Surah Al-An'aam (6) — Ayah 73

(Ayah73) ➊ {وَ هُوَ الَّذِيْ خَلَقَ … :} means that Allah alone created the heavens and the earth, but not without purpose or as a play, rather He created them with truth, that is, for a specific purpose. What is that purpose? Allah has stated the purpose of the creation of the heavens and the earth as follows: «لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ اَيُّكُمْ اَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا» [الملک : ۶] “So that He may test you as to which of you is best in deed.” And the purpose of the creation of mankind and jinn is stated as: «وَ مَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَ الْاِنْسَ اِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُوْنِ» [الذاریات : ۵۶] “And I did not create the jinn and mankind except that they should worship Me.” In another verse He said: «وَ سَخَّرَ لَكُمْ مَّا فِي السَّمٰوٰتِ وَ مَا فِي الْاَرْضِ جَمِيْعًا مِّنْهُ» [ الجاثیۃ : ۱۳] “And He has subjected to you, from Himself, all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth.” And He said: «هُوَ الَّذِيْ خَلَقَ لَكُمْ مَّا فِي الْاَرْضِ جَمِيْعًا» [ البقرۃ : ۲۹ ] “He it is Who created for you all that is in the earth.” It is clear that all of this is for the benefit of mankind and for his test, and mankind has been created by Allah for His worship.

➋ {وَ يَوْمَ يَقُوْلُ كُنْ فَيَكُوْنُ:} means that on the Day of Resurrection, when He wills to resurrect all the dead, by Allah’s word {’’ كُنْ ‘‘}, all the dead will be brought to life.

➌ {وَ لَهُ الْمُلْكُ يَوْمَ يُنْفَخُ فِي الصُّوْرِ:} means that in the world, those who were called kings metaphorically, even their metaphorical kingship will come to an end. Allah will say: «لِمَنِ الْمُلْكُ الْيَوْمَ لِلّٰهِ الْوَاحِدِ الْقَهَّارِ » [المؤمن : ۱۶ ] “To whom belongs the dominion today? To Allah alone, the One, the Irresistible.” Also see the explanation of {’’ مٰلِكِ يَوْمِ الدِّيْنِ‘‘} in Surah Al-Fatiha. What is {’’ الصُّوْرِ ‘‘}? Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that a Bedouin came to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and asked, “O Messenger of Allah! What is the Sur?” He (peace be upon him) replied, “It is the horn in which it will be blown.” [ أحمد : 162/2، ح : ۶۵۱۴۔ ترمذی، صفات المؤمنین، باب صفۃ القیامۃ… : ۲۴۳۰ ] That is why it is generally translated as ‘trumpet.’

In another hadith it is stated: “The angel who will blow the Sur has been ready and looking towards the Throne since it was given to him, and he does not blink, fearing that he might be commanded while he blinks.” [ مستدرک حاکم : 558/4، ح : ۸۶۷۶۔ الصحیحۃ : 65/2، ح : ۱۰۷۸ ] Thus, the correct view is that the Sur is a horn (trumpet). Those who say that {’’ الصُّوْرِ ‘‘ ’’ صُوْرَةٌ ‘‘} is a plural and refers to the forms of creation, this view is rejected by the Qur’an and Sunnah. See also Surah An-Naml (87). First, the Sur will be blown, and all creation will be terrified; then it will be blown again and all creation will perish; then it will be blown a third time and all creation will be resurrected and gathered in one place. Some have written that the blowing will actually occur twice: the first is called the blowing of terror or swooning, meaning first terror, then unconsciousness, and as a result, annihilation—so both are one and the same—and the second is the blowing of standing. And Allah knows best! (Ibn Kathir, Qurtubi)

➍ {عٰلِمُ الْغَيْبِ وَ الشَّهَادَةِ:} {’’ الْغَيْبِ ‘‘} means, from the perspective of the servants, the unseen (hidden), and {’’ الشَّهَادَةِ ‘‘} means present, otherwise for Allah nothing is hidden, everything is present before Him.

➎ {وَ هُوَ الْحَكِيْمُ الْخَبِيْرُ:} means that the Lord who possesses these attributes alone deserves that you obey Him, live as His servants, and understand that you will be presented before Allah and will be recompensed for every good or bad deed.

73. 1 Created with truth or benefit, meaning they were not created in vain and useless play, but rather the universe was created for a specific purpose, and that is that Allah should be remembered and thanked, the One who made all of this.

73. 1 "Yawm" is in the accusative case due to an omitted verb, due to "wadhkur" or "wattaqu", so it is in the accusative case. Meaning: Remember that day, or fear that day! That by His word "Kun" (Be), whatever He wills will happen. This is an indication that the difficult stages of reckoning will also be completed with great speed, but for whom? For the believers. For others, this day will feel as heavy as a thousand years or fifty thousand years.

73. 2 "Soor" refers to the trumpet or bugle, about which it is mentioned in the hadith that 'Israfeel has it in his mouth, his forehead lowered, standing in wait for Allah's command, so that when he is told, he will blow into it.' Ibn Kathir. In Abu Dawood and Tirmidhi it is stated: "As-soor qarn yunfakhu feehi" (The soor is a horn (trumpet) in which it will be blown). According to some scholars, there will be three blowings: "Nafkhat as-sa'q" by which all people will become unconscious, "Nafkhat al-fana" by which all people will perish, and "Nafkhat al-insha" by which all people will be resurrected. Some scholars only accept the last two blowings.

He is the One who created the heavens and the earth in truth [80], and on the Day He says, “Be!”—it will be. His word is the truth, and on the Day the trumpet is blown [81], sovereignty will belong to Him alone. He is the Knower of the unseen and the seen, and He is the All-Wise, All-Aware.

[80]
The Purpose of the Creation of the Universe:

That is, the heavens and the earth were created so that constructive results may be produced from them. They were not created merely as a play or pastime, like children who make different shapes out of clay while playing and then themselves break them and mix them back into the clay. Rather, the heavens and the earth have been created for a specific purpose. Although this specific purpose has not been mentioned explicitly in the Quran, it is understood from some other verses that all these things have been made to serve mankind, and man alone is the noblest of all creatures in the entire universe. Man alone has been given the power of discernment and the ability to choose and decide, so that he may be tested as to whether he remains obedient to Allah even in matters of choice or not. Thus, the purpose of man's creation is only the worship of one Allah. Then, after this world, it will be annihilated and another world will be created, and whatever good or bad deeds man has performed in this world, he will be rewarded or punished for them in that other world. And this world and the Hereafter are both part of one coherent system.

[81] That is, the day Allah Almighty wills to bring this world to an end, the angel Israfil will blow the trumpet. As a result, all creatures living on earth will die. Then, after some time, the trumpet will be blown again, as is made clear by the following hadith: The blowing of the trumpet will occur twice. And ‘Ajb al-Dhanab: Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) says that the trumpet will be blown twice, and there will be an interval of forty between the two. People asked, "Forty days?" He replied, "I cannot say." People asked, "Forty months?" He replied, "I cannot say." Then people asked, "Forty years?" He replied, "I cannot say." After that, Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Allah Almighty will send down rain from the sky, and people will grow from the earth just as vegetation grows. Behold! Every part of a man's body will decay except for one bone (its tip), which is the bone at the place where an animal's tail is. On the Day of Resurrection, creation will be reassembled from that bone. [بخاري۔ كتاب التفسير سورة النبا آيت نمبر 18]

Some Attributes of the True Deity:

After refuting the false deities and their worshippers, Allah Almighty has mentioned in this verse six such attributes of the True Deity, that is, Himself, which are found only in Allah Almighty. It is impossible for any false deity to possess them, and they are as follows:
(1) Allah Almighty has created the heavens and the earth, that is, this universe, endowed with constructive results.
(2) Then He continues to expand this universe and bring about change and transformation. Whenever He wills something to happen, He commands it to be, and that thing or event begins to come into existence.
(3) Every word and command of His is true and based on solid reality.
(4) On the day He wills to end this universe and bring about the Day of Judgment, in that world of the Hereafter, too, complete sovereignty will belong to Him alone.
(5) For Him, the unseen and the seen are all alike, all are before His sight and within His knowledge. The "seen" refers to those things which are present before a person or which are within human reach, or such natural laws as have become known to man; and the "unseen" refers to those things which are not known to man, whether they relate to the past or the future, or all such laws to which man has not yet gained access. All such matters are within Allah's knowledge.
(6) In every action and every command of His, there is certainly some wisdom, whether man knows it or not. This is because He is fully aware of even the smallest quantity of everything.