Living The Quran
From Issue: 1036 [Read full issue]
Divine Decree
Al-Sajda (The Prostration) Sura 32: Verse 5
"He directs the affair from Heaven unto earth; then it ascends unto Him in a day whose measure is as a thousand years of that which you reckon."
After mounting the Throne, God directs the affair, making it descend from the highest heaven to the lowest level of the earth, which refers to His control over all affairs and the carrying out of His Decree for the duration of the world or to the descent of revelation. What ascends to God are the angels or the Command, meaning that everything that was created by the Command ascends unto Him on the Day of Resurrection. That its measure is as a thousand years of that which you reckon indicates the severity of the terrors of that Day for the disbelievers and is elsewhere likened to fifty thousand years. Such disparity also indicates the difference between duration in the spiritual world and that in the world of form and matter.
Regarding the importance of understanding the manner in which God directs the affair, al-Tustari is reported to have said, "He reveals to His servants from His Knowledge that which is a means of guidance and salvation for them. The person who is content with the decreed provision resulting from God's directing for him will have the evil of his own directing disposed of and removed from him. Thus [God] will have returned him to a state of contentment with the Divine Decree and rectitude in the face of the unfolding of what is destined for him. [Such people] are among those who are brought nigh [unto God]. Truly, God created people without any veil, and then made their directing [for themselves] their veil."
Compiled From:
"The Study Quran: A New Translation and Commentary" - Seyyed Hossein Nasr