Al-An'am (The Cattle): (12) Say: To whom belongs...

Issues in the Verse:

The purpose of establishing this verse is to affirm the existence of the Creator, the reality of the Resurrection (Ma'ad), and the truth of Prophethood.

The state of the upper and lower worlds demonstrates that all physical bodies possess attributes, yet it was possible for them to possess their opposites. Since this is the case, the specific assignment of a particular attribute to any part of a body must be due to the wise, capable, choosing Creator who designated that specific attribute for it. This proves that the entire universe, with all that it contains, is the property of God, the Exalted.

Once this is established, it follows that He is capable of re-creation, gathering, and resurrection. The initial composition occurred because He is capable of all possibilities and knowledgeable of all things, and this power and knowledge cannot cease. Therefore, the re-creation must be valid. Furthermore, it is established that He is a King who must be obeyed. A King who is obeyed is one who has command and prohibition over his servants, and there must be a messenger to convey this. This indicates that the sending of Prophets and Messengers from God to creation is not impossible. Thus, this verse is sufficient for establishing these three fundamental points. Since these three issues were previously mentioned, God followed them with this verse to confirm the totality of these objectives in the manner we have explained. And God knows best.

The Almighty's saying, {Say: To whom belongs what is in the heavens and the earth?} is a question, and His saying, {Say: To God} is the answer. God commanded the Prophet to ask first and then to answer second. This structure is appropriate in a situation where the answer is so evident that no denier can reject it, nor can any opponent refute it.

Since we have demonstrated that the signs of contingency and possibility are apparent in the essence and attributes of all bodies, it is natural that the acknowledgment that they are entirely the property of God, subject to His disposition and power, is undeniable. Therefore, He commanded the question first and then the answer, to indicate that affirming this meaning is utterly irrefutable.

Moreover, the people already acknowledged that the entire universe belonged to God, was His property, and was under His dominion, coercion, and power, as stated: {And if you ask them, "Who created the heavens and the earth?" they will surely say, "God"} (Luqman: 25).

After demonstrating the totality of His Lordship, His power, and the complete execution of His will over created beings in this manner, He followed it with the perfection of His Mercy and Kindness toward creation by saying: {He has decreed upon Himself Mercy}. It is as if He is saying: He was not content with merely not bestowing favors, nor with merely promising favors; rather, He perpetually bestows favors and perpetually promises future favors, and He has decreed this upon Himself, obligating it out of grace and generosity.

There is a difference of opinion regarding the meaning of this Mercy:

1. Some say this Mercy is that God grants them respite for the duration of their lives, averts the punishment of complete annihilation from them, and does not hasten punishment in this world.
2. It is said that the meaning is that He has decreed Mercy upon those who cease denying the Messengers, repent, turn back, believe them, and accept their law.

Know that numerous reports have come regarding the vastness of God's Mercy. From the Prophet (peace be upon him), it is reported that he said: "When God finished creating the heavens and the earth, He wrote a book: 'Indeed, My Mercy precedes My Wrath.'"

If it is argued: Mercy means the will for good, and Wrath means the will for retribution. The apparent meaning of this report suggests that one will precedes the other in time. That which is preceded by something else is created (i.e., contingent). This would imply that the will of God is created. We reply: The meaning of this precedence is precedence in quantity, not precedence in time.

It is also reported from Salman that when God created the heavens and the earth, He created one hundred Mercies. Each Mercy fills the space between heaven and earth. Ninety-nine of these Mercies He retains, and He distributed one Mercy among all creatures, through which they show affection and compassion for one another. In the end, this one Mercy will be restricted to the pious.

Regarding His saying, {He will surely gather you until the Day of Resurrection}, there are several points of discussion:

First: The Lām (the letter 'L') in {li-yajma'annakum} (He will surely gather you) is the Lām of an implied oath, meaning: "By God, He will surely gather you."

Second Point: Scholars differed on whether this statement is an independent clause or connected to what preceded it.

1. Some say it is an independent clause because God established the perfection of His Lordship with {Say: To whom belongs what is in the heavens and the earth? Say: To God}. Then, He explained that He shows mercy to them in this world by granting respite and averting annihilation, and then He states that He will gather them until the Day of Resurrection. Thus, {He has decreed upon Himself Mercy} means He grants them respite, and {He will surely gather you until the Day of Resurrection} means He will not grant them respite but will resurrect and hold them accountable for everything they did.
2. The second opinion is that it is connected to what preceded it, meaning: "Your Lord has decreed upon Himself Mercy, and Your Lord has decreed upon Himself that He will surely gather you until the Day of Resurrection."
3. It is also said that when He said, {Your Lord has decreed upon Himself Mercy}, it was as if one asked, "What is that Mercy?" The answer given was: {He will surely gather you until the Day of Resurrection}. This is because if there were no fear of punishment on the Day of Resurrection, chaos and disorder would ensue, control would be lost, and confusion would increase. Therefore, the warning of the Day of Resurrection became one of the greatest means of Mercy in this world. Thus, {He will surely gather you until the Day of Resurrection} serves as an explanation for {Your Lord has decreed upon Himself Mercy}.

Third Point: The saying {Say: To whom belongs what is in the heavens and the earth? Say: To God} is phrased in the third person (absence/hidden form). However, {He will surely gather you until the Day of Resurrection} is phrased in the second person (direct address). The purpose of this shift is to emphasize the warning. It is as if He is saying: Since you know that everything in the heavens and the earth belongs to God and is His property, and since you know that the wise King does not neglect the affairs of his subjects, nor is it permissible in His wisdom to treat the obedient and the disobedient, or the one engaged in service and the one who turns away, equally—why then do you not realize that He will establish the Resurrection, gather the creatures, and hold them accountable for everything?

Fourth Point: Regarding the word {ilā} (until/to) in {ilā yawm al-qiyāmah} (until the Day of Resurrection), there are several views:

1. It is an auxiliary particle, meaning: "He will gather you on the Day of Resurrection."
2. {ilā} means fī (in), meaning: "He will gather you in the Day of Resurrection."
3. There is an omission, meaning: "He will gather you to the place of assembly on the Day of Resurrection," because gathering is directed toward a place, not a time.
4. It means: He will gather you in this world, creating generation after generation until the Day of Resurrection.

Regarding His saying, {Those who have lost themselves, they do not believe}, there are several points of discussion:

First: There are two views concerning this verse:

1. The saying {Alladhīna} (Those who) is in the accusative case (naṣb) as a substitute (badal) for the pronoun in {li-yajma'annakum} (He will surely gather you). The meaning is: He will gather these polytheists who have lost themselves. This is the view of Al-Akhfash.
2. The second view, according to Al-Zajjaj, is that {Alladhīna khasiro anfusahum} (Those who have lost themselves) is in the nominative case (raf') as an initial subject (mubtada'), and {fa-hum lā yu'minūn} (they do not believe) is its predicate (khabar). This is because {li-yajma'annakum} encompasses everyone—those who lost themselves and others. The fā' (fa) in {fa-hum} implies conditionality and consequence, similar to saying, "Whoever honors me, he shall have a dirham," because the dirham becomes due upon the honoring, making honoring the condition and the dirham the consequence.

If it is argued: The apparent meaning of the text suggests that their loss is the cause of their disbelief, whereas the reality is the opposite. We reply: This indicates that the precedence of the Divine Decree concerning loss and abandonment is what compelled them to refuse belief, which is precisely the doctrine of the People of the Sunnah.

{And to Him belongs whatever resides in the night and the day, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing. Say: Shall I take a protector other than God, the Originator of the heavens and the earth, while He feeds and is not fed? Say: Indeed, I have been commanded to be the first of those who submit, and never be among the polytheists. Say: Indeed, I fear, if I disobey my Lord, the punishment of a Great Day.}