As-salamu alaykum everyone! Hope you’re all doing great. Alright, so we’re still hanging out in Surah Mulk, you know, that chapter in the Quran that we all really love? Alhamdulillah, we made it up to verse number 15 last time. And today, inshallah, we’re going to keep going and dive into verse number 16!
Tafseer of Surah Mulk Verses 16-19
In Surah Mulk (verse No.16), where Allah Almighty says,
هُوَ ٱلَّذِى جَعَلَ لَكُمُ ٱلْأَرْضَ ذَلُولًۭا فَٱمْشُوا۟ فِى مَنَاكِبِهَا وَكُلُوا۟ مِن رِّزْقِهِ وَإِلَيْهِ ٱلنُّشُورُ
In last verse 14–15, we will quickly talk about it in this verse No.15. We said that Allah Almighty says,
It is, He who made the earth tame for you – so walk among it’s slopes and eat of His provision – and to Him is the resurrection.
We gave an example of that Allah Almighty give us that, all these things the earth and the fruits, vegetables and everything that he is blessing. So, Allah Almighty ended up this ayah by saying, وَإِلَيْهِ ٱلنُّشُورُ and to him, we will resurrect.
ءَأَمِنتُم مَّن فِى ٱلسَّمَآءِ أَن يَخْسِفَ بِكُمُ ٱلْأَرْضَ فَإِذَا هِىَ تَمُورُ
Which means, “Do you feel secure that, He who [Hold Authority] in the heaven would not cause the earth to swallow you and suddenly it would sway?”
So, imagine now this make us think that Allah Almighty, ءَأَمِنتُم مَّن فِى ٱلسَّمَآءِ, do you feel secure that the one, who is in the heaven. The one who is above the heaven, أَن يَخْسِفَ بِكُمُ ٱلْأَرْضَ , he will cause the earth to swallow you, فَإِذَا هِىَ تَمُورُ, and it will sway. Allah Almighty can do anything within such a small time right.
How many times we know that the people are sitting, thinking that nothing will happen to them and they are living forever they think and suddenly what happened either earthquake will happen or the sinkhole will take place, or some disaster will happen or anything earthquake or whatsoever and their property, their belongings and everything is just gone.
So, my brothers and sisters, don’t think that you are having a strong position or a bank balance or a place or authority in society; whatever, and you think that no one can touch you, Allah Almighty can take anything that you have or Allah Almighty can send anything on you from his creation. It could be wind, it could be sandstorm or could be rain, anything that you cannot even imagine. Then Allah Almighty says,
أَمْ أَمِنتُم مَّن فِى ٱلسَّمَآءِ أَن يُرْسِلَ عَلَيْكُمْ حَاصِبًۭا فَسَتَعْلَمُونَ كَيْفَ نَذِيرِ
Which means, “Or do you feel secure that, He who [Hold Authority] in the heaven would not send against you a storm of stone? The you would know how [severe] was My warning.”
So, imagine that Allah Almighty is saying, that he is also capable to do don’t feel secure that, he will send rain or the storm of stones on you, and it can destroy you completely. So, Allah Almighty, after time to time keep telling those non-believers those, who are denying Allah Almighty or those, who claim to be on the right path, but yet they are not obeying Allah Almighty.
Allah (SWT) is keep giving these warnings to them, and he will or he is able and capable to send the stones or the storms upon those, who are dis-believers and then Allah Almighty continued and he said,
وَلَقَدْ كَذَّبَ ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ فَكَيْفَ كَانَ نَكِيرِ
Which means, “And already had those before them denied, and how [terrible] was my reproach.” So, Allah Almighty is again telling us that he always take those, who are denying Allah Almighty with different ways.
So, here Allah Almighty says, وَلَقَدْ كَذَّبَ ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ, so, those who are denying now Allah Almighty and denying the massage of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, or denying the path of Allah Almighty or denying to be on the right path.
Allah Almighty saying, وَلَقَدْ كَذَّبَ ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ, not only you are denying, people before you they denied as well.
What happened, فَكَيْفَ كَانَ نَكِيرِ, that and how terrible was my reproach. Imagine Allah Almighty was dealing with them with severe punishment. So, keep in your mind, whenever you read this,
وَلَقَدْ كَذَّبَ ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ فَكَيْفَ كَانَ نَكِيرِ
This is very important for us to think and ponder about these verses and these words. So, we always are awake, we cannot live in this world, heedless completely, person living with heedless and heedless approach and heedless mindset.
He/ She will never succeed in this life. Because again Allah Almighty is showing us the signs and the right path. So, no point to denying and end up in a miserable condition and a terrible situation. Then Allah Almighty is giving us another example. So, he saying in Surah Mulk (Ayah No.19),
أَوَلَمْ يَرَوْا۟ إِلَى ٱلطَّيْرِ فَوْقَهُمْ صَـٰٓفَّـٰتٍۢ وَيَقْبِضْنَ ۚ مَا يُمْسِكُهُنَّ إِلَّا ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ إِنَّهُۥ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍۭ بَصِيرٌ
Which means, “Do they not see the birds above them with wings outspread and [sometimes] folded in? None holds them [Aloft] except the most Merciful. Indeed He is, of all things, Seeing.”
Conclusion
Allah Almighty, He’s watching everything, you know? He sees absolutely everything. And to give us a little idea of what that’s like, Allah gives us this example of a bird, just a simple bird. Think about it – a bird just flying around in the wide open sky, just soaring around. Sometimes it spreads its wings out wide, and sometimes it, you know, folds them in. And that whole flying thing, that’s all happening because of Allah’s mercy.
And it makes you really stop and think. Like, sometimes you feel like you’re totally free to do whatever you want. You might think, “Hey, if I want to do something wrong, if I want to commit a sin, no one’s going to see me. No one’s looking. No one will ever know.” So, you might go ahead and do that sin; you might do that wrong thing; you know, those kinds of things that people do that are wrong. You might just keep doing sin after sin, thinking you’re getting away with it.
But then Allah Almighty says: “إِنَّهُۥ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍۭ بَصِيرٌ” – which means, basically, “He is watching everything.” It’s like that bird, flying all over the place in the sky, going everywhere it wants. You might think you’re just like that bird, going here and there, doing whatever you want, moving around freely. But Allah is saying, even if you do all that stuff, even if you hide under a roof, or go somewhere where you think no one is watching you. Allah Almighty is watching absolutely everything.