Tafseer of Consultation · Ash-Shura · 42:29
And of his signs is the creation of the heavens and earth and what He has dispersed throughout them of creatures. And He, for gathering them when He wills, is competent.
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.
The explanation of the saying of the Exalted: وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ خَلْقُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ وَمَا بَثَّ فِيهِمَا مِنْ دَابَّةٍ وَهُوَ عَلَى جَمْعِهِمْ إِذَا يَشَاءُ قَدِيرٌ (42:29) (And among His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth and the living creatures that He has scattered throughout them; and He has the power to gather them whenever He wills.)
The Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, says: and among His proofs against you, O people — that He has the power to bring you back to life after your perishing, and to raise you from your graves after your decomposition — is His creation of the heavens and the earth and the living creatures that He has scattered throughout them,
that is to say: and that which He has dispersed throughout the heavens and the earth of living creatures.
As Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, he said: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, he said: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, he said: al-Ḥasan related to us, he said: Warqāʾ related to us — both of them — on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His saying: ( وَمَا بَثَّ فِيهِمَا مِنْ دَابَّةٍ ) he said: mankind and the angels.
He says: and He, whenever He wills to gather them, has the power to gather the living creatures that He has scattered throughout them — it is not difficult for Him, just as their creation and dispersal was not difficult for Him. The Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, says: thus He is indeed able to bring His creation together through the summoning on the Day of Resurrection, after their limbs have disintegrated in the graves.
