(p-122) Surah An-Naml

Its purpose is to describe this Book as sufficient for the guidance of all creation, by distinguishing between the straight path and the way of the confused. It gathers the foundations of religion, encompassing the knowledge of its Revealer regarding the hidden and the apparent. It brings glad tidings to the believers and warns the disbelievers of the Day of Gathering of the first and the last. All of this returns to the knowledge that necessitates wisdom. The greatest aim of it is to manifest knowledge and wisdom, just as the aim of the one before it was to manifest might and retribution. The clearest evidence of this aim is what is mentioned about the ant, regarding its excellent planning and sound methods of living. Especially what has been mentioned about it by Him, glorified and exalted is He, regarding the correctness of intention in governance and the eloquence of expression of that intention. The eloquence of the saying 'In the name of Allah' whose knowledge is complete and whose wisdom is astonishing, 'the Most Gracious' who has encompassed guidance with the clearest explanation, 'the Most Merciful' who has bestowed the gardens of bliss upon those who adhere to the straight path.

﴿T.S.﴾ refers to the purity of the Mount [and its essence] and the goodness of the good land, and the prosperity of the Sacred House which was built by Solomon, blessings and peace be upon him. [From which spread the prohibition against wrongdoing, and that] when He, glorified and exalted is He, purified the Children of Israel and made them good through trials, they were patient. He saved them from Pharaoh and his soldiers by the hearing of Moses, blessings and peace be upon him, for the revelation that contradicted the poetry of the poets, and the lies of the sinful, and their slip from the Mount. (p-123) And He did not mention the completion of their affair with the drowning of Pharaoh, because its purpose is to manifest knowledge and wisdom without might and retribution. Thus, the situation did not necessitate the mention of the letter 'M'.

And when he concluded that which preceded it by affirming the matter of the Qur'an, and that it is from Allah, and he negated the doubts about it and the falsehoods that they used to fabricate regarding the differentiation of the saying in it in relation to magic, and confused dreams, and slander, and poetry, all of which stemmed from the conditions of the devils, he began this by indicating that it is from the ancient speech that is heard, purified from any blemish that could attach to it from any of that. He followed it by describing it as being, just as it is a composed and gathered text in terms of wording and meaning, with no separation in it nor flaw, nor blemish nor error. It is comprehensive of the foundations of the religion and a disseminator of its branches, as indicated by the universe of the Muslims, and he said: 'Those' [meaning:] the verses of high status and distant aims, the wondrously organized 'verses of the Qur'an,' meaning: the complete in its Qur'anic nature, encompassing the foundations, disseminating the branches, which has no flaw in it nor separation, nor crack nor blemish. 'And' the verses of 'the Book,' meaning: and what book is it while it is comprehensive of all that rectifies the worldly life and the Hereafter, decisive in its rulings, dominant in its rulings, in each of its annulments and confirmations, and its conjunctions without following it to indicate that it is complete in each of its Qur'anic and scriptural aspects. 'Clear' means: evident in itself that it is from Allah, [revealing] every problematic matter, clarifying every ambiguous matter of what was and what is to come of rulings and evidences in the foundations and branches, and the nuances and indications and knowledge. So how remarkable it is as a comprehensive, distinguishing, connecting, and separating [text].

And when the focus in this surah is on dissemination - which is one of the necessities of gathering in the material of 'Qara' as previously indicated at the beginning of Al-Hijr - it is more, the Qur'an has preceded, and the spread of the matter of Musa, blessings and peace be upon him, in most of his story is indicated by his separation from his mother, and his departure from his homeland to Midian, and his return from what he had become to what he was in, and his seeking guidance and prayer from his family, and the disturbance of the staff and the spreading of fear from it, and the sign of the hand and all of the nine signs, and the choice of the expression with the people whose original meaning is standing, and the seeing of the signs, and the spreading of the hoopoe, and the revealing of the hidden from which the teaching of the language of the birds comes, and the speaking of the beast to the people, and the spreading of the woman [and] her people and her throne after the messengers had exchanged between her and Sulayman, blessings and peace be upon him, and the uncovering of the leg, and the splitting of Thamud into two factions, along with the disputation that scatters, and the separation of the people of Lut, blessings be upon him, into what is [not] permissible, and the spreading of the winds as a means of dissemination, and the division of sustenance between the heavens and the earth, and the passing of the mountains, and the spreading of the wind for the blowing of the trumpets, which results in the fright of the creatures scattered for the graves, and other than that from which, if you ponder the surah, its door will open for you, and its veil will be uncovered, and this is contrary to what is in Al-Hijr as previously mentioned.

And Imam Abu Ja'far ibn al-Zubair said: When He clarified in Surah Ash-Shu'ara the greatness of His mercy with the Book, and the explanation of what it contains that exposed the enemies, and by which He showed mercy to the allies, and His purity from being encroached upon by the devils, and the striking signs that call those who are guided to Him, He distinguished by His great signs that it is a decisive criterion and a shining light. He followed that with praise and commendation, and mentioned those whom His mercy encompasses with specification and care. He said: "These are the verses of the Qur'an," meaning: the result of it is the totality of those lights. (p-125) "The Qur'an and a clear Book, a guidance and good news for the believers" [An-Naml: 2]. Then He described them so that the follower may receive his share of the blessing of following, and so that his hope may be strengthened in salvation from what He indicated in "And those who have wronged will know" [Ash-Shu'ara: 227] from the greatness of that dawn. Then He followed that with a reminder of the attributes of the people of faith when the previous accusations and fabrications were made, purifying His righteous servants, the sincere allies, from the filth of doubts and suspicion. He said: "Indeed, those who do not believe in the Hereafter, We have adorned for them their deeds, so they wander blindly" [An-Naml: 4], meaning: they are confused and do not distinguish between light and darkness, due to the turmoil of thoughts and understandings. Then He followed that with His consolation, blessings and peace be upon him, with the stories that will occur later, to energize him and inform him of the high status, and to make him aware of the greatness of His actions, exalted is He, regarding those who preceded. Then the Surah concluded with mentioning the people of resurrection and some of what lies ahead, and the indication of reward and the salvation of the believers, and the threat to those who stray from His path, blessings and peace be upon him - this has ended.