The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 3) — Page 105
PT. 12 HŪD CH. 11 وَمَا مِنْ دَابَّةٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ إِلَّا عَلَى اللهِ And there is no creature that. 7 رِزْقُهَا وَ يَعْلَمُ مُسْتَقَرَّهَا وَمُسْتَوْدَعَهَا كُلٌّ فِي كِتَبٍ مُّبِيْنٍ moves in the earth but it is for Allah to provide it with sustenance. And He knows its lodging and its home. All this is recorded in a clear Book. 1388 "11:57. was not explained to them, they deserved to be excused if they did not accept it. A person who tries to evade the truth and deliberately shuts his eyes to it cannot excuse himself on the score of ignorance. Such men are as guilty as those who refuse to accept the truth after it has been fully explained to them. They alone can legitimately bring forward the plea of ignorance who make an honest effort to understand and arrive at the truth, but somehow or other fail to do so, or whom the Message of truth does not reach though they are ready to welcome it. The words, what they conceal and what they reveal, may also refer to the concealed hatred which disbelievers harbour in their minds against the heavenly Messenger and to their open acts of hostility towards him. The expression, (what is in their breasts), refers to the hidden thoughts that dominate men. As the uppermost part of anything is called its (Lane) and as the thoughts of a man naturally occupy the highest position in him all his actions being subordinate to them—therefore, they are represented as being seated in his of which the plural is. The 1313 verse thus means that God has sent His Messenger because He knew the innermost corrupt condition of the minds of disbelievers, which demanded that a heavenly reformer should come. Therefore, they cannot say that they needed no reformer. 1388. Important Words: home) not) مستودع lodging) and) مستقر only mean a place of temporary settlement and of permanent abode but also final or determined limit of a thing both as regards time or place; appointed term; end of one's course (Lane). See also 6:99. Commentary: The verse declares that God has provided sustenance for all His creatures but it rests with them to make proper use of it. He has provided the means of subsistence for even the worms and reptiles that dwell in the bowels of the earth. Human reason is at a loss to know how and whence the worms and insects found in such unlimited numbers on and inside the earth get their food. There are many insects about the nature of even whose food man is in the dark, but all are getting their sustenance from nature. An interesting instance