Surah 67. Al-Mulk

HALLOWED be He in whose hand all dominion rests, since He has the power to will anything:

  - Mohammad Asad

Blessed be He in Whose hands is the Kingdom of the universe and has power over all things.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Blessed is the One in Whose Hands rests all authority. And He is Most Capable of everything.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Blessed is He in Whose hand is the Sovereignty, and He is Able to do all things.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Blessed be He in Whose hands is Dominion: and He over all things Hath Power ^{5554 5555}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

What do we mean when we bless the name of Allah, or proclaim (in the optative mood) that the whole Creation should bless the name of the Lord? We mean that we recognise and proclaim His beneficence to us; for all increase and happiness is through Him, "in His hands',-in the hands of Him Who also holds Dominion or Power. In our human affairs we sometimes see the separation of Dominion or Power from Goodness or Beneficence: in the divine nature we recognise that there is no separation or antithesis.

Mulk: Dominion, Lordship, Sovereignty, the Right to carry out His Will, or to do all that He wills. Power (in the clause following) is the Capacity to carry out His Will, so that nothing can resist or neutralise it. Here is beneficence completely identified with Lordship and Power; and it is exemplified in the verses following. Note that "Mulk" here has a different shade of meaning from Malakut in xxxvi. 83. Both words are from the same root, and I have translated both by the word "Dominion". But Malakut refers to Lordship in the invisible World, while Mulk to Lordship in the visible World. Allah is Lord of both.

He who has created death as well as life,¹ so that He might put you to a test [and thus show] which of you is best in conduct, and [make you realize that] He alone is almighty, truly forgiving.

  - Mohammad Asad

Since what is termed "death" is stated here to have been created, it cannot be identical with "non-existence", but obviously must have a positive reality of its own. To my mind, it connotes, firstly, the inanimate state of existence preceding the emergence of life in plants or animated beings; and, secondly, the state of transition from life as we know it in this world to the - as yet to us unimaginable - condition of existence referred to in the Qur'an as "the hereafter" or "the life to come" (al-akhirah).

The One Who created death and life, so that He may put you to test, to find out which of you is best in deeds: He is the All-Mighty, the All-Forgiving.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

'He is the One' Who created death and life in order to test which of you is best in deeds. And He is the Almighty, All-Forgiving.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Who hath created life and death that He may try you, which of you is best in conduct; and He is the Mighty, Forgiving,

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

He Who created Death and Life that He may try which of you is best in deed: and He is the Exalted in Might Oft-Forgiving ^{5556 5557 5558}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

"Created Death and Life." Death is here put before Life, and it is created. Death is therefore not merely a negative state. In ii. 28 we read: "Seeing that ye were without life (literally, dead), and He gave you life: then will He cause you to die, and will again bring you to life; and again to Him will ye retum." In liii. 44, again, Death is put before Life. Death, then, is (1) the state before life began, which may be non-existence or existence in some other form: (2) the state in which Life as we know it ceases, but existence does not cease; a state of Barzakh (xxiii. 100), or Barrier or Partition, after our visible Death and before Judgment; after that will be the new Life, which we conceive of under the term Eternity.

Creation, therefore, is not in mere sport, or without a purpose with reference to man. The state before our present life, or the state after, we can scarcely understand. But our present Life is clearly given to enable us to strive by good deeds to reach a nobler state.

All this is possible, because Allah is so Exalted in Might that He can perfectly carry out His Will and Purpose, and that Purpose is Love, Mercy, and Goodness to His creatures.

[Hallowed be] He who has created seven heavens in full harmony with one another:² no fault wilt thou see in the creation of the Most Gracious. And turn thy vision [upon it] once more: canst thou see any flaw?

  - Mohammad Asad

Or: "conforming [with one another]", this being the primary significance of tibaq (sing. tabaq). For the meaning of the "seven heavens", see surah {2}, note [20].

The One Who created the seven heavens, one above another, you will not see any flaw in the creation of the Compassionate. Look once again, do you see any flaw?

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

'He is the One' Who created seven heavens, one above the other. You will never see any imperfection in the creation of the Most Compassionate.¹ So look again: do you see any flaws?

  - Mustafa Khattab

 Some may point to birth defects, genetic mutations, etc. and say these are flaws. This verse means that, in the grand scheme of creation, everything created has its place, form, and purpose, and that it does exactly what Allah ordained for it.

Who hath created seven heavens in harmony. Thou (Muhammad) canst see no fault in the Beneficent One's creation; then look again: Canst thou see any rifts?

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

He Who created the seven heavens one above another; no want of proportion wilt thou see in the Creation of (Allah) Most Gracious so turn thy vision again: Seest thou any flaw? ⁵⁵⁵⁹

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. lxv. 12, and n. 5526-27. The heavens as they appear to our sight seem to be arranged in layers one above another, and ancient astronomy accounted for the motions of the heavenly bodies in an elaborate scheme of spheres. What we are concerned with here is the order and beauty of the vast spaces and the marvellous bodies that follow regular laws of motion in those enormous spaces in the visible world. From these we are to form some conception of the vastly greater Invisible World, for which we want special spiritual vision.

Yea, turn thy vision [upon it] again and yet again: [and every time] thy vision will fall back upon thee, dazzled and truly defeated....³

  - Mohammad Asad

Sc., in its endeavour to encompass the mysteries of the universe.

Then look still another time, yet again your sight will come back bewildered, and feel exhausted.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Then look again and again- your sight will return frustrated and weary.

  - Mustafa Khattab

Then look again and yet again, thy sight will return unto thee weakened and made dim.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Again turn thy vision a second time; (thy) vision will come back to thee dull and discomfited in a state worn out. ⁵⁵⁶⁰

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Reverting to the indication of the external or visible world, we are asked to observe and study it again and again, and as minutely as our powers will allow. However closely we observe it, we shall find no flaw in it. Indeed the region of enquiry is so vast and stretches so far beyond our ken, that our eyes, aided with the most powerful telescopes, will confess themselves defeated in trying to penetrate to the ultimate mysteries. We shall find no defect in Allah's handiwork: it is our own powers that we shall find fail to go beyond a certain compass.

And, indeed, We have adorned the skies nearest to the earth with lights,⁴ and have made them the object of futile guesses for the evil ones [from among men]:⁵ and for them have We readied suffering through a blazing flame -

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "lamps" - i.e., stars: cf. 37:6 "We have adorned the skies nearest to the earth with the beauty of stars".

For the wider meaning of shayatin - a term which in this context points specifically to "the satans from among mankind, that is, the astrologers" (Baydawi) - see surah {15}, note [16]. As regards the term rajm (pl. rujum), which literally denotes the "throwing [of something] like a stone," - i.e., at random - it is often used metaphorically in the sense of "speaking conjecturally" or "making [something] the object of guesswork" (Jawhari, Raghib - the latter connecting this metaphor explicitly with the above verse -, Lisan al-'Arab, Qamus, Taj al-'Arus, etc.). Cf. also {37:6-10}.

We have decorated the heaven of this world with lamps and We made them as missiles for pelting the shaitans and thus prepared for them the scourge of flames.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And indeed, We adorned the lowest heaven with 'stars like' lamps, and made them 'as missiles' for stoning 'eavesdropping' devils, for whom We have also prepared the torment of the Blaze.¹

  - Mustafa Khattab

 See 72:8-10.

And verily We have beatified the world's heaven with lamps, and We have made them missiles for the devils, and for them We have prepared the doom of flame.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And We have (from of old) adorned the lowest heaven with Lamps and We have made such (Lamps) (as) missiles to drive away the Evil Ones and have prepared for them the Penalty of the Blazing Fire. ^{5561 5562}

  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

"Lowest (or nearest) heaven": see n. 4035 to xxxvii. 6.

The phenomenon of the shooting stars has been, explained in xv. 16-18, notes 1951-54; and in xxxvii. 6-10, and notes thereon.