Man’s Peace Lies in Taking Refuge in God
Iranian Muslim scholar Ayatollah Mahdi Hadavi Tehrani, a seminary teacher, has provided interpretations on Surah Al-Mulk. Here is a summary of his remarks:
Verse 16 of Surah Al-Mulk reads: “Do you feel secure that He who is in the heaven will not cause the earth to swallow you up while it shakes?” Shaykh Tusi (995-1067 CE) believes that the verse is a warning to disbelievers. He notes that Quran’s reference to what is “in the heaven” is God Almighty. Of course, this does not mean that God is in the skies, rather, it points to the fact that God is in full control of everything.
Meanwhile, Allahmeh Tabatabai (1904-1981 CE) has a somehow different view. The prominent Muslim scholar notes that the word “sama” in this verse and many others refer to spiritual heavens not just physical ones that we see.
There is no contradiction between the interpretation of Sheykh Tusi and Allameh Tabatabai as both note that God is the Absolute Power.
The verse asks people whether they are worried if being swallowed by the earth. Hasn’t this happened to humankind before? God says humans have no safe shelter than Himself. If someone who always remembers God is even swallowed by the earth, they will be guided toward paradise but those who are not so, are constantly facing the danger of elimination.
Accordingly, we should always keep remembering God and relying on Him. We should ask Him to protect us because, in absence of His support, we will be destroyed.
Verse 19 of the Surah reads: “Do they not observe the birds above them, spreading their wings and folding them? None, except the Merciful holds them. Surely, He sees all things.”
Getting accustomed to natural phenomena around us, we sometimes ignore their greatness.
The mechanisms and process of birds’ flying are very complicated compared to man-made objects and tools that are able to fly such as airplanes.
All these details and delicacies in a creature are nothing but signs of God’s power and knowledge. We tend to easily accept false statements such as the one which says all these have been developed by the nature. What does this nature mean? If this nature is an absolute power that can do anything so it is actually God and if nature is created by God, then all these phenomena on the earth are clear signs of Him.
