COMMENTARY ON THE QUR`AN
Chapter 67: Surat Al-Mulk
The Kingdom

By: Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri

In the name of Allah,
the Beneficent, the Merciful

1. Blessed is He in Whose hand is the kingdom; He has power over all things.

2. He Who created death and life that He may try you to see which of you is best in deeds; He is the Mighty, the Forgiving.

The experience of life is meaningful only if its opposite, the experience of death, exists as well. Everyone will experience both of these states. Just as there is the outer sensory experience of life and death, so there is the inner meaning of life and death. When the heart is hardened, it is as though it were dead. When it is pure, flowing and turning, it is alive.

The entire creation is a kingdom under the rule of the indomitable sovereign. Everything that exists within is in His grasp and derives its secondary existence from His power. His power is subserved by His love. He sustains, supports and returns all to Himself. The recognition of the creator's all-encompassing love brings unbounded joy to one's heart. The source and transmission of that joy is always available but often blocked by the ego-self.

Allah brought forth the experiences of life and death in order that humankind might increase in knowledge and wisdom and attain higher degrees of purity. By affliction, trial and tribulation, the barriers of desires and expectations which exist between the human being and knowledge of the Creator are eroded. Affliction, properly understood, acts as a teacher through which the created being learns to live freely, acknowledging the blessed gift of life bestowed upon him. The best of actions are free actions, performed with no expectations attached; they are simply and spontaneously for the sake of Allah (fî sabîl illah), for knowledge of Reality.

Through the experience of affliction one has the opportunity to grow within. One learns to solicit forgiveness from the Mighty, the Forgiving (al-Ghafûr). Recognition of one's transgressions and mistakes is the door to forgiveness. If one knows one's faults, when one has seen them, experienced them, disliked them and wished to change, one is on the way to being freed of them and, thereby, forgiven. The basic condition necessary for that change is awareness. In a continuous state of awareness, one will be unlikely to repeat past mistakes. This is the beginning of transformation.

3. He Who created the seven heavens one above another. You see no incongruity in the creation of the Beneficent. Then look again! Do you see any imperfection or deficiency?

4. Return your vision yet again and again! It shall come back to you weary and weak from its futile attempts.

The kingdom of Allah is manifest within seven different layers or stages. Each layer is invisibly connected yet retains its own characteristics. The Prophetic traditions also relate that the earth also has seven layers. There is a popular supplication in which the Lord of the seven heavens and the Lord of the seven earths is addressed.

The Beneficent (Rahmân) encompasses everything in His all-embracing compassion. Allah's beneficence extends to the entire creation, while His specific mercy is particularly bestowed upon the believer (mu`min). Under the Beneficent there is nothing in creation that cannot be placed in its appropriate, relational position; there is no disjointedness. Everything makes sense provided one develops keen insight and abandons emotional judgment.

Allah says 'Look again', because though we look often, we fail to see. The Qur`an challenges us to find any fault. At first, one's reflections are unclear, but the more one reflects the more likely it is that one will perceive the subtle mercy of Allah and this will bring us to realization and understanding. One's sight will return to one, unable to find fault. The more one looks, the more one will discover the perfection of this most intricate and complex realm, how creational entities interconnect in the most precise manner confirming the power, majesty and subtlety of the One behind their manifestation.

5. And We have adorned the lower heaven with lights; We have made them a means of conjecture for the shaytâns, and We have prepared for them the chastisement of burning.

6. The punishment of the Hell is for those who disbelieve in their Lord; evil is their destination.

The lower heaven is that heaven which is perceived by man. The other heavens, it is implied, are beyond visible recognition. The stars decorate the lower heaven, which displays myriad, dynamic exchanges.

Several meanings may be derived from 'And we have made them a means of conjecture.' One meaning relates to the reliance on astrology which, if understood as a supernatural power, would undermine one's trust in the absolute power of Allah. Another is related to a different meaning, for the word rujûm may be translated as 'missiles' instead of 'conjecture'. Thus, the verse becomes: 'And We have made them missiles for the Shaytâns.' In this sense the phrase may mean that the evil, unseen forces cannot penetrate beyond the lower heaven.

Those who deny Lordship, denying reality and disbelieving that there is a Sustainer by Whom we are guided to our fullest possibilities will earn the state of agitation and Fire, the worst state.

7. When they are cast in it they shall hear its roaring intake as it flares up and boils over,

8. As it almost bursts forth with rage. Whenever a group is cast into it, its keeper shall ask them: Did a warner not come to you?

In the eternal Fire, churning and turning with its anger, increasing as it is fed, never sustaining or stabilizing, a memory comes forth to ask: Were you not informed about this state? Were you not warned that you were preparing yourself for a dreadful end? Those who are questioned answer: 'We refused to listen. We denied the existence of Allah. We ascertained that there was no Reality and assumed that those who were summoning to the Truth were in error.'

There is justice both in this world and the next. Should man not hear the voice of wisdom which calls out to guide him in this world and seeks to show him how to live in a manner that will keep him from harm, he will be afflicted in this life. If one does not reach for the higher stage in which belief in Allah dominates, there will be punishment both in this world and the next; the next experience is but a timeless continuation of the essential condition of man in the physical realm.

9. They shall say: Yes indeed, a warner came to us, but we rejected him and said: Allah has not revealed anything. You are only in great error.

10. And they shall say: Had we but listened or understood we would not be among the inmates of the blazing fire.

This is not a language of drama or theatre. There is instantaneous, out-of-time communication between entities. In this life the deniers put up a barrier between the faculty of hearing and understanding what is really being said. They block the natural faculty of reason for the sake of convenience, sentimental attachment, emotionalism, or love of the world.

11. So they will acknowledge their sins, but crushed and distant will be the inmates of the blazing fire.

Everyone has the ability to discern the truth and is therefore able to acknowledge original knowledge. Many, however, hide and deny it by their ignorance which is created by arrogance, fear, anxiety and attachment.

At the time of punishment there is a natural confession. Those who are to be punished will admit that they have denied the messages brought to humankind by the prophets and their followers, for man is a witness against himself, as the Qur`an tells us. Everyone has within a higher awareness that can illuminate his consciousness. If that consciousness is tainted, the higher awareness can not discern this fact. At the point of death, when the ability to interfere ceases, everything becomes instantaneously clear.

The people of the Fire are those who have been crushed and are distant, for they had not acknowledged Reality. How can they remain whole and near? If one denies the power of an ordinary king one will be in severe trouble. How much more important is it then to accept the All-Powerful! Because of His boundless mercy He gives man countless chances throughout his life to save himself from the self-ignited fire.

12. Those who fear their Lord in the unseen shall surely have forgiveness and a great reward.

Those who have faith and trust in a Creator, a supreme Reality, often do so by the inference that there cannot be an effect without a cause. They accept the laws that govern existence and have come to the realization that the cosmos is not chaos. They fear their Lord and fear transgressing His laws. As a result, they possess 'forgiveness and a great reward', an ongoing reward that begins here in this world and continues uninterruptedly into the next.

13. Whether you conceal your word or manifest it, surely He knows what the hearts contain.

Allah is aware of everything within us. A creator knows the attributes of what it creates. The builder of a house knows its strengths and weaknesses. He knows the materials he used and how he built it. Allah knows what man has in his heart; there is no hiding place. To the One possessed of deep perception and insight all is exposed.

14. Does not He Who created know? He is the Knower of all subtleties, the Aware.

All creational entities exist through the subtle forces of the Creator. As one journeys through this life one is spontaneously connected to the source. How can one deny the Creator and the fact that everyone is under His sovereignty? Allah holds the knowledge and the power of deciding who shall remain in life and who shall be recycled back into the earth.

Creational existence is like a laboratory in which the Creator tests the fidelity of His creation. He guides them, yet allows them to transgress and gives them the chance to correct themselves. After having made a shambles of their lives they are still allowed to rid themselves of their past actions. Many prophetic traditions describe the rites of worship in Islam as purifying agents to this end. For example, the pilgrimage (Hajj), if performed correctly, is like a rebirth. Salât, the ritual prayer of the Muslim, if done correctly, allows the worshipper to emerge refreshed and renewed, free from the negative effects of his past actions; unencumbered, the wisdom of a lifetime is at his disposal.

15. He it is Who made the earth subservient to you, so go forth in it, and partake of His sustenance. To Him is the eventual return.

In order for man to reach the pinnacle of awareness and knowledge, the earth has been made subservient to him. Upon it he travels, seeking his provision, and by this well-orientated behavior he may attain wisdom.

16. Do you feel certain that He Who is in the heavens shall not cause the earth to swallow you up as it convulses?

17. Or do you feel certain that He Who is in the heavens shall not send down upon you a violent wind that raises dust and stones? Then shall you realize the true meaning of My warning.

18. Those before them rejected, so how strong was My disapproval!

The earth with its massive mountains has yielded before man's efforts, and Allah has made its paths accessible to him. 'So go forth in it' is an encouragement for man to seek the means to glorify Allah in his daily activities of seeking provision wherever it may be obtained on this spacious and varied planet.

How can one feel secure against the sovereign King? There is no certainty that the earth shall remain still and not be disrupted by earthquakes. Can one be certain of the earth's stability?

The believer is in a state of perpetual caution and awareness, knowing that should he allow himself to think that he is safe and secure against change, he is lost. He trusts that Allah will guide him through the changes and afflictions that will inevitably assail him. Allah says in the Qur`an: 'None feels secure from Allah's plan except the people of loss' (6:99).

The earth is Allah's laboratory. Man's achievement therein is measured by his commitment to service. A compassionate father measures the degree of his son's responsibility and wisdom by testing him. He does not wish to afflict the boy but recognizes that a certain amount of trial is necessary for his mature development. If, while being tested, a person stands his ground with faith and trust, he will be given additional knowledge as well as freedom in action. A bird tests its nestlings to be sure that they can fly. The mother does not immediately push the young birds over the edge but nudges them, encouraging them to use their wings until they grow in strength. As the nestling leaps out of the nest and into the air, it suddenly realizes that it is free. Man is also free, but he does not realize this because he has not used his wings of faith and taken flight into the wide open space of complete dependence upon Allah through submission – Islam.

The uncertainty of events stimulates one to reflect. By deep reflection one attains true abandonment. In His love for man, Allah occasionally tightens His noose around him, thereby causing him to remember Allah at that instant, even though Allah is present all the time. If a person is a deserving slave, confessing to the nobility of his Creator, he does not have to be constantly subjected to crises and tragedies to realize that he has a master in this situation. The jolts he receives every now and again are sufficient proof of his Master's love and concern for him.

By his actions and intentions man unifies with a certain set of laws. If his actions are honest and sincere, emanating from a pure source, he moves along a course whose outcome is quite clear. On the other hand, denial (kufr) and disjointedness will cause him to move into a stream of illusion and confusion.

One's journey in this life is like skimming in a craft along hundreds of different rivers which symbolize the streams of destiny. The traveler, according to his intention, brings the craft to a standstill and puts his foot into one river or another. The choice is his. If, out of ignorance, he descends into dangerous waters full of rapids and rocks, then he must move on to the next river. It is up to the individual to find the river that provides the appropriate passage for his temperament and inclination. If an individual's intentions are honest and sincere, he will end up in such a river. If, however, he is overcome by denial and disconnectedness, he will be led to perilous currents which will eventually overcome and drown him.

19. Have you not seen the birds above them expanding and contracting their wings? Nothing holds them up except the Beneficent? Surely He sees everything.

20. Who can assist you besides the Beneficent? Yet unbelievers persist in delusion.

21. Or who is it that will give you sustenance if He should withhold His sustenance? Indeed, they persist in presumptuous arrogance and flight from the truth.

Man attempts to explain the flight of the bird and airplane with a metaphor of counter-balanced mathematically calculable forces. But the airplane is made with tons of metal, so how does it really fly? How is it supported in the air? Likewise, a steel vessel floats upon water. What do these phenomena mean? Reality manifests itself in wondrous ways. Nothing supports any system except the multifaceted powers of Allah manifesting themselves as natural phenomena. The mercy of Allah also allows us to perceive all these strange events. All assistance comes from the one stream of Mercy. Man's attribution to secondary causes is deception. One who denies the unitary thread of existence is cut off from seeing the perfection of the laws that govern existence.

From where does man's provision come? How is the recycling, ecological continuum maintained? Because man does not recognize the universal submission and adoration, his knowledge of creation is erroneous. His limited knowledge can only bring momentary relief; it cannot provide the fundamentally sound, inner understanding that connects the web of existence. Unitary knowledge comes from within, encompassing the entire system.

22. But then is he who walks prone upon his face better guided than he who walks upright upon a straight path?

The darkness around the blindfolded despot tends to make him sure of himself, but there is a point at which he breaks down. The believer (mu`min), on the other hand, already has the lower self harnessed and is guided by his humility and submission to Allah. As the outer afflictions of the believer increase, he is increased in strength. When people turn away from him, he turns to Allah, the source whence real strength is derived. One who has given himself up to the true message and follows it diligently is on the clear path. One who has not done so 'walks prone upon his face' whilst he deludedly believes he is treading the path of knowledge and guidance.

23. Say: He it is who brought you into being and gave you the faculties of hearing, sight, and inward perception. Little are you grateful.

'Say' (qul) implies witnessing, recognition and connection to the source of creation. One sees how one has come from the Highest Source. One reflects upon the instruments of knowledge: hearing, sight and inner perception. One marvels at the abilities bestowed upon the possessor of these gifts, at the lower aspects of the self that degrade the realities which these instruments may apprehend. From this reflection comes contentment, which in turn yields insight. 'Say: Allah is One' (Qul huwa Allâhu ahad: 112:1). What is said then becomes what is meant, and what is meant becomes what is experienced. This is unity (tawhîd).

Little does man give thanks. If he but allowed himself to dive deep into the reflection of unity, to leave behind his preconceptions, he would emerge in a clear, underground pool of delight, in a state of unbounded gratefulness for the countless gifts he has been given, enabling him to apprehend the wondrous nature of Reality as it has manifested itself in the dualistic realm of creation.

24. Say: He it is Who scattered you forth on the earth and unto Whom you shall be gathered.

25. And they say: When shall this promise be fulfilled if you are truthful?

26. Say: The knowledge is with Allah. I am merely one who cautions.

27. But when they see it near at hand, those who disbelieve will be sorry, and it will be said: This is that which you used to call for.

For every action there is a reaction, for every scattering there is a gathering. Man has been scattered upon the earth in order that he may see the meaning of his existence, his true reality, and the source to which he will be gathered again. Those who are not in submission to the reality of the way things are, and who are therefore not in a state of inner contentment, gratitude and unity, seeing themselves as inseparable from Reality, perceive only discord. They remain behind an impenetrable veil of doubts and questions as to when the promise of nature's fulfillment will come to pass. A skeptical person is constantly searching and asking for proof while the proof lies right within him; he need only open his ears, eyes and inner perception.

Knowledge of the future's unfolding, the next world and the Day of Reckoning is with Allah. Those who deny can only be cautioned. Implicit in this verse is that Allah is beyond time, and time exists only for man to reflect upon what is behind it. To persist in questioning only increases doubt for those who imagine their views and opinions to be solid ground upon which they stand. The system of denial, rejection and self-created opinions perpetrates the illusion of its own reliability; in reality, it has no foundation; rather it follows its own fancy (wahm) causing the seeker to wander in the wrong direction. This search leads him further away, towards false hopes and despair, which he will eventually embrace. One well-placed needle will burst the bubble and cause final collapse. Eventually the entire system of falsehood will collapse the same way.

When the next life commences, those who were formerly in denial will be in a dreadful state of contradiction; they will have come face to face with what they denied. They will instantly recognize that this is what they were promised, the repayment for their intentionally induced actions, all according to the law of action-reaction. There will be no excuse, because this law is clearly visible in the physical realm to every human being.

28. Say: whether Allah destroys me and those with me or has mercy upon us, who will save the unbelievers from a painful punishment?

29. Say: He is the Beneficent God in Whom we believe, and upon Him do we rely. So you shall come to know who is in clear error.

Whatever has a beginning also has an end; reality will cause everyone to experience both. At that time, Allah's mercy and compassionate protection will clearly be seen by all. If one abuses the compassion bestowed upon one by failing to recognize it and respond with appropriate gratitude, the compassion and generosity are curtailed. The contract of the Lord with the slave is that He continues to bestow His compassion and generosity until the slave's physical death, and beyond. Thenceforth the slave is borne up by the degree of gratefulness and appropriate response he displayed during his life.

If, however, he failed to wake up to the blessed, unified experience of oneness, he will suffer in unalloyed agitation to the degree that he failed to wake up.

The spirit which provides the original spark of life is pure, and from the moment of birth, the soul seeks to find the way back to its abode of purity. Should it have become sullied beyond a certain point, it has no direction. Its existence, then, is a state corresponding to its possessor's lifetime acquisition of actions based on intentions. It is as simple and logical as that. Anyone who denies that the self is subject to the principle of action and reaction operating at every level of existence, is in ignorance. Only at the shattering point of death can this dense illusion be pierced. Though the truth is then recognized, there is no opportunity to change, for the realm of change has passed and that of perpetuity has set in. The bone-chilling reality of 'So you will come to know who is in clear error', becomes patently obvious. We must remember that this is not a threat which brings about a defiant response but a reality that will be experienced.

30. Say: Have you considered if your water should subside, who then would bring you flowing water?

In order to awaken humankind to a higher state of consciousness Allah asks man to reflect on water, the most basic life-giving substance. All life relies upon water. The Qur`an says that the Throne ('arsh) itself, the foundation of creation, is afloat upon water. If the earth's water disappeared, who would bring it forth again?

The disappearance of water in this verse may be likened to divine knowledge which vanishes when it is affected by doubt, sinking down into the labyrinth of the subconscious through a bottomless hole. This state of loss does not even entertain possibilities for reflection. Self-knowledge, the water that springs from the well of knowledge, will not remain, but will disappear into the dark abyss of the self. If there is reflection, the knowledge of Allah's bounty will gush forth and the oasis of tranquility will be sustained.

The entire creation is the kingdom of the One-and-Only King Whose Attributes are knowable, Whose love is all encompassing, and Whose presence is before time, within time and beyond time. The growth of knowledge may be initiated and nurtured by shedding one's hypocrisy and lack of trust and by admitting that one really possesses nothing at all. If one has anything, it is only by the permission of Him Who created human beings as custodians of creation. That custodianship is responsibility administered by completely acknowledging one's debt to the Merciful King in every state and circumstance.