Tafsir of Al-An'am 6:59

(And with Him are the keys of the unseen) meaning, His keys, as it has also been read. It is the plural of maftah with a kasra on the mim, which is like miftah (key), an instrument for opening. It is said: it is the plural of miftah, just as it is said in the plural of mihrab, maharib. The speech involves metaphor, as the unseen is likened to things secured by locks, and keys are affirmed for it by way of takhayyul (imagination), while they remain in their literal meaning; making them synonymous with "knowledge" is a makniyya (implicit) metaphor, based on the principle that it is not required for the literal meaning to be far-fetched. More far-fetched than this is the affectation of allegory. It is said: the closest interpretation is to consider it an explicit tahqiqiyya (verifying) metaphor, wherein "knowledge" is borrowed for "keys," and the qarina (clue) is the annexation to "the unseen." Ibn Jarir and Ibn Abi Hatim narrated from al-Suddi that the meaning of mafatih is "treasuries," in which case it is the plural of maftah with a fatha on the mim, which is the storeroom.

Al-Wahidi allowed for it to be a verbal noun meaning "opening," though this is not what is immediately understood. The speech contains an implicit, imaginative metaphor. The fronting of the predicate is for the sake of restriction (hasr). By "the unseen" is meant the unseen things by way of exhaustive inclusion. The intention in every case is that He, glorified be He, is the Knower of all unseen things, exactly as they are, in the primary sense. (He does not know them except He) is in the position of a hal (circumstantial accusative) from "keys," and the governor of it, as Abu al-Baqa' said, is what the prepositional phrase attaches to, or it is the noun itself if it is raised by it. It is also permissible for it to be an emphasis for the content of what preceded it. The discourse is either driven to clarify the exclusivity of unseen matters to Him, the Exalted, in terms of knowledge, following the clarification of their exclusivity to Him, the Exalted, in terms of power. The meaning is: that which you hasten of punishment is not under my power such that I must hasten it for you, nor is it known to me such that I might inform you of the time of its descent; rather, it is among those things exclusive to His majesty in power and knowledge, so He sends it down according to what His will—founded upon wisdom—dictates. Or, it is for the sake of establishing general knowledge for Him, the Exalted, which is His knowledge of everything, after establishing specific knowledge, which is His knowledge of the wrongdoers. The Imam mentioned that the meaning of the verse, on the assumption that mafatih means "treasuries," is that He, the Exalted, is the Powerful over all possibilities, as in His saying, the Exalted: "And there is not a thing but that with Us are its treasuries."

Ibn Jarir and Ibn al-Mundhir narrated from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with both, that he said: "The keys of the unseen are five," and he recited: "Indeed, Allah, with Him is knowledge of the Hour" [31:34], etc. Something similar was narrated from Ibn Mas’ud. Ahmad, al-Bukhari, and others narrated from Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with both, in a marfu’ (elevated) manner, something similar. Perhaps taking it as an exhaustive list is more appropriate, and what is in the reports is to be understood as mentioning some of the important ones, not as a claim of restriction, for there is no doubt that the unseen things other than the five are also known only to Allah, the Exalted.

(And He knows what is in the land and the sea) is a conjunction to the sentence (And with Him are the keys of the unseen), or to the sentence before it, which is evident if one considers it a hal. As for considering it an emphasis, some have forbidden it because a conjunction is not suitable for emphasis. Even if His, the Exalted, knowledge of the unseen matters is, according to the verifiers, in a detailed and specific way, knowledge of the unseen and the manifest are distinct, so one does not emphasize the other. Indeed, it is said: whoever does not consider it an emphasis allows for the conjunction to it, so both sentences are initiated to detail His, the Exalted, knowledge and its encompassing nature, and nothing else. It is also allowed that the totality is an emphasis because it comprises the content of what preceded it, as it is not a technical emphasis. The intention of this sentence, as more than one has said, is to clarify the attachment of His, the Exalted, knowledge to the visible matters, following the clarification of its attachment to the unseen, as a completion for it and an alerting that all things, in relation to His encompassing knowledge, are equal.

The meaning of "land" is the desert, and "sea" is the opposite. In al-Qamus, it is stated that it is the abundant water, or salt water only. It is pluralized as abhur, buhur, and bihar, and its diminutive is ubayhir, not buhayr. From Mujahid, it is said that "land" means barren lands and "sea" means every village that has water, which is contrary to the apparent meaning. Regardless, the meaning is that He knows what is in them of existents in detail, according to their different genera, types, and the multiplicity of their individuals.

(And not a leaf falls but He knows it) meaning, and not a leaf falls from any tree whatsoever, except that He is Knowing of it. The "min" is redundant for the subject, and the sentence after "except" is in the position of a hal from it. The hal came from an indefinite noun because it relies on negation, and ellipsis in the hal is common and permissible.

It is also allowed that it be in the position of an adjective for the indefinite noun. The speech is driven, as was said, to clarify the attachment of His knowledge to the states of the changing visible things after clarifying its attachment to their essences. For the specification of the state of falling for mention is only by way of sufficiency—mentioning it instead of mentioning all other states—just as mentioning the states of the leaf and what is conjoined to it specifically, rather than the states of everything else in the land and sea among the existents that cannot be contained by the scope of enumeration, is because it is a model for the states of others. It is said: perhaps the sufficiency with the state of falling, rather than sufficiency with other states, is due to its intense suitability to what will come, if Allah wills, in the verse of the "Full," and because the change therein is more apparent, so it is more accordant with what the verse was driven for. It is said: because knowledge of the falling, since it is among the states of the falling that are overlooked, necessitates knowledge of other states that are given attention. So ponder. It is as if it was said: and no leaf changes from one state to another except He knows it. (Nor a seed) is a conjunction to "leaf." His saying, the Exalted, (in the darkness of the earth) attaches to an elided term that functions as an adjective for "seed," indicating the perfection of the appearance of His, the Exalted, knowledge. The "darkness of the earth" refers to its depths. Darkness is used as a metonymy for the depth, because one does not perceive what is therein, just as one does not perceive in darkness. From Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with both: the meaning of the darkness of the earth is what is under a rock at the bottom of the seven earths, or under a stone or anything. His saying, the Exalted, (nor any moist nor dry) is also a conjunction to "leaf," included with it in its ruling. By "moist" and "dry," what is meant is moist and dry things whose nature it is to fall, like fruits for example, because the conjunction necessitates that. His saying, the Exalted, (except in a clear Book).

[ ] serves as a repetition of His saying, the Exalted, (except He knows it) because its meaning is one in the final outcome, whether by "the clear Book" is meant His, the Exalted, knowledge or the Preserved Tablet, which is the repository of His, the Exalted, known things. Al-Zamakhshari adopted this view. As for what al-Sa'd said: it is a repetition from the perspective of meaning, but as for the wording, it is an adjective for the mentioned things, just as (except He knows it) is an adjective for "leaf." An objection was raised against this: how can an adjective for one thing be a repetition of an adjective for another thing in meaning? It was answered that it is not valid, because the leaf is included in the moist and the dry, so there is no contradiction in terms of meaning, thus what was mentioned is correct. It is said: it is a substitute for the first exception, a substitute of the whole if the Book is interpreted as knowledge, and a substitute of inclusion if it is interpreted as the Tablet, and there is reflection on this. It was read (nor a seed nor a moist nor a dry) with the nominative case as a conjunction to the place of (leaf). Some have specified this reading to the last two. It is allowed that the nominative is as an initiation, and the predicate is (except in a Book). It is said: this is more appropriate to the context, for the moist and the dry then encompass those things whose nature is not to fall. More than one has made them encompass all things, because all bodies are either moist or dry, and this includes hot and cold. The meaning of everything is its linguistic meaning, not the medical term, as is not hidden. From Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with both, the meaning of moist is that which grows, and dry is that which does not grow. In another narration from him: the first is water and the second is soil. Abu al-Shaykh narrated from him what implies generality, and perhaps that is more worthy of acceptance. It is said: the moist is the living and the dry is the dead.

The Imami school narrated from Abu Abd Allah, may Allah be pleased with both, that he said: "The leaf is the miscarriage, the seed is the offspring, the darkness of the earth... the moist is that which lives, and the dry is that which perishes." I honor Abu Abd Allah, may Allah be pleased with both, from uttering this interpretation, as it is extremely contrary to the apparent meaning. Similar in its lack of immediacy is what Abu al-Shaykh narrated from Muhammad ibn Jahada, who said: "Allah, the Exalted, has a tree under the Throne; there is no created being except that it has a leaf on it. When its leaf falls, its soul exits its body, and that is His saying, the Exalted: (And not a leaf falls...)." Furthermore, interpreting the Book as the Tablet is what a group of exegetes walked upon, among them al-Zajjaj; for he said: He, the Exalted, recorded the known things in a Book before He created the creation, as He said, the Exalted: "Except in a Book before We bring it into being" [57:22]. In a narration by Muslim, Allah, the Exalted, wrote the destinies of the creation fifty thousand years before He created the heavens and the earth. The benefit of this is several things: First, the angels, peace be upon them, considering the conformity of occurrences to the divine known things. Second—and al-Hasan limited himself to this—alerting the accountable ones not to neglect their states that include reward and punishment, since He mentioned that the leaf and the seed are in the Book. Third, the non-change of existents from the arrangement previously in the Book; hence it is said: "The Pen has dried with what is to be until the Day of Resurrection." This Book is called the "Preserved Tablet" for its preservation from corruption and the reaching of devils to it, or from erasing and writing, based on the fact that they only occur in the records of the angels, not in it. Al-Balkhi chose that the meaning of His saying, the Exalted, (in a clear Book) is that it is preserved, neither forgotten nor neglected, just as someone says to another: "What you are doing is recorded and written with me," for he only means that he is mindful of it, desiring to reward him for it. He recited for that: "Verily for Salma with us is a record." The Imam mentioned here what he called a "subtlety": that pure intellectual propositions are difficult to fully and perfectly comprehend except for the perfect intellectuals who have accustomed themselves to turning away from the propositions of the senses and imagination, and who are familiar with bringing to presence the abstract intelligibles, and they are like red sulfur. (And with Him are the keys of the unseen) is one of those propositions. And since it was intended to reach every intellect—for the Quran was only sent down so that all creation might benefit from it—He mentioned an example from the perceptible things that fall under that universal intellectual proposition, so that the intelligible might, with the help of this perceptible example, become understood by everyone. He mentioned (And He knows what is in the land and the sea) to reveal through it the reality of the greatness of the intelligible. He fronted the mention of the land because man has witnessed its states and the abundance of what is in it.

As for the sea, the intellect’s encompassing of its states is less, although the senses indicate that the wonders of the seas in general are more, their length and breadth are greater, and the animals and types of creatures in them are more amazing. So when the imagination brings to presence the known things of the land and the sea and realizes that their totality is insignificant compared to what entered into the circle of universality of (And with Him are the keys of the unseen), this becomes a strengthener and completer to the greatness obtained under that. Then He, the Exalted, revealed the greatness of the land and sea by His saying, the Mighty and Majestic: (And not a leaf falls but He knows it). This is because the intellect brings to presence everything in the earth among cities, villages, deserts, and perils, then brings to presence how many stars and trees are in them, then brings to presence that no state of a leaf changes but the Truth knows it. Then He mentioned an example of greater awe, which is (nor a seed), etc. This is because the seed is in the utmost smallness, and (darkness of the earth) hides in it the largest and greatest of bodies. So when the intelligent person hears that that small seed dropped in the darkness of the earth, despite its vastness and greatness, does not exit from His, the Exalted, knowledge, he awakens to the utmost awakening and wins from the totality of that the most ample share of the meaning pointed to at the beginning of the verse. Then, when He, the Exalted, strengthened that purely abstract intelligible by mentioning these perceptible particulars, He returned to mentioning that proposition with another expression, which is His saying, the Mighty in His Name: (nor a moist nor a dry but is in a clear Book), for it is the very same as what preceded. This is built upon one of the aspects of the verse, so do not be neglectful. In it is evidence that Allah, the Exalted, is All-Knowing of particulars. It was attributed that the philosophers disagreed, but the truth is that they do not deny that; rather, they only deny His, the Exalted, knowledge of them in a particular way, which is a long-tailed discussion. Likewise is the discussion of His, the Exalted, knowledge as He is, and treatises have been written on it, and it has become a battleground for the understandings of the later and earlier scholars. Glory be to Him whose measure no one can measure but Him.