The sūrah has taken us along a trip that extends over epochs and generations, from the very beginning of human life to resurrection after death. Now it takes us along another trip to the depths of the soul of the universe and what appears of it before our eyes. It tells us about the creation of the heavens and the earth after having told us of the creation of mankind. Our attentions are drawn to what the universe contains, its secrets, aspects and phenomena, referring to the night as it follows the day in quick pursuit, and to the sun, moon and stars which are subservient to God’s will, and the winds that move along in space, carrying the clouds to a land that is dead, and in no time, it quickens and becomes full of life, yielding all types of fruit.

This reflection on different aspects of God’s kingdom comes immediately after relating the story of the creation of mankind and describing both the beginning and the end of man’s life journey. The sūrah also refers to the attitude of those who follow Satan and who arrogantly refuse to follow God’s messengers. It also describes some concepts of jāhiliyyah, or ignorance that may prevail in human society, and the traditions people invent for themselves having no sanction by God’s law. All this the sūrah portrays in order to motivate human beings to return to their Lord who created the universe and made it subservient to His will and who runs it according to His laws and will. Indeed, to Him alone belong all creation and all authority.

This places strong emphasis on the fact that all creation and all existence submit to God’s will. In such an atmosphere of complete obedience to God and perfect submission to His will, man’s arrogance sounds extremely singular.

When these scenes have been portrayed and its strong rhythm has ensured even greater effectiveness, the sūrah calls on human beings to attend to their duties: “Call upon your Lord with humility, and in the secrecy of your hearts. He does not love those who transgress the bounds of what is right. Do not spread corruption on earth after it has been so well ordered. Call on Him with fear and hope. Truly, God’s grace is ever near to the righteous.” (Verses 55-56)

To submit to God with dedication and to admit complete servitude to Him are no more than the natural correlative of the submission and servitude of the whole universe to God’s authority. It is this concept which the Qur’ān seeks to establish in people’s minds. Any person who reflects with an open mind on what God has created in the universe, the laws of nature which operate in it along with the physical and apparent outcome of the working of these laws is bound to recognize that it is God who runs, plans and controls this universe and everything that takes place in it.

This realization is bound to leave a great effect on him as he acknowledges that all creation and authority in the universe belong to God alone. This is the first step to motivate the human mind to respond positively to God’s call, and submit to His authority along with everything else in the universe.

The Qur’ānic method uses the universe as its main domain to explain the nature of Godhead and make people realize the true essence of submission to God. They begin to recognize its full effect with the reassurance generated by their realization that everything else speaks the same language and uses the same wavelength. The Qur’ān does not portray all this in order to provide some rational evidence in support of man’s need to submit to God. Indeed, alongside this rational evidence the Qur’ān wants man to feel the reassurance and happiness generated by his sharing the same faith with the whole universe. This gives submission and servitude to God a different colour and taste. A Muslim is happy and content to be God’s servant and to submit to Him. There is no compulsion in the matter, no force used to achieve that status.

The basic motive for this attitude, even before the divine order, is a believer’s love, reassurance and the objective of being in harmony with the rest of the universe.

Thus, a Muslim does not try to rebel or avoid compliance with what he has been ordered to do. By his servitude to God, he is only fulfilling a natural need which contributes to his happiness. Submission to God enables man to be free from subjugation by, or servitude to, any other being. He submits with dignity and nobility to God alone, the Lord of the universe.

Such submission gives us the practical meaning of faith and gives belief its distinctive colour and taste. It tells us what Islam really means and imparts to it its nature and spirit. It is the basic rule that must be established before any order is given, before any aspect of worship is laid down, and before any law is enacted. This is the reason for the great importance the Qur’ānic method attaches to this basic rule which is clearly elucidated and firmly established in believers’ minds.

Your Lord is God who has created the heavens and the earth in six aeons, and is established on the throne. He covers the day with the night in swift pursuit. The sun, the moon and the stars are made subservient to His command. Surely all creation and all authority belong to Him. Blessed is God, the Lord of the worlds. (Verse 54)

The monotheistic Islamic faith allows no room for any attempt by human beings to work out by themselves any particular concept of God: what He is like or how He acts. There is simply nothing similar to God in any way whatsoever. Hence, it is not up to human intellect to try to picture the Supreme Being. A human concept can only be worked out within the framework that the human intellect can define, on the basis of what it makes out of the world around it. Since there is simply nothing similar to God, then the human intellect cannot draw any definite picture of what God is like.

Moreover, it simply cannot visualize how His actions take place. The only alternative available to man is to reflect on the effects of God’s actions in the universe around him.

Hence, questions like: `How did God create the heavens and the earth?, `In what form is He established on the throne?’, and `What sort of throne is this on which He has established Himself?’ do not arise in a believer’s mind. In fact, all these and similar questions are totally irrelevant and meaningless. To try to give answers to such questions is even more irrelevant and cannot be attempted by a person who properly understands the basic rule we have explained. Unfortunately, some Islamic groups who have tried hard to discuss such questions and wasted much time over them were influenced in their attempts by Greek philosophy.§ The Qur’ān uses the expression yawm, which means ‘day’, as it speaks of the span of time in which God created the heavens and the earth. Their creation was over six such yawm, or six days. Again, this belongs to the realm that lies beyond the reach of human perception. Nothing of this creation has been witnessed by any human being or indeed by any creature: “I did not call them to witness at the creation of the heavens and the earth, nor at their own creation.” (18: 51)

Whatever is said about these six days is not based on any certain knowledge. They may be six stages of creation or six epochs, or six of God’s days which cannot be measured by our time which is the result of the movement of certain planets and stars. Before these were created, time, as we know it, did not exist. Still, the six days to which the Qur’ānic verse refers may be something totally different. Hence, no one may claim that he has certain knowledge of what this figure truly means.1

Any attempt to interpret this statement, and similar ones, on the basis of human theories, and to justify that as being `scientific’ is simply arbitrary. It betrays defeatism under the pressure of ‘science’ which can do no more in this area than the formulation of theories that cannot be proven.

We, for our part, prefer not to go into such discussion because it contributes nothing to our understanding of the Qur’ānic statement.

Thus, the human consciousness is overawed by the lively scenes of the universe which it used to look at in a dull inattentive way. Coupled with this is the realization that all these great creatures submit to the authority of the Creator. At this point, the sūrah reminds human beings of their only Lord and directs them to call upon Him with humility and full submission. They must acknowledge His Lordship in order to keep within the limits of their submission to Him, recognizing His authority and refraining from creating or spreading corruption in the land by abandoning His law and following their own capricious desires. “Call upon your Lord with humility, and in the secrecy of your hearts. He does not love those who transgress the bounds of what is right.

Do not spread corruption on earth after it has been so well ordered. Call on Him with fear and hope. Truly, God’s grace is ever near to the righteous.” (Verses 55-56)

This directive is made at the most appropriate point, with human beings in the proper frame of mind. They are directed to call upon their Lord and address Him with humility and submission. They should also call on Him in the secrecy of their hearts, not making loud noises. A secret appeal to God is much more befitting because it affirms the close relationship between man and his Lord. Muslim, the renowned ĥadīth scholar, relates this authentic ĥadīth on the authority of Abū Mūsā who reports: “We were with God’s Messenger on one of his travels — (in one version it is stated that this took place when they were on a military expedition) — and people started to glorify God out loud. God’s Messenger said to them: O you people, gently and quietly. You are not calling on someone who is deaf or absent. You are calling on the One who hears all and is close at hand. He is indeed with you.” The Qur’ānic drift stresses the consciousness that God, in His Majesty, is so close to man. This is described here in its practical form as we make our supplication to God. A person who is conscious of God’s majesty feels too modest to appeal to Him in a loud voice. If we realize that He is so close to us we can have no reason for appealing to Him loudly. Along with this scene of sincere supplication to God and complete humiliation before Him, an order is issued not to try to usurp His authority as the Arabs used to do in their days of ignorance, when they claimed sovereignty for themselves, while all sovereignty belongs to God alone. They are further commanded not to spread corruption in the land by following their capricious desires, after God has set the earth in proper order and laid down the law to govern both the earth and human life. A believing soul, which calls on its Lord with humility and in secrecy, feeling His closeness and ready response, is not given to aggression and corruption. The two attitudes are closely related in the depth of the human soul and feelings. In its approach, the Qur’ān touches on those feelings. It is an approach designed by the Creator who knows His creation and is fully aware of everything.

“Call on Him with fear and hope,” (Verse 56), fearing to incur His anger and punishment, and hoping to earn His pleasure and reward. “Truly, Gods grace is ever near to the righteous,” (Verse 56), who worship God as though they actually see Him.

Once more the sūrah gives us a panoramic scene of the universe raising it before our eyes to contemplate, but people often pay little attention to it and remain unaware of what it conveys. The idea that we have just discussed speaks of God’s grace, and the new scene provides an example of God’s grace in action. We see and feel it in the rain that pours down, the growing vegetation and the life that quickens:

“He it is who sends forth the winds heralding His coming mercy, and when they have gathered up heavy clouds, We may drive them towards dead land and cause the water to fall upon it, and thus We cause all manner of fruit to come forth. Thus shall We cause the dead to come to life, so that you may keep this in mind.” (Verse 57)

All these are manifestations of what God’s Lordship brings about in the universe, in accordance with an elaborate plan. They are all of God’s own making. He, then, should be acknowledged by all human beings as their only Lord. It is He who creates and provides sustenance through the operation of the natural laws which He sets in motion as a sign of His mercy which He bestows on His servants. At every moment winds blow and cause the clouds to gather up, prompting a rainfall. But attributing all this to God’s action, as it is indeed the case, is the new element outlined most vividly in the Qur’ān as if we actually see it as we contemplate the portrayed scenes.

It is God who sends the winds as heralds of His forthcoming grace. The winds blow according to the natural laws which God has set in place in the universe, for it is a basic fact that the universe could not have initiated itself and set for itself these laws dictating its movement. The Islamic concept of existence, however, is based on the belief that everything that takes place in the universe is the result of a special act of will which brings it into the realm of reality, although it actually happens as a product of the operation of the natural laws God has set in operation. The initial commandments for these laws to operate is in no way contradictory with the belief that every single event that takes place in accordance with these laws is the result of God’s will. The blowing of the wind, in accordance with natural laws, is a single event that occurs as a result of a separate act of will.

Similarly, when winds gather up heavy clouds, they do so in accordance with the natural laws God has devised for the universe. Yet, this also happens by a separate act of will. Then God may drive these clouds, by yet another separate act of will, to a land that is dead, such as a barren desert, and He may cause the water in the clouds to fall upon it, by yet again a separate act of will, and thus He causes crops and fruits to come forth, by His own will. Nevertheless all these aspects happen as a result of the operation of the laws God has set in motion to give the universe and life their nature.

The Islamic concept of existence rules out the possibility that anything could happen in the universe involuntarily or by blind coincidence. This applies to the universe coming into existence for the first time, and to every single movement, change or amendment that takes place anywhere in the universe. It also rules out that it could take place in an impulsive, mechanical way, which would imagine the universe as a machine that has been set to operate in a particular method and left to run automatically.