Discussion of the interpretation of the saying of Allah the Exalted: “And of His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth” — creation — “and what He has scattered” — distributed and spread — “in them of any creature” — that which crawls

“And He created

what He has scattered

ما بث

distributed and spread

in them

فيهما

” meaning in the heavens and the earth “

of a creature

من دابة

which is that which crawls on the earth”, his saying: means: He created and scattered, meaning distributed and spread meaning in the heavens and the earth meaning from that which crawls on the earth, from humans and others. So it is among the signs of Allah, among the signs of Allah in these created beings, that Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) gave every thing its form and then guided it. You find animals that are dumb, having no intellect, and you find them earning their sustenance and going to seek it, and storing what they store from it if it is of the kind of provisions that are stored, and you find them yearning for their young and showing mercy to their young, and going hungry to fill them, and so on. If you reflect on this, you marvel at these dumb created beings. The birds, Allah (Mighty and Majestic) gave them the power of far-sighted vision, as evidenced by the fact that they see the grain while they are in the sky, whereas the human does not see this, without a doubt. But because the birds do not walk on the earth, Allah made for them a penetrating, strong sight so that they see the grain while they are in the sky, then they descend and take it and fly away, and so on from the wondrous signs. Look, for example, at the small ant; how does it find its way to its burrow when it comes to it from afar? Then it walks on a single line; we have seen it with our own eyes. It walks on a single line on the carpet where there is no trace of dust, and you find it reaches the end and then turns at an angle. How did it find its way to this? Except by the guidance of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). It has been said that as it walks, something comes out of it, a substance that the other ant smells, so it walks following it. This is among the signs of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). You find the ant, which is larger than the ant, striving to bring its provision from afar and then storing it in its burrow. And when it wants to store it, it eats the heads of the grain so that it does not sprout, because if the grain remained with its heads, it would sprout and spoil for it. So you find it crushes the top and bottom of the grain so that it does not sprout. Then when the rain comes and the earth becomes wet and the moisture reaches its burrow, you find it moves this grain to take it out into the sun and air so that it dries. Who taught it this? Allah (Mighty and Majestic), without a doubt. So it is among the signs of Allah. And how good it is to seek help in this by reading the book *Miftah Dar al-Sa'adah* by Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him). *Miftah Dar al-Sa'adah* mentions wonders in it, even mentioning the story of a man who placed a bait for an ant, either a piece of meat or something else. The ant tried to carry it but was unable, so it returned to its burrow and called for help from its sisters. So they came to it, and when they came to it, he removed it and lifted it from the ground. So the ant sought it but found nothing, so it left, and the first one that had indicated it remained. So he placed the bait, and when she was certain of it, she went to her people and called them. So when they came, he removed it, and they sought it but it was not there, so they returned. Then he placed the bait for the third time, and this ant was certain of it, then she returned to her people to urge them. So when they came, he removed it. So when they sought it and did not find it, they ate this ant completely, cutting off its limbs. He said, “I related this to Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, marveling at it. He said: Yes, everything is created to punish the unjust liar. And this one lied to them and wronged them, so nothing remained but that she be destroyed. Because the one who works corruption on earth must be executed, even the human. But is there a blood money for this murdered man? Yes, he is unjust to her; we ask Allah to pardon him. In any case, my intention with this is that everything Allah (Mighty and Majestic) guided to what He created it for, even the ant. I saw it in a date palm basin when the date palm was watered; the water entered from under the earth into the ant’s burrow, so the ant carried its white eggs quickly until it took them out of the water. Who guided it to this? Allah (Mighty and Majestic). And the signs of Allah are many. For this reason, He (Mighty and Majestic) said: And in the other verse: So He used the past tense and used the present tense indicating continuity.
His saying: “

of a creature

من دابة

and it is that which crawls on the earth, from humans and others

and He is able to gather them

وهو على جمعهم

for the assembly

when He wills

إذا يشاء

gathering them

the All-Mighty

قدير

” meaning the gathering of these created beings meaning when He wills, He gathers them. So the object is omitted, indicated by the context meaning nothing is too difficult for Him. The commentator (may Allah have mercy on him) says: “In the pronoun, the rational is preferred” The pronoun: meaning in “gathering them.” The rational is preferred because the *mim* indicating the plural is not used except for the rational. As for the non-rational, the *nun* of the women is used. But here, the pronoun of the plural was used, even though most of what is on the earth of creatures is non-rational. But the author (may Allah have mercy on him) says: “The rational is preferred.”