Al-Mulk 67:19
The Sovereignty · Meccan · Juz 29 · Page 563
Look at the Birds
أَوَلَمۡ يَرَوۡاْ إِلَى ٱلطَّيۡرِ فَوۡقَهُمۡ صَـٰٓفَّـٰتࣲ وَيَقۡبِضۡنَۚ مَا يُمۡسِكُهُنَّ إِلَّا ٱلرَّحۡمَٰنُۚ إِنَّهُۥ بِكُلِّ شَيۡءِۭ بَصِيرٌ ١٩
Have they not seen the birds above them spreading out their wings and closing them? Naught upholdeth them save the Beneficent. Lo! He is Seer of all things.
Translation: Marmaduke Pickthall
Meaning
Do they not see the birds above them, spreading and folding their wings? None holds them up but the Most Merciful. He sees all things.
Insight
Elmalılı invites reflection on how birds, heavier than air, rise and glide, and how they find their provision. Even the causes that keep them aloft are part of the order the Most Merciful created.
Reflect
Today, watch a bird in flight for a few seconds.
This short note is based on Elmalılı Hamdi Yazır’s Turkish commentary and has not yet been reviewed by a scholar.
Elmalılı’s commentary
An English translation of Elmalılı’s full commentary is coming soon. Read the original Turkish ›