Ar-Ra'd: Verses (8 - 10) Allah Knows What...

Issues in the Verse

There are several ways to understand the connection of these verses:

1. Addressing the Demand for Signs: Since the preceding verses recounted their demand for further signs beyond what the Prophet (PBUH) brought, this verse clarifies that Allah is Omniscient regarding all knowledge. He knows their true intention in demanding the sign: whether it is for guidance and clarification or merely for obstinacy and contention. He knows whether they would benefit from the sign's appearance or if it would only increase their insistence and arrogance. If they had sought it for guidance, Allah would have revealed it. Since He knows they only demanded it out of pure defiance, He withheld it, similar to His saying: "And they say, 'Why are not signs sent down to him from his Lord?' Say, 'The unseen is only for Allah, so wait; indeed, I am with you among those who wait'" (Jonus: 20) and "Say, 'The signs are only with Allah'" (Al-'Ankabut: 50).

2. Connecting to Disbelief in Resurrection: This follows His statement, "And if you are amazed, then amazing is their saying..." (Ar-Ra'd: 5) regarding their denial of the Resurrection. They denied it because they argued that when the components of living beings scatter and disintegrate, their distinct identities become mixed, preventing reassembly. Allah clarifies that this loss of distinction only applies to those who are not Omniscient. For the One who knows all things, those parts remain distinguishable. He then proves His omniscience by stating that He knows what every female carries and what the wombs diminish or increase.

3. Connecting to Hastening Punishment: This connects to His statement: "And they ask you to hasten the evil before the good" (Ar-Ra'd: 6). The meaning is that since Allah is Omniscient of all things, He only sends down punishment according to what He knows to be beneficial (or appropriate). And Allah knows best.

The word mā (ما) in "What every female bears and what the wombs diminish and what they increase" can be either a relative pronoun (Mawsūlah) or a verbal noun (Maṣdariyyah).

If it is relative (Mawsūlah): It means He knows what the female carries—whether it is male or female, complete or incomplete, beautiful or ugly, tall or short, and all other present and anticipated conditions.

Then He said: "And what the wombs diminish" (wa mā taghīḍu al-arḥām). Al-Ghayḍ (diminishing) means reduction, whether passive or active. It is said: ghāḍa al-mā’ (the water diminished) and ghaḍtuhu anā (I caused the water to diminish). This is the source of His saying: "And the water subsided" (Hud: 44). The intent here is what the wombs cause to diminish, with the pronoun referring back being omitted.

And "and what they increase" (wa mā tazdād): meaning what they take in addition. It is said: akhadhtu minhu ḥaqqī wa izdādtu minhu kadhā (I took my right from it, and I increased from it such-and-such). This is the source of His saying: "And they increased by nine" (Al-Kahf: 25).

There are differing opinions on what the womb diminishes and increases:

1. The Number of Offspring: A womb may contain one, two, three, or four (it is narrated that Sharīk had four in his mother's womb).
2. The State of the Child: The child may be premature (mukhaddaj) or fully formed (tāmm).
3. The Duration of Gestation: It might be nine months, or longer, up to two years according to Abū Ḥanīfah (may Allah have mercy on him), up to four years according to Ash-Shāfi'ī, and up to five years according to Mālik. It is said that Al-Ḍaḥḥāk was born after two years, and Hurm ibn Ḥayyān remained in his mother's womb for four years, which is why he was named Hurm.
4. The Blood Flow: Blood flow sometimes lessens and sometimes increases.
5. Miscarriage vs. Full Term: What is lost through miscarriage before completion, and what is gained by reaching full term.
6. Menstrual Blood: What is diminished by the appearance of menstrual blood. If blood flows during pregnancy, the fetus weakens and diminishes. To compensate for this loss, the duration of pregnancy increases to make up for the deficit. Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Whenever menstruation flows during pregnancy for one day, the duration of pregnancy increases by one day to achieve compensation and balance."
7. Waste Accumulation: Menstrual blood is waste that gathers in the woman's abdomen. When her vessels are full of this waste, it flows out. Then, when these materials flow out, the vessels fill up again.

This analysis holds if we consider mā to be relative.

If we consider it verbal noun (Maṣdariyyah): The meaning is that Allah knows the carrying of every female, and He knows the diminishing and increasing of the wombs. Nothing about this—not the times nor the conditions—is hidden from Him.

As for His saying: "And all things with Him are by measure" (wa kullu shay’in ‘indahu bi-miqdār), it means by a single measure that nothing exceeds or falls short of, like His saying: "Indeed, We have created everything in measure" (Al-Qamar: 49) and in the beginning of Al-Furqān: "And He created everything and determined it with [precise] determination" (Al-Furqān: 2).

Know that "All things with Him are by measure" can imply two things regarding the ‘indiyyah (being "with Him"):

1. Knowledge: It means Allah knows the quantity and quality of everything in detailed clarity. If this is the case, then change in those known things is impossible.
2. Preordained Decree: It means Allah has designated a specific time and state for every contingent event through His eternal Will and everlasting Intention. The Islamic philosophers hold that Allah established universal principles endowed with inherent powers and properties, setting them in motion such that their movements, determined by specific measures, necessarily result in specific, measured partial states and correspondences. The actions, states, and thoughts of servants fall under this verse, and it is one of the strongest proofs against the position of the Mu'tazila.

Then Allah said: "Knower of the unseen and the witnessed" (ʿālimu al-ghaybi wa-sh-shahādah). Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him) said this refers to knowledge of what is hidden from His creation and what they witness. Al-Wāḥidī said that in this context, al-ghayb (the unseen) is a verbal noun referring to the absent thing, and ash-shahādah (the witnessed) refers to the present thing.

They differed on the intended meaning of the absent and the present:

• Some said: The absent is the knowable thing, and the present is the existing thing.
• Others said: The absent is what is hidden from the senses, and the present is what is present.
• Others said: The absent is what creation does not know, and the present is what creation knows.

We say: Knowables are two categories: the knowables and the existents. Among the non-existent things are those whose existence is impossible, and those whose existence is not impossible. The existents are also two categories: those whose non-existence is impossible (necessary existents), and those whose non-existence is possible. Each of these four categories has specific rulings and properties, and all are known to Allah.

The Imam, the father of the Imam (Al-Rāzī’s father), narrated from Abū Al-Qāsim Al-Anṣārī, from Imām Al-Ḥaramayn (may Allah have mercy on them both), that he used to say: Allah has infinite knowables, and for every one of those knowables, He has other knowables without end. This is because Allah knows that the indivisible atom (al-jawhar al-fard) can potentially exist in infinite spaces sequentially, and be described by infinite attributes sequentially. Allah knows all states in detail, and all these categories fall under His statement: "Knower of the unseen and the witnessed."

Then, following this, Allah mentioned: "The Great" (al-Kabīr). It is impossible for Him to be great in terms of physical body, size, or dimension. Therefore, He must be great in terms of divine power and majesty.

Then Allah described Himself as "The Exalted" (al-Muta‘ālī), meaning He is transcendent above everything that is impossible for Him. This indicates His purity in His Essence, Attributes, and Actions. This verse thus proves that Allah is described with complete knowledge and perfect power, and is pure from everything unsuitable. This proves that He is capable of the Resurrection they denied, the signs they requested, and the punishment they hastened. They delay it only according to the Divine Will (according to some scholars) or according to what is most beneficial (according to others).

Ibn Kathīr recited Al-Muta‘ālī by retaining the yā’ (ي) both when stopping and continuing. The rest recite it by omitting the yā’ in both cases for ease of pronunciation.

Then, Allah emphasized the clarity of His knowledge of all things by saying: "It is all the same whether one of you conceals his speech or declares it, and whether one is hiding by night or walking forth by day" (sawā’un minkum man asarra al-qawla wa man jahara bih, wa man huwa mustakhfin bi-l-layli wa sāribun bi-n-nahār).

The word sawā’ typically requires two items (e.g., sawā’un Zaydun wa ‘Amrun). There are two interpretations:

1. Sawā’ as a Verbal Noun (Maṣdar): Meaning "possessing equality" (dhū sawā’), similar to saying ‘adlun Zaydun wa ‘Amrun (Zayd and Amr are just).
2. Sawā’ meaning "Equal" (mustaw): In this case, there is no need for an implied subject. However, Sībawayh disliked saying mustaw Zaydun wa ‘Amrun because active participles, when indefinite, should not begin a sentence.

One might argue that the second interpretation is preferable because it avoids assuming an implied subject, which goes against the general rule.

There are two main views:

View 1 (The Majority):

• Istakhfā means to hide or conceal oneself (tawārā wa-statar).
• Sārib bi-n-nahār (going forth by day): Al-Farrā’ and Al-Zajjāj said it means being manifest on the road (ẓāhirun bi-n-nahār fī sarbihi). It is said: khalā lahu sarbuhu (his path became clear). Al-Azhari said the Arabs say sarabat al-ibil (the camels proceeded) meaning they moved openly wherever they wished.
• Meaning: Whether a person is concealed in darkness or manifest on the roads, Allah’s knowledge encompasses all. Ibn ‘Abbās said: It is the same whether what the hearts conceal or the tongues declare. Mujāhid said: It is the same for one who commits evil deeds in the darkness of the night, and one who commits them openly during the day, proceeding sequentially.

View 2 (Al-Akhfash and Quṭrub):

• Al-Mustakhfī means the manifest (the opposite of hiding).
• As-Sārib means the concealed. It is said: akhfaytu ash-shay’a meaning I made it manifest. Istakhfaytu ash-shay’a means I extracted it (a digger is called al-mustakhfī). As-Sārib refers to the hidden place where wild animals enter their dens (sarb).
• Al-Wāḥidī said this linguistic interpretation is sound, but the first view is preferred due to the consensus of most commentators, and because the night implies concealment while the day implies manifestation and spreading.

Verse 9 (Ar-Ra'd)

"He has those who succeed one another before him and behind him, protecting him by the decree of Allah" (lahu mu‘aqqibātun min bayni yadayhi wa min khalfihī yaḥfaẓūnahu min amr Allāh):

This refers to the angels who take turns protecting a person, both in front of him and behind him, by Allah's command.

"Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves" (Inna Allāha lā yughayyiru mā bi-qawmin ḥattā yughayyirū mā bi-anfusihim):

This is a profound principle. Allah does not change a people's state from blessing to affliction, or from affliction to blessing, unless they first change their own state—their beliefs, deeds, or intentions.

"And when Allah intends for a people some ill, there is no repelling it, and there is for them besides Him no protector" (Wa idhā arāda Allāhu bi-qawmin sū’an falā muradda lah, wa mā lahum min dūnihi min wāl):

If Allah decrees harm for a community (due to their persistent wrongdoing), no one can avert that decree, and they will have no guardian or protector other than Him.