Everything Will Perish Except Him: The Eternal Amid the Temporary in Surah Ar-Rahman

In the busyness of a school term, it is easy for both students and staff at Darus Saulieghien Quraan Academy to become absorbed in what feels urgent today. Surah Ar-Rahman offers a verse that resets that perspective sharply.

Ships Like Mountains, and a Reminder Beneath Them

The passage begins with something people are naturally impressed by, great ships crossing the sea:

وَلَهُ ٱلْجَوَارِ ٱلْمُنشَـَٔاتُ فِى ٱلْبَحْرِ كَٱلْأَعْلَـٰمِ
"And to Him belong the ships [with sails] elevated in the sea like mountains." (Surah Ar-Rahman 55:24)

Even this human achievement, the surah reminds us, moves according to laws and materials Allah (SWT) provided. Then comes one of the most direct statements in the Qur'an:

كُلُّ مَنْ عَلَيْهَا فَانٍ
"Everyone upon it [i.e., the earth] will perish," (Surah Ar-Rahman 55:26)

وَيَبْقَىٰ وَجْهُ رَبِّكَ ذُو ٱلْجَلَـٰلِ وَٱلْإِكْرَامِ
"And there will remain the Face of your Lord, Owner of Majesty and Honor." (Surah Ar-Rahman 55:27)

What Remains When Everything Else Passes

Wealth, status, beauty, even life itself, all pass away. Allah (SWT) alone remains, Ever-Living and Perfect. The verse redirects the heart away from attachment to what is temporary and toward the One who never ends. Everything in the heavens and earth depends on Him at every moment.

The Prophet (SAW) said: "Allah's Hand is full and is never diminished by spending, throughout the night and the day..." (Sahih al-Bukhari 7411; Sahih Muslim 993) His generosity, unlike anything worldly, never runs low.

Holding This World Lightly

We want our students to work hard and take their studies seriously, and also to hold the outcomes of this world with an open hand. A mark, a placement, a possession, none of it is what remains. What is done sincerely for Allah (SWT) is.

May Allah (SWT) help our students and their families hold this world lightly and the Hereafter firmly. Ameen.