Surah Ar-Rahman 55:29
ﱶ ﱷ ﱸ ﱹ ﱺ ﱻ ﱼ ﱽ ﱾ ﱿ ﲀ
Whoever is within the heavens and earth asks Him; every day He is bringing about a matter.
Tafsir of Ar-Rahman 55:29
Tafsir
Ruh al-Ma'ani
Verse range: 55:29
{يَسْأَلُهُ مَن فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ} Everything in the heavens and the earth asks Him for what they need in their essences, both in their origin and persistence, and in all their other states. It is a continuous asking, whether by the tongue of speech or by the tongue of state. For all of them, in terms of their contingent realities, are entirely devoid of any inherent right to existence or the perfections that follow from it; if the connection between them and Divine Providence were to be severed, they would not scent the fragrance of existence at all. They are asking in every instant.
'Abd bin Humayd and Ibn al-Mundhir narrated from Abu Salih regarding {He is asked by whoever is in the heavens}: [They ask] for mercy, and whoever is in the earth asks for forgiveness and provision. Ibn al-Mundhir narrated from Ibn Jurayj: {He is asked by...} – the angels (peace be upon them) ask for provision for the people of the earth and for their forgiveness, and the people of the earth ask Him for both. The former interpretation is more appropriate, as there is no evidence for such specification.
The manifest [view] is that the sentence is an initiation (istī’nāf). It has been said: It is a state (ḥāl) related to the Face (al-Wajh), and the operative factor in it is {remains} (yabqā); meaning, He, Exalted is He, is eternal in this state. The state [of His affairs] is not hidden to any person of discernment.
{كُلَّ يَوْمٍ هُوَ فِي شَأْنٍ} {Every day} means at every time of the times and every moment of the moments. {He is in a state} of the affairs, among which is the granting of what they ask. For He, the Exalted, is perpetually bringing into existence individuals and nullifying others, bringing about conditions and removing others, according to what His Will, Mighty and Majestic is He, necessitates—a Will built upon profound wisdoms.
Al-Bukhari in his Tarikh, Ibn Majah, Ibn Hibban, and a group narrated from Abu al-Darda' from the Prophet (peace be upon him) that he said regarding this verse: "His state is that He forgives a sin, relieves a distress, raises a people, and humbles others." Al-Bazzar added: "And answers a supplicant." It has been said: God, the Exalted, has three armies every day: an army from the loins to the wombs, an army from the wombs to the world, and an army from the world to the graves. The apparent [meaning] is to demonstrate the abundance of His affairs, Exalted is He, in the world, so "every day" is in the sense of every time of the times of the world.
Ibn 'Uyaynah said: Time in the sight of God, the Exalted, is two days: one is the day which is the duration of the world; His state within it is commanding, forbidding, causing death, and granting life. The second is the day which is the Day of Resurrection; His state within it is recompense and reckoning. Muqatil reported that the verse was revealed regarding the Jews, who said: "God, the Exalted, does not decree anything on the Sabbath," so He, Exalted is He, refuted that.
'Abdullah bin Tahir asked al-Husayn bin al-Fadl about how to reconcile this verse with the authentic report that the Pen has dried with what is to be until the Day of Resurrection. He replied: "They are affairs He is carrying out, not affairs He is initiating."
{Every day} is in the accusative case as an adverb of time, and the operative factor in it is the same factor that operates in His saying {in a state}, while {He} refers to the [implied] "established" (thābit); as if it were said: He is established in a state every day.