Tafsir of Al-Jinn 72:28

Surah Al-Jinn (The Jinn): Verse 28

{ ليعلم أن قد أبلغوا رسالات ربهم } (So that He may know that they have conveyed the messages of their Lord.)

Regarding His statement: {إلا من ارتضى من رسول فإنه يسلك من بين يديه ومن خلفه} (Except for any messenger whom He has approved, for indeed He sends watchers before him and behind him) (Al-Jinn: 27), the Messenger is mentioned in the singular.

Then, it shifts to the plural in His statement: {أن قد أبلغوا رسالات ربهم} (that they have conveyed the messages of their Lord).

A parallel to this is found earlier in His statement: {فإن له نار جهنم خالدين} (then for him is the Fire of Hell, wherein he will abide eternally) (Al-Jinn: 23) [where the singular subject leads to a plural consequence/state, or vice versa, indicating a general scope].

Those who argue for the created nature of God's knowledge use this verse as proof, because the meaning of the verse is: "So that God may know that they have conveyed the message." This is similar to His statement: {حتى نعلم المجاهدين} (so that We may know those who strive) (Muhammad: 31).

The response to this argument is twofold:

First Response: Qatadah and Muqatil said: The meaning is: "So that Muhammad may know that the Messengers before him conveyed the message just as he conveys the message." Under this interpretation, the lām (the preposition 'for' or 'so that') in {ليعلم} is connected to an implied preceding statement, as if it were saying: "We informed him of the preservation of the revelation so that he may know that the Messengers before him were upon the same truth regarding conveying the message." Alternatively, the meaning could be: "So that the Messenger [i.e., Gabriel or the angels sent to the Messengers] may know that they [the Messengers] have conveyed the messages of their Lord, so that he [Gabriel/the angel] has no doubt and knows that it is the truth from God."

Second Response (Preferred by most verifiers): The meaning is: "So that God may know that the Prophets have conveyed the messages of their Lord." The knowledge here is like the knowledge mentioned in His statement: {ولما يعلم الله الذين جاهدوا منكم} (And certainly We shall test you until We know those who strive among you) (Al 'Imran: 142). The meaning there is: "Let them convey the messages of their Lord, and God will know that [fact] from them." (This knowledge refers to the manifestation or realization of the known fact, not the acquisition of new knowledge by God.)

The verse {ليعلم} (so that He may know) has also been recited in the passive voice: {لِيُعْلَم} (so that it may be known).

{وأحاط بما لديهم} (And He encompasses all that is with them) indicates that God is Knower of particulars (individual details).

{وأحصى كل شيء عددا} (And He has enumerated all things in number) indicates that He is Knower of all existing things.

If one objects: "The enumeration of numbers is only possible for finite things, but the term {كل شيء} (all things) indicates that He is infinite, thus leading to a contradiction in the verse."

We respond: There is no doubt that the enumeration of numbers applies only to finite things. However, the word {كل شيء} does not necessarily imply infinity. For us, a "thing" (shay') refers to existing entities, and existing entities are finite in number.

This verse is one of the proofs used to establish that non-existence (al-ma'dūm) is not a "thing" (shay'). If non-existence were a thing, then the things would be infinite. But His statement {وأحصى كل شيء عددا} requires that those enumerated things be finite. It would then be necessary to combine the state of being finite and infinite simultaneously, which is impossible. Therefore, it must be definitively established that non-existence is not a thing, so that this contradiction is averted.

And God, the Glorified and Exalted, knows best. Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds. And His peace and blessings be upon the Master of the Messengers and the Seal of the Prophets, Muhammad the Prophet, and his family and all his companions.