Tafsir of Al-An'am 6:3

His saying, Exalted is He, "And He is Allah," is a sentence consisting of a subject referring to Him—Exalted is He—as the majority hold, and a predicate conjoined to what precedes it. It is advanced to clarify the encompassing nature of the rulings of His divinity over all created beings, and the encirclement of His knowledge regarding the details of the states of the servants and their actions—which lead to recompense—following the indication of the reality of the Resurrection in the interstices of what has preceded. This construction provides an evident benefit if one considers what follows; otherwise, it is akin to saying, "I am Abu al-Najm, and my poetry is my poetry."

His saying, "in the heavens and in the earth," is connected, according to what is said, to the descriptive meaning contained within the Majestic Name, as in your saying: "He is Hatim in Tayy," meaning the generous one. The meaning considered here may be that derived from the root of the derivation of the Noble Name—namely, the Worshipped—or the attributes of perfection for which the Name is renowned. However, one must observe in this context what those attributes necessitate, or what the restrictive syntactic structure—due to the definiteness of both poles of the predication—indicates regarding monotheism and uniqueness in divinity, or what is established among all regarding the usage of this Name exclusively for Him, Exalted is He. It is as if it were said: "He is the Worshipped in both," or "He is the Possessor, the Disposer, and the Manager in both, according to what His Will—based on ultimate wisdom—necessitates," or "He is the Unique in divinity in both," or "He is the One who is called 'Allah' in both, with nothing associated with Him in this Name." The meaning of this is merely observing one of the meanings mentioned within that Majestic Name, and such is sufficient for the connection of the prepositional phrase; it does not mean that the word "Allah" is forced into a linguistic meaning, or [interpreted exclusively as] the Possessor, the Disposer, or the Unique, or that an implied word must be assumed.

By every estimation, the objection is repelled that the prepositional phrase cannot attach to the name "Allah" due to its being a noun (not a verb), nor to the word "being" (ka’in), because in that case it would be a location for Allah—and He, Exalted is He, is transcendent above place and time. Some have permitted its connection to "being," considering it a predicate after a predicate, and the speech in that instance is a form of eloquent simile, or metonymy (according to those who do not require the possibility of a literal meaning), or a representative metaphor where the state resulting from the encompassing of His knowledge—Exalted is He—of the heavens, the earth, and what is within them, is likened to the state of a seer positioned in a place watching it and what is within it; the common element between them is the presence of those things before Him.

It is permitted that it be a figurative extension (majaz mursal) by using it for the necessity of its meaning, which is evident. Or, it may be a metaphor through writing (isti‘arah bil-kinayah), wherein He—whose Name is exalted—is likened to one who is positioned in a place, establishing for Him from its necessities His knowledge of it and what is within it; this is not a prohibited form of simile in any way. Upon this, His saying, "He knows your secret and your openness"—meaning what you have concealed and what you have made manifest of speech or actions—is an explanation of the intended meaning and a confirmation of what is understood from the speech. The suspension of His knowledge—Exalted is He—on what was mentioned specifically, while yet encompassing all those in the heavens and [the earth], is because the noble order of the text is driven toward clarifying the condition of the addressees. Likewise, it is considered an explanation according to the estimation of considering the attributes of perfection for which the Majestic Name is known when the prepositional phrase is connected, as you have learned; for observing Him from the perspective of complete lordship and complete disposal, as previously stated, necessarily entails observing His encompassing knowledge, Exalted is He.

Regarding other estimations, there is no room, as has been said, to make it an explanation, for the knowledge mentioned is not considered in the concept of "Worshipped," nor in the exclusivity of the application of the Name to Him, Exalted is He, nor in the concept of "Divinity." How then could this be an explanation of that? And considering knowledge in what is signified by "The Unique" is insufficient for it to be an explanatory clause.

It has been said regarding it being an explanation—assuming the consideration of "Unique in Divinity"—that limiting divinity to the meaning of "managing creation," and he who is unique in managing all the affairs of a thing is necessarily knowledgeable of all of them so that his management of them may be perfected; thus, observing the Unique in divinity necessitates observing His encompassing knowledge, Exalted is He, in the style of what was established regarding the observation of His name from His name, in terms of complete lordship and complete disposal, as outlined above.

From this, one learns the invalidity of the objection raised against the possibility of connecting the prepositional phrase to the observation of the "Unique in Divinity"—namely, that uniqueness in it is a matter that has no connection to place, so there is no meaning in making it connected to a place, let alone all places. For the management of creation is something that relates to what is in the sphere of the prepositional phrase's location, and likewise what is within it. This was followed up by denying the interpretation of "divinity" in the manner mentioned.

Perhaps the sentence, according to those estimations, is a third predicate; many have permitted informing with a sentence after informing with a singular term, and some have made it so absolutely. The indicator for desiring the intended meaning from the prepositional sentence is then rational: every person knows that He—sanctified and exalted is He—is transcendent above what the apparent meaning of "place" necessitates. This is just as in His saying: "And He is with you wherever you are," for it is not followed by what explains it away [literally].

It has been permitted that it be an initial sentence (a grammatical restart), and many have preferred this as it is free from affectation, or it is an explanatory restart, and one may strain to assume a question for it. It has been said: the sentence is the predicate of "He," and the Majestic Name is a substitute for it, and the prepositional phrase connects to "He knows." It is sufficient for that, that the object of knowledge is in what was mentioned, without it depending on the knower being "in" it, which would necessitate the impossible attribution of locality to Him, Exalted is He. This is—as has been said—like your saying: "I shot the prey in the Haram," which is true even if you are outside it and the prey is within it.

Some researchers reported from Imam al-Tamartashi in Al-Iman that if a prepositional phrase is mentioned after a verb that has a subject—as when you say: "If you strike in the house or in the mosque"—if both are in it, the matter is clear. If the subject is in it and not the object (or vice versa), then if the verb is one whose effect appears in the object, like striking, killing, or wounding, the consideration is for the object being in it. If it is one whose effect does not appear in the object, like insulting, then the consideration is for the subject being in it. Hence, some jurists said: "If I insulted him in the mosque or threw at him (archery directed at him), then such-and-such is the case," conditioning the violation on the subject being in it. If he said: "If I struck him in the mosque, or wounded him, or killed him, or threw at him (striking him)," then the condition is the object being in it. A distinction is made between the two types of "throwing": the one transitive with "to" (ila) and the one transitive by itself. The first is the dispatching of an arrow from the bow with intention, which is something whose effect does not appear on the target and does not depend on the arrival of the subject's action; the second is the dispatching of an arrow or similar in a way that reaches the target and affects it. Thus, each of them is counted in a category.

According to this, the case at hand is problematic, because knowledge has no observable effect on the object of knowledge, which would necessitate that the speech be of the category of "I insulted him in the mosque," leading to the impossible (locality). If the knowledge here is a metaphor for "recompense"—which is something whose effect appears in the object—then the speech is of the category "If I struck him in the mosque," and the object being in it is sufficient without the subject; but there is doubt regarding this. Furthermore, the object of knowledge here—namely, the secret and openness of the addressees—being in the heavens has no basis.

The saying that the meaning is then "He knows your souls that are separate and in the heavens, and your souls that are joined to your bodies and in the earth," is a forced interpretation and a departure from the apparent meaning. Moreover, the address in that case would be to the believers, while previously it was to the disbelievers, thus the relevance and connection are lost. The same applies to the saying that the address is generalized to include the angels, for it is apparent that their secret and openness is in the heavens.

It has been answered that it is possible that the secret and openness of the addressees were placed there to widen the scope and depict that nothing escapes His knowledge—Exalted is He—in any place whatsoever, not that they actually are in the heavens. It is also said: the "secret" is what was hidden from them of the wonders of the Kingdom and the secrets of the Dominion which they did not uncover, and the "openness" is what appeared to them of the heavens and the earth. The attribution of secret and openness to the pronoun of the addressees is metaphorical, but there is nothing to this, as is not hidden.

Some have permitted the prepositional phrase to be connected to the verbal noun by way of tanaazu‘ (contention/competing). It was objected that the object of a verbal noun cannot precede it, and that tanaazu‘ is also required with the precedence of the object. It was answered that some permit tanaazu‘ with the precedence of the object, and those who say it is permissible to front the prepositional phrase to the verbal noun do so because of the breadth allowed in it, which is not allowed in others. It is reported from Ibn Hisham that he said: "The precedence of the modifier of a verbal noun is only forbidden if it is interpreted as an infinitive particle and a verb, and this is not such a case, so it is not among those they forbade." My master, Sadr al-Din, said: "The prohibition of connecting the prepositional phrase to a delayed verbal noun is refuted by its connection to 'God' (ilah) in His saying, Exalted is He: 'And He is the One who is God in the heaven,' even though 'God' is a verbal noun." Many have declared it to be connected to it, for it is interpreted as an attribute, like "The Worshipped." So let "secret and openness" be interpreted as "the hidden and the manifest."

From Abu Ali al-Farisi, it is reported that he made "He" the pronoun of the "case" (dhamir al-sha’n), and "Allah" as the subject, its predicate being what follows it, and the sentence being the predicate for the pronoun of the case, meaning: "The affair and the story is that..."

"And He knows what you earn," i.e., what you do to bring about benefit or repel harm from the actions acquired by the hearts and limbs, secretly and openly. Specifying this with mention, despite it being included in what preceded—assuming the generalization of "secret and openness"—is to demonstrate the extent of the concern for it, as it is the pivot of the sphere of recompense, and this is the secret in repeating "He knows." Some have differentiated between the two conjoined parts by making the knowledge here refer to His recompense, while keeping it on its obvious meaning in the preceding part. Interpreting "earned" as the recompense of actions—from rewards and punishments—is not apparent, and likewise carrying "secret and openness" to what has occurred and "earned" to what has not yet occurred.