—that he is the son of Allah, the Exalted is He above what they describe.

Abu al-Fath and the author of al-Lawami' narrated from Ibn 'Abbas, 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr, al-Jahdari, and 'Abdullah ibn 'Ubayd ibn 'Umayr that they read it min-natin (مِنَّةً) with a kasrah on the mim, a shaddah on the nun, and a fatha on the ta'. It is a verbal noun/accusative of cause (maf'ul lahu), meaning: He subjected that to you as a favor (minnah) upon you. Ibn Khala-wayh also narrated it from Ibn 'Abbas. Abu Hatim said: The chain of this reading to him is dark. If the chain were authentic, it could be said regarding the aforementioned hadith of Tawus that he mentioned the verse according to the reading of the majority, and it is possible he had two readings for it.

Maslamah ibn Muharib also read it similarly, except he put a dammah on the ta' on the estimate of "it is" or "it is His favor." It is also narrated from him to open the mim and shaddah the nun, with the letter 'ha' returning to Allah, the Exalted, meaning His favor, and it is the agent of "subjected" by metaphorical attribution, just as you say: "The king's generosity sustained me." Or it is the predicate of a deleted subject, meaning "This is," or it is from Him, the Exalted. Agent-hood was permitted in his first reading, and the masculine gender of the verb [is used] because the agent is not a true feminine, with the presence of a separator. The first view is worthier, even if it contains the estimation of "[Verily, in that...]"—meaning in what was mentioned—"[are signs]" of great status and large number, "[for a people who reflect]" upon the wonders of His craftsmanship, the Exalted, and the greatness of His state, the Majestic and Exalted, for that draws them to faith, certainty, and gratitude.