| Al-An'am (The Cattle): (132) And for all are degrees according to what they have done...

Issues in the Verse:

Ibn 'Amir recited the word as {تعملون} (ta'malūn - you [plural] do) using the second-person masculine plural form (addressing the people).

The rest of the reciters recited it as {يعملون} (ya'malūn - they do) using the third-person masculine plural form (referring to them).

After explaining the states of those deserving reward (degrees) and those deserving punishment (depths), the Almighty mentioned a general statement: {ولكل درجات مما عملوا} (And for all are degrees according to what they have done).

There are two opinions regarding this verse:

The First Opinion: This statement is general, encompassing both the obedient and the disobedient. The meaning is: For every doer of an action, there are degrees corresponding to that action. Sometimes a person is in a lesser degree, and sometimes they ascend from it to a complete degree. Allah Almighty knows these degrees in complete detail and has decreed for each degree the appropriate recompense—if it is good, then good; if it is evil, then evil.

The Second Opinion: This statement is specific only to the people of obedience, because the term darajāt (degrees) is only fitting for them. The subsequent phrase, {وما ربك بغافل عما تعملون} (And your Lord is not heedless of what you do), is specific to the disbelievers and the disobedient.

The Correct View (Al-Ṣawāb): The first opinion is correct (i.e., the statement is general).

This verse also proves the correctness of our position regarding the issue of divine decree (Jabr) and free will (Qadar).

This is because the Almighty has decreed for every individual, at a specific time, a specific degree corresponding to a specific action. He knew that exact degree, established that precise degree in the Preserved Tablet (Al-Lawḥ al-Maḥfūẓ), and made the company of the nearest angels witnesses to it.

If that degree had not actually occurred for that person, then that decree would be nullified, that knowledge would become ignorance, and that witnessing would become a lie—all of which are impossible.

Therefore, it is established that {ولكل درجات مما عملوا} (And for all are degrees according to what they have done) and {وما ربك بغافل عما تعملون} (And your Lord is not heedless of what you do). If this is the case, then the Pen has already dried concerning what will occur until the Day of Resurrection. The fortunate one is fortunate while still in his mother's womb, and the wretched one is wretched while still in his mother's womb.

| {And your Lord is the Rich, Owner of Mercy. If He wills, He can remove you and cause whomever He wills to succeed you, just as He brought you forth from the offspring of other people. * Indeed, what you are promised is coming, and you cannot frustrate [Him].}