Tafsir of Al-Mulk 67:16

It is He, Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, as has been maintained by more than one. It has been said, regarding the interpretation of "He who is in the heaven," that it refers to His command and His decree; it is a figurative attribution, or there is an implied genitive addition, the original being: "He whose command is in the heaven." When the added noun was omitted and the possessor of the addition took its place, it became elevated and hidden. Others have said it implies "the Creator of whoever is in the heaven." It is also said that "in" (fī) carries the meaning of "upon" (‘alā), denoting elevation through subjugation and power. Some have argued that it is built upon the assumption of the Arabs, who claimed that He, the Almighty, is in the heaven; as if it were said: "Are you secure from Him whom you claim is in the heaven?"—while He is exalted above space. This, however, is of the utmost absurdity, for how can the structure of the discourse in such a context be based on the presumption of some ignorant people? This is not hidden from one endowed with fairness.

Alternatively, it may refer to other than Him, the Almighty. Some have taken this path, suggesting the relative pronoun refers to the angels—peace be upon them—who are entrusted with the management of this world, or to Gabriel (peace be upon him), who is entrusted with the khasf (causing the earth to swallow).

However, the Imams of the Salaf (pious predecessors) did not turn to anyone other than Him, the Almighty. According to them, the verse is among the Mutashābihāt (allegorical/ambiguous). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Believe in its allegorical parts," and he did not say, "Interpret them." Thus, they are believers that He, the Almighty and Majestic, is in the heaven in the sense that He, the Almighty, intends, along with complete transcendence (tanzīh). The Hadith of the slave girl is one of the strongest proofs for them in this regard. To interpret it according to the interpretations of the Khalaf (later scholars) is to depart from the circle of fairness in the view of those who possess intellect.

In Fath al-Bārī, the Hafiz Ibn Hajar cited that al-Lalakā’i narrated from Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Shaybānī, who said: "The consensus of all the jurists, from the East to the West, is upon belief in the Quran and the Hadīths which have been transmitted by trustworthy narrators from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) regarding the attributes of the Lord, without likeness (tashbīh) and without interpretation (tafsīr)." Al-Bayhaqī also narrated with a sound chain from Ahmad ibn Abī al-Hawārī, from Sufyan ibn ‘Uyaynah: "Everything with which Allah the Almighty has described Himself in His Book, its interpretation is its recitation and silence regarding it." This is the way of al-Shafi‘i and Ahmad ibn Hanbal.

The Imam of the Two Holy Sanctuaries said in al-Risālah al-Nizāmiyyah: "The paths of scholars have differed regarding these apparent expressions. Some have seen fit to interpret them and committed themselves to that regarding the verses of the Book and the authentic Sunnah. The Imams of the Salaf went towards refraining from interpretation, leaving the apparent meanings as they occur, and delegating their meanings to Allah, the Almighty and Majestic." What we favor as an opinion and what we hold as a religious belief is following the Salaf of the Ummah, due to the definitive evidence that the consensus of the Ummah is a proof. Had the interpretation of these apparent meanings been obligatory, their concern for it would have been greater than their concern for the branches of the Law (sharī‘ah). Since the era of the Companions and their successors passed while they refrained from interpretation, that is the path to be followed.

Thus ends the statement of the Imam. Quotations have already been provided regarding this from those of the third era—the jurists of the major cities like al-Thawrī, al-Awzā‘ī, Mālik, al-Layth, and their contemporaries, as well as those who took knowledge from them. How, then, can one not trust what the people of the three generations—who are the best of generations by the testimony of the bearer of the Sharī‘ah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)—have agreed upon? This is the conclusion of the Hafiz in summary. Mentioning the texts of the Imams on leaving these as they appear, with transcendence and without interpretation, leads to further expansion and length. Valid, lengthy, and concise books have been authored on this.

In Tanbīh al-‘Uqūl, our shaykh’s shaykh, Ibrāhīm al-Kūrānī, says that the consensus of the three generations upon leaving the allegorical texts as they occur, alongside transcendence—"There is nothing like unto Him"—is evidence that the Lawgiver (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) intended their apparent meanings. The certainty of his (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) truthfulness is evidence of the absence of a rational contradiction pointing to the opposite of what the transmitted evidence indicates in reality, even if the rational mind imagines it during the stage of contemplation and thought. Thus, the knowledge of Allah the Almighty with this type of attribute is a stage beyond that.

I say: In interpretation, there is following conjecture and speaking about Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, without knowledge. Otherwise, the meanings they mention would be unified, whereas this is not the case; they mention multiple possibilities for the interpretation of a single thing. In the path of the Salaf is safety from that, and this suffices for it to be the best of paths:

And what is it to me if I speak my belief? Leave the ignorant one to think ignorance is hostility.

Nāfi‘ recited "A-amintum" by verifying the first hamzah and softening the second. Abū ‘Amr and Qālūn inserted an alif between them. Qunbul recited by substituting the first with a wāw due to the dammah of what precedes it, which is the rā’ of al-nushūr (the Resurrection). From him and from Warsh, there are other versions as well.

His saying, the Almighty: That He will cause the earth to swallow you, is an apposition of inclusion (badal ishtimāl) to the "Him" in "Him who is in the heaven." It is permissible that it is via the omission of the preposition, meaning: "From that He should cause the earth to swallow you," in which case its position is accusative or genitive. The bā’ is for accompaniment, and "the earth" is the object of "swallow." The swallowing (khasf) can be transitive. Al-Rāghib said: It is said "Khasafahu Allahu Ta‘ālā" (Allah caused him to be swallowed) and "Khasafa huwa" (He swallowed). The Almighty said: So We caused the earth to swallow him and his house, meaning: Are you secure that the earth will go downward while covering you? Some have claimed its intransitivity and that "the earth" is accusative due to the removal of the prepositional particle, meaning "that He will swallow you into the earth," but this is not the case.

Then suddenly it ripples — at the time of the swallowing — it tosses and shakes violently. The origin of al-mawr is back-and-forth movement in coming and going.