In the Shade of the Qur'an by Sayyid Qutb

The sūrah now moves on to an exhibition of universal signs. It starts with a scene in heaven followed by one on earth, then an image of winds fully loaded with water, before we have pictures of life and death, resurrection and gathering. All these scenes are denied by those who, when a gateway to heaven is opened for them and they ascend through it higher and higher, surely say: “It is only our eyes that are spellbound! Indeed, we must have been bewitched.” (Verse 15)

“We have indeed set up in the heavens constellations, and endowed them with beauty for all to behold, and We have guarded them from every cursed devil, so that anyone who tries to eavesdrop is pursued by a flame clear to see.” (Verses 16-18) This is the first line in the great universal scene which tells of God’s creative power. It delivers a more telling testimony to the inimitability of God’s creation than any coming down of angels. It reflects God’s elaborate planning and His limitless power that puts into place this great piece of creation, the universe. The ‘constellations’ may refer to the stars and planets themselves with their huge entities, or it may refer to their positions which define their orbits. In both cases, they testify to the great power behind their creation and to the accuracy and beauty that they reflect. “We have indeed set up in the heavens constellations, and endowed them with beauty for all to behold.” (Verse 16)

The reference here to the beauty of the universe, particularly the type seen in the sky, suggests that beauty is an intended purpose behind such creation. It is not merely size or accuracy that are intended, but beauty which is clearly seen in all its aspects. A quick glance at the sky in a dark moonless night, with so many stars and planets sending their faint light our way, gives us a sense of that unique beauty. The same feeling will be aroused by a similar look at the sky in a night with a full moon, moving along in a romantic air, with the rest of the universe holding its breath so that it does not disturb a happy dreamer. One glance like that is sufficient to indicate the depth of the beauty in the creation of the universe. It will tell us more about the Qur’ānic expression here: “We have indeed set up in the heavens constellations, and endowed them with beauty for all to behold.” (Verse 16)

With the beauty comes preservation, pure and intact: “We have guarded them from every cursed devil.” (Verse 17) None, then, can spoil this purity by trying to spread evil in it. Satan is allowed to do his evil work only on earth, to tempt human beings to follow his wicked designs. The sky, which is a symbol for what is exalted and sublime, is beyond his reach. He may attempt to do so, but every attempt he makes is foiled: “Anyone who tries to eavesdrop is pursued by a flame clear to see.” (Verse 18)

Who is the devil, and what is his nature; and how does he eavesdrop, and on whom; and what does he try to hear? All these are matters that belong to a world beyond our reach. We have only the texts available to us. It is useless to try to go further into this, because it adds nothing to anyone’s faith. Investigating it does not produce anything other than preoccupying man’s mind with something that is not among its concerns.

Let us then be satisfied with knowing that there is no room in the heavens for the devil and his work. Its breathtaking beauty is preserved. The sublimity it symbolizes is kept free from anything impure. And if the devil so much as attempts to climb up, a fast moving flame pursues him.

The second line in this great and awesome scene draws the earth stretched as far as our sight can reach, and made easy to traverse. It shows the mountains giving it firmness and stability, and its plants and vegetation that are necessary sustenance for man and animal: “We have spread out the earth, and placed on it firm mountains, and caused [life] of every kind to grow on it in a balanced manner. We have placed various means of livelihood on it for you, as well as for those whom you do not have to provide for.” (Verses 19-20)

The sense of an immense creation is clear here. The reference first to the massive constellations whose large size is implied by their very name, and in the shooting flame which is described as being clear for all to behold, and then the mountains whose weight is alluded to by the adjective, ‘firm,’ all add a sense of grandeur to the scene described. Even plants are described here as ‘balanced’ which, in its Arabic original, mawzūn, suggests considerable weight. The precise meaning of this phrase, however, is that every plant on earth is created with fine measure and precision. The grand impression of the scene is further enhanced by the term, ma`āyish, or ‘means of livelihood’, used here in the plural and left indefinite. Still more is added by the phrase, ‘those whom you do not have to provide for.’ This refers to every living thing on earth. Hence, the scene appears massive, grand, majestic.

But the verse then refers to human beings. Your livelihood is placed on earth ‘for you’, and also for ‘those whom you do not have to provide for’. They all survive on the provisions God gives them. Humans constitute only one of the countless communities that live on earth. This community does not provide sustenance to any other. It is God that provides for it and for other types of creation. But God grants it more of His bounty as He places for its service other communities and types of creation which live on the provisions given to them by God, without placing any responsibility or burden on man.

In fact, the provisions given to every community are determined by God, according to His will. He grants them as He pleases, at the time He chooses, and in accordance with the laws He has set in operation: “There is not a thing but with Us are its storehouses; and We send it down only in accordance with a defined measure.” (Verse 21)

No creature owns, or has power over, anything. The resources of everything are with God in His supreme realm. He grants it to His creation, in their respective worlds, according to a defined measure. Nothing is given or provided arbitrarily.

We have here a precise statement, “There is not a thing but with Us are its storehouses; and We send it down only in accordance with a defined measure.” (Verse 21) Its import becomes apparent as man’s knowledge increases and becomes more advanced. The more he knows about the universe and how it is made and operates, the better he understands the Qur’ānic statement. The meaning of the term, ‘storehouses’, becomes clearer after man has discovered the nature of the elements which form the material world, and their composition. Man knows that the basic ‘storehouses’ of water, for example, are the oxygen and hydrogen atoms. The storehouses of provisions we have in the form of green plants and vegetation include the nitrogen which is present in the air, carbon and the oxygen that form carbon dioxide, and the rays of the sun. Examples like these are numerous, giving a clear picture of the import of the expression, “God’s storehouses”, of which man has come to know much, but this much remains only a little of what there is.

Of the things that God sends in accordance with defined measure are winds and water: “We send forth winds heavily loaded, then We send down water from the skies for you to drink. You are not the ones who store it up.” (Verse 22) The Arabic term, lawāqiĥ, which signifies heavily loaded has been interpreted by some according to the scientific meaning of ‘fertilizing’, referring to the fact that the winds carry the pollen from some plants or trees to fertilize the female ones. But this does not seem to fit with the text here. We have to remember that the Qur’ān is very meticulous in drawing its own connotations. What is referred to here is rather the fact that winds carry moisture, just like a she-camel becomes heavy with milk. God then sends down water from that moisture carried by the winds, and He allows man to drink it for his own survival. Yet man cannot retain it all: “You are not the ones who store it up.” (Verse 22) It has not come from the storehouses of human beings, but from God’s treasures.

It has been poured according to a well-defined measure.

The winds move, carry the moisture and pour the water in accordance with the laws of nature. But who has determined all this in the first place? It is all determined by the Creator who has set the original law of the universe which gives rise to all aspects and operates all phenomena: “There is not a thing but with Us are its storehouses; and We send it down only in accordance with a defined measure.” (Verse 21)

We note here how every move is referred to God, even the drinking of water:

“Then We send down water from the skies for you to drink.” (Verse 22) The expression, asqaynākumūh, given in translation as, “for you to drink”, is given in the Arabic original as, “We send down water from the skies and We make you drink it”. What is meant here is that we have fashioned you in a way which makes you in need of water, and we made the water suitable for your needs. All this is made according to a measure.

It is all set in operation by God’s will. This mode of expression is chosen in order to provide an element of complete harmony in the whole scene, so that everything is referred to God, even the movement of one’s hand to take water to drink. The whole atmosphere is one that attributes everything in the universe to God’s will that directly determines every event and movement. His law that controls the movement of stars and planets is the same as His law that controls people’s actions. The first passage of the sūrah referred to God’s law concerning those who reject God’s message, and this second passage refers to His law that governs the heavens and the earth, the wind, water and drinking. All this is subject to God’s will which is linked to the great truth that is behind the creation of the heavens, the earth, human beings and all other creatures.

The sūrah then perfects the attribution of all matters to God alone, stating that life and death, the living and the dead, the resurrection and judgement belong to Him:

“It is We who give life and cause death, and it is We who are the inheritors [of all things].

Well do We know those who lived before you and those who will come after you. Your Lord will gather them all together. He is indeed Wise, All-Knowing.” (Verses 23-25)

Thus the second passage complements the first. In the first passage we have the statement: “Never have We destroyed any community unless divine revelations have been made known to it. No community can ever forestall its term, nor can they delay it.” (Verses 4-5) Here, in this passage, it is emphasized that life and death are determined by God, the heir to all life, and He knows whom He has determined to die early and who will have their death delayed. It is He who gathers them all together at the end, for “He is indeed Wise, All Knowing.” (Verse 25) He determines the term of every community according to His wisdom. He knows when it dies, and when it is resurrected and all that happens in between.

We note the harmony of movement in this passage and the preceding one. This is seen in the sending down of revelation, angels, the flames hitting eavesdropping devils, and water from the sky. Harmony is also evident in the general surroundings in which events take place in the whole universe: the skies, the constellations, flames, the earth, the mountains and the vegetation, the winds and the rain. When the sūrah provides an example of arrogance, it sets it in a scene of climbing up into the heavens through an open door. All this speaks volumes for the fine style of the Qur’ān.