Memorize Surah al-Mulk Ramadan 2021 | Verse 15

Verse 15

هُوَٱلَّذِى جَعَلَ لَكُمُ ٱلْأَرْضَ ذَلُولًا فَٱمْشُوا۟ فِى مَنَاكِبِهَا وَكُلُوا۟ مِن رِّزْقِهِۦۖوَ إِلَيْهِ ٱلنُّشُورُ

Allāh says: He is One who made the earth subservient for you, so walk among its mountains and eat from His provisions. To Him is the resurrection and place of return.

With verse #15, Allāh is now picking back up fromverse #5, wherein He spent that verse and the previous verses talking about His majestic and divine ability with creation. He opened up the sūrah by declaring that all in existence, al-Mulk, the dominion, supreme authority, belongs to Him. He then continued by stating that He created life and death, He created the seven heavens in layers, And in that creation there is no deficiency, no error, no imperfection. He then stated that He created the stars, like lamps, adorning the lowest heaven, our sky.

Now Allāh is continuing that same line of describing His magnificent creations, and how His creations are a blessing for us. He begins by telling us that He made the earth subservient to us. Meaning, He made the earth, land, easy, smooth, and comfortable for us to walk upon. We are able to step, stand, walk, jump, run on this earth with stability. The earth is subservient to us; the earth submits itself to be conducive to our movement.

We know that Allāh created the earth, but that is not the only thing that this verse is telling us. Allāh  could have just told us that He created the earth and that’s it, as He has told us many other times in the Quran, but that is not the point here. Allāh is telling us how He made the earth. Not just saying that He did in fact make the earth, but how He made the earth. And by telling us how He made the earth, He connects it back to us. He made the earth subservient for you. He made the earth easy to walk on for you. He made the earth a suitable space for life for you. This should invoke feelings of utter gratitude from us for what Allāh has blessed us with. Allāh has made certain aspects of our lives so easy for us. He made the earth a suitable space for living, walking, going about our daily lives. If He had wanted, He could have made walking a test for us, He could have made it challenging to find stability on the earth. But He didn’t, He made this part of our lives so easy, and so that necessitates gratitude from us.

This verse hearkens back to a similar concept in Sūrahal-Wāqiʿah, wherein Allāh asks us if we have seen the water that we drink. And He asks us — do you send it down from the clouds or did Allāh ? And then He says:  If We wanted, we could have made it bitter and salty. So then why are you not grateful?

Again Allāh is describing an everyday, routine aspect of our lives that He has made so easy for us, and yet we take for granted by not showing Him proper gratitude for these blessings. Part of what Allāh is doing here is firstly bringing these aspects of our lives to light as blessings. How many of us ever even thought about the fact that we can easily walk and stand on this earth as a blessing? It is something so routine that we may not have even noticed that it is actually a blessing from Allāh . Something that could have been another way, but because of Allāh’s grace and mercy, He made it suitable and easy for us.

After making us recognize that these things are blessings, Allāh then reminds us to be grateful. After describing how He made the earth smooth, easy, subservient, and suitable for us, Allāh tells us — go, walk around the mountains, pathways, and channels — see for yourself how much Allāh has blessed you by simply making the world the way that it is.
Go and see for yourself, how perfectly Allāh has made this earth. Experience the creation of Allāh , to recognize Allāh’s magnificence and to be grateful for all that He has blessed us with. Allāh also tells us — go eat from the provisions that He has provided you with. Again, experience these blessings that He has blessed you with, so that you can truly be grateful for them.

As human beings, we cannot be grateful for something unless we know what we are being grateful for. We need to experience a blessing first before recognizing it as a blessing and showing gratitude to Allāh . So Allāh is telling us — eat. Food is a blessing, but the only way we, as human beings, can recognize it as a blessing is if we actually experience it by eating. Eat, enjoy, savor. And as you do, as you realize how much happiness and strength this food is giving you, be grateful.

Appreciate the blessings Allāh has given you and do not take them for granted. Allāh has blessed us with so many things that we may not even recognize as blessings because they are such routine parts of our lives. Allāh is reminding us — be cognizant of your environment, your surroundings, the world around you. Go and experience it, go and explore. Go see for yourself how perfectly Allāh has made this world, how Allāh designed everything to be the best it could possibly be — just for you.

Allāh closes by reminding us — yes, I made the earth and gave you food and provided you with all these blessings in this life, but do not forget where your ultimate return is. Do not think that all these worldly blessings are going to last forever. This worldly life is not our permanent abode. Do not be deceived by how enjoyable Allāh has made this world. Appreciate it and be grateful for it, but do not be deceived by it thinking that this world is all there is. Our return is to Allāh , we are ultimately going back to Him. As beautiful and enjoyable Allāh has made this life, He made this life is temporary. Our permanent abode is yet to come.

May Allāh help us to recognize the blessings around us, be grateful for those blessings, and utilize those blessings in a manner that is pleasing to Him.

So again, our verse for today is:

هُوَٱلَّذِى جَعَلَ لَكُمُ ٱلْأَرْضَ ذَلُولًا فَٱمْشُوا۟ فِى مَنَاكِبِهَا وَكُلُوا۟ مِن رِّزْقِهِۦۖوَ إِلَيْهِ ٱلنُّشُورُ
He is One who made the earth subservient for you, so walk among its mountains and eat from His provisions. To Him is the resurrection and place of return.