Al-Hafîzh:

"... a Preserver (hafîzh)" (34:21).

There is nothing in the heavens and the earth which is not preserved by the Preserver whether it be the weight of an atom or the planets in the heavens. The Preserver preserves what Allah's servants do of good or evil as well as the heavens and the earth through His power. The preservation of these is not a burden.

This can be understood only by understanding the meaning of preservation which may be taken in two ways. First of all, preservation means perpetuating the existence of existing things and sustaining them, which is the opposite of destroying them. Allah is the preserver of the heavens, the earth, the angels, and all things in existence, regardless of whether the period of their continuation be long or short, such as animals, vegetation, and other similar things.

The second way in which this term can be understood, and it is more evident, is preserving through safeguarding each being from those things which are inherently its opposite. This refers, for example, to the natural enmity that exists between water and fire for either water extinguishes fire or else fire, by prevailing, causes water to change in such a way that it becomes steam and then air.