Surah Al-Qamar (54) — Ayah 49

(Ayah 49) ➊ The tanween on { اِنَّا كُلَّ شَيْءٍ خَلَقْنٰهُ بِقَدَرٍ:’’ بِقَدَرٍ ‘‘} is for magnification. That is, if they are in doubt as to why the Resurrection has not yet occurred, the reason is that We have created everything with Our great and firm measure, which can never be wrong, because We have complete knowledge of the future just as of the past—how anything will be, how much it will be, and when it will be. In short, We have determined the form and appearance, time and place, strength and weakness, and everything else. For example, the one whose height We have determined as six feet will be exactly six feet; the one whom We have determined as blessed will be blessed, and the one whom We have determined as wretched will be wretched; the time We have fixed for anyone will not be advanced or delayed by even a moment. Thus, We have also fixed a time for the Resurrection; it can neither come before that nor be delayed by even a moment. If it does not occur now according to your demand, do not think that it will never occur. A similar verse is: «وَ كُلُّ شَيْءٍ عِنْدَهٗ بِمِقْدَارٍ» [ الرعد : ۸ ] "And everything with Him is by due measure." And this verse from Surah Al-Mursalat: « فَقَدَرْنَا فَنِعْمَ الْقٰدِرُوْنَ » [ المرسلات : ۲۳] "So We determined, and We are the best to determine."

➋ By { ’’قَدَرٌ‘‘} is meant Qadar (predestination), which is included among the six things upon which faith depends. In the Hadith of Jibril, Jibril (peace be upon him) asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), "Tell me about faith?" So he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ أَنْ تُؤْمِنَ بِاللّٰهِ وَمَلَائِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَتُؤْمِنَ بِالْقَدَرِ خَيْرِهِ وَشَرِّهِ ] [ مسلم، الإیمان، باب بیان الإیمان و الإسلام والإحسان … : ۸ ] "That you believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Last Day, and Qadar, its good and its bad." That is, Allah is the Creator of good Qadar and bad Qadar, not like the Magians who believe in two creators, one of good and one of evil. Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that he heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: [ كَتَبَ اللّٰهُ مَقَادِيْرَ الْخَلاَئِقِ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَّخْلُقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ بِخَمْسِيْنَ أَلْفَ سَنَةٍ قَالَ وَعَرْشُهُ عَلَی الْمَاءِ] [ مسلم، القدر، باب حجاج آدم و موسٰی صلی اللہ علیہما وسلم: ۲۶۵۳ ] "Allah wrote the decrees of all creation fifty thousand years before He created the heavens and the earth." He said: "And (at that time) His Throne was upon the water." Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ كُلُّ شَيْءٍ بِقَدَرٍ حَتَّی الْعَجْزِ وَالْكَيْسِ ] [مسلم، القدر، باب کل شيء بقدر : ۲۶۵۵ ] "Everything is by Qadar, even incapacity and cleverness." That is, some people who are idle and useless, and some who are intelligent and clever, this too has already been written in Qadar.

The exegesis of this verse has been done along with the previous verse.

49. Indeed, We have created everything [34] according to a measure.

[34]
Allah Creating Everything with Measure:

This verse has such a vast meaning that its explanation is probably impossible for a human. Because, firstly, it mentions every single thing. Secondly, it refers to measure, quantity, or estimation. Then, there are many aspects to this estimation as well. So, what explanation can a poor human give? For the sake of understanding, only one or two examples can suffice. For example, regarding the height of a human, Allah Almighty’s estimation is that in the present era, his height should be six feet. Now, there can be a few inches more or less, but no human, by eating double the food, can become twelve feet tall instead of six. The second aspect is that Allah Almighty has made the earth according to such an estimation that the creatures to be born until the Day of Judgment can reside upon it. For every kind of creature, the place of birth, settlement, dwelling, and burial is this very earth, and for these matters—especially sustenance—it proves sufficient. The third aspect is that Allah Almighty, from the very first day, created so much water on the face of the earth, and then from it began the process of water vapor, clouds, and rain, which proves sufficient for the creatures to be born until the Day of Judgment. The fourth aspect is that for every kind of creature to remain alive, the amount of heat needed, Allah Almighty created the sun and placed it at such a distance that is suitable for the survival of life. Now, if the sun’s heat increases or the distance decreases, all living beings would die from the heat, and if the sun’s heat decreases or the distance increases, all living beings would freeze to death from the cold. And the fifth aspect is that for every task, a specific time has been fixed. It cannot happen before that. For example, water boils at one hundred degrees centigrade. When water receives that much heat, only then will it boil, not before. In short, this verse has so many aspects that even counting them is not possible, let alone explaining them.