Az-Zumar · Makki · ayah 62 of 75

Az-Zumar 39:62

ٱللَّهُ خَـٰلِقُ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ ۖ وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ وَكِيلٌ

“Allāh is the Creator of all things, and He is, over all things, Disposer of affairs.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Allah made every single thing, and He holds every single thing in His keeping: nothing exists, or goes on existing, outside His care.

A reflection

Every thing, including the things I call mine

Allāhu khāliqu kulli shayʾ: Allah is the Creator of every thing. Several commentaries simply restate it with emphasis. There is no creator besides Him. He is the Lord and Owner of all things and disposes of them.

The root of khāliq begins with a craftsman's picture. The lexicons describe a leatherworker with a hide spread before him. Before a single cut, he measures it: this much for a water-skin, this much for a boot. That measuring is khalq. From it comes making: bringing a thing into being to a measure.

Now apply 'every thing' to the things I quietly think of as mine. My talents were measured out before I was born. My eyesight, my memory, my sense of humour. The hands I work with, the voice I speak with, the ideas that seem to come from 'me'.

Picture a man who owns a fine estate. Every Sunday he walks its boundary, pleased that every tree is his. One April night a hard frost comes. By morning half the blossom in his orchard is brown. He did nothing wrong, and he could have done nothing to stop it. Standing among the trees, he realises he owns the deeds. He has never owned the trees.

That is what this ayah does to the ego. It does not deny that we work, choose and build. It reminds us that the material, the measure and the life of it all were made by Another.

A sceptic might ask whether a God who declares Himself creator of everything is demanding credit. But the declaration frees more than it takes. If He made everything, then nothing in creation is a rival to be feared or worshipped. The stars, the market and the powerful are all made things. Only the Maker deserves the heart's final trust.

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.