Az-Zumar · Makki · ayah 6 of 75

Az-Zumar 39:6

خَلَقَكُم مِّن نَّفْسٍ وَٰحِدَةٍ ثُمَّ جَعَلَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا وَأَنزَلَ لَكُم مِّنَ ٱلْأَنْعَـٰمِ ثَمَـٰنِيَةَ أَزْوَٰجٍ ۚ يَخْلُقُكُمْ فِى بُطُونِ أُمَّهَـٰتِكُمْ خَلْقًا مِّنۢ بَعْدِ خَلْقٍ فِى ظُلُمَـٰتٍ ثَلَـٰثٍ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمُ ٱللَّهُ رَبُّكُمْ لَهُ ٱلْمُلْكُ ۖ لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ۖ فَأَنَّىٰ تُصْرَفُونَ

“He created you from one soul. Then He made from it its mate, and He produced for you from the grazing livestock eight mates.[1342] He creates you in the wombs of your mothers, creation after creation, within three darknesses.[1343] That is Allāh, your Lord; to Him belongs dominion. There is no deity except Him, so how are you averted?”

Saheeh International

Essence

You were shaped stage by stage in three darknesses by Someone you could not see, so how are you being turned away from Him?

A reflection

That is your Lord, and the dominion is His

After the list of works, the ayah turns and points: dhālikumu Allāhu rabbukum. That is Allah, your Lord. One commentary notes the pointer chosen. Dhālika is the word for something far off. Used here, it signals how high His station is in greatness, even while He is being described through what He did to you up close.

Then: lahu al-mulk, to Him belongs the dominion. Another commentary sets that phrase against every human ruler. The kings of this world each own one thing and not another. Their dominion is a slice. Dominion without qualification, in this world and the next, belongs to Allah alone.

Picture a man who has just paid off the last instalment of his mortgage. He holds the deeds at the kitchen table and says, half joking, it's mine now. The feeling is real and harmless. But look at the deeds. They name a plot of ground he did not make, under a sky he cannot rent.

The ayah does something gentle and unanswerable to that feeling. It reminds the owner where he came from. Not long ago he was in three darknesses, being formed stage by stage, with no say in any of it. He did not choose his eyes, his blood, his first breath. Every stage was done to him.

That is where the ego comes down. The person who was assembled in the dark without a vote is in no position to swagger in the daylight.

Is this self-praise? The pointing finger is turned on us, not on an audience of admirers. He gains nothing from our knowing who made us. We gain everything. Without that knowledge, we hand the dominion to whoever is loudest.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.