Allah The Exalted — Page 43
All a h the Exalted 4 Through His perfect Rub u biyyat God Almighty controls and rules over every particle of the universe. His Rub u biyyat is in operation all the time. It is not that after having created the world God has withdrawn from its control and that He has committed it to the law of nature so that He Himself does not intervene in any way. It is not like the maker of a machine who has no concern with it after it has been made. The creations of the True Maker are not unconnected with Him. The Rabb-ul- ‘ A lam i n exercises His perfect Rub u biyyat all the time over the whole universe and the rain of His Rub u biyyat falls perpetually upon the whole universe. At no time is the universe deprived of the benefit of His grace. Even after the creation of the universe, that Source of Grace is needed every moment, without interruption, as if He had not yet created anything. As the world depended upon His Rub u biyyat for its coming into being, it is equally dependent upon it for its continuation and sustenance. It is He Who supports the world every moment and every particle of the universe is kept fresh and flourishing be- cause of Him. He exercises His Rub u biyyat in respect of everything by His will and intent. It is not as if His Ru- b u biyyat were exercised in respect of anything without His intent. In short, this verity means that everything in the universe is created and is dependent upon the Rub u bi- yyat of God Almighty in respect of all its excellences and conditions, at all times. There is no spiritual or physical excellence which any created thing can acquire on its own without the determination of the Absolute Control- ler. Besides, it is latent in this and other verities that the divine attributes, such as Rabb-ul-‘ A lam i n etc. , are special to Him and that none else is associated with Him in that respect. The opening phrase of the S u rah , namely,