| The Sovereignty (Al-Mulk): (19) Have they not seen...

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The First Proof: It is His saying, the Exalted: {Have they not seen the birds above them, spreading their wings and folding them in?} (Al-Malk: 19)

{Spreading their wings} (Sāffāt) means extending their wings in the air during their flight. {And folding them} (wa yaqbiḍna) means drawing them in when they strike the air with their sides.

If it is asked: Why did He say {And folding them} (wa yaqbiḍna) and not "and folders" (wa qābiḍāt)? We reply: Because flying in the air is like swimming in water. The fundamental action in swimming is extending and spreading the limbs. As for folding, it is an incidental action added to the spreading for the purpose of gaining leverage for movement. Therefore, what is incidental and not fundamental is expressed using the verb form, implying that they are spreading their wings, and folding occurs from them intermittently, just as it occurs from a swimmer.

Then, the Exalted said: {None holds them up except the Most Merciful (Al-Raḥmān)}. This is because, despite their weight and the bulk of their bodies, their suspension in the air is only possible through the holding and preservation of God. Herein lie two questions:

The First Question: Does this verse indicate that the voluntary actions of the servant are created by God? We reply: Yes. This is because the birds' suspension in the air is a voluntary action of the bird.

Furthermore, the Exalted said: {None holds them up except the Most Merciful (Al-Raḥmān)}. This indicates that the servant's action is created by God, the Exalted.

The Second Question: In Surah An-Nahl (16:79), the Exalted said: {Have they not seen the birds made subservient in the air of the sky? None holds them up except God.} But here He said: {None holds them up except the Most Merciful (Al-Raḥmān)}. What is the difference? We reply: In An-Nahl, it was mentioned that the birds are made subservient (musakhkharāt) in the air of the sky, so naturally, their suspension there is purely an aspect of Divinity (Ilūhiyyah). Here, it is mentioned that they are spreading and folding their wings, so their inspiration regarding the manner of spreading and folding in a way that conforms to benefit is from the Mercy of the Most Merciful (Al-Raḥmān).

Then the Exalted said: {Indeed, He of everything is Seeing (Baṣīr)}. There are two interpretations for this:

The First Interpretation: What is meant by Al-Baṣīr is His being knowledgeable of subtle matters, just as it is said, "So-and-so is baṣīr in this matter," meaning he is skilled.

The Second Interpretation: We take the word according to its literal meaning and say that since God is a thing, and God is Seeing of everything, then He is the Seer of Himself and all existing things. This aligns with what our scholars maintain: that God is validly capable of being seen, and that all existing things are likewise capable of being seen. If it is argued: When Al-Baṣīr is used with the preposition bi (with/of), it means 'All-Knowing' (as in, "So-and-so is baṣīr bi-kadha" if he knows it), we reply: We do not concede this. For it is said: "God is Hearing of the things heard (as-samū‘āt), and Seeing of the things seen (al-mubṣarāt)."

{Or who is this that can be a soldier for you to aid you other than the Most Merciful (Al-Raḥmān)? The disbelievers are not but in delusion.}