Surah Luqman 31:27

The Words of Allah cannot be counted or exhausted

Allah tells us of His might, pride, majesty, beautiful Names and sublime attributes, and His perfect Words which no one can encompass. No human being knows their essence or nature, or how many they are. As the Leader of Mankind and Seal of the Messengers ﷺ said:

«لَا أُحْصِي ثَنَاءً عَلَيْكَ أَنْتَ كَمَا أَثْنَيْتَ عَلَى نَفْسِك»

(I cannot praise You enough; You are as You have praised yourself.) Allah says:

وَلَوْ أَنَّمَا فِى الاٌّرْضِ مِن شَجَرَةٍ أَقْلاَمٌ وَالْبَحْرُ يَمُدُّهُ مِن بَعْدِهِ سَبْعَةُ أَبْحُرٍ مَّا نَفِدَتْ كَلِمَـتُ اللَّهِ

(And if all the trees on the earth were pens and the sea, with seven seas behind it to add to its, yet the Words of Allah would not be exhausted.) meaning, even if all the trees on earth were made into pens and the sea was made into ink, and topped up with seven more like it, and they were used to write the Words of Allah showing His might, attributes and majesty, the pens would break and the ink would run dry, even if more were brought. The number seven is used to indicate a large amount, it is not to be taken literally or to be understood as referring to the seven oceans of the world, as was suggested by those who took this idea from Israelite stories, which we neither believe nor reject. As Allah says elsewhere:

قُل لَّوْ كَانَ الْبَحْرُ مِدَاداً لِّكَلِمَـتِ رَبِّى لَنَفِدَ الْبَحْرُ قَبْلَ أَن تَنفَدَ كَلِمَـتُ رَبِّى وَلَوْ جِئْنَا بِمِثْلِهِ مَدَداً

(Say: "If the sea were ink for the Words of my Lord, surely, the sea would be exhausted before the Words of my Lord would be finished, even if We brought like it for its aid.") (18:109). The words

بِمِثْلِهِ

(like it) do not mean merely another one, but another like it and another and another and another, etc., because there is no limit to the signs and Words of Allah.

أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ

(Verily, Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise.) means, He is All-Mighty and has subjugated all things to His will, so nothing can prevent what He wills, and none can oppose or put back His decision. He is All-Wise in His creation, commands, Words, actions, Laws and all His affairs.

مَّا خَلْقُكُمْ وَلاَ بَعْثُكُمْ إِلاَّ كَنَفْسٍ وَحِدَةٍ

(The creation of you all and the resurrection of you all are only as a single person.) means, His creation and resurrection of all of mankind on the Day of Resurrection is, in relation to His power, like the creation and resurrection of a single soul; all of this is easy for Him.

إِنَّمَآ أَمْرُهُ إِذَآ أَرَادَ شَيْئاً أَن يَقُولَ لَهُ كُن فَيَكُونُ

(Verily, His command, when He intends a thing, is only that He says to it, "Be!" -- and it is!) (36:82)

وَمَآ أَمْرُنَآ إِلاَّ وَحِدَةٌ كَلَمْحٍ بِالْبَصَرِ

(And Our commandment is but one as the twinkling of an eye. ) (54:50). This means He only has to command a thing once, and it will happen. There is no need for Him to repeat it or confirm it.

فَإِنَّمَا هِىَ زَجْرَةٌ وَحِدَةٌ - فَإِذَا هُم بِالسَّاهِرَةِ

(But it will be only a single Zajrah. When behold, they find themselves on the surface of the earth alive after their death.)(79:13)

إِنَّ اللَّهَ سَمِيعٌ بَصِيرٌ

(Verily, Allah is All-Hearer, All-Seer.) means, just as He hears all that they say, so He also sees all that they do, as if He is hearing and seeing a single soul. His power over all of them is like His power over a single soul, Allah says:

مَّا خَلْقُكُمْ وَلاَ بَعْثُكُمْ إِلاَّ كَنَفْسٍ وَحِدَةٍ

(The creation of you all and the resurrection of you all are only as a single person.)

Diriwayatkan bahwa tatkala Rasulullah masih berada di Mekah turunlah ayat:

Dan mereka bertanya kepadamu (Muhammad) tentang ruh. Katakanlah, "Ruh itu termasuk urusan Tuhanku, sedangkan kamu diberi pengetahuan hanya sedikit." (al- Isra'/17: 85)

Tatkala berhijrah ke Medinah, Rasulullah datang kepada rahib-rahib Yahudi. Mereka berkata, "Ya Muhammad, telah sampai kepada kami bahwa engkau berkata, 'dan tidaklah kamu diberi pengetahuan melainkan sedikit. Apakah kami yang kamu maksudkan dengan perkataan itu, atau kaummu?" Rasulullah menjawab, "Semuanya yang aku maksudkan." Mereka berkata, "Bukankah telah engkau baca dalam kitab yang diturunkan kepadamu bahwa kepada kami telah diturunkan Taurat dan di dalamnya terdapat ilmu tentang segala sesuatu." Rasulullah berkata, "Ilmu dalam Taurat itu sedikit, jika dibandingkan dengan ilmu Allah, dan sesungguhnya Allah menurunkan kepadaku sesuatu, yang jika kamu amalkan, niscaya akan memberi manfaat kepadamu." Mereka berkata, "Ya Muhammad, kenapa kamu mengatakan demikian, sedang engkau mengatakan, 'dan barang siapa yang diberi hikmah, sungguh telah diberikan kebajikan yang banyak. Bagaimana mungkin berkumpul pada sesuatu, ilmu yang sedikit dan kebaikan yang banyak?" Maka Allah menurunkan ayat ini sebagai jawaban.

Ayat ini menerangkan tentang keluasan ilmu Allah. Hal ini diibaratkan bahwa seandainya seluruh pohon-pohon yang di muka bumi dijadikan pena untuk mencatat ilmu Allah itu, dan seluruh air laut dijadikan tintanya, kemudian ditambah dengan tujuh kali sebanyak itu, maka kalimat Allah itu belum juga habis tertulis. Dalam ayat lain, Allah berfirman:

Katakanlah (Muhammad), "Seandainya lautan menjadi tinta untuk (menulis) kalimat-kalimat Tuhanku, maka pasti habislah lautan itu sebelum selesai (penulisan) kalimat-kalimat Tuhanku, meskipun Kami datangkan tambahan sebanyak itu (pula)." (al- Kahf/18: 109)

Arti "kalimat Allah" dalam ayat ini banyak sekali, termasuk di dalamnya kekuasaan Allah, hakikat segala sesuatu, ketentuan dan perkataan Allah, ilmu dan segala macam ciptaan-Nya. Di samping itu, juga termasuk ke dalamnya penciptaan langit dan bumi dengan segala macam yang ada di dalamnya, sejak dari yang besar sampai kepada yang halus, sejak dari binatang yang paling besar sampai kepada ribuan bakteri yang paling halus. Tumbuh-tumbuhan yang beraneka ragam, binatang-binatang yang ada di cakrawala dengan segala aturan-aturan dan banyak lagi yang lain yang tidak terhitung jumlahnya, semuanya termasuk dalam kalimat Allah.

Pada ayat ini ditegaskan bahwa Allah Mahakeras tuntutan-Nya. Segala kehendak dan keputusan-Nya pasti terlaksana dan Dia Maha Bijaksana dalam segala tindakan-Nya.