Tafseer of The Groups · Az-Zumar · 39:67
They have not appraised Allah with true appraisal, while the earth entirely will be [within] His grip on the Day of Resurrection, and the heavens will be folded in His right hand. Exalted is He and high above what they associate with Him.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
And His statement: ( And they have not appraised Allah with the appraisal due to Him ) — the Exalted, whose mention is sublime, says: and they have not accorded to Allah the greatness that truly belongs to Him, these polytheists who ascribe partners to Allah, who invite you to the worship of the idols.
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the interpreters (ahl al-taʾwīl) have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
ʿAlī, he said: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, he said: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning his statement: ( And they have not appraised Allah with the appraisal due to Him ), he said: it is the unbelievers (kuffār) who did not believe in the power of Allah over them. So whoever believes that Allah has power over all things has appraised Allah with the appraisal due to Him, and whoever does not believe in that has not appraised Allah with the appraisal due to Him.
Muḥammad related to us, he said: Aḥmad related to us, he said: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: ( And they have not appraised Allah with the appraisal due to Him ): they have not accorded to Allah the greatness that truly belongs to Him.
And His statement: ( And the entire earth will be His handful on the Day of Resurrection ) — the Exalted, whose mention is sublime, says: and the earth in its entirety will be His handful on the Day of Resurrection, ( and the heavens ) all of them ( will be rolled up in His right hand ). So the report concerning the earth ends at His statement "on the Day of Resurrection," and "the earth" is in the nominative through His statement ( His handful ); then He resumes the report concerning the heavens and says: ( and the heavens will be rolled up in His right hand ), and that is in the nominative through "rolled up."
And it has been transmitted from Ibn ʿAbbās and a group of others that they used to say: the earth and the heavens together will be in His right hand on the Day of Resurrection.
* Mention of the narration concerning that:
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, he said: my father related to me, he said: my uncle related to me, he said: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning his statement: ( And the entire earth will be His handful on the Day of Resurrection ), he says: He has grasped the earths and the heavens together in His right hand. Have you not heard that He said: ( rolled up in His right hand )? He means: the earth and the heavens are together in His right hand. Ibn ʿAbbās said: one only resorts to the left hand when the right hand is occupied.
Ibn Bashshār related to us, he said: Muʿādh ibn Hishām related to us, he said: my father related to me, on the authority of ʿAmr ibn Mālik, on the authority of Abū al-Jawzāʾ, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, he said: the seven heavens and the seven earths in the hand of Allah are but as a mustard seed in the hand of one of you. He said: Muʿādh ibn Hishām related to us, he said: my father related to me, on the authority of Qatāda, he said: al-Naḍr ibn Anas related to us, on the authority of Rabīʿa al-Jursī, he said: ( And the entire earth will be His handful on the Day of Resurrection and the heavens will be rolled up in His right hand ), he said: and His other hand is empty, there is nothing in it.
ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥasan al-Azdī related to me, he said: Yaḥyā ibn Yamān related to us, on the authority of ʿAmmār ibn ʿAmr, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning His statement: ( And the entire earth will be His handful on the Day of Resurrection ), he said: as though it were a nut with all that is in it.
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, he said: I heard Abū Muʿādh saying: ʿUbayd related to us, he said: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk saying concerning His statement: ( And the entire earth will be His handful on the Day of Resurrection ), he says: the heavens and the earth will together be rolled up in His right hand.
And Ibn ʿAbbās used to say: one only resorts to the left hand when the right hand is occupied, and the earth and the heavens are all in His right hand, and in His left hand there is nothing.
Al-Rabīʿ related to us, he said: Ibn Wahb related to us, he said: Usāma ibn Zayd informed me, on the authority of Abū Ḥāzim, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar, that he saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ upon the pulpit while he was addressing the people. He came upon this verse: ( And they have not appraised Allah with the appraisal due to Him, and the entire earth will be His handful on the Day of Resurrection ). Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "He takes the heavens and the seven earths and places them in His palm, then He does with them as the boy does with the ball: I am Allah, the One; I am Allah, the Almighty." Until we saw the pulpit, which nearly toppled over with him.
Ibn Bashshār related to us, he said: Yaḥyā related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, he said: Manṣūr and Sulaymān related to me, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, on the authority of ʿAbīda al-Salmānī, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh, he said: a Jew came to the Prophet ﷺ and said: O Muḥammad, verily, Allah holds the heavens upon a finger, and the earths upon a finger, and the mountains upon a finger, and the creatures upon a finger, and then He says: I am the King. He said: then the Prophet ﷺ laughed until his molars became visible, and he said: ( And they have not appraised Allah with the appraisal due to Him ).
Ibn Bashshār related to us, he said: Yaḥyā related to us, he said: Fuḍayl ibn ʿIyāḍ related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, on the authority of ʿAbīda, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh, he said: then the Prophet ﷺ laughed out of wonder and in confirmation.
Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn, he said: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, he said: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Khaytham ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, on the authority of ʿAlqama, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd, he said: we were with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, when a scholar from among the scholars of the Jews came to him and sat down with him. The Prophet ﷺ said to him: "Tell us." He said: verily, Allah, blessed and exalted is He, when the Day of Resurrection arrives, places the heavens upon a finger, and the earths upon a finger, and the mountains upon a finger, and the water and the trees upon a finger, and all the creatures upon a finger, then He shakes them and says: I am the King. He said: then the Messenger of Allah laughed until his molars became visible, in confirmation of what he said, and thereafter he recited this verse: ( And they have not appraised Allah with the appraisal due to Him ) ... the verse.
Muḥammad, he said: Aḥmad related to us, he said: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, something similar.
Sulaymān ibn ʿAbd al-Jabbār and ʿAbbās ibn Abī Ṭālib related to me, both of them said: Muḥammad ibn al-Ṣalt related to us, he said: Abū Kudayna related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ ibn al-Sāʾib, on the authority of Abū al-Ḍuḥā, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, he said: a Jew passed by the Prophet ﷺ while he was seated, and he said: "O Jew, tell us." He said: how do you say it, O Abū al-Qāsim, on the day when Allah places the heaven upon this [finger], and the earth upon this, and the mountains upon this, and the rest of creation upon this? Then Allah sent down: ( And they have not appraised Allah with the appraisal due to Him ) ... the verse.
Abū al-Sāʾib related to me, he said: Abū Muʿāwiya related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, on the authority of ʿAlqama, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh, he said: "a man from the People of the Book came to the Prophet ﷺ and said: O Abū al-Qāsim, has it reached you that Allah carries the creatures upon a finger, and the heavens upon a finger, and the earths upon a finger, and the trees upon a finger, and the dust upon a finger? He said: then the Prophet ﷺ laughed until his molars became visible, and Allah sent down: ( And they have not appraised Allah with the appraisal due to Him and the entire earth will be His handful ) ... to the end of the verse."
And others said: no, the heavens are in His right hand and the earths in His left hand.
* Mention of who said that:
ʿAlī ibn Dāwūd related to us, he said: Ibn Abī Maryam related to us, he said: Ibn Abī Ḥāzim informed us, he said: Abū Ḥāzim related to me, on the authority of ʿUbayd Allāh ibn Miqsam, that he heard ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar saying: I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ while he was upon the pulpit saying: "The Compeller (al-Jabbār) takes His heavens and His earth in His two hands," and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ closed his hands and began to close and open them. He said: then He says: "I am the Merciful, I am the King; where are the tyrants, where are the arrogant?" And the Messenger of Allah ﷺ swayed to the right and to the left, until I saw the pulpit moving slightly from below, so that I even said: will it topple with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ?
Abū ʿAlqama al-Farawī ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad related to me, he said: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Nāfiʿ related to me, on the authority of ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Abī Ḥāzim, on the authority of his father, on the authority of ʿUbayd ibn ʿUmayr, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar, that he said: I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ saying: "The Compeller takes His heavens and His earth in His two hands," and he closed his hand and began to close and open it, then He says: "I am the Compeller, I am the King; where are the tyrants, where are the arrogant?" He said: and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ swayed to the right and to the left, until I saw the pulpit moving slightly from below, so that I even said: will it topple with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ?
Al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī ibn ʿAyyāsh al-Ḥimṣī related to me, he said: Bishr ibn Shuʿayb related to us, he said: my father informed me, he said: Muḥammad ibn Muslim ibn Shihāb related to us, he said: Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab informed me, on the authority of Abū Hurayra, that he used to say: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Allah, mighty and exalted is He, grasps the earth on the Day of Resurrection and rolls up the heavens in His right hand, then He says: I am the King; where are the kings of the earth?"
It was related to me on the authority of Ḥarmala ibn Yaḥyā, he said: Idrīs ibn Yaḥyā al-Qāʾid related to us, he said: Ḥaywa informed us, on the authority of ʿUqayl, on the authority of Ibn Shihāb, he said: Nāfiʿ, the freedman of Ibn ʿUmar, informed me, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Verily, Allah grasps the earth on the Day of Resurrection in His hand, and rolls up the heaven in His right hand, and says: I am the King."
Muḥammad ibn ʿAwn related to me, he said: Abū al-Mughīra related to us, he said: Ibn Abī Maryam related to us, he said: Saʿīd ibn Thawbān al-Kalāʿī related to us, on the authority of Abū Ayyūb al-Anṣārī, he said: a scholar of the Jews came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and said: tell me, when Allah says in His Book: ( And the entire earth will be His handful on the Day of Resurrection and the heavens will be rolled up in His right hand ), where are the creatures then at that moment? He said: "They are therein as the script of the Book."
Ibrāhīm ibn Saʿīd al-Jawharī related to us, he said: Abū Usāma related to us, he said: ʿAmr ibn Ḥamza related to us, he said: Sālim related to me, on the authority of his father, that he informed him that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Allah rolls up the heavens and takes them in His right hand, and He rolls up the earth and takes it in His left hand, then He says: I am the King; where are the tyrants? Where are the arrogant?"
And it has been said: verily, this verse was sent down on account of a Jew who asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about the nature of the Lord.
* Mention of who said that:
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Salama related to us, he said: Ibn Isḥāq related to me, on the authority of Muḥammad, on the authority of Saʿīd, he said: "a group of Jews came to the Prophet of Allah ﷺ and said: O Muḥammad, this is Allah who created the creation, but who created Him? Then the Prophet ﷺ became so angry that his complexion changed, and thereafter he assailed them in anger for his Lord. Then Jibrīl came to him and calmed him, and said: lower your wing, O Muḥammad; and from Allah came the answer to that which they had asked him. He said: Allah, blessed and exalted is He, says: قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ * اللَّهُ الصَّمَدُ * لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ * وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ (112:1-4). When the Prophet ﷺ had recited this to them, they said: describe to us your Lord, how is His creation, how is His upper arm, how is His forearm? Then the Prophet ﷺ became even angrier than his first anger, and thereafter he assailed them. Then Jibrīl came to him and spoke the same as his [earlier] words, and brought him the answer to that which they had asked him: ( And they have not appraised Allah with the appraisal due to Him, and the entire earth will be His handful on the Day of Resurrection and the heavens will be rolled up in His right hand; holy is He and exalted above what they ascribe to Him as partners )."
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Yaʿqūb related to us, on the authority of Jaʿfar, on the authority of Saʿīd, he said: the Jews spoke about the nature of the Lord, and they said what they did not know and had not seen. Then Allah sent down to His Prophet ﷺ: ( And they have not appraised Allah with the appraisal due to Him ), then He declared to the people His greatness and said: ( And the entire earth will be His handful on the Day of Resurrection and the heavens will be rolled up in His right hand; holy is He and exalted above what they ascribe to Him as partners ), and thus He made their description by which they described Allah into polytheism (shirk).
And some of the grammarians of the people of Basra said concerning ( And the entire earth will be His handful on the Day of Resurrection and the heavens will be rolled up in His right hand ): He means: in His power, like His statement: مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُكُم (mā malakat aymānukum), that is to say: and that over which you had power — and the "right hand" does not denote the hand to the exclusion of the rest of the body. He said: and His statement ( His handful ) is like your saying to a man: this is in your hand and in your grasp. But the reports which we have cited from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and from his Companions and others testify against the falsity of this statement.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Hārūn ibn al-Mughīra related to us, on the authority of ʿAnbasa, on the authority of Ḥabīb ibn Abī ʿAmra, on the authority of Mujāhid, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, on the authority of ʿĀʾisha, she said: I asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about His statement ( And the entire earth will be His handful on the Day of Resurrection ): where are the people then on that day? He said: "Upon the bridge (al-ṣirāṭ)."
And His statement ( holy is He and exalted above what they ascribe to Him as partners ) — the Exalted, whose mention is sublime, says, in glorification and purification of Allah, and in exaltation and elevation above that which these polytheists among your people, O Muḥammad, ascribe to Him as partners — they who say to you: worship the idols besides Allah and prostrate before our gods.
