Every letter in its place.

al-Salāmu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullāh,

In Sūrah al-Shu‘arā’ (77-81), Prophet Ibrāhīm ('alayhi al-salaam) speaks about the blessings that Allāh has bestowed upon him:

الَّذِي خَلَقَنِي فَهُوَ يَهْدِينِ

Who has created me, and it is He Who guides me

 

وَالَّذِي هُوَ يُطْعِمُنِي وَيَسْقِينِ

And it is He Who feeds me and gives me to drink.

 

وَإِذَا مَرِضْتُ فَهُوَ يَشْفِينِ

And when I am ill, it is He who cures me;

 

وَالَّذِي يُمِيتُنِي ثُمَّ يُحْيِينِ

And Who will cause me to die, and then will bring me to life (again)

Prophet Ibrāhīm tells his people that Allaah is the One who guides him, feeds him, cures him, and will resurrect him. When he spoke about the first three instances - guidance, sustenance, and curing - he used the word huwa (‘he’), even though the meaning is complete without this word. Yet when it came to mentioning death and resurrection, Ibrāhīm did not use the word huwa.

The word huwa in these instances has been used because guidance, substance and health are often attributed to other than Allaah. How often do we hear the words, “That brother guided me to the Deen, ” and “My parents provide for me, ” and “The doctor cured me.” Thus, the word huwa has been used to indicate that all guidance, sustenance and cure are rather from Allaah, and from no-one else. But when it comes to the issue of resurrection, nobody claims that it is from other than Allaah, so the emphasis was not needed.