37. As-Saffat Page 446 37. As-Saffat بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ وَ الصّٰٓفّٰتِ By those lined صَفًّاۙ (in) rows فَالزّٰجِرٰتِ And those who drive زَجْرًاۙ strongly فَالتّٰلِیٰتِ And those who recite ذِكْرًاۙ (the) Message اِنَّ Indeed اِلٰهَكُمْ your Lord لَوَاحِدٌؕ (is) surely One رَبُّ Lord السَّمٰوٰتِ (of) the heavens وَ الْاَرْضِ and the earth وَ مَا and what بَیْنَهُمَا (is) between both of them وَ رَبُّ and Lord الْمَشَارِقِؕ (of) each point of sunrise
(37:1) By those who range themselves in rows;
(37:2) by those who reprove severely,
(37:3) and those who recite the Exhortation;1
(37:4) surely your God is One,2
(37:5) the Lord of the heavens and the earth and of whatever lies between the two, the Lord3 of the Easts.4
1. The majority of Qur’an-commentators are agreed that all the three groups mentioned here belong to the angels. This is the interpretation of the verses made by ‘Abd Allah ibn Mas‘ud, ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Abbas Qatadah, Masruq, Sa’id ibn Jubayr, ‘Ikrimah, Mujahid, al-Suddi, Ibn Zayd and Rabi’ ibn Anas (Ibn Kathir, Tafsir, comments on verses 1-3). Some commentators, however, do interpret the verses differently. However, the context in which the verses occur lends support to the view that those referred to here are angels.
The significance of the statement that they “range themselves in rows” is that the angels who manage the whole order of the universe are no more than God’s servants and bondsmen. As such, they are always in a state of readiness to obey God and carry out His commands. This truth is reiterated in verse 165 below, where the angels introduce themselves as follows: “We range ourselves in rows (as humble servants)”.
As for the words “those who reprove severely” (v. 2), according to some commentators, they mean that some angels direct the clouds and bring about rainfall. Even though this meaning of the verse is not incorrect, what seems more plausible in view of the contents of the verses that follow, is the meaning that there is a group of angels who severely reprove the disobedient and afflict the guilty. This reproof, however, is not simply verbal but may also afflict the disobedient and the guilty in the form of natural disasters and historic calamities.
The statement that they “recite the Exhortation” (v. 3) means that among these angels are also those that constantly remind people of the truth so that they take heed. This exhortation may also take the form of the devastations that occurred in the past teaching human beings a lesson.
It may also be in the form of the teachings that these angels convey to the Prophets, and also in the form of the inspirations that reach virtuous people through them.
2. The proclamation of this truth is accompanied by taking an oath in the name of the angels. In other words, it is affirmed that the workings of the whole universe reflect its servitude to God. Also, natural phenomena expose before man the evil consequences of deviating from God’s servitude. Moreover, it has been a part of the universe’s scheme of things that people are reminded of one and the same truth in varying ways. All these bear out that man’s lord is none but the One True God.
The word ilah that occurs here has two connotations. In one sense, it means the deity that is an object of actual service and worship. In the other, it means the deity that truly deserves to be worshipped. The word ilah is employed in this verse in its latter sense. For evidently it could not have been used to denote the false gods that human beings invented and which they worshipped.
3. The truth, brought home by these verses, is that only the Lord and Sovereign of the universe is mankind’s True God. It would be absolutely irrational that in the presence of the True Rabb (that is, Lord, Sovereign, Guardian and Sustainer) anyone else should be deemed deserving of worship. What underlies man’s worship of God is his recognition of the Being Who is the source of all benefits and losses and of the fulfilment of all of his needs and requirements. It is a recognition of He Who can mar his fate, and in fact upon Whom his very existence and survival depend.
Itis, therefore, an innate requirement of human nature to recognize God’s supremacy and to surrender to Him. Once man realizes this truth, he can readily grasp that it is pointless and absurd to worship false gods for they have absolutely no power. Worship is exclusively the right of the One Who has absolute power. Powerless entities, by contrast, are not entitled to any worship. Man can gain nothing by turning to them. False gods are incapable of doing anything. Turning to them, and praying to them rather than to the All-Powerful God is as foolish an act as approaching subjects of the Sovereign who themselves invoke God’s mercy.
4. The sun does not always rise at the same point. Furthermore, it appears in different parts of the earth at varying times. This explains the Qur’anic use of the word mashariq (Easts) in its plural form. It is significant that the Qur’an does not use the corresponding word magharib (Wests): here (the word maghrib singular of magharib signifies the direction in which the sun sets). The reason is that the word Easts also implies the word “Wests”. However, in Surah al-Ma‘arij 70:40, God is described as the Lord of “the easts and the wests”.