Transliteration:( Wa law annamaa fil ardi min shajaratin aqlaamunw wal bahru yamudduhoo mim ba'dihee sab'atu abhurim maa nafidat Kalimaatul laah; innal laaha 'azeezun Hakeem )
"And if all the trees in the earth were made pens, and the seas were ink, with seven [60] more seas added after it, the Words of Allah would not be exhausted [61]. Indeed, Allah is Honourable, Wise."
This verse was revealed in response to an objection raised by the Jews of Madina. They questioned how the Qur’an could say that little knowledge had been given to man, while also claiming that one who receives wisdom is given tremendous good. They further claimed that the Torah contained knowledge of everything, suggesting a contradiction.
In response, the Holy Prophet ﷺ clarified that compared to the knowledge of Allah, everything else—Torah, Qur’an, human knowledge—is extremely limited. Despite their quantity, these forms of knowledge are insignificant before His infinite wisdom.
To emphasize this, Allah revealed that if all trees on earth were turned into pens, and the oceans—plus seven more—were turned into ink, and even if all humans, jinns, and angels wrote with them, the knowledge of Allah would still not be exhausted.
This exchange happened after Hijrah, as this verse is Madinite in nature.
This verse includes both:
Praise (Hamd) of Allah Almighty, and
Praise (Na’at) of the Holy Prophet ﷺ.
Although these words are uttered by human tongues, they pertain to Allah’s majesty and mercy. In truth, the words that are accepted by Allah are considered to be His own words, regardless of who utters them.
This reflects the limitless scope of divine knowledge and speech, emphasizing that human understanding can never fully grasp the extent of Allah’s wisdom and power.
27. And if all the trees on the earth were pens and the sea, with seven seas behind it to add to it, yet the Words of Allah would not be exhausted. Verily, Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise. 28. The creation of you all and the resurrection of you all are only as a single person. Verily, Allah is All-Hearer, All-Seer.
Allah tells us of His might, pride, majesty, beautiful Names and sublime attributes, and His perfect Words which no one can encompass. No human being knows their essence or nature, or how many they are. As the Leader of Mankind and Seal of the Messengers said:
(I cannot praise You enough; You are as You have praised yourself.) Allah says:
(And if all the trees on the earth were pens and the sea, with seven seas behind it to add to its, yet the Words of Allah would not be exhausted.) meaning, even if all the trees on earth were made into pens and the sea was made into ink, and topped up with seven more like it, and they were used to write the Words of Allah showing His might, attributes and majesty, the pens would break and the ink would run dry, even if more were brought. The number seven is used to indicate a large amount, it is not to be taken literally or to be understood as referring to the seven oceans of the world, as was suggested by those who took this idea from Israelite stories, which we neither believe nor reject. As Allah says elsewhere:
(Say: “If the sea were ink for the Words of my Lord, surely, the sea would be exhausted before the Words of my Lord would be finished, even if We brought like it for its aid.”) (18:109). The words
(like it) do not mean merely another one, but another like it and another and another and another, etc., because there is no limit to the signs and Words of Allah.
(Verily, Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise.) means, He is All-Mighty and has subjugated all things to His will, so nothing can prevent what He wills, and none can oppose or put back His decision. He is All-Wise in His creation, commands, Words, actions, Laws and all His affairs.
(The creation of you all and the resurrection of you all are only as a single person.) means, His creation and resurrection of all of mankind on the Day of Resurrection is, in relation to His power, like the creation and resurrection of a single soul; all of this is easy for Him.
(Verily, His command, when He intends a thing, is only that He says to it, “Be!” — and it is!) (36:82)
(And Our commandment is but one as the twinkling of an eye. ) (54:50). This means He only has to command a thing once, and it will happen. There is no need for Him to repeat it or confirm it.
(But it will be only a single Zajrah. When behold, they find themselves on the surface of the earth alive after their death.)(79:13)
(Verily, Allah is All-Hearer, All-Seer.) means, just as He hears all that they say, so He also sees all that they do, as if He is hearing and seeing a single soul. His power over all of them is like His power over a single soul, Allah says:
(The creation of you all and the resurrection of you all are only as a single person.)
(31:27) If all the trees on earth become pens, and the sea replenished by seven more seas were to supply them with ink, the Words of Allah would not be exhausted.[48]Verily Allah is Most Mighty, Most Wise.
48. That is, “He is hearing every sound in the universe distinctly at one and the same time, and no sound can absorb his hearing so completely that He may hear no other sound. Likewise, He is seeing the whole universe in each of its details as to thing and event at one and the same time and nothing can absorb His sight so completely that He may see nothing else. The same precisely is the case concerning the creation of men and their re-creation also. He can re-create instantaneously all the men who have been born since the beginning of the creation and will be born till the end of time, His creative power is not absorbed so completely in the creation of one man that He may be unable to create other men at the same time. For Him the creation of one man and of the billions of men, therefore, is equal and one and the same thing.”
[1165]- See footnote to 18:109.
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