Al-Hijr: (21-22) And there is not a thing...

Know that when the Almighty explained that He causes every measured thing to grow on earth and established livelihoods therein, He followed it by mentioning what is like the cause for that, saying: {And there is not a thing except that with Us are its treasures.}

This is the fourth type of evidence mentioned in this Sura for establishing the Oneness of God (Tawhid). There are several issues in this verse:

Issue 1: The Meaning of "Treasures" (Khazā'in)

Al-Wahidi (may God have mercy on him) said: Khazā'in is the plural of khizānah, which is the name of the place where a thing is stored, i.e., preserved. Khizānah also refers to the act of the keeper. It is said: khazana al-shay'a (he stored the thing) if he secured it in a treasury.

The majority of commentators are of the opinion that what is meant by {And there is not a thing except that with Us are its treasures} is rain. This is because rain is the cause of sustenance (ar-rizq) and livelihoods for humankind and other creatures like birds and beasts. Since the Almighty mentioned that He provides livelihoods, He then clarified that the treasures of rain—the cause of livelihoods—are with Him, meaning within His command, decree, and management.

Regarding the next part, {And We do not send it down except in a known measure}:

• Ibn Abbas (may God have mercy on him) said it means the measure of sufficiency.
• Al-Hakam said: No year has more rain than another, but rather, He rains upon some people and withholds it from others, and sometimes it falls into the sea. This means that God Almighty sends down rain every year in a known measure, but He directs it to whomever He wills, wherever He wills, and however He wills.

Someone might object: The wording of the verse does not indicate this meaning. His statement {And We do not send it down except in a known measure} does not imply that He sends it down every year in one fixed measure. If so, interpreting the verse with this meaning is arbitrary without proof.

I would also add: Specifying that {And there is not a thing except that with Us are its treasures} refers only to rain is pure arbitrariness, because the phrase {And there is not a thing} encompasses all things except what is exempted by proof—namely, the Necessary Existent Being (God), Who is eternal by Himself.

The statement {that with Us are its treasures} points to the fact that these things are within His power (maqdūrāt). The essence of the matter is that all contingent possibilities (al-mumkināt) are subject to His power and ownership; He brings them forth from non-existence into existence as He wills.

However, although His potential creations are infinite, whatever He brings forth from them into existence must necessarily be finite, because the entry of the infinite into existence is impossible.

Therefore, {And there is not a thing except that with Us are its treasures} points to the infinitude of His potential creations. And {And We do not send it down except in a known measure} points to the fact that everything that enters existence from among them is finite.

When what emerges into existence is finite, it must necessarily be specified in its occurrence by a determined time, even though it could have occurred before that time or after it, replaced by another time. It must be specified by a particular location, even though it could have occurred in other locations instead. And it must be specified by particular attributes, even though it was rationally possible for other attributes to occur instead.

Since these finite things are specified by that particular time, that particular location, and those particular attributes, instead of their opposites, this specification must be due to a specific designator and a determined measure. This is what is meant by {And We do not send it down except in a known measure}.

The meaning is: If it were not for the Capable, Willful Agent who specified these things with these permissible conditions, their specification with these permissible attributes would have been impossible.

The term inzāl (sending down) here means origination, creation, and innovation, as in His statement: {And He sent down for you from the cattle eight pairs} (Az-Zumar: 6) and {And We sent down iron} (Al-Hadid: 25). And God knows best.

Issue 2: The Mu'tazilite Argument Regarding Non-Existent Things

Some Mu'tazilites used this verse to prove that non-existent things (al-ma'dūm) are "things" (shay'). They argue that {And there is not a thing except that with Us are its treasures} requires that all things have treasures, and that these treasures exist with God. It cannot mean the existing things as existing things, because we established that {And We do not send it down except in a known measure} implies origination, creation, and bringing into existence. This requires that the existence of these treasures with God precedes their coming into existence. Since this is refuted, it must mean that these essences, realities, and quiddities (māhiyyāt) were established with God, meaning they were fixed as realities and quiddities, and then God "sent some of them down," meaning He brought some of them forth from non-existence into existence.

Someone could respond to this by saying: There is no doubt that the term "treasures" here is used metaphorically and illustratively. Why can it not mean merely that God is capable of bringing these things into being, creating them, and bringing them forth from non-existence? If this interpretation is accepted, the argument fails, and the subtle debates remain unresolved. And God knows best.

As for His statement: {And We sent the winds as fertilizing agents} (or "pollinators"), know that this is the fifth type of evidence for Tawhid, and it contains several issues:

Issue 1: Describing the Winds as Fertilizing Agents (Lawāqih)

There are several opinions regarding the description of the winds as lawāqih:

First Opinion: Ibn Abbas said: The winds are fertilizing agents for trees and for clouds. This is the view of Al-Hasan, Qatadah, and Al-Dahhak. The basis for this comes from the saying: laqahat an-nāqah (the she-camel became pregnant) and alqaha al-fahl (the stallion impregnated her) when he deposits semen in her, causing her to conceive. Similarly, the winds act as the stallion for the clouds. Ibn Mas'ud said regarding this verse: God sends the winds to fertilize the clouds, causing them to carry water and mix it within the clouds. Then, He squeezes the clouds and makes them yield rain, just as a pregnant animal yields its offspring. This is the meaning of their fertilizing the trees, as they mentioned.

Objection: Why is it said {lawāqih} (plural active participle, implying they are the agents of fertilization) when they are being fertilized (passive)?

Response 1 (Abu 'Ubaydah): Lawāqih here means mulāqiḥ (plural of mulqiḥah—fertilizing agent). He cited a line of poetry by Suhayl mourning his brother:

Labbayka Yā Zayd, yā'is dhā dhurā'atin, Wa ash'ath mimmā tawwāḥathu aṭ-ṭawā'iḥu. He meant muṭawwiḥāt (those that are cast away). Ibn al-Anbari supported this, saying the Arabs say abqala an-nabtu fa-hal bāqil, meaning "the plant has sprouted, so is it sprouting?" This indicates the permissibility of using lāqiḥ (active) to mean mulqiḥ (active agent).

Response 2 (Al-Zajjaj): It is permissible to call them lawāqih even if they cause others to be fertilized because the meaning here relates to attribution (nisbah). It is like saying dirham wāzin (a weighing dirham), meaning possessing weight, or rāmīḥ and sā'if (one with a spear and one with a sword). Al-Wahidi commented that this response is not entirely satisfactory because it would require al-lāqiḥ to mean "possessing the fertilization," which is not the case. Al-lāqiḥ is attributed to the fertilization, and whoever causes fertilization in another has a relation to that fertilization, so this response is valid.

Response 3: The wind itself is a fertilizing agent, which can be established in two ways:

• Method 1: The wind is carrying the clouds. This is supported by His statement: {And it is He who sends the winds as bearers of good tidings before the coming of His mercy, until when they have carried heavy clouds} (Al-A'raf: 57), meaning they have carried them. In this sense, the wind is lāqiḥah (carrying/pregnant) because it carries the clouds and the water.
• Method 2 (Al-Zajjaj): The wind can be called laqihat (fertilized/productive) when it brings good, just as it is called barren (aqīm) if it brings no good. This is like the Arabs saying, "The war has conceived (laqihat) and given birth to a difficult child," likening the evils it entails to what a she-camel carries. So it is here. And God knows best.

Issue 2: The Cause of Wind Movement

Wind is moving air. The movement of air, after it was still, must have a cause. This cause cannot be the air's essence itself or any of its inherent properties, because if it were, the air's movement would last as long as its essence, which is impossible. Therefore, it must be moved by the Willful Agent. We have repeatedly mentioned and refuted in this book the explanations provided by philosophers regarding the cause of air movement when wind arises, showing that none of them can be the cause of winds. Thus, the mover must be God, the Exalted.

Regarding His statement: {And We sent down water from the sky, and We gave it to you to drink, and you are not its keepers}

This involves several discussions:

1. Does the rain water descend from the sky, or does it descend from the water in the clouds? If it descends from the clouds, why did God apply the term "sky" to the clouds?
2. The cause of rain is not what the philosophers mention. Rather, the cause is that the Capable Agent sends it down from the clouds to the earth for the purpose of showing kindness to His servants, as He says here: {and We gave it to you to drink}.

Al-Azhari said: The Arabs say asqaytuhu (I made him drink) for anything that was in the bellies of livestock, or from the sky, or a flowing river, meaning I made it a source of drink for him and provided him with a place to drink from it. If the provision of drink is for his own drinking, they say saqāhu (he gave him drink), not asqāhu.

This is reinforced by the variation in readings for {We give you to drink from what is in their bellies} (An-Nahl: 66), where both forms were read, whereas they did not differ in {And their Lord gave them a pure drink to drink} (Al-Insan: 21) or {And He it is Who feeds me and gives me drink} (Ash-Shu'ara: 79).

Abu Ali said: Saqaytuhu means I gave him drink until he was quenched. Asqaytuhu nahran means I made a river for him to drink from. Thus, {and We gave it to you to drink} means We made it a source of drink for you. They sometimes use asqā for saqā, like the poetry of Labid describing clouds:

In saying saqā qawmī, he does not mean quenching their thirst, but rather providing sustenance for their lands so they flourish. It is unlikely that he asks for something to quench their thirst while deceiving them with what makes their lands flourish. As for providing a single drink (saqyah), one does not say asqāhu. Regarding the verse by Dhu ar-Rummah:

The meaning of asqīhi here is "I supplicated for him to be given drink," saying, "May God give him drink."

{and you are not its keepers} means concerning that water sent down from the sky: you are not its preservers.

{And indeed, We are the ones who give life and cause death, and We are the inheritors.}

{And We certainly know those among you who went forth before, and We certainly know those who will come after.}

{And indeed, your Lord—He will gather them. Indeed, He is Wise and Knowing.}