THE FLASHES

The Fourteenth Flash

For example, as we have explained in several treatises, a very heavy and deep sound was once heard in the presence of the Prophet (saw). He said:

“This is the sound of a stone that has been rolling for seventy years and has only now reached the bottom of Hell.”

A few minutes later someone entered and said: “A notorious hypocrite of seventy years has just died.” Thus the reality of this most eloquent prophetic comparison was disclosed.

For the answer to your question, three viewpoints will now be set forth.

First Viewpoint

Just as Allah has appointed four angels—including Nasr and Sawr—to bear the Throne and the heavens and to supervise the dominion of His Divine power, so too He has appointed two angels as bearers and overseers of the earth, which is like a younger brother of the heavens and a companion of the planets. The name of one is Sawr and the name of the other is Hūt.

The reason for this naming is as follows:

The earth consists of two parts: water and land. The water is brought to life by the fish, while the land is animated by agriculture, which forms the foundation of human life and rests upon the strength of the ox.

Since these two angels are charged with the administration and supervision of the earth, there must naturally be a certain connection between them and the species of fish and ox. It may be—and Allah knows best—that in the world of the unseen these two angels have a form of manifestation in the shape of an ox and a fish.

In order to indicate this connection and supervision, and to point to the two principal kinds of living beings on the earth, the Prophet (saw), with his miraculously eloquent speech, said: “The earth rests upon the ox and the fish.” With this single brief sentence, he (saw) expressed a truth so deep and extensive that it would require a whole page of explanation.

Second Viewpoint

If one asks, “Upon what do this state and its sovereignty rest?”, the answer is: “Upon the sword and the pen.” That means it rests upon the courage and strength of the army, and upon the wisdom and justice of governance.

So too, the globe of the earth is the dwelling place of living beings, and human beings are, as it were, the commanders of those living beings. For the great majority of coastal peoples, fish forms the chief means of livelihood. For those who do not live by the sea, their livelihood, through agriculture, rests upon the shoulders of the ox. Fish is also an important means of trade. Thus it may naturally be said that, just as a state rests upon the sword and the pen, the earth rests upon the ox and the fish.

For if the ox did not work and the fish did not produce abundantly, human life would collapse and the All-Wise Creator would destroy the earth.

Thus, when the Messenger of Allah (saw) was asked, “Upon what does the earth rest?”, he gave a miraculous, exalted, and deeply wise answer: “The earth rests upon the ox and the fish.” With only two words, he taught an extensive truth concerning how deeply the life of mankind is connected with the life of the animal world.