إِنَّ رَبَّكَ هُوَ ٱلْخَلَّٰقُ ٱلْعَلِيمُ
Commentary:
The preceding verse spoke of the imminent destruction of disbelievers and the present verse says that God never hesitates to destroy the wicked because, being the Great Creator, He can easily bring into existence a better people after the destruction of their predecessors. This is the implication of the Divine attribute خلاق (the Great Creator) used in the intensified form.
The attribute علیم (All-Knowing) points to the fact that God is well aware of the new order which will shortly replace the old. It will be a much better order and at its advent no one will regret the old order. It may be noted how in this one brief word علیم (All-Knowing), the Quran has condensed so much meaning. The word hints at the excellence of the new social and political order to be introduced by Islam.
It may further be noted that among the first few verses of this Surah the Holy Prophet was told to leave the disbelievers alone, victims to vain hopes, to eat and enjoy themselves for a while (v. 4). The verse under comment says that the time of their promised respite had now come to an end.
The Divine attributes "Great Creator" and "All-Knowing" also furnish an answer to those who wondered whence were to arise the circumstances and conditions which would ensure final victory for Islam. The answer is that God, being the Great Creator and All-Knowing, will not fail to bring about circumstances and conditions necessary for such a victory when the proper time for it arrived.