51:21 Adh-Dhaariyat (The Winnowing Winds)

كذلك في نفس العبد من العبر والحكمة والرحمة ما يدل على أن الله وحده الأحد الفرد الصمد، وأنه لم يخلق الخلق سدى.

قال عز وجل "وفي أنفسكم أفلا تبصرون" قال قتادة من تفكر في خلق نفسه عرف أنه إنما خلق ولينت مفاصله للعبادة.

Qualities of Those Who have Taqwa and Their Reward

Allah the Exalted informs about those who have Taqwa, that on the Day of their Return they will be amidst gardens and springs. To the contrary the miserable ones will be amidst torment, punishment, fire and chains. Allah said,

ءَاخِذِينَ مَآ ءَاتَـهُمْ رَبُّهُمْ

(Taking joy in the things which their Lord has given them.) His statement;

ءَاخِذِينَ

(Taking) describes the state of the people of Taqwa in the midst of gardens and springs. They will receive what their Lord gives them, meaning, delight, happiness and favors. Allah the Exalted and Most Honored said,

إِنَّهُمْ كَانُواْ قَبْلَ ذَلِكَ

(Verily, they were before that), in the life of the world,

مُحْسِنِينَ

(gooddoers) As He said:

كُلُواْ وَاشْرَبُواْ هَنِيئَاً بِمَآ أَسْلَفْتُمْ فِى الاٌّيَّامِ الْخَالِيَةِ

(Eat and drink at ease for that which you have sent on before you in days past!)(69:24) Allah the Exalted described the good acts that they performed,

كَانُواْ قَلِيلاً مِّن الَّيْلِ مَا يَهْجَعُونَ

(They used to sleep but little at night.) The scholars of Tafsir have two opinions about this:

The First Opinion

The first is that, they used to spend a little part of every night awake. Ibn `Abbas said, "Every night, they would worship Allah, even during a little part of the night." Qatadah narrated that Mutarrif bin `Abdullah said, "Hardly a night would pass by them that they did not pray to Allah the Exalted and Most Honored, either in the beginning, or the middle of it." Mujahid said, "Only a few nights, if any, would they sleep through the night until the morning without praying Tahajjud." Qatadah said similarly. Anas bin Malik and Abu Al-`Aliyah said, "They used to pray between Al-Maghrib and Al-`Isha'." The Second Opinion They used to spend a little part of the night in sleep. This was preferred by Ibn Jarir. Al-Hasan Al-Basri said:

كَانُواْ قَلِيلاً مِّن الَّيْلِ مَا يَهْجَعُونَ

(They used to sleep but little by night), "They performed voluntary night prayer and would not sleep during the night except a little. They were active and would continue until they were seeking forgiveness right before dawn." `Abdullah bin Salam said, "When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ arrived at Al-Madinah, people quickly gathered around him and I was among them. When I saw his face, I knew that it was not the face of a liar. The first statement I heard from him was,

«يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ أَطْعِمُوا الطَّعَامَ، وَصِلُوا الْأَرْحَامَ، وَأَفْشُوا السَّلَامَ، وَصَلُّوا بِاللَّيْلِ وَالنَّاسُ نِيَامٌ، تَدْخُلُوا الْجَنَّةَ بِسَلَام»

(O people! Feed with food, keep relations to kith and kin, spread the Salam, pray at night while people are asleep, and you will enter Paradise in peace.)" Imam Ahmad recorded that `Abdullah bin `Umar said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,

«إِنَّ فِي الْجَنَّةِ غُرَفًا يُرَى ظَاهِرُهَا مِنْ بَاطِنِهَا وَبَاطِنُهَا مِنْ ظَاهِرِهَا»

(Verily, there are lofty rooms in Paradise in which their outside can be seen from inside and their inside from the outside.) Abu Musa Al-Ash`ari said, "Who are they for, O Allah's Messenger" He said,

«لِمَنْ أَلَانَ الْكَلَامَ، وَأَطْعَمَ الطَّعَامَ، وَبَاتَ للهِ قَائِمًا وَالنَّاسُ نِيَام»

(For those who use soft speech, feed food and spend the night in voluntary prayer while people are asleep.) Allah said:

وَبِالاٌّسْحَـرِ هُمْ يَسْتَغْفِرُونَ

(And in the hours before dawn, they were asking for forgiveness.) Mujahid and several others said: "They were performing Salah." Others said that they would stand in prayer during the night and delayed asking Allah for forgiveness until the latter hours before dawn. As Allah, the Exalted the Blessed, said;

وَالْمُسْتَغْفِرِينَ بِالاٌّسْحَارِ

(And those who seek forgiveness during the last hours of the night.)(3:17); This is because it is better if asking for forgiveness is done while praying. It is confirmed in the Sahih collections as well as others, from several Companions, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,

«إِنَّ اللهَ تَعَالَى يَنْزِلُ كُلَّ لَيْلَةٍ إِلَى سَمَاءِ الدُّنْيَا حِينَ يَبْقَى ثُلُثُ اللَّيْلِ الْأَخِيرُ، فَيَقُولُ: هَلْ مِنْ تَائِبٍ فَأَتُوبَ عَلَيْهِ. هَلْ مِنْ مُسْتَغْفِرٍ فَأَغْفِرَ لَهُ. هَلْ مِنْ سَائِلٍ فَيُعْطَى سُؤْلَهُ؟ حَتْى يَطْلُعَ الْفَجْر»

(Allah, the Most High, descends each night to the lowest heaven when the last third of the night remains. He says, "Is there anyone who is repenting so that I may accept his repentance Is there anyone seeking forgiveness, so that I may forgive him Is there anyone asking of Me, so that I may grant him his request" until Fajr begins.) Many of the scholars of Tafsir said that when the Prophet Ya`qub said to his sons:

سَوْفَ أَسْتَغْفِرُ لَكُمْ رَبِّى

(I will ask my Lord for forgiveness for you)(12:98), he delayed doing so until the hours before dawn. Allah the Exalted and Most Honored said,

وَفِى أَمْوَلِهِمْ حَقٌّ لَّلسَّآئِلِ وَالْمَحْرُومِ

(And in their wealth there was the right of the Sa'il and the Mahrum.) After Allah mentioned their quality of performing prayer, He then mentioned their quality of spending in charity and acts of compassion and kindness,

وَفِى أَمْوَلِهِمْ حَقٌّ

(And in their wealth there was the right), a designated part which they dedicated to the Sa'il and Mahrum. The Sa'il is the poor who begs others, and he has a due right. As for the Mahrum, Ibn `Abbas and Mujahid said, "He is the poor person who does not receive a stipend." Meaning he does not receive a stipend from the Muslim treasury, nor does he have a means of income, nor a profession. The Mother of the faithful, `A'ishah may Allah be pleased with her, said about the Mahrum, "He is the displaced, the one who does not have a profession to easily earn an income from." Qatadah and Az-Zuhri: "The Mahrum is the one who does not ask the people for anything." Az-Zuhri added that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,

«لَيْسَ الْمِسْكِينُ بِالطَّوَّافِ الَّذِي تَرُدُّهُ اللُّقْمَةُ وَاللُّقْمَتَانِ وَالتَّمْرَةُ وَالتَّمْرَتَانِ، وَلكِنِ الْمِسْكِينُ الَّذِي لَا يَجِدُ غِنًى يُغْنِيهِ وَلَا يُفْطَنُ لَهُ فَيُتَصَدَّقَ عَلَيْه»

(The poor (Miskin) is not the one who goes round to the people and asks them for a mouthful or two or a date or two. But the poor is the one who does not have enough to satisfy his needs and whose condition is not known to others, so that others may give him something in charity.) This Hadith is recorded in the Two Sahihs using another chain of narration.

Allah's Signs on the Earth and in Mankind

Allah the Exalted and the Blessed said next,

وَفِى الاٌّرْضِ ءَايَـتٌ لِّلْمُوقِنِينَ

(And on the earth are signs for those who have faith with certainty.) Allah says that there are signs on earth that testify to the might of the Creator and His boundless ability. These signs include what Allah placed on the earth, the various plants, animals, valleys, mountains, deserts, rivers and oceans. He also created mankind with different languages, colors, intentions and abilities, and a variety among them, differences in the power of understanding and comprehension, their deeds, and ultimately earning happiness or misery. Allah put every organ in their bodies in its rightful place where they most need it to be. So He said؛

وَفِى أَنفُسِكُمْ أَفَلاَ تُبْصِرُونَ

(And also in yourselves. Will you not then see) Qatadah commented, "He who thinks about his own creation will realize that he was created with flexible joints so that it is easy for him to perform acts of worship." Allah the Exalted said next,

وَفِى السَّمَآءِ رِزْقُكُمْ

(And in the heaven is your provision,) meaning, rain,

وَمَا تُوعَدُونَ

(and that which you are promised.) meaning Paradise. This was said by Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid and several others. Allah said:

فَوَرَبِّ السَّمَآءِ وَالاٌّرْضِ إِنَّهُ لَحَقٌّ مِّثْلَ مَآ أَنَّكُمْ تَنطِقُونَ

(Then by the Lord of the heaven and the earth, it is the truth, just as you can speak.) Allah is swearing by His honorable Self, all of the matters of the Judgement, Resurrection, and Recompense that they have been promised shall certainly occur. Therefore, it is the truth, there being no doubt about it, so do not doubt its coming, just as you do not doubt that you can speak When he would talk to one of his friends, Mu`adh used to say: "What I am saying is as true as your being here."

and in your souls there are also signs from the beginning of your creation to its end and in the marvelous aspects of your creation. Will you not then perceive? all that and thus infer therefrom the Creator of it and His power.

Thus Allah says: وَفِي أَنفُسِكُمْ أَفَلَا تُبْصِرُ‌ونَ (... and in your own selves! So, do you not perceive? ....51:21). Out of the innumerous signs of Allah's power which are present everywhere in the universe, including the heavenly and celestial beings and creatures, only those signs are referred to here which are available on earth, because they are very close to man's experience, and he resides and moves about among them. The present verse now speaks of man himself. Man is required to ponder on his own body, its limbs and organs. Every single part of the body testifies to the boundless Wisdom of Allah, and it will make him realize that his small being represents and encompasses almost all the divine signs that are scattered in the vast universe. That is why man is termed as 'the universe in miniature', because all types of creation are present in his existence. If a man thinks of all phases he has passed through right from his birth till his death, he may perceive the power of Allah Ta’ ala as if he discerns Him clearly.

The Development of the Sperm and Embryo in the Womb

Human microscopic sperm and egg is an amazing phenomenon. It is made up of foodstuff and tenuous particles from various parts of the world. If the sperm establishes itself in the mother's womb, then more material is added to it, and it changes into a red clot. It then changes and becomes a shapeless lump of flesh, like a piece of meat with no form or shape. Then out of this shapeless lump bones are fashioned; then the bones are clothed with flesh; and it starts to take on a form and shape, developing a head, arms, chest, stomach, thighs, legs, feet and all its members. A wonderful brain is placed under its skull in whose complicated layers lie all mental abilities. Thus equipping it, Allah sends an angel to it who breathes the soul into it. After the completion of its creation, it is brought into this world where he develops from infancy to full adulthood to old age. Then he gradually progresses from zero level of knowledge and consciousness to an intelligent, rational and active being. The human forms and shapes are so different that no two faces are identical in millions and billions of people even in a small area. Furthermore, there are differences in their temperaments, dispositions and habits. There is unity in this diversity. All this is the marvel of the perfect power of Allah who has neither partners nor rivals: فَتَبَارَ‌كَ اللَّـهُ أَحْسَنُ الْخَالِقِينَ "So blessed is Allah, the Best Creator!" (23:14)Man experiences all this not from outside himself, but within himself, day and night. Only a person who is absolutely blind and senseless will ever deny the existence of Allah. Therefore, at the conclusion of the verse, the Qur'an poses the rhetorical question: "So, do you not perceive?" (21) A person need not be very intelligent to understand the facts of life. If his sight is intact, he can arrive at the right conclusion.