18:109
Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “If the ocean were ink for ˹writing˺ the Words of my Lord, it would certainly run out before the Words of my Lord were finished, even if We refilled it with its equal.”
31:27
If all the trees on earth were pens and the ocean ˹were ink˺, refilled by seven other oceans, the Words of Allah would not be exhausted. Surely Allah is Almighty, All-Wise.
What are ‘the Words of Allah’? On first encounter (even before embracing Islam), I thought it might refer specifically to the words of His scriptures, those directly revealed to His prophets, and His divine names. We find in these verses a grand yet apt metaphor if we consider His revelations in their totality to all messengers throughout the whole of human history (for which we lack complete record), their translations and interpretations, the instances of their countless repetition across the generations.
But upon revisitation since, especially given that this metaphor is used not once but twice within the Qur’an, it seemed to call for a deeper, more encompassing interpretation.
And I thought about the role of The Word, its pre-eternality, its manifestation in the creation of sayyidna Isa Christ, peace and blessings be upon him, among the many Qur’anic references to kun fa-yakūnu
(2:117, 3:47,3:59, 6:73, 16:40, 19:35, 36:82, 40:68)
He says to it only “Be”, and it becomes
We are repeatedly invited to recognize the binding together of Word and creation. The Word is the knowledge that is the condition of possibility for creation, and as well it is the witnessing, the recognition of that creation.
We have another illustration of this lesson in Surah Al-Baqarah:
2:31
And He taught Adam the names – all of them. Then He showed them to the angels and said, “Inform Me of the names of these, if you are truthful.”
2:33
Allah said, “O Adam! Inform them of their names.” Then when Adam did, Allah said, “Did I not tell you that I know the unseen [aspects] of the heavens and the earth, and I know what you reveal and what you conceal?”
And so we can consider that not only all created entities, but indeed all concepts, anything which can be named or defined, and even that which exists with name and definition beyond the veil of our perception or comprehension (which we can presume to vastly exceed that which lies within it), these are all the Words of Allah, subhanahu wa ta’alla. His creation and its fractal reverberation encompasses Everything – not just ‘things’ but innumerable phenomena and states and qualities of being and non-being, and every mechanism and vehicle for the perception and articulation and comprehension and interactions thereof, including within and between the very minds of those sentient created ‘things’, inexhaustibly emergent.
Given the pre-eternal nature of words (the signifier, yes, but also the signified) once they are recognized ultimately as His Word(s), not limited to the confines of time or tongue, we can understand this metaphor to reflect all – material and immaterial – that is, ever was, and ever will be. Alhamdhulilah
In this light, a metaphor which on cursory read may have seemed poetically hyperbolic indeed becomes conservative by relative measure. And perhaps its interpretation should’ve been obvious to me from the start, but even this speaks to the beauty and bounty of His noble Qur’an, like a house whose floors and interior spaces seem only to multiply and grow more expansive as they are navigated and explored, meeting its guests where they are, and welcoming them ever more fully Home.
And Allah knows best