S67. SURATUL MULK

Introduction
NAME: The Surah begins with the mention of Allah’s kingdom (Mulk) thereby giving it the name “AL - MULK”.
TIME OF REVELATION : It is Makkan and the subjects indicate that it was revealed in the initial stage when opposition to the Holy Prophet’s mission had just begun.
CENTRAL THEME : To alarm those who are ignorant of God and the Hereafter.
ORDER OF THE VERSES: In ayah 1 to 5 there is an invitation to all to ponder over the creation of earth and heavens, while describing the aim of life and death. It gives introduction of the Creator and also testifies the fact that this life of man is a trial for him.
Ayah 6 to 11 describe the final result of those who deny the facts and truths presented by Quran.
Ayah 12 to 14 show the successful result of those who feared Allah in their lives. It is explained that God is aware of every open and secret thing of man; that no act whether big or small, ever remains hidden from HIM.
Ayah 15 up to the end of the surah invite man to think. They also contain things to arouse him. If man observes this universe with open eyes he will understand the truth presented by the holy Quran and he will succeed in the aim of his life.

67. SURATUL MULK Ayah : 30

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

1. Blessed is HE 1 in Whose hand the Kingdom2 and HE is potent over everything.

2. WHO created death and life that HE may try you, which of you is the best in deed3 HE is the Mighty, the Forgiving.4

3. WHO created seven heavens, one above the other.5 you won’t see any defect in the creation of the Most Gracious.6 Turn up your eyes, do you see any lift?

4. Then look again and again. Your sight will come back to you weary and failed.7

5. We have adorned the lowest sky with lamps and have made them a source of pelting devils8 and have prepared a torment of blazing fire for them.9

6. And for those who disbelieved in their Lords 10 is the torment of the Hell and it is a very bad abode.

7. When they will be flung into it they will hear its roaring and it will be boiling.11

1. Please see Surah Furqaan, note 1.

2. That is who holds the reins of the universe and Whose sovereignty is magnificent.

3. The series of life and death is not per chance. Allah has created both of them with a great strategy in view. It is to make man pass through trials. He may be allowed the choice of adopting a noble character or of becoming an evil-doer. Then it may be seen as to who proves himself or herself righteous. Those who are virtuous will be the cream of the mankind. Allah will appreciate them and will bestow rewards on them to make them happy. They will be admitted to evergreen paradise to remain therein forever. The higher the character the higher status he or she will attain near Almighty Allah. This is a very great and positive aim for which the worldly life has been made a life of trial.
In this ayah the mention of death is made before that of life which is appropriate. Death is very distasteful whereas life can be both sweet and sour. It is the thought of the bitterness of death which serves the purpose of awakening man from carelessness. According to a Hadeeth :-
“Remember the destroyer of tastes, that is, the death.” (Tirmizi, Abwab-uz- Zuhad)
Then there is one more aspect of trial in death and it is that whether a man dies an illegitimate death or a legitimate one. Does he commit suicide becoming disparate due to calamities or he dies a natural death. Whether he ruins himself or herself for prohibited and unlawful aims or attains martyrdom in the Path of Allah.

4. HE is Overpowering, So fear His clutches and hurry on toward HIS pardoning and forgiveness. This is to say: always live with His fear in heart and pray for the pardoning of your sins as HE will surely forgive.

5. This sky which is spread all above our earth is the first heaven. We are enclosed in its cloak. Though there are huge galaxies and also stars situated at distances of thousands of light years, despite this vastness, this universe is not limited to this covering cloak. The universe having such seven skies or heavens is very very spacious. This thought of seven skies gives us but a little idea of the vastness of this universe. Otherwise we are absolutely unable to imagine its true, real vastness.
The advance of science has not yet fathomed even the first sky. The galloping of its accumen is still limited to the cloak covering us.

6. “Creation of the Most Gracious-Rahman” this phrase is used to reveal that the creation of the heavens (skies) is the manifestation of God’s Grace. The excel lance of the creation is that nothing whatsoever in it is at all inappropriate or out of place. Just observe the world of sky. The huge and handsome ceiling exhibits its beauty through immumerable twinkling stars. There are incalculable milky ways within it and yet everything is most suitably arranged. No rift can ever be pointed out therein. This subject has been described in Surah Quaaf also (Ayat:6).

7. Here is a repeated invitation to observe the heaven with a challenge that your eyes will become tired but will never be able to find any defect with the heavenly world. Expert scientists probing the sky through powerful telescopes have not yet found any rift anywhere.
Moreover, another excellence of HIS craft is that though a very long time (millenniums) have passed since its creation no defect or decadence has at all developed in it. Is this not a clear sign of the Might of an Omnipotent Creator?

8. The stars which, on the one hand, present a very beautiful scene of the sky, also, on the other hand, emit flames of fire (meteoric missiles) which drive away the devils (shaitaans) proceeding toward the heaven. They (shaitaans) are thus hit.
For further clarification please see Surah Hijr, Note: 16.

9. A torment of blazing fire has been prepared for these devils, in the Hereafter. They will be hurled into this Hell. The consequence or end of the devils is described so that people may not be decepted by them and finally meet the same end in Hell.

10. Disbelieving in Allah not only means a man denying His existence, but also not believing in Allah with all His Divine attributes. A large majority or mankind does believe in the existence of God but they deny HIS attributes (described by Quran) like HIS being OMNIPOTENT, ONLY ONE DEITY WORTHY OF WORSHIP, DIRECTOR and MANAGER OF THE UNIVERSE, THE GUIDE, THE JUST, THE DISPENSER OF REWARD AND PUNISHMENT etc. Thus they become unbelievers and deniers because such imperfect belief has no meaning.

11. This picture of the Hell is capable of passing a shiver through our spine. How frightening will be its boiling and bursting and roaring!
For those who fear their Lord without seeing Him is forgiveness and a great reward. Whether you keep your say secret or reveal it, HE knows even the secrets of the hearts. Shall not know He WHO has created? HE is the subtle, the Aware.(Al-Quran)

8. Bursting with rage.12 And every time a group is thrown into it, its keepers will ask them: did no warner come to you?13

9. They will reply: yes, the warner did come to us but we belied and said: Allah has not revealed anything; you are in a grave error.

10. And they will say: had we listened or followed, we would not have been among the people of the Hell.14

11. Thus they shall confess their sin, so cursed are the people of the Hell.

12. For those who fear their Lord without seeing Him is forgiveness and a great reward.15

13. Whether you keep your say secret or reveal it, HE knows even the secrets of the hearts.16

14. Shall not know He WHO has created?17 HE is the subtle,18 the Aware.

15. It is HE who made the earth subservient to you 19 So walk over its shoulders20 and eat of His provisions,21 to Him is the resurrection.22

16. Have you become fearless of the ONE WHO is in the heaven 23 that HE may cause you to be thrust into the earth and it may begin to shake suddenly.24

12. Man is unable to bear even a bomb explosion in this world. Then what will be his condition in Hell where catastrophic explosions will make it burst!

13. That is, The Messenger of God who warns you of that Day.

14. The deniers will realise after entering the hell that they had closed their ears for hearing the admonition given by Allah’s Prophets; that they had also suspended their faculty of reasoning; that had they utilized the God-given abilities they would not have seen this disastrous end.

15. The end of deniers was described above. This ayah gives good tidings to the God-fearing people that they will get the best Rewards.
To fear unseen Allah is the greatest peculiarity of a true Muslim. For further clarification please see Surah Quaaf, note: 39.

16. Therefore neither the smallest good can remain unknown to HIM nor the slightest evil can remain hidden from HIM. All intentions, feelings desires-good or bad-too are known to HIM.

17. This is a proof of the fact that Allah is fully aware of the conditions of HIS slaves. The argument is that HE is their Creator and hence how is it possible that the Creator remains unaware of His creation.

18. HE knows the finest details. HIS knowledge is so deep and thoroughly penetrating that even the tiniest or the tiny things cannot remain hidden from HIM. HE knows both the whole and the part of everything.

19. HE made the earth suitable for your walking on it, your living on it and your tilling it.

20. That is, walk on its heights. The earth’s heights have been termed its shoulders. The description of walking over its heights has been mentioned specifically as it clarifies that the earth has been subdued to man. Otherwise walking on low lands is quite easy.

21. It means, eat from whatever providence Allah has spread for you in the land.

22. But do not forget that you have to stand before God one day and to account for His favours and thereafter to get reward or punishment according to your deeds.

23. God’s being in the heaven indicates HIS high stature. The common man, while referring to Allah, points up to the sky. This is also appropriate in the sense that Allah’s Arsh (THRONE) is above the heavens. Otherwise, Allah is Omnipresent. HE is both limitless and spaceless.

24. In this and in the following few ayah there is an invitation for people to ponder. They serve to awaken the careless. Is it not likely or possible that Allah may, at any moment, make people restless by making the earth shake severely whereby all living on it may sink down into it? Far from being unlikely, history is full of such happenings occasionally occurring in different regions of the earth. Even now such devastations do take place turning whole habitations upside down within no time.
At the time of writing this the memory of the Latur and Osmanabad quake in South India is very fresh. Thirty thousand people went into an eternal sleep through an earth shake which did not last longer than a few seconds. Several towns were wiped out. In a village named Killari houses of five thousand persons suddenly turned into graves. Are such oft-occurring events not enough to open the eyes of man! But man’s negligence is so great that he finds out various causes of such shakings but closes his eyes from the aspect of admonition behind them. In such circumstances how can he gain guidance?

17. Have you become fearless of the ONE WHO is in the heaven that HE may send a stone-pelting storm on you? 25 then shall you know how was My warning.

18. Those before them also had denied. So see how was My Punishment. 26

19. Have they not seen the birds above them spreading their wings and closing them? None holds them except the Most Gracious.27 Verily HE watches all things.

20. (Just show) what army do you possess that will be able to defend you against the Most Gracious? 28 Those disbelievers are in illusion.

21. WHO is he who can give you sustenance if HE withholds HIS sustenance?29 Verily these people persist in rebellion and disgust (against Truth).30

22. Is he rightly guided who goes about groveling upon his face or the one who walks upright on a straight path?31

23. Say: It is HE WHO created you and made ears, eyes and hearts for you (but) you are seldom thankful.32

24. Say: It is HE WHO has spread you over the earth and it is HE to whom you shall be gathered.33

25. Stones were rained from the sky on the community of Prophet Loot. The Divine wrath can come down in this way also and also in the form of a windstorm lashing sand (sand storms).

26. This refers to the people of Aad, Thamood, Loot and Firaun.

27. How wonderful is it that birds fly in space, without any support, with wide wings which they also fold up and still do not fall down! A man who sees and thinks cannot help but feel that this is only the manifestation of the Grace of the Most Gracious GOD.

28. Even a man having armies cannot escape God’s wrath. Great armies of Firaun could not save that monarch from Divine torment and he too was drowned together with his army.
The polytheists consider their deities as their protectors but when the Divine calamity comes down all of them disappear.

29. The Sustainer (provider) is only Allah. If HE stops the supply of provision no one else can resume it. For example, rain is the main source of sustenance. If God withholds rain who else can bring it?

30. There are signs (proofs, evidences) of Tawheed (oneness of GOD) in all these things and they are very clear. But these people are adamant that they will not obey Allah’s commands that they will do only what they please. They have no interest in Truth and they dislike it. The reason is that in case of the acceptance of Truth they will not be able to do whatever they wish.

31. This is an example of a man who goes astray and of the other who walks on the path of guidance. A man who goes against his (human) nature always takes the opposite (wrong) course and, like animals, keeps his head cast down. But a man who goes by his nature (which includes the belief in the oneness of God) always walks straight and his eyes always look upward.

32. That is, Allah has bestowed the faculties of hearing, seeing and thinking to man so that he may appreciate them and, using them with reason, become thankful to God. But people seldom have this feeling. They do not appreciate God’s gifts and do not use these powers to hear, see and accept Truth.

33. It is Allah alone who has settled billions of humans on this earth. HE has done so to try them in their worldly life and on the Final Day of Judgment, He will assemble all of them before HIM to take an account of their deeds from them.

25. They ask: if you are truthful then tell when this promise will be fulfilled? 34

26. Say: Its knowledge is only with Allah.35 I am only a manifest warner.

27. When they will see it near them 36 the faces of the deniers will be grieved and they will be told: this is the thing which you were calling for.

28. Say: Have you ever thought if Allah destroys me and my companions or has mercy on us, who will protect the disbelievers from a painful punishment?37

29. Say: HE is RAHMAAN (The most Gracious) in Whom we have believed and in Whom we have put trust.38 You will soon know who is in error manifest.

30. Say: Have you ever pondered if your water were to sink down in earth, who is then that could bring you flowing water?39

34. That is, when will the time of Resurrection arrive?

35. This has been explained in Surah Luqmaan, Note: 60.

36. Means the Divine Wrath.

37. The disbelievers were wishing that the Holy Prophet (Peace be Upon Him) should perish and were awaiting his doom. In reply, the Holy Prophet is being asked to say that even if Allah makes me and my companions die, how can you escape the punishment for your disbelief? Our earlier or later death cannot save you from Allah’s wrath when you pepris in your disbelief (kufr).

38. The word ‘RAHMAN’ has been used many times in this Surah. It is to make us observe thoughtfully the signs of God’s Grace spread all around us, to believe in HIM and to become worthy of HIS abundant Mercy. At the end, a proclamation has been made through the mouth of the Holy Prophet that we believe in Rahman; that relying totally HIM we have entrusted ourselves to HIM and hence, we follow whatever Guidance we get from HIM.

39. The concluding ayah invites us to ponder over the Divine attribute of ‘Ruboobiyat’ (HIS being the sustainer) so that man may be thankful to HIM. It is asked: Just think and say if these springs of running water which is a great bounty for you and which are very essential for your life become dry and if their water sinks deep down in the earth to an inaccessible depth then who is it that can make spring water run for you? If this thing is not possible for anyone except Allah, which is a fact, then why do you leave Allah your real Lord aside and worship other who are utterly powerless.