Surah Al-Mulk (67) — Ayah 16

(Ayah 16) ➊ { ءَاَمِنْتُمْ مَّنْ فِي السَّمَآءِ اَنْ يَّخْسِفَ بِكُمُ الْاَرْضَ … : ’’ تَمُوْرُ ‘‘} began to move, that is, it started trembling due to a severe earthquake. (See At-Tur: 9) In the previous verse, Allah Almighty mentioned His blessings, and in this verse, He expresses His overwhelming power. The meaning is that although the earth has been made subservient to you so that you may use it as you wish, remember that it belongs to the One in the heavens; if He wills, He can sink you into it (just as He sank Qarun. See Al-Qasas: 81), and if He wills, it can start trembling with an earthquake. Therefore, do not live arrogantly and independently upon it, but rather live as obedient servants, fearing Him. (Ashraf al-Hawashi) The meaning of this verse and the following verse is also mentioned in Surah Al-An'am (65) and Surah Al-Kahf (68, 69).

➋ {ءَاَمِنْتُمْ مَّنْ فِي السَّمَآءِ : ’’ السَّمَآءِ ‘‘ ’’سِمْوٌ‘‘} is derived from "simwun", which means height. Anything that is above is called {’’سَمَاءُ‘‘}. From both these verses, it is clear that the Being of Allah Almighty is above. The Noble Qur’an has mentioned at several places that the Most Merciful is upon the Throne. Muawiyah bin Hakam Sulami (may Allah be pleased with him) asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) about his slave girl, whether he should free her. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ اِئْتِنِيْ بِهَا ] "Bring her to me." I brought her to him, and he asked her: [ أَيْنَ اللّٰهُ؟ ] "Where is Allah?" She said: [ فِي السَّمَآءِ] "In the sky." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ مَنْ أَنَا؟ ] "Who am I?" She said: [ أَنْتَ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ ] "You are the Messenger of Allah." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ أَعْتِقْهَا فَإِنَّهَا مُؤْمِنَةٌ ] [ مسلم، المساجد، باب تحریم الکلام في الصلاۃ… : ۵۳۷ ] "Free her, for she is a believer." This is the belief of all the righteous predecessors; later people who were influenced by Greek philosophy denied the attribute of elevation (the attribute of being above) of Allah Almighty. Some said He is without a place, some said He is everywhere, and they interpreted the clear texts of the Qur’an and Hadith. Some people even went so far as to say that it is disbelief to ask about Allah’s location. They did not consider that this question was asked by the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) himself, and in response, he declared the belief that Allah is above the heavens to be faith (see Muslim: 537). So, God forbid, will this verdict be applied to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) as well?

In the Noble Qur’an {’’ ءَاَمِنْتُمْ مَّنْ فِي السَّمَآءِ ‘‘}, Allah Almighty is stating that He is above the heavens, and this is ingrained in human nature that when he prays, he raises his gaze towards the sky. But those afflicted by philosophy sometimes say that this would mean He is sitting on the heavens, sometimes they say, does He live in the heavens? In this way, they claim He would be dependent on the heavens, whereas the heavens and the earth themselves were created by Him. According to the belief of the righteous predecessors, it is not permissible to use any word for Allah Almighty that He has not used for Himself. Now, who has said that Allah Almighty is standing or sitting? From the Qur’an and Hadith, it is established that Allah Almighty is above and upon the Throne; its modality is unknown to anyone, and He is not dependent on the Throne or on being above, rather, despite being upon the Throne, the Throne itself is dependent on Him, and He is holding the Throne and the heavens and the earth. Among the creation, there are many things that are above, but the things below them are dependent on them for their existence; the example of Allah Almighty is far above this. Whenever a believer imagines Allah Almighty or prays to Him, he is certain that his Lord is above the heavens upon the Throne, and he has no confusion in connecting with his Lord. Those entangled in interpretations cannot even decide where their Lord is to whom they should turn. They cannot get out of the cycle of "without a place." This is the result of abandoning the natural and simple beliefs of Islam and adopting the philosophical labyrinths. For further details, see the commentary of Surah Al-Fajr (22).

16. 1. The disbelievers are being warned that the One who is in the heavens can, whenever He wills, cause you to be swallowed up by the earth. That is, the very earth which is your place of settlement and the source and reservoir of your sustenance, Allah Almighty can make this earth, which is extremely tranquil, move and tremble, thus causing your destruction.

16. Do you feel secure from Him who is in the heaven [20] that He will not cause the earth to swallow you, and then suddenly it begins to shake?

[20]
Who is in the sky?

The Divine Being, Allah. That is, Allah has made the earth subservient to you; work on it and take whatever benefits you can from it, but do not become fearless of that Being who is the Creator and Owner of you and all these things. Remember Him at all times. It is entirely possible that you may be digging somewhere in the earth or engaged in mining, and you suddenly sink into it. Or an earthquake may strike the earth. The earth may split open and you may be swallowed up in it. And it is also possible that He may send upon you such a severe windstorm containing stones and pebbles, and it may utterly destroy you. Therefore, when you obtain Allah’s blessings from the earth, you should also express gratitude to Him, and if you are ungrateful and show arrogance, then you may meet the same fate as the previous nations encountered.