ٱللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَحْمِلُ كُلُّ أُنثَىٰ وَمَا تَغِيضُ ٱلْأَرْحَامُ وَمَا تَزْدَادُ ۖ وَكُلُّ شَىْءٍ عِندَهُۥ بِمِقْدَارٍ 8
Translations
Allāh knows what every female carries and what the wombs lose [prematurely] or exceed. And everything with Him is by due measure.
Transliteration
Allahu ya'lamu ma tahmilu kullu untha wa ma taghidu al-arhamu wa ma tazdadu wa kullu shay'in indahu bimiqdar
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah affirms Allah's complete and perfect knowledge of all matters of procreation and gestation—including what each female carries in her womb, the decrease or miscarriage of pregnancies, and their increase or healthy development. The phrase 'and all things with Him are in due proportion' emphasizes that everything in creation is measured and predetermined by Allah's infinite wisdom, reflecting His complete omniscience and perfect order. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir note this demonstrates Allah's intimate knowledge of hidden matters that no creature can fully comprehend.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in Surah Ar-Ra'd (a Medinan chapter) within a passage asserting Allah's knowledge of the unseen and His complete sovereignty over creation. It serves to remind believers that Allah's knowledge encompasses all things—both manifest and hidden—and that human limitations in understanding divine wisdom should not lead to doubt about His perfect justice and planning.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: 'Each of you is composed in the womb of his mother for forty days as a drop, then for forty days as a clot, then for forty days as a lump.' (Sahih Bukhari 3208). This hadith complements the ayah by describing the stages of human development that Allah alone fully knows.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches believers that while we may not understand the divine wisdom behind life's circumstances—including matters of fertility, miscarriage, or loss—Allah's knowledge is absolute and His measurement of all things is perfect. It encourages trust in Allah's plan and submission to His wisdom, even when human intellect cannot fully comprehend the reasons behind apparent hardships.
Related Ayahs
يَعْلَمُ مَا يَلِجُ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَمَا يَخْرُجُ مِنْهَا وَمَا يَنزِلُ مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ وَمَا يَعْرُجُ فِيهَا ۚ وَهُوَ ٱلرَّحِيمُ ٱلْغَفُورُ
He knows what penetrates into the earth and what emerges from it and what descends from the heaven and what ascends therein. And He is the Merciful, the Forgiving.
أَلَّا يَسْجُدُوا۟ لِلَّهِ ٱلَّذِى يُخْرِجُ ٱلْخَبْءَ فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا تُخْفُونَ وَمَا تُعْلِنُونَ
[And] so they do not prostrate to Allāh, who brings forth what is hidden within the heavens and the earth and knows what you conceal and what you declare -
وَمَا تَكُونُ فِى شَأْنٍ وَمَا تَتْلُوا۟ مِنْهُ مِن قُرْءَانٍ وَلَا تَعْمَلُونَ مِنْ عَمَلٍ إِلَّا كُنَّا عَلَيْكُمْ شُهُودًا إِذْ تُفِيضُونَ فِيهِ ۚ وَمَا يَعْزُبُ عَن رَّبِّكَ مِن مِّثْقَالِ ذَرَّةٍ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَلَا فِى ٱلسَّمَآءِ وَلَآ أَصْغَرَ مِن ذَٰلِكَ وَلَآ أَكْبَرَ إِلَّا فِى كِتَـٰبٍ مُّبِينٍ
And, [O Muḥammad], you are not [engaged] in any matter and do not recite any of the Qur’ān and you [people] do not do any deed except that We are witness over you when you are involved in it. And not absent from your Lord is any [part] of an atom's weight within the earth or within the heaven or [anything] smaller than that or greater but that it is in a clear register.
إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَخْفَىٰ عَلَيْهِ شَىْءٌ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَلَا فِى ٱلسَّمَآءِ
Indeed, from Allāh nothing is hidden in the earth nor in the heaven.