Al-Rahman: (26) Every being thereon shall pass away...

There are two interpretations regarding the pronoun here:

The First (and Correct) Interpretation: The pronoun refers back to the Earth (الأرض), which is understood even if not explicitly mentioned. This is supported by the verse: "And if Allah were to impose punishment upon the people for what they have earned..." (Fatir: 45).

This interpretation allows for a beautiful sequence:

1. Allah mentioned the ships (الجوار) (verse 24), indicating that everyone knows that while at sea, their soul, body, and wealth are entirely in God's grasp.
2. When a person comes ashore and observes the stability and firmness of the Earth, they might forget this reality.
3. Therefore, Allah reminds them: "Every being thereon shall pass away" (كل من عليها فان). There is no difference between the two states (sea or land) concerning God's power. Everyone on Earth is like someone on water.
4. Furthermore, a rational person should consider that the sinking of heavy earth into the water beneath it is more conceivable than the sinking of light vessels into it.

The Second Interpretation: The pronoun refers back to the ships (الجواري). In this case, the context implies: "The ships, and certainly everyone in them is closer to annihilation." How can one deny being in God's dominion when they possess no power over benefit or harm in that state?

However, the subsequent verse, "And there will remain only the Face of your Lord, Owner of Majesty and Honor" (verse 27), indicates that the first interpretation is correct.

Related Issues (Masā'il)

The word من (who) is used for rational beings, yet everything on Earth is subject to passing away. Why specify the rational beings?

Answer: The one who benefits from the warning (التخويف) is the rational being, so Allah specifically mentioned them.

If "passing away" (فان) means that which has ceased to exist, and everyone on Earth will pass away, then the one who remains is not passing away. What is the meaning here?

Answer 1: It is like saying, "Indeed, you are to die" (إنك ميت) (Az-Zumar: 30), or saying someone who is arriving soon is "arriving" (واصل).

Answer 2 (More Detailed): Human existence is an accident (عرض), which is not permanent. Anything not permanent is subject to passing away. The state of this world is between origination (حدوث) and non-existence (عدم); there is no true permanence (بقاء) because permanence implies continuity.

We must clarify that this does not affirm the invalid doctrine that a body cannot exist for two consecutive moments (as argued regarding accidents). We say that the use of من (who) instead of ما (what) negates this misunderstanding.

If I say, "Who is on it is passing away" (من عليها فان), it means they have no permanence. If I had said, "What is on it is passing away" (ما عليها فان), it would imply the entire entity is non-existent. Since من refers to a human body upon which accidents—some of which are life—subsist, and accidents are not permanent, the aggregate (body + accidents) does not remain as it was. Only one part, the body (الجسم), remains, but the term من (who) is not strictly applicable to the body alone. Thus, "passing away" applies to the whole person, and "what is on it" is not entirely permanent.

What is the benefit of explicitly stating that everything will pass away?

Answer: There are several benefits:

1. Encouragement for Worship: It urges one to dedicate the brief time remaining to obedience.
2. Preventing Complacency in Blessings: It prevents a person in prosperity from relying on their wealth and status, leading them to neglect returning to God.
3. Command for Patience in Adversity: It instructs one in hardship not to disbelieve in God, knowing that the distress and difficulty will also pass away.
4. Prohibition of False Deification: It forbids taking others as objects of worship and warns against being deceived by proximity to kings. Such people neglect drawing near to God because the fate of these rulers is imminent demise.
   • If the devoted person dies first, they meet God like a runaway slave.
   • If the king dies first, the devoted person remains among people who will take revenge and vent their frustrations upon him, and those who once humbled themselves before him will now be arrogant toward him.
   • If both die, the reckoning with God after death will be extremely difficult.
5. Affirmation of Pure Monotheism (Tawhid): It mandates leaving all forms of apparent and hidden polytheism, because that which is transient (الفاني) is not worthy of being worshipped.

[Continuation of the Verse]

Then Allah Almighty said: