Surah Al-A'la 87:1-19 - Quran Translation Commentary

2. That is, glorified be His Name, and be He declared above all that is attributed to Him but does not befit Him and His Greatness. Consequently, His Name or Attributes may not be given meaning or interpretation that smack of something that is anything but glorious, nor should His Names and Attributes be used in any way for anyone else save Him. And hence too, His Name ought not to be spelled or remembered in unclean places such as the water closet. (Accordingly, the Prophet would remove his ring on which was inscribed the word Allah, before entering those places: Shanqiti). It also includes remembrance of His name with great dignity, fear and awe and may not be uttered in situations where it is not likely to be received in that spirit. Imam Malik for instance, when he did not have anything to offer to a beggar would say, “I shall give you something when I have” etc., in place of the usual, “May Allah feed you,” or “May Allah treat you well,” etc. When asked why he did not use those standard catch-phrases he replied: “Allah’s name is more sublime than that it should be spelled at a time when the other person may not be in a fit state, because of attendant disappointment, to receive it cheerfully (Alusi).

Accordingly, no one should be called by the names specific to Allah such as Al-Rahman, Al-Razzaq, Al-Ghaffar, Al-Quddus etc. Further, glorification would also include, in the understanding of the commentators, all efforts to refute wrong ideas about Allah, His Being or Attributes (Au.).

It is also reported that when `Ali, Ibn `Umar, and Ibn `Abbas recited this verse, they used to say: "سبحان ربي الأعلى". “Glorified is my Lord, Most High” (Ibn Jarir).

The report is in Abu Da’ud (Qurtubi & Ibn Kathir).

The Prophet himself used to say these words in his ruku` and sujud (Razi).

According to a hadith in Ahmad, (also in Abu Da`ud, Ibn Majah, Ibn al-Mundhir and Ibn Marduwayh: Shawkani), when Allah revealed فَسَبِّحْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الْعَظِيمِ “And Glorify the Name of your Lord, Most Great,” the Prophet told his Companions: “Do this in your ruku` (deep bow),” and when, سَبِّحِ اسْمَ رَبِّكَ الأعْلَى “And Glorify the Name of your Lord Most High” was revealed he instructed them: “Do this in your sujud [prostration]” - Zamakhshari, Ibn Kathir.

The chain of transmitters of the above hadith is free from any dubious person (Shawkani).

It is reported of `Ali (ra) that once when he passed over this verse during recitation in a Prayer he responded with: سبحان ربي الأعلى He was asked, “Do you add upon the Qur’an?” He said, “No. We have been ordered to do something and I did it” (Alusi, Shawkani).

It is also reported of Ibn `Umar, Ibn Zubayr and Abu Musa al-Ash`ari that when they recited this surah in their Prayers they responded with: سبحان ربي الأعلى (Shawkani).

3. A report in Muslim records the Prophet as having said: أَنَّ اللَّه قَدَّرَ مَقَادِير الْخَلَائِق قَبْل أَنْ يَخْلُق السَّمَاوَات وَالْأَرْض بِخَمْسِينَ أَلْف سَنَة , وَكَانَ عَرْشه عَلَى الْمَاء “Allah quantified and qualified every creation 50,000 years earlier to the creation of the heaven and earth. At that time, His `Arsh was on water” (Ibn Kathir).

Shafi` adds: This means that not only does Allah create what He will, He also gives the creation the size, weight, shape, color, volume and various other qualities and puts them on to the course He has determined for them.

4. Mujahid has said that it means, “He showed them the paths both of good as well as of evil.”

Others (e.g. Ibn `Abbas, Suddi, Maqatil and Kalbi: Qurtubi), have said that it means that He gave the instinct to the male to go into the female.

But, obviously, the application can be general to include guidance to good and evil as well as to actions inspired by natural instincts (Ibn Jarir).

Zamakhshari comments: This refers to the guidance shown by Allah to all that is of profit or of harm to His creations, whether it be in matters of food, medicine or anything else pertaining to the countless human needs, as it also refers to the instincts in the animals, birds, creepers and all. This is a chapter that no illustrator can successfully illustrate. So, glory to our Lord, Most High.

Shanqiti remarks: (If in the outer world we see) celestial bodies guided to their course, then, (in our own world we see that when a seed is sown) the root is guided downwards and the plant upwards.

(Seeds have two sides. One side, known to the planters, sends out the root, while the other side sends out the stem. If the seed is planted upside down, then, as the stem comes out, it travels downwards [earthwards] for a suitable distance, after which it takes a U-turn to rise out of the earth skywards: Au.).

Majid writes: “The allusion is also to the special spiritual faculties of man.”

Perfection in Allah’s Creation

Sayyid Qutb comments: “Everything Allah has created is well proportioned and perfected. Every creature is assigned its own role and given guidance so that it may know its role and play it. It is told the purpose of its creation, given what it needs for sustenance and guided to it. This is clearly visible in everything around us big or small, important or trivial. All things are also collectively perfected so that they may fulfill their collective role.

“The single atom is well balanced between its electrons and protons to the same degree as the solar system, its sun, planets and satellites are well balanced. Each of the two know the way it is assigned in travel and fulfills its role. The single living cell is also perfect and well equipped to do everything it is asked to do, in the same measure as the most advanced and complex species. This perfect balance, in the individual and the collective sense, is easily noticeable in every one of numerous kinds of creation that fill the gap between the single atom and the solar system or between the single cell and the most advanced living creature.

“This basic fact, evidenced by everything in the universe, is well recognized by the human heart as it contemplates what is in the universe. This sort of inspiration and recognition is within the reach of every man in every age, regardless of his standard of education. All that is required for it is an open mind which contemplates and responds. Increased knowledge then endorses and emphasizes with individual examples what inspiration has already proven with the first glance...

“The American scientist, A Cressay Morrison, Head of the Science Academy in New York, says in his book "Man Does Not Stand Alone":

'Birds have homing instinct. The robin that nested at your door may go south in the autumn, but will come back to his old nest the next spring. In September, flocks of many of our birds fly south, often over a thousand miles of open sea, but they do not lose their way... The bee finds its hive while the wind waving the grasses and trees blots out every visible guide to its whereabouts...

“The honey-bee workers make chambers of different sizes in the comb used for breeding. Small chambers are constructed for the workers, larger one for the drones, and special chambers for the prospective queens. The queen bee lays unfertilized eggs in the cells designed for males, but lays fertilized eggs in the proper chambers for the female workers and the possible queens. The workers, who are the modified females, having long since anticipated the coming of the new generation, are also prepared to furnish food for the young bees by chewing and predigesting honey and pollen....

“The young salmon spends years at sea, then comes back to his own river, and what is more, he travels up the side of the river into which flows the tributary in which he was born... If a salmon going up a rive is transferred to another tributary he will at once realize he is not in the right tributary and will fight his way down to the main stream and then turn up against the current to finish his destiny... Do atoms and molecules when combined ... have a sense of direction and will power to exercise it?

“In the melee of creation many creatures have come to exhibit a high degree of certain forms of instincts, intelligence, and what not. The wasp catches the grasshopper, digs a hole in the earth, stings the grasshopper in exactly the right place so that he becomes unconscious but lives as a form of preserved meat. The wasp lays her eggs exactly in the right place, perhaps not knowing that when they hatch, her children can eat without killing the insect on which they feed, which would be fatal to them. The wasp must have done all this right the first and every time, or there would be no wasps of this species. Science cannot explain the mystery, and yet it cannot be attributed to chance. The wasp covers a hole in the earth, departs cheerfully, and dies. Neither she nor her ancestors have reasoned out the process, nor does she know what happens to her offspring. She doesn’t even know that she has worked and lived her life for the preservation of her species...

“The examples we have quoted above are but few of the large number of remarkable aspects science has recorded in the worlds of plants, insects, birds and animals. But all these reflect only a part of the import of the two verses: Who created and shaped, Who determined and guided.”

(Quotation from Sayyid ends here).

5. This is an example of how the riches of the world fade away (Qurtubi).

Sayyid adds: “The reference here to the life of plants carries also an implicit connotation that all plants are reaped and harvested. Similarly, every living being will come to its appointed end. This connotation fits in well with the reference to the two worlds of man: ”Yet you prefer this present life, while the life to come is better and more lasting." This life is a pasture which comes to its end when it withers away and blackens, while the life to come is the one which lasts."

6. That is, prepare yourself with sufficient adhkar in order to be ready to receive the oncoming revelations (Alusi).

7. Mujahid has said that the Prophet (saws) used to repeat the words of revelation out of fear of forgetting them. He was assured in these words that he will not, save for what Allah will remove from his memory (when their temporary function has been served: Au.) - Ibn Jarir.

Many commentators have explained, however, that this promise excludes momentary forgetfulness (Au.).

Zamakhshari remarks: Linguistically it could also mean that forgetfulness will not overtake you, but seldom.

Fa-la tansa of the Arabic text could also mean, “Do not forget,” that is, do not neglect its recitation and practice in accordance to its dictates, otherwise you will forget it, save for what Allah wills (Zamakhshari, Razi).

8. That is, Allah knows what you repeat of the revelation with your tongue, along with Jibril, and what you repeat in your heart. It could also mean, Allah knows what is obvious and what is not, what is apparent now and what is going to be so later, and, therefore, He shall, in accordance with the needs, let you forget what He will of the revelation (replacing it with others) - Zamakhshari.

9. That is, We shall make it easy for you to act (by this revelation) - Ibn Jarir. The yusra then alludes to the Shari`ah which is easy, simple, straightforward and comfortable to live by (Ibn Kathir).

It could also mean that we will take you by the easiest way in the memorization of the Qur’an, which (Razi states elsewhere) proved miraculously true in view of the fact that although unlettered and hence depending only on the recitation of Jibril, the Prophet still mastered the whole of the Qur’an.

Sayyid comments: “This is a glad tiding for the Prophet personally and for the Islamic nation at large. It is furthermore a statement of the nature of Islam, its role in human life and in the universe...

“The Prophet’s traditions urging the adoption of an easy, gentle, and tolerant attitude in all matters, especially those which concern religious duties are numerous. From among these we may quote: إِنَّ الدِّينَ يُسْرٌ وَلَنْ يُشَادَّ الدِّينَ أَحَدٌ إِلَّا غَلَبَهُ 'This religion is of an easy nature. No one will pull hard against it will overcome him (Bukhari). لاَ تُشَدِّدُوا عَلَى أَنْفُسِكُمْ فَيُشَدَّدَ عَلَيْكُمْ فَإِنَّ قَوْمًا شَدَّدُوا عَلَى أَنْفُسِهِمْ فَشَدَّدَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ فَتِلْكَ بَقَايَاهُمْ فِى الصَّوَامِعِ وَالدِّيَارِ 'Do not be hard on yourselves lest it should be made hard for you. A former nation chose to be hard and it was made harder for them; so there they are: their places of worship and devotion’ (Abu Da’ud). فَإِنَّ الْمُنْبَتَّ لاَ أَرْضًا قَطَعَ ، وَلاَ ظَهْرًا أَبْقَى 'A rider driving hard neither reaches his destination (earlier) nor keeps his transport' (Bazzar).

The above report has not been trusted for its authenticity by Haythamiyy (Au.).

With regard to social dealings, the Prophet said: رَحِمَ اللَّهُ رَجُلًا سَمْحًا إِذَا بَاعَ وَإِذَا اشْتَرَى وَإِذَا اقْتَضَى 'May Allah have mercy on any who is tolerant at the time he buys, sells, and seeks his rights' (Bukhari). المؤمن هين لين A believer is gentle and friendly' (Bayhaqi).

This particular hadith has been termed weak, but others that are Sahih exist of the same meaning (Au.). المؤمن يألف ويؤلف، ولا خير فيمن لا يألف ولا يؤلف 'A believer gets on well with others and is easy to get on well with. There is no good in someone who does not go easy with (people) and with whom (people) cannot go easy' (Dara Qutni).

Sayyid Qutb quotes only first half of the above reported evaluated as trustworthy by Hathamiyy (Au.).

'The type of man Allah dislikes most is the quarrelsome one who does not budge' (Bukhari, Muslim). أَبْغَضُ الرِّجَالِ إِلَى اللَّهِ الأَلَدُّ الْخَصِمُ “Accordingly," continues Sayyid, "When we look carefully through this religion we find that care has been taken to make it easy for men to follow, without they having to overstretch themselves. It takes into consideration the different situations man finds himself in, and the conditions he faces in different environments. The faith itself is based on concepts which are easy to grasp: a single God; none like Him; He has created everything; He has guided everything to realize the purpose of its existence; He has also sent messengers to remind people of their role in life and to call them back to their Lord Who has created them. All obligations imposed by this faith fit in perfectly together; there are no conflicts, no contradictions. People have to fulfill these obligations according to their abilities; there need be no overstraining, no heavy burdens. The Prophet said, (as in Bukhari): فَإِذَا أَمَرْتُكُمْ بِشَيْءٍ فَأْتُوا مِنْهُ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُمْ ، وَإِذَا نَهَيْتُكُمْ عَنْ شَيْءٍ فَدَعُوهُ 'If I command you to something, fulfill it as much as you can; but leave off totally what I forbid you.' Prohibition may be also relaxed (6: 119), {إِلَّا مَا اضْطُرِرْتُمْ إِلَيْهِ} [الأنعام: 119] '.. Save under compulsion of necessity.' These basic principles provide the limits within which the Islamic commandments and principles operate."

Quotation from Sayyid ends here.

Shafi` remarks: The point in saying “And We shall ease your way unto the Ease,” rather than, “We shall make the Shari`ah easy for you” is that it is as if to say that, 'We shall mold you so that you may easily fit into (the frame-work, rules and etiquettes of) the Shari`ah.'

10. The sentence is not necessarily conditional. It could be taken in the positive sense also, making a demand on the admonished to take heed. For instance, when it is said (Razi), “I have made this clear for you, if you will consider,” it is not meant that the person may or may not consider. Rather it is meant that he better pay special attention to it (Zamakhshari, Qurtubi). That is, the “in” of the original is synonymous with “inna” (Majid).

11. “If a man does not listen to the warning given, then he is absolutely 'the most wretched.' He lives in a void, uninspired by the facts surrounding him, turning a deaf ear and a senseless mind to the evidence they give. Such a person lives in constant worry, striving hard to attain the paltry pleasures of this world. Hence he is the most wretched in this life. But he is also the most wretched in the hereafter as he suffers there endless torment" (Sayyid).

12. It is said (Hasan: Razi, Qurtubi) that the fire of this world is the small fire and the fire of the hereafter is the Great fire (Ibn Jarir, Zamakhshari).

And the Sahihayn record the hadith that the fire of the hereafter is seventy time more intensive than the fire of this world (Alusi).

However, it could also mean that he will enter the most intensive of the fires of Hell (Qurtubi, Razi, Alusi).

13. As in a hadith in Muslim. The Prophet said: « أهل النار الذين هم أهلها فإنهم لا يموتون ولا يحيون ، ولكن أناس - أو كما قال - فتصيبهم النار بذنوبهم - أو قال : بخطاياهم - قال : هكذا ، قال أبو نضرة - فيميتهم حتى إذا صاروا فحما أذن في الشفاعة ، فيجاء بهم ضبائر فينبتون على أنهار الجنة ، فيقال لأهل الجنة : أفيضوا عليهم ، فينبتون كما تنبت الحبة في حميل السيل » ، قال رجل من القوم : كأن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم في البادية “As for the people of the Fire, they shall stay in it forever. They shall neither die therein nor live. But some people, who will be there because of their sins, shall stay in until they become like charcoal. It is then that the intercessors will be allowed (to intercede). They will be brought out like burnt out logs and placed on the shores of the springs of Paradise. It will be announced: 'O people of Paradise, pour down water on them.’ At this they will start growing like the seed in the pathways of flood waters.” Upon this one of those present remarked: “As if the Prophet was brought up in the deserts” (Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir).

14. That is, he cleansed himself of “association of others with Allah” (Ibn `Abbas).

`Ata’ and `Ikrimah have held the same opinion. But Hasan (also Rabi`, Ma`mar and Qatadah: Qurtubi) have said that it means to say that he purified himself “with the help of deeds.”

`Ikrimah’s opinion is, “by declaring faith in the oneness of Allah” or, as others have said, purified himself by giving out the Zakah of `Eid al-Fitr (Ibn Jarir).

During his reign `Umar ibn `Abdul `Aziz would exhort people to expend their Zakatu al-Fitr before the `Eid Prayers and recite this verse during his exhortations (Ibn Kathir).

15. That is, he declared faith in the oneness of Allah (Ibn `Abbas: Ibn Jarir). According to another report Ibn `Abbas said: “He remembered Allah’s Name on the way to the Prayers of `Eid.”

However, since the Surah is, according to the majority, Makkan, where there was no `Eid, it could mean that the ayah was educating the Muslims for the time when `Eid Prayers would be prescribed (Qurtubi).

16. According to Ibn `Abbas, he remembered all that is going to happen after death and the situation when he would stand alone before his Lord, leading him to Allah’s worship. This is the meaning of the words, “He remembered his Lord’s Name, and Prayed.” But Abu Sa`id al-Khudri and Ibn `Umar are of the opinion that it applies to the Prayers of `Eid (Qurtubi).

Razi adds: The words “remembered the Name of his Lord” point to the perfection of the soul attained through the cognizance of Allah and “prayed” points to the perfection of the body and the limbs with the obedience of Allah.

17. The Prophet has said in a hadith of Ahmad narrated by `A’isha:

الدُّنْيَا دَارُ مَنْ لَا دَارَ لَهُ وَمَالُ مَنْ لَا مَالَ لَهُ وَلَهَا يَجْمَعُ مَنْ لَا عَقْلَ لَهُ

Shu`ayb al-Arna’ut thought that the above report is weak (Au.).

“This world is the abode of he who has no abode in the Hereafter, the wealth of he who has no wealth in the Hereafter, and only he amasses its wealth who lacks intelligence.”

In another report in Ahmad, narrated by Abu Musa al-Ash`ari, the Prophet said: مَنْ أَحَبَّ دُنْيَاهُ أَضَرَّ بِآخِرَتِهِ ، وَمَنْ أَحَبَّ آخِرَتَهُ أَضَرَّ بِدُنْيَاهُ ، فَآثِرُوا مَا يَبْقَى عَلَى مَا يَفْنَى “Whoever loved this world, will do harm to his Hereafter, and whoever loved the Hereafter, will do harm to this world. Therefore, you ought to prefer the everlasting over the ephemeral” (Ibn Kathir).

Haythamiyy analyzed the above report as brought to us by trustworthy narrators (Au.).

Malik ibn Dinar has said: “Were this world to be gold but perishable, and the next world rags but lasting, the next world would be given preference. How much more not when this world is rags and perishable, while the next is gold and everlasting?! (Qurtubi).

18. “There must have been some Testament of Abraham, which, like so many other Scriptures is now lost to the world. A book, said to be `apocryphal,’ entitled the Testament of Abraham was translated from the Greek original and published for the first time in 1892, at Cambridge, by M.R. James. `Ethiopic, Slavonic and Romania versions also have been found and some of them published.” (As for the Scripture of Musa (asws) the present Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament: Au.) is a surviving recension" (Majid).

19. Although the allusion could be to the whole chapter, it seems more likely that the verses (14-17), “Surely he prospered who cleansed, remembered his Lord’s Name and Prayed. But you prefer the life of this world, whereas, the Hereafter is better and longer lasting,” are the teachings that are in the Scriptures of old - of Ibrahim and Musa (Ibn Jarir). Ibn Jarir’s preference seems to be strong (Ibn Kathir).

Scriptures of Old

`Abd b. Humayd, Ibn Marduwayh and Ibn `Asakir (also Ajuri: Qurtubi), have reported Abu Dharr that he asked the Prophet: عن أبي ذر، ... قال: قلت: يا رسول الله، كم كتاب أنزله الله ؟ قال: "مائة كتاب وأربعة كتب، أنزل الله على شيث خمسين صحيفة، وعلى خنوخ ثلاثين صحيفة، وعلى إبراهيم عشر صحائف، وأنزل على موسى من قبل التوراة عشرة صحائف، وأنزل التوراة والإنجيل والزبور والفرقان" قال: قلت: يا رسول الله، ما كانت صحف إبراهيم ؟ قال "كانت كلها يا أيها الملك المسلط المبتلى المغرور إني لم أبعثك لتجمع الدنيا بعضها على بعض، ولكني بعثتك لترد عني دعوة المظلوم، فإني لا أردها ولو كانت من كافر، وكان فيها أمثال، وعلى العاقل أن يكون له ساعات: ساعة يناجي فيها ربه، وساعة يحاسب فيها نفسه، وساعة يفكر في صنع الله، وساعة يخلو فيها لحاجته من المطعم والمشرب، وعلى العاقل أن لا يكون ضاغناً إلا لثلاث: تزود لمعاد، أو مرمة لمعاش، أو لذة في غير محرم، وعلى العاقل أن يكون بصيراً بزمانه، مقبلاً على شأنه: حافظاً للسانه، ومن حسب كلامه من عمله قل كلامه إلا فيما يعنيه". قال: قلت: يا رسول الله، فما كانت صحف موسى ؟ قال "كانت عبراً كلها، عجبت لمن أيقن بالموت ثم هو يفرح، عجبت لمن أيقن بالقدر ثم هو ينصب، وعجبت لمن يرى الدنيا وتقلبها بأهلها ثم يطمئن إليها، وعجبت لمن أيقن بالحساب غداً ثم هو لا يعمل". قال: قلت: يا رسول الله، فهل في أيدينا شيء مما كان في أيدي إبراهيم وموسى، وما أنزل الله عليك ؟ قال "نعم اقرأ يا أبا ذر {قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَنْ تَزَكَّى وَذَكَرَ اسْمَ رَبِّهِ فَصَلَّى بَلْ تُؤْثِرُونَ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةُ خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَى إِنَّ هَذَا لَفِي الصُّحُفِ الْأُولَى صُحُفِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَمُوسَى} “How many Books did Allah reveal O Messenger of Allah?” He answered: “A hundred Scriptures (or scrolls) and four Books. Shith received fifty, Idris thirty, Ibrahim ten, and Musa, before the revelation of Tawrah, ten. And, of the Books, He revealed the Tawrah, Injil, Zabur and Al-Furqan.” I asked him: “What was in the Scripture of Ibrahim?” He said: “Mostly allegories and paradigms (amthal) such as, 'O proud, tyrannous, conceited king. I have not appointed you to amass wealth upon wealth. I have placed you there, so that you may attend to the complaints of the oppressed. I myself do not reject the petition of an oppressed, even if it were to be from an unbeliever.’ And, 'The intelligent man should divide his time into three parts. A part in which he will address himself to his Lord; a part in which he will take stock of his own deeds and ponder over the creation of God; and a part devoted to earning his livelihood...’” I asked him, “What was in the Scripture of Musa?” He replied: “Admonitions and alert words (`ibar) such as: 'I wonder at him who is certain of death yet seeks pleasures...’” I asked him, “Do we have such things in our Scripture?” He replied: “Yes,” and recited these verses, `Surely he prospered who cleansed, remembered his Lord’s Name and Prayed. But you prefer the life of this world; although the Hereafter is better and longer lasting. This is in the Scriptures of old - Scriptures of Ibrahim and Musa" (Razi, Alusi, Shanqiti, abridged).

Shawkani also quotes a part of this hadith.

Asad wrote: “These two names are given here only as examples of earlier revelations, thus stressing, once again, the twofold fact of continuity in mankind’s religious experiences and of the identity of the basic truth preached by all the prophets... The noun suhuf (sing. sahifah), which literally denotes ”leaves [of a book]", is synonymous with kitab in all the sense of this term [Jawhari]..."

Sayyid writes: “In conclusion, the Surah points out that the message of Islam is not new; its roots go back far deep in time.”

And Shanqiti concludes: “These words show that admonitions are the links that connect the Books and Scriptures of old into one chain.”