Quran Garden

Session 277

Chapter 2

Verse 255

a continuation

Allah: there is no god but Him, the Ever Living, the Ever Watchful. Neither drowsiness nor sleep overtakes Him. All that is in the heavens and in the earth belongs to Him. Who is there that can intercede with Him except by His leave? He knows what is before them and what is behind them, but they do not comprehend any of His knowledge except what He wills. His seatencompasses the heavens and the earth; it does not weary Him to preserve them both. He is the Most High, the Tremendous. (Chapter 2: Verse 255)

Allah started the verse with the proclamation of His Lordship alone.  Then, He stated the first requirement of being a God: ‘the Ever Living,’ because with life comes the power to do, and the knowledge to do.  Here we should ask: What is life? There have been endless discussions among philosophers about the meaning of life.  Some said that life is awareness:if you are aware of yourself and your surroundings then you are alive.  Others said that life is movement and so on.  All these definitions are based on our life and our existence.  We answer that the broadest and most comprehensive meaning of life is the ability and the fitness to perform your intended task.  Take a tree for example.  As long as it is growing and producing fruit, it is alive.  Once it stops growing, or producing, it no longer performs its task and it is dying.  A man is alive as long as he can perform his duties and tasks in life.  We refer to a man in a coma as a vegetative state because he can no longer do any tasks.  You can apply the same to inanimate objects.  Go to the beach and look at the smooth pebble stones.  You will see that each has a different shape and size.  Some are big, others very small.  This indicates change.  Even the largest stone, with time, will turn into grains of sand.  This is the lifecycle and function of a stone.  If you remove a pebble from its natural environment, change will stop and the stone is no longer performing its intended task.  So each being and each object is alive as long as it can perform its intended task in life.  God says in the 42^nd verse of chapter 8:

it happened so that Allah could settle a matter whose result was preordained: so that those who perished would perish with clear proof, and those who lived would live with clear proof. Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.

Take note that Allah used the verb“to perish” as opposite to the verb “to live.”  Then we read the following verse:

Do not call out to any other god beside God, for there is no god but Him. Everything will perish except His Face. His is the Judgement and to Him you shall all be brought back. (28:88)

              “Everything will perish except His Face” refers to all beings such as people, angels and jinn; it refers to all plants, animals, planets, stars, all objects and matter.  Since all these things will perish, it means that each was alive before.  Each had a life –it may not be like yours and mine- but it was a life suitable for its purpose.  Modern science showed us that individual atoms are full of movement and change.  A drop of water is full of living bacteria.  Even when matter drastically changes, such as when we make sand into glass, it simply moves from one form of life and function to another.

              This brings us back to the verse: ‘Allah: there is no god but Him, the Ever Living.’  God has the supreme life.  It is an ever-existing life, because God is the first and the last.  Allah is ever present, ever watchful over His creation.  No one gave Him life, and no one takes it away.  It is a principal of the Divine self. 

              The next attribute in the verse is ‘the Ever Watchful’ translated from the Arabic origin ‘Al Qayyum’ ‘القيوم’ which is in the superlative exaggerated form of the word ‘Qa’em .قائم’  Here we should ask, Do God’s attributes change? We answer that God's attributes do not change or oscillate between strength and weakness.  Rather they are attributes of absolute perfection at all time.  For example, in the Arabic language: 'راحم' Rahem means the merciful.  God chose to use the names “Most Merciful” and “Most Benevolent” in the hyperbole form indicating the vastness of his Mercy.  God’s mercy does not change; the only change is to whom His vast mercy applies.  God is the Most Merciful in this world because of the large number of those whom he includes under His mercy.  God's Mercy envelops all -the believer, the disobedient and the disbeliever-.  He provides everyone with the essentials of life, and pardons many regardless of their faith or disbelief.  On the other hand, in the hereafter, God will only extend His mercy to the believers while the rest will be expelled from it.  Here you may ask: Why do we still use the form of hyperbole “the most Merciful” when God’s mercy in the hereafter is only limited to the believers?  We answer; God's mercy in this world is general and widespread to all his creation.  And while his mercy is specific for the believers in the hereafter, it is far greater in its quantity and everlastingness.  Allah was the Most-Merciful even before any creation existed to seek His Mercy; and Allah will ever be the Most-Merciful even after all the creation perishes.

Let’s examine this concept in two examples from the Quran.  God says:

God does not wrong any one, not even the equal of an atom (4:40)

This verse negated all unjustness from God; but then we encounter the following verse:

and your Lord is not tyrannical to the slaves (03:182)

In this verse, we notice the use of the word “tyranny”, which means extreme unjustness.  So, at first glance, there seems to be a contradiction: Verse 182 of chapter 3 does not negate God being unjust; it only negates him being extremely unjust or a tyrant, while the 40^th verse of chapter 4 negates all unjustness from God.  We answer that when you take a closer look at the nuances of the language, you will find the answer. 

The first verse negates all unjustness from God with regard to a single being.  The second verse did not mention unjustness in regard to a single person; rather it mentioned the plural word 'slaves', meaning all of God's creation.  Given the enormous number of God's creation, if each person is inflicted even with an atom's weight of unjustness, the total unjustness would be massive, and this adds up to tyranny.  Thus, both verses negate all unjustness from God, but the expression of hyperbole “tyranny” is used for the large number of people to whom the verse applies.  God does not treat anyone unjustly; his fairness, just like his mercy, is absolute and consistent. 

This brings us back to the verse.  God is the ‘The Ever Watchful’ translated from the Arabic origin ‘Al Qayyum’ ‘القيوم’.  The word ‘Qa’em .قائم’  means to manage.  A man manages and keeps a close eye on his household.  A principal manages his or her school.  The word ‘Al Qayyum’ ‘القيوم’also shares the root with the word ‘Qam’ which means to stand up.  In other words, God is actively managing and watchful over the entire universe and creation.  This management is not by delegation, rather God himself is every watchful.  He says:

He has the keys to the unseen: no one knows them but Him. He knows all that is in the land and sea. No leaf falls without His knowledge, nor is there a single grain in the darkness of the earth, or anything, fresh or withered, that is not written in a clear Record. (6:59)

And in another verse:

Who is it who stands over every soul marking its action? Yet they ascribe partners to God. Say, ‘Name them,’ or, ‘Can you tell Him about anything on earth He does not know? Or is this just a display of words?’ Rather the plotting the disbelievers devise is made alluring to them and they are barred from the right path: no one can guide those God leaves to stray. (13:33)

Have any of the idols or false Gods people assigned for themselvesever create anything? Are they able to manage or watch over even the smallest of operations? Allah is the Creator, the manager and the Ever-Watchful over the entire universe, over every human being, and every creation.  Those who seek any Gods other than God have truly gone astray.   Allah is Qayyomwho need no help.  Allah is ever Qayyoum even before any creation was there to watch over and will always be Qayyoum even after all creation has perished.  It is a principal of the divine self.