Tafsir of Al Imran 3:5-6

Āl 'Imrān (The Family of 'Imrān): Verses 5–6

[5] Indeed, Allāh—there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Self-Sustaining.

[6] He it is who sends down to you the Book; in it are verses [that are] precise—they are the foundation of the Book—and others not precise. As for those in whose hearts is deviation, they follow that which is not precise thereof, seeking discord and seeking [improper] interpretation, while none knows its interpretation except Allāh. And those firmly rooted in knowledge say, "We believe in it; all of it is from our Lord." And none will remember except those of understanding.

Know that this discourse admits of two interpretations:

First Interpretation: Establishing the Attributes of Godhead

This interpretation connects the verses to the preceding statement that Allāh is Al-Qayyūm (The Self-Sustaining/Ever-Standing).

1. The Necessity of Al-Qayyūmiyyah: Allāh being Al-Qayyūm—the One who sustains the welfare and affairs of creation—requires two essential conditions:
   • Complete Knowledge: He must know all their needs in every aspect of quantity and quality.
   • Complete Power: When He knows their needs, He must be capable of fulfilling them.

2. Connecting to the Verses:
   • The statement {Indeed, Allāh—there is no thing hidden from Him in the earth or in the heaven} points to the perfection of His knowledge concerning all knowables. Thus, He certainly knows the measure of all needs and the degree of necessities, and no request distracts Him from another, nor does the multitude of supplicants cause confusion.
   • The statement {He it is who shapes you in the wombs as He wills} points to His power over all possibilities (the mumkināt). Thus, He is capable of bringing about all the welfare and benefits for creation.

3. Conclusion of the First Interpretation: When these two attributes (perfect knowledge and perfect power) are established, His being Qā’im bi’l-Qisṭ (Standing for Justice) and Qayyūm over all possibilities and existing things becomes manifest.

4. A Subtle Point Regarding Proof: The proof for His being All-Knowing cannot be based on transmitted reports (sam‘), because establishing the truth of the reports depends first on knowing that Allāh is All-Knowing. Therefore, the path to proving His knowledge must be through rational evidence (dalīl ‘aqlī).
   • The rational proof is that Allāh’s actions are precise and perfectly ordered. A perfectly ordered action indicates that its doer is knowledgeable.
   • Since the proof for His knowledge is rational, when He claims comprehensive knowledge in {no thing hidden from Him...}, He immediately follows it with the rational proof: {He it is who shapes you in the wombs as He wills}.
   • This shaping involves creating the wondrous structure and strange composition within the darkness of the wombs, assembling different components—bones, cartilage, arteries, veins, and muscles—in the most beautiful arrangement and perfect composition. This demonstrates His perfect power to create such diverse organs from a mere drop of semen. Furthermore, it demonstrates His knowledge, as a perfectly ordered action cannot originate from other than the knowledgeable.
   • Therefore, {He it is who shapes you...} proves both His power over all possibilities and confirms the truth of His comprehensive knowledge mentioned previously. If He is established as knowing all things and capable of all possibilities, then His being the Sustainer of all created things and possibilities is proven. This serves as a confirmation of what was stated earlier: He is Al-Ḥayy Al-Qayyūm. Whoever contemplates these subtleties realizes that no speech can be conceived as more beneficial, better ordered, or more impactful on the hearts than these words.

Second Interpretation: Addressing the Reasons for Revelation (Asbāb al-Nuzūl)

This interpretation relates the verses to the Christians' claims regarding the divinity of Jesus ('Isa), peace be upon him. They based their claims on two types of arguments (analogies): those derived from observable premises, and those derived from necessary logical premises.

A. Arguments from Observable Premises: These relied on two aspects: knowledge and power.

1. Regarding Knowledge: Jesus ('Isa) used to inform people of the unseen (e.g., telling someone what they ate at home). This was one basis for their claim.
2. Regarding Power: Jesus ('Isa) brought the dead to life, healed the blind and the leper, and created the likeness of a bird from clay, breathing into it so it became a bird by Allāh's permission. This was the second basis for their claim.

Allāh refuted their claims regarding the divinity of Jesus and the Trinity by first stating {Al-Ḥayy Al-Qayyūm} (The Ever-Living, The Self-Sustaining), meaning divinity requires being Ever-Living and Self-Sustaining, which Jesus was not. He then followed this with the current verse to address their two specific arguments:

• Response to the Knowledge Argument: They argued that his knowledge of the unseen necessitated divinity. Allāh responds with {Indeed, Allāh—there is no thing hidden from Him in the earth or in the heaven}.
  • The refutation is that knowing some hidden matters does not necessitate divinity; it could be through revelation or teaching from Allāh.
  • However, not encompassing all hidden matters decisively proves he is not God, because God is the One from whom nothing is hidden in the heavens or the earth. God is the Creator, and the Creator must know His creation completely. It is known by necessity that Jesus did not know all information and all unseen matters. (For instance, the Christians claim he showed distress before death; if he knew all the unseen, he would have known they intended to seize and kill him, and he would have fled.) Since he lacked knowledge of some unseen matters, he was not All-Knowing, and the Divine requires complete knowledge. Thus, knowledge of some unseen things does not prove divinity, but ignorance of some unseen things decisively proves the absence of divinity.

• Response to the Power Argument: They argued that his power to heal and resurrect necessitated divinity. Allāh responds with {He it is who shapes you in the wombs as He wills}.
  • The point is that performing resurrection or healing in some instances does not prove divinity; it could be an honor bestowed by Allāh to manifest His miracles through him.
  • However, inability to perform such acts in other instances proves the absence of divinity. Divinity requires the power to shape the wondrous structure in the womb from a mere drop of semen. Jesus clearly lacked the power to bring about life and death in the manner required for divinity. If he possessed that power, he would have killed those who sought to seize and crucify him (according to their narrative). Thus, performing these acts in some instances does not prove divinity, but the inability to perform them in all instances proves he was not divine.

B. Arguments from Necessary Logical Premises: These also fall into two categories.

1. The "Fatherless" Argument: Christians argue: You Muslims agree he had no human father; therefore, he must be the Son of God.
   • Allāh responds with {He it is who shapes you in the wombs as He wills}. Since this shaping originates from Him, He can shape something from a father’s semen, or He can originate it without a father.

2. The "Word/Spirit of God" Argument: Christians argue: Do you not say Jesus is the Rūḥ (Spirit) of Allāh and His Kalimah (Word)? This implies he is the Son of God.
   • Allāh responds that this is a linguistic implication (ilzām lafẓī). The term can be literal or metaphorical. When a literal meaning contradicts clear rational evidence, it must be referred to interpretation (ta’wīl). This is alluded to in the following verse: {He it is who sent down to you the Book; in it are verses [that are] precise—they are the foundation of the Book—and others not precise} (Qur'an 3:7).

Summary of the Second Interpretation:

• {Al-Ḥayy Al-Qayyūm} refutes the claim that the Messiah is God or the Son of God.
• {no thing hidden from Him...} answers the argument based on his knowledge of the unseen.
• {He it is who shapes you...} answers the argument based on his power over life/death, and the argument based on his fatherlessness.
• {He it is who sent down to you the Book...} answers the argument based on the term "Word/Spirit of God" found in the Qur'an.

Whoever grasps this summary knows that these concise words encompass more than what theologians have stated on this topic. No argument, doubt, question, or answer in this matter is omitted from this verse. Praise be to Allāh who guided us to this.

Following the refutation of their doubts, Allāh reiterates the principle of Monotheism as a stern warning to the Christians against Trinitarianism: {There is no deity except Him, the All-Mighty, the All-Wise}.

• Al-‘Azīz (The All-Mighty) refers to the perfection of power.
• Al-Ḥakīm (The All-Wise) refers to the perfection of knowledge. This confirms that the Messiah’s knowledge of some unseen matters and his power over some instances of life and death are insufficient for divinity. Divinity requires perfect power (Al-‘Azīz) and perfect knowledge (Al-Ḥakīm).

1. Regarding {no thing hidden from Him in the earth or in the heaven}:
   • Question: Why specify "in the earth or in the heaven"? Would not simply stating "no thing" be more eloquent?
   • Answer: The purpose is to make the perfection of His knowledge comprehensible to the servants. Their understanding of this concept is stronger when the heavens and the earth are mentioned, because the senses perceive the grandeur of the heavens and the earth, which then aids the intellect in grasping the grandeur of Allāh's knowledge. When the senses assist the intellect in achieving the intended goal, comprehension is more complete. This is why precise meanings are often clarified using an example (mithāl).

2. Regarding {He it is who shapes you}:
   • Al-Wāḥidī states that Taṣwīr (shaping) is giving something a ṣūrah (form/shape). A form is a configuration resulting from the arrangement of its parts. The root comes from ṣāra (to incline), so a form is something inclined toward the shape of its parents. We have detailed this in the exegesis of the verse {Then I will surely draw them near to Me} (Qur'an 2:260).
   • Al-Arḥām (wombs) is the plural of raḥim, which originates from raḥmah (mercy). This is because sharing the womb necessitates compassion and affection, which is why that organ is named raḥim. And Allāh knows best.