Al-An'am (The Cattle): (3) And He is Allah in...

then the purpose of this verse is to clarify that He, the Exalted, is Knower of all knowables. The two preceding verses indicate the perfection of Power, and this verse indicates the perfection of Knowledge. Thus, the knowledge of the attributes necessary for divinity is completed.

If, however, we hold that the purpose of the preceding verse was to demonstrate the validity of the Resurrection (Ma'ad), then the purpose of this verse is to complete that demonstration. This is because the deniers of the Resurrection only denied it based on two premises:

1. They believe that the agent causing the creation of the human body is the mingling of natures, and they deny that the agent is a Capable Willer.
2. Even if they concede the first point, they claim that God is not Knower of particulars, making it impossible for Him to distinguish the obedient from the disobedient, or to differentiate the body parts of Zayd from those of 'Amr.

Indeed, the preceding verses established that He is Capable and a Willer (not a necessary cause). This verse establishes that He is Knower of all knowables. Consequently, all the doubts upon which the denial of the Resurrection and the validity of gathering and resurrection are based are refuted. This is the discussion regarding the structure (Nathm) of the verse.

Herein lie several issues:

Issue 1: The Location of Allah (The Literal Interpretation)

Those who maintain that Allah is restricted to a location cite this verse: {And He is Allah in the heavens} (referring to the verse structure). They argue this indicates the Deity is established in the heavens. They reinforce this with the verse: {Are you secure that He Who is in the heaven will not cause the earth to swallow you up?} (Al-Mulk: 16).

They claim that this does not necessitate that He must also be on Earth, due to the verse: {And He is Allah in the heavens and on the earth} (referring to the verse structure), which implies His presence in both places simultaneously, which is impossible.

Our Response: We agree that He is not physically present on Earth. However, abandoning the literal meaning of one apparent text does not necessitate abandoning the literal meaning of the other apparent text without proof. Therefore, the apparent meaning of {And He is Allah in the heavens} must remain as it is. Furthermore, some reciters pause after {And He is Allah in the heavens} and begin the next phrase: {and on earth He knows your secrets...} The meaning then is that He knows your secrets existing on Earth, making {on earth} an adjunct to {your secrets}. This concludes the discussion on this point.

Know that we first establish that this statement cannot be taken literally, based on several arguments:

1. In this very Surah, He says: {Say: To whom belongs whatever is in the heavens and the earth? Say: To Allah.} (Al-An'am: 12). This verse clarifies that everything in the heavens and the earth belongs to and is owned by Allah. If Allah were one of the existing things in the heavens, it would imply He owns Himself, which is impossible. A similar verse is in Surah Taha: {To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth and whatever is between them} (Taha: 6).
   • If they argue that the word mā (what) in {whatever is in the heavens and the earth} refers only to the non-rational, thus excluding Allah's Essence:
   • We reply: We do not accept this. Proof is found in: {By the heaven and He Who constructed it, And by the earth and He Who spread it out, And by the soul and He Who proportioned it} (Ash-Shams: 5-7). Similarly, {Nor are you worshippers of what I worship} (Al-Kafirun: 3), where mā clearly refers to Allah, the Exalted.

2. The statement {And He is Allah in the heavens} either means He exists in all the heavens or in one heaven. The latter is abandoning the apparent meaning. The former (existence in all heavens) is twofold: either what occurs of Him in one heaven is identical to what occurs in others, or it is different.
   • The first case implies that a single body (a localized entity) exists in multiple places, which is self-evidently false by rational necessity.
   • The second case implies that He is composed of parts and limbs, which is impossible.

3. If He were in the heavens, He would be finite and bounded. Anything finite is susceptible to increase or decrease. Anything susceptible to increase/decrease requires a specific determiner (mukhassis) to fix its measure, and anything fixed by a determiner is created (Muhdath).

4. If He were in the heavens, could He create another universe above the heavens, or not? If not, He is rendered incapable. If yes, then if He did so, that new universe would be under the old one, which contradicts the view that He is not under anything (which the proponents of location deny).

5. He states: {And He is with you wherever you are} (Al-Hadid: 4), and {And We are nearer to him than [his] jugular vein} (Qaf: 16), and {And He is the One who is God in the heaven and God on the earth} (Az-Zukhruf: 84), and {So wherever you turn, there is the Face of Allah} (Al-Baqarah: 115). All these verses refute the notion of location and direction for the Exalted.

Therefore, these proofs establish that this statement cannot be taken literally; interpretation (Ta'wil) is necessary. There are several interpretations:

1. {And He is Allah in the heavens and on the earth} means He is Allah in the management (Tadbir) of the heavens and the earth, just as one says, "So-and-so is involved in such a matter," meaning he is managing its affairs. This is supported by {And He is the One who is God in the heaven and God on the earth}.
2. {And He is Allah} is a complete sentence. Then He begins anew: {in the heavens, and on the earth, He works your secrets and your open deeds}. The meaning is that Allah knows the secrets of the angels in the heavens, and the secrets of humans and jinn on earth.
3. The structure involves fronting and delaying (Taqdeem wa Ta'khir). The intended structure is: And He is Allah, knowing your secrets and your open deeds in the heavens and on the earth.

What strengthens these interpretations is that our phrase {And He is Allah} is analogous to saying, "He is the Excellent, the Knowing." The pronoun Huwa (He) is used here to imply restriction (Hasr). This implication only arises if we treat the word Allah as a derived noun (Ism Mushtaqq), meaning "The Worshipped One." If we treat it as a proper noun designating a specific entity, inserting Huwa before it would not be appropriate for achieving this restriction. If we take Allah as a meaningful word, the meaning becomes: He is the Worshipped One in the heavens and on the earth. Under this interpretation, the question dissolves. And Allah knows best.

Issue 2: The Meaning of Secret (Sirr) and Open (Jahri)

The meaning of Sirr (secret) refers to the states of the hearts, which are the motivations and deterrents (Dawa'i wa Sawarif). The meaning of Jahri (open) refers to the actions of the limbs. The secret was mentioned before the open deed because the effective agent in action is the combination of Power and the motivation (Da'i). The motivation, which belongs to the realm of the secret, is what influences the actions of the limbs, termed the open deed. Since knowledge of the cause necessitates knowledge of the effect, and the cause precedes the effect, the cause (the motivation) must be mentioned first in speech.

Issue 3: The Question of "What You Acquire" (Mā Takṣibūn)

There is a question regarding the phrase {And He knows what you acquire}: Actions are either actions of the heart (the secret) or actions of the limbs (the open deed). Since actions do not fall outside the secret and the open, the phrase {And He knows what you acquire} seems to imply an attribution of a thing to itself (i.e., attributing acquisition to the acquisition itself), which is invalid.

The Answer: The phrase {what you acquire} must be interpreted as referring to what the person deserves based on their action, namely reward or punishment. In essence, it refers to the acquired result (Muktaseb), just as one says, "This wealth is So-and-so's acquisition," meaning what he has acquired. It cannot refer to the act of acquiring itself, otherwise, the self-attribution you mentioned in the question would occur.

Issue 4: Acquisition (Kasb)

This verse indicates that man is the acquirer of the action. Acquisition (Kasb) is defined as the action that leads to attracting benefit or repelling harm. For this reason, the action of Allah is not described as Kasb, as He is exalted above needing to attract benefit or repel harm. And Allah knows best.

! 7 < {And no sign comes to them from the signs of their Lord except that they turn away from it.} > 7 !