Surah Al-Mulk 67:19
سُورَةُ المُلۡكِ · Meccan · Verse 19 of 30
أَوَلَمْ يَرَوْا۟ إِلَى ٱلطَّيْرِ فَوْقَهُمْ صَٰٓفَّٰتٍۢ وَيَقْبِضْنَ ۚ مَا يُمْسِكُهُنَّ إِلَّا ٱلرَّحْمَٰنُ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍۭ بَصِيرٌ
Translation
Do they not see the birds above them spreading and closing their wings? It is only the Lord of Mercy who holds them up: He watches over everything.
English translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem.
Meaning and reflection
'Have they not seen the birds above them, spreading their wings and folding them? None holds them up but ar-Rahman.' Ibn Ashur and al-Biqa'i draw attention to the name: not 'the Powerful' but ar-Rahman, the Most Merciful, is what keeps a weighted body suspended in empty air. al-Biqa'i notes it is mercy that props up the frail bird in flight. The bird does its part (spread, fold), yet what actually holds it is Him. Ask yourself: right now, unnoticed, my heartbeat, my breath, the very continuation of my existence hangs on the same Mercy that holds the bird aloft. I credit my effort, the spreading and folding, for staying up. But what is really holding me, moment to moment, is not me.
Grounded in classical tafsir: Ibn Ashur, al-Biqa'i, Ibn Kathir.
Topics that discuss this verse
Surah Al-Mulk 67:19 is discussed in 3 study guides on Maani. Each guide gathers the key verses, Arabic words and lessons of one Quranic topic.
- Birds (Tayr) (key verse)
- Mercy (Rahmah)
- Seeing Allah (Ru'yah)
Reflect on this verse
Open Surah Al-Mulk 67:19 in Maani to reflect on it through the Five Lenses: its wording, its context, what it means for you, its connections across the Quran and its lessons, grounded in classical tafsir.