Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: “It is He who shows you His signs and sends down for you from the sky provision, and none will remember except he who turns back.”
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Then Allah the Exalted said, and this is the beginning of our lesson today: [Ghafir 40:13] It is He who shows you His signs, meaning He makes them apparent to you so that you see them. The pronoun refers to Allah, so it is He who has the judgment, and He is the Most High, the Great. And yet, He did not leave His servants neglected; rather, He showed them His signs so that they would believe.
So His saying:[Ghafir 40:13] means He makes them apparent to you so that you see them with your own eyes. The signs here are the indicators pointing to their known referent, and they are more eloquent than miracles and the like. The signs of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, are of two types: cosmic signs and legislative signs. The cosmic signs are the creations of Allah, Mighty and Majestic. The legislative signs are the revelation brought by the messengers. All creations are signs from the signs of Allah [Adh-Dhariyat 51:20-21], [Ar-Rum 30:21], [Ash-Shuraa 42:29], and there are many examples of this, all of which point to their Creator, Mighty and Majestic, and to His uniqueness in creation, and to His wisdom, and to His mercy, and to His might, and to other meanings of lordship indicated by these signs. A single sign may indicate several signs and several attributes. I told you that these cosmic signs encompass all creations, and in this regard, the poet says:
How astonishing it is that the Divine is disobeyed, or how the denier denies Him
In every thing there is a sign of His, indicating that He is the One
In every thing, if you reflect, you will find the complete indication that He has a Creator who is a Manager, Wise, and All-Knowing, and other meanings of lordship.
As for the legislative signs, they are what the messengers brought. And Allah the Exalted has shown them to us and granted the messengers, peace and blessings be upon them, signs such that humans would believe in their like. The messengers did not come saying to people: “We are messengers to you.” Rather, they came with signs indicating what they were sent with and their Sender.
[Ghafir 40:13] So the signs include both cosmic and legislative. Lightning is a cosmic sign: [Ar-Ra'd 13:12].
It is He who shows you His signs and sends down to you from the sky, provision. But none will remember except he who turns back [in repentance].
هو الذي يريكم آياته وينزل لكم من السماء رزقا وما يتذكر إلا من ينيبSo His saying:
It is He who shows you His signs
هو الذي يريكم آياته(20) And on the earth are signs for the certain [in faith] (21) And in yourselves. Then will you not see?
وفي الأرض آيات للموقنين وفي أنفسكم أفلا تبصرونAnd of His signs is that He created for you from yourselves mates that you may find tranquillity in them
ومن آياته خلق لكم من أنفسكم أزواجا لتسكنوا إليهاAnd of his signs is the creation of the heavens and earth and what He has dispersed throughout them of creatures
ومن آياته خلق السماء والأرض وما بث فيها من دابةHow astonishing it is that the Divine is disobeyed, or how the denier denies Him
In every thing there is a sign of His, indicating that He is the One
In every thing, if you reflect, you will find the complete indication that He has a Creator who is a Manager, Wise, and All-Knowing, and other meanings of lordship.
As for the legislative signs, they are what the messengers brought. And Allah the Exalted has shown them to us and granted the messengers, peace and blessings be upon them, signs such that humans would believe in their like. The messengers did not come saying to people: “We are messengers to you.” Rather, they came with signs indicating what they were sent with and their Sender.