Tafsir of Ar-Rum 30:54

Surah Ar-Rum (The Romans): Verse 54

The verse structure:

Tafsir (Exegesis):

When the preceding verses presented evidence from the horizons (the signs in the external world), such as the sending of winds that raise clouds (Ar-Rum: 48), the discourse now returns to evidence from the selves (the signs within human beings), detailing the stages of human creation and condition.

1. {ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَكُم مِّن ضَعْفٍ} (Allah is the One who created you from weakness):
   • This means your very structure is founded upon weakness, similar to the verse: {خَلَقَ ٱلْإِنسَٰنَ مِنْ عَجَلٍ} (Man was created hasty/weak) (Al-Anbiya: 37).
   • The preposition min (from) here indicates the state from which one originates, as in the saying, "So-and-so adorned So-and-so from his poverty and made him rich," meaning, starting from the state of poverty.
   • This initial "weakness" refers to the stages of being a fetus, a newborn infant, a suckling, and a weaned child—all states of extreme frailty.

2. {ثُمَّ جَعَلَ مِن بَعْدِ ضَعْفٍ قُوَّةً} (then made, after weakness, strength):
   • This points to the stage of reaching puberty, maturity, youth, and full adulthood.

3. {ثُمَّ جَعَلَ مِن بَعْدِ قُوَّةٍ ضَعْفًا وَشَيْبَةً} (then made, after strength, weakness and old age):
   • This refers to what comes after full maturity: the appearance of decline and old age (shaybah), which represents the culmination of weakness.

4. {يَخْلُقُ مَا يَشَآءُ} (He creates what He wills):
   • This clarifies that these transitions (from weakness to strength and back) are not natural necessities (tab') but occur solely by the will of Allah, just as He stated regarding the signs in the horizons: {فَيَبْسُطُهُۥ فِى ٱلسَّمَآءِ كَيْفَ يَشَآءُ} (and spreads it in the heaven as He wills) (Ar-Rum: 48).

5. {وَهُوَ ٱلْعَلِيمُ ٱلْقَدِيرُ} (And He is the All-Knowing, the All-Powerful):
   • Why is Knowledge mentioned before Power here? Previously (Ar-Rum: 27), it was stated: {وَهُوَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ} (And He is the All-Mighty, the All-Wise).
   • In that previous verse, Al-'Aziz (All-Mighty/Powerful) was mentioned before Al-Hakim (All-Wise/Knowledgeable) because the context was about the Resurrection (I'ādah), which occurs by the command "Be, and it is" (Kun fa-yakūn), making Power more manifest.
   • Here, the context is about Ibda' (original creation) and the various stages and conditions of life. Knowledge of every state is inherent, making Knowledge (Al-'Alīm) more manifest here.
   • Furthermore, {وَهُوَ ٱلْعَلِيمُ ٱلْقَدِيرُ} serves as both a warning and glad tidings:
     • Since He is All-Knowing of the deeds of creation, He knows the states of the created beings. If they do good, He knows it; if they do evil, He knows it.
     • Since He is All-Powerful, He rewards based on the good He knows, and punishes based on the evil He knows. Because knowledge of these states precedes the recompense (which requires Power), Knowledge is mentioned first.
   • (Note: In the Hereafter, when knowledge of those states is coupled with the actual punishment, the verse states: {وَهُوَ ٱلْعَلِيمُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ} [Knowledge and Wisdom]).
   • This concept is alluded to in Surah Al-Mu'minun (The Believers: 14) following the mention of human creation: {فَتَبَارَكَ ٱللَّهُ أَحْسَنُ ٱلْخَٰلِقِينَ} (So blessed is Allah, the best of creators). "Best" (Ahsan) points to Knowledge (as good creation stems from knowledge), and "Creators" (Al-Khāliqīn) points to Power.
   • After establishing the principle of original creation (Ibda') and its stages, the verse then mentions the return (I'ādah) by referencing these very stages and times.

Translation:

And the Day the Hour appears, the criminals will swear they had remained [in the world] not more than an hour. Thus they were deluded.