Tafsir of An-Naml 27:62

An-Naml (The Ants): Verse 62

[62] Amman yujeebu al-muḍṭarra idhā daʿāhu wa yakshifu as-sū’a wa yajʿalukum khulafā’a al-arḍi a-ilāhun maʿa Allāh(i) qalīlan mā tadhakkarūn(a)

Know that in this verse, the Almighty has drawn attention to two matters:

The First Matter: His saying: {Amman yujeebu al-muḍṭarra idhā daʿāhu} (Is He who responds to the distressed one when he calls upon Him).

• The author of Al-Kashshāf said: Ḍarūrah (distress) is a state necessitating reliance and supplication. The term iḍṭirār is derived from it; it is said, "He was compelled (aḍṭarahu) to do so." Both the actor and the acted-upon are called muḍṭarr (distressed).
• Know that the muḍṭarr is one whom sickness, poverty, or a calamity from the vicissitudes of time has compelled to humble himself before God Almighty.
• According to As-Suddi: He is the one who has no might nor power.
• It is also said: He is the sinner who seeks forgiveness.

Objection: If He generally addressed all the distressed by saying, {Amman yujeebu al-muḍṭarra idhā daʿāhu}, yet how many distressed people call out and are not answered?

Answer: We have explained in the principles of jurisprudence (Uṣūl al-Fiqh) that the definite singular noun does not imply generality; it only implies the essence (the māhiyyah). A ruling established for an essence is satisfied if it is proven in even a single instance of that essence. Furthermore, God Almighty promised a response but did not specify that the response occurs immediately. The complete discussion regarding the conditions for supplication and its acceptance is mentioned in His saying: {Wa qāla rabbukum udʿūnī astajib lakum} (And your Lord says, "Call upon Me; I will respond to you") (Ghafir: 60).

As for His saying: {wa yakshifu as-sū’a} (and removes the evil), this serves as an explanation (tafsīr) of the response. For no one can remove what has been inflicted upon him—turning poverty into wealth, sickness into health, or hardship into ease—except the Capable One who is never incapable, and the Dominant One who is never contested.

The Second Matter: His saying: {wa yajʿalukum khulafā’a al-arḍi} (and makes you successors/viceroys of the earth).

• This means they inherit its inhabitation and have authority over it, generation after generation.
• By khilāfah (successorship), He intended dominion and mastery.
• There are variant readings for {tadhakkarūn}:
  • With a Yā’ and Idghām (merging).
  • With a Tā’ and Idghām.
  • With omission (of the letter).
• The word {qalīlan} (little) here is an extra word (mā is extra), meaning they remember little. The use of the diminutive form often implies negation.

The Fourth Type: This also relates to the need of creation, but it is a specific need at a specific time:

[63] Amman yahdīkum fī ẓulumāti al-barri wa al-baḥri wa man yursilu ar-riyāḥa bushrā bayna yaday raḥmatihi a-ilāhun maʿa Allāh(i) subḥāna Allāhi ʿammā yushrikūn(a)

{Amman yahdīkum fī ẓulumāti al-barri wa al-baḥri} (Is He who guides you in the darknesses of the land and the sea?)

{wa man yursilu ar-riyāḥa bushrā bayna yaday raḥmatihi} (And who sends the winds as bearers of good tidings before the coming of His mercy?)

{a-ilāhun maʿa Allāh(i)} (Is there a god with Allah?)

{subḥāna Allāhi ʿammā yushrikūn(a)} (Exalted is Allah above what they associate with Him!)