Surah 6. Al-An'am, Ayah 38

Lit., "but they are [God's] creatures (umam)". The word ummah (of which umam is the plural) primarily denotes a group of living beings having certain characteristics or circumstances in common. Thus, it is often synonymous with "community", "people", "nation", "genus" "generation", and so forth. Inasmuch as every such grouping is characterized by the basic fact that its constituents (whether human or animal) are endowed with life, the term ummah sometimes signifies "[God's] creatures" (Lisan al-'Arab, with particular reference to this very Qur'an-verse; also Lane I, 90). Thus, the meaning of the above passage is this: Man can detect God's "signs" or "miracles" in all the life-phenomena that surround him, and should, therefore, try to observe them with a view to better understanding "God's way" (sunnat Allah) - which is the Qur'anic term for what we call "laws of nature".

The particle thumma is mostly used as a conjunction indicating a sequence in time or order ("then", "thereafter" or "thereupon"), and occasionally also as a simple conjunction equivalent to "and". But in yet another usage - of which there are frequent instances in the Qur'an as well as in pre-Islamic Arabian poetry - thumma has the significance of a repetitive stress, alluding to something that has already been stated and is now again emphasized. This particular usage of thumma is best rendered by the words "and once again", followed by a colon.

 Allah has created living beings (like animals, birds, and fish) just like He created human beings. He provides for all and is merciful to all. They all belong to communities and have their own systems of living.

 The Record refers to the Preserved Tablet (Al-Lawḥ Al-Maḥfûẓ) in which Allah has written the destiny of His entire creation.

"Animals living on the earth" include those living in the water, - fishes, reptiles, crustaceans, insects, as well as four-footed beasts. Life on the wing is separately mentioned. "Tair," which is ordinarily translated as "bird," is anything that flies, including mammals like bats. In our pride we may exclude animals from our purview, but they all live a life, social and individual, like ourselves, and all life is subject to the Plan and the Will of God. In vi. 59 we are told that not a leaf falls but by His Will, and things dry and green are recorded in His Book. In other words they all obey His archetypal Plan, the Book which is also mentioned here. They are all answerable in their several degrees to His Plan ("shall be gathered to their Lord in the end"). This is not Pantheism: it is ascribing all life, activity, and existence to the Will and Plan of God.