Tafseer Ibn Kathir of AN NAHL [77]

77. And to Allah belongs the Unseen of the heavens and the earth. And the matter of the Hour is not but as a twinkling of the eye, or even nearer. Truly, Allah is able to do all things. 78. And Allah has brought you out from the wombs of your mothers while you knew nothing. And He gave you hearing, sight, and hearts, that you might give thanks. 79. Do they not see the birds held (flying) in the midst of the sky None holds them up but Allah. Verily, in this are clear signs for people who believe. Allah tells us of the perfection of His knowledge and ability to do all things, by telling us that He alone knows the Unseen of the heavens and the earth. No one knows anything about such things except for what Allah informs about as He wills. His complete power, which no one can oppose or resist, means that when He wants a thing, He only has to say to it ”Be!'' and it is, as Allah says:

(And Our commandment is but one as the twinkling of an eye.) (54:50) meaning, whatever He wills happens in blinking. Thus Allah says here:

(And the matter of the Hour is not but as a twinkling of the eye, or even nearer. Truly, Allah is Able to do all things.) iElsewhere, Allah says:

(The processes of creating you all and resurrecting you all are but like that of (the creation and resurrection of) a single person.) (31:28) Then Allah mentions His blessings to His servants in that He brought them from their mothers' wombs not knowing a thing, then He gives them hearing to recognize voices, sight to see visible things and hearts - meaning reason - whose seat, according to the correct view, is the heart, although it was also said that its seat is the brain. With his reason, a person can distinguish between what is harmful and what is beneficial. These abilities and senses develop gradually in man. The more he grows, the more his hearing, vision and reason increase, until they reach their peak. Allah has created these faculties in man to enable him to worship his Lord, so he uses all these organs, abilities and strengths to obey his Master. Al-Bukhari reported in his Sahih from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah said:

(Allah says: ”Whoever takes My friend as an enemy, has declared war on Me. My servant does not draw near to Me with anything better than his doing that which I have enjoined upon him, and My servant keeps drawing near to Me by doing Nawafil (supererogatory) deeds until I love him. And when I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, his vision with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask Me for anything, I would give it to him, if he were to call on Me, I would respond, if he were to seek Me for refuge I would surely grant him it. I do not hesitate to do anything as I hesitate to take the soul of My believing servant, because he hates death and I hate to upset him, but it is inevitable.'') The meaning of the Hadith is that when a person is sincere in his obedience towards Allah, all his deeds are done for the sake of Allah, so he only hears for the sake of Allah, he only sees for the sake of Allah - meaning he only listens to or looks at what has been allowed by Allah. He does not strike or walk except in obedience to Allah, seeking Allah's help in all of these things. Thus in some versions of the Hadith, narrated outside the Sahih, after the phrase ”his foot with which he walks'', there is added:

(So through Me he hears, through Me he sees, through Me he strikes and through Me he walks.) Thus Allah says:

(And He gave you hearing, sight, and hearts that you might give thanks.) Elsewhere, He says:

(Say it is He Who has created you, and endowed you with hearing and seeing, and hearts. Little thanks you give. Say: ”It is He Who has created you on the earth, and to Him shall you be gathered (in the Hereafter).'') (67:23-24) Then Allah tells His servants to look at the birds held (flying) in the sky, between heaven and earth, and how He has caused them to fly with their wings in the sky. They are held up only by Him, it is He Who gave them the strength to do that, subjecting the air to carry them and support them. As Allah says in Surat Al-Mulk:

(Do they not see the birds above them, spreading their wings out and folding them in None holds them up except the Most Gracious (Allah). Verily, He is the All-Seer of everything.) (67:19) And here Allah says:

(Verily, in this are clear signs for people who believe.)