Al-An'am (The Cattle): (115) And the Word of your Lord is perfected...

There are several issues concerning this verse:

There are two main recitations for the word:

1. Singular (كلمت): Read by 'Asim, Hamzah, and Al-Kisā'ī, without the alif (implying singular).
2. Plural (كلمات): Read by the rest of the reciters.

Interpretation of the Readings: The scholars of meaning state that both كلمة (singular) and كلمات (plural) refer to what has come from God concerning promises, threats, reward, and punishment—matters that admit no alteration or change, as stated: {My saying is not changed near Me} (Qāf: 29).

• Plural Reading (كلمات): This is used because the meaning encompasses multiple statements, so the word form is pluralized accordingly.
• Singular Reading (كلمت): They argue that the singular form (كلمة) can sometimes refer to many statements when they are governed by a single principle. For example, they say of Zuhayr, "His kalimah (word/utterance)," meaning his entire poem, and of Quss, "His kalimah," meaning his entire speech. Similarly, the entire Qur'an is considered one kalimah in its essence of being true, truthful, and miraculous.

The preceding verse established the miraculous nature of the Qur'an. This verse then states that the Word of your Lord is perfected (وتمت كلمة ربك).

The "Word" (الكلمة) here refers to the Qur'an. It has been perfected in its capacity as a miracle proving the truthfulness of the Prophet (peace be upon him).

The phrase "in truth and justice" (صدقا وعدلا) means the Qur'an was perfected to its utmost degree in truthfulness and justice.

Abu 'Ali al-Fārisī suggested that صدقا and عدلا are two maṣdars (verbal nouns) functioning as ḥāl (circumstantial accusative) describing the Word, meaning: "perfected, being truthful and just." This explains the connection between this verse and the previous one.

This verse indicates that the Word of God possesses many attributes:

The First Attribute: Being Perfected (وتمت)

There are several interpretations of this perfection:

1. Sufficiency as a Miracle: As mentioned, it is complete and sufficient in being a miracle proving the truthfulness of Muhammad (PBUH).
2. Sufficiency for Obligation: It is complete in clarifying everything required of the accountable person until the Day of Resurrection, both in action and knowledge.
3. Pre-ordained Reality: The decree of God Almighty was established eternally (in al-azal), and nothing new occurs after that. That which was established eternally is the perfection, and any addition to it is impossible. This aligns with the Prophet's saying: "The pen has dried concerning what is to be until the Day of Resurrection."

The Second Attribute: Being Truthful (صدقا)

The evidence is that falsehood is a defect, and attributing defects to God is impossible. We cannot prove the impossibility of falsehood in God through transmitted evidence (the sam'iyyah proofs) because the validity of those proofs depends on the premise that falsehood about God is impossible. If we used transmitted proofs to establish this impossibility, it would lead to a circular argument (al-dawr), which is invalid.

This point proves that deviation from God's promise is impossible. It also proves that deviation from God's threat is impossible. This contradicts what Al-Wāḥidī stated regarding the verse: {And whoever kills a believer intentionally, his recompense is Hell, therein to abide...}, where he suggested that deviation from God's threat is permissible. This is incorrect because God's promise and threat are both part of the Word of God. Since this verse proves the Word must be characterized by truthfulness, deviation is impossible in both promise and threat.

The Third Attribute: Being Just (عدلا)

There are two views on this:

View 1: Everything contained in the Qur'an falls into two categories: Reports (الخبر) and Obligations (التكليف).

• Reports: This includes everything God informed us about existing or non-existing things. This covers the existence of God's Essence, His attributes (Knower, Powerful, Hearer, Seer), attributes of sanctification and transcendence (e.g., {He neither begets nor is born} [Al-Ikhlāṣ: 3]), the division of God's actions, the manner of governing the cosmos (heavens, earth, spirits, bodies), rulings concerning promise, threat, reward, and punishment, accounts of past peoples, and news of future unseen matters.
• Obligations: This includes every command and prohibition directed by God toward His servants—whether the servant is an angel, human, jinn, or devil, and whether it pertains to our law, the laws of previous prophets, or the laws of the Near Angels who inhabit the heavens, Paradise, Hell, the Throne, and beyond.

If we establish that the Qur'an's discussions are limited to these two categories, then:

• If the Word is in the category of Reports, it is Truthful (صدقا).
• If the Word is in the category of Obligations, it is Just (عدلا). This is an excellent categorization.

View 2: Everything God reports concerning promise, threat, reward, and punishment is Truthful (صدقا) because it must occur. After it occurs, it is Just (عدلا) because His actions are free from any description of injustice.

The Fourth Attribute: {No changer of His Words} (لا مبدل لكلماته)

There are several interpretations:

1. Unchangeable Proof: If we maintain that the perfection mentioned earlier (وتمت) refers to the Qur'an's perfection as a proof of Muhammad's truthfulness, then {No changer of His Words} means that the doubts cast by the disbelievers regarding this proof have no effect. This evidence is absolutely unchangeable, clear, enduring, and strong, and it cannot be removed by the nonsense and conjectures of the ignorant disbelievers.
2. Preservation from Alteration: It means the Qur'an remains protected from distortion and change, as stated: {Indeed, We have sent down the Reminder, and indeed, We will be its guardian} (Al-Hijr: 9).
3. Preservation from Contradiction: It means the Qur'an is protected from internal inconsistency, as stated: {If it had been from other than Allah, they would have found within it much contradiction} (An-Nisā': 82).
4. Eternality of Rulings: It means God's decrees are not subject to alteration or cessation because they are eternal, and the eternal does not cease.

Note on Predestination (Jabr): This fourth view is a strong foundation for establishing the doctrine of Determinism (Jabr). Since God decreed eternal happiness for Zayd and eternal misery for 'Amr, and then stated {No changer of His Words}, it implies it is impossible for the happy person to become miserable, or the miserable person to become happy. Thus, the happy person was happy in his mother's womb, and the miserable person was miserable in his mother's womb.