16:48-49
16:48
Do they not look at Allah’s creation, (even) among (inanimate) things,- How their (very) shadows turn round, from the right and the left, prostrating themselves to Allah, and that in the humblest manner?
16:49
And to Allah doth obeisance all that is in the heavens and on earth, whether moving (living)creatures
or the angels: for none are arrogant (before their Lord).
Qur’ān 22:18 portrays universal submission to God, stating that all beings in the heavens and the earth—including celestial bodies, natural elements, animals, and many human beings—prostrate before Allah, symbolizing their dependence upon divine will. Commentary in Tafhim al-Qur’an explains that this prostration is expressed through obedience to the laws governing creation. For example, the movement of shadows toward different directions is interpreted as an indication that all phenomena operate under divinely established natural laws. The commentary further clarifies that submission applies to both rational beings, who possess free choice, and non-rational entities such as stars, vegetation, and inanimate matter. While some humans submit willingly, others do so only in a compelled, existential sense, which distinguishes moral accountability from natural obedience (Maududi, Tafhim al-Qur’an, notes 30–32, 35).
A similar concept appears in Qur’ān 16:48–50, which describes the inclination of created things and their shadows as acts of humility and prostration before God. According to Muhammad Asad, the reference to prostration in these verses is symbolic rather than literal, representing the inherent submission of all existence to divine order. The phrase describing creation as “lowly” or “submissive” highlights that all beings operate within God’s universal system, whether consciously or unconsciously (Asad, The Message of the Qur’an, p. 508, note 55). Asad further explains that the term dābbah refers to all sentient, corporeal creatures capable of movement, contrasted with angels as non-corporeal spiritual beings. Unlike animals and angels, which follow divinely implanted instincts and are therefore incapable of sin, humans possess moral free will and can choose between obedience and disobedience. Nevertheless, even human actions remain subject to the overarching divine law of cause and effect, often described in the Qur’an as sunnat Allah—God’s established way governing the universe (Asad, notes 56–57).
References:
Asad, Muhammad (1980). The Message of the Quran.