'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful'

'Tafsir of Surah Al-Hadid'

It is Medinan. Al-Naqqash and others said: by consensus of the interpreters. Others said: it is Makkan. There is no disagreement that it contains Medinan Quran, but its beginning resembles that it may be Makkan. And Allah, the Exalted, knows best. We have mentioned the saying of Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, that the greatest name of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, is in six verses from the beginning of Surah Al-Hadid. It has been narrated that the supplication after reciting it is answered.

His saying, the Exalted:

'Whatever is in the heavens and the earth glorifies Allah, and He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.' 'To Him belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. He gives life and causes death, and He is over all things competent.' 'He is the First and the Last, the Manifest and the Hidden, and He is, of all things, Knowing.' 'He is the One who created the heavens and the earth in six days, then He established Himself above the Throne. He knows what penetrates into the earth and what emerges from it, and what descends from the heaven and what ascends therein. And He is with you wherever you are, and Allah is All-Seer of what you do.'

Most of the interpreters said: the glorification here is the known exaltation in their saying: 'SubhanAllah.' And this, in their view, is a statement in the past tense implying continuity, and that the glorification mentioned is continuous and ongoing. They differed: is this glorification a reality or a metaphor, meaning that the effect of creation in it alerts the observer to glorification? Al-Zajjaj and others said: the statement of reality is better, and the saying in this has been mentioned more than once. All of this is regarding inanimate objects. As for what can glorify, there is one statement: that their glorification is a reality. And a group of the interpreters said: the glorification in this Surah is prayer. And this is a forced statement. As for those who are able to do so, it is permissible. And that the prostration of the shadows of the disbelievers is their prayer. As for inanimate objects, it is troubling, and that is because their submission and humility in their forms may be called in the language prostration or by metaphor, as the poet said:

'You see the hill in it prostrating to the hooves.'

And it is far-fetched to call that a prayer except by analogy.

And His saying, the Exalted: 'Whatever is in the heavens and the earth' is general for all creatures. Some grammarians said: the intended meaning is: whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth, so 'whatever' is an indefinite noun described. When its description was repeated, it was omitted and the attribute was placed in its place. He is the Exalted in Might by His power and authority, the Wise by His gentleness, management, and wisdom. And the dominion of the heavens and the earth is its true and everlasting authority; for the dominion of humans is a metaphor that is transient. And His saying, the Exalted: 'And He is over all things competent,' means: over all things that are decreed.

His saying, exalted is He: ﴿He is the First and the Last﴾. The First: the One whose existence has no beginning that opens it, and the Last is eternal. He is the First in existence; for every existing thing is after Him and by Him. The Last, when the intellect looks at the existents, until it reaches Him as its end. Allah, exalted and glorified is He, said: ﴿And indeed, to your Lord is the finality﴾ [An-Najm: 42]. And 'the Apparent' means: by the evidence and the consideration of minds in His creation, and 'the Hidden' by His gentleness and the subtleties of His wisdom and the magnificent attributes that cannot be comprehended as they are by imaginations. It is possible that He means by His saying: ﴿And the Apparent and the Hidden﴾ that which is manifest and dominion in what is apparent to the minds and in what is hidden from them. There is nothing in the apparent but Him according to the standing of the evidence, and there is nothing in the hidden of the matter and in what is upon the perspective that may be imagined to be other than it. And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿And He is All-Knowing of all things﴾ is general in things completely.

And the saying has preceded regarding the creation of the heavens and the earth. Most people hold that the beginning of creation was on the first day, and it has been reported in Muslim that the beginning was on Saturday. Some of the commentators said: the six days are from the days of resurrection, while the majority said: from the days of the world, and this is the more correct view. And 'the Ascending upon the Throne' is by dominance and continuous subjugation by power, and it is not what is in the subjugation of the servants from attempts and toil. The saying has preceded regarding the issue of the Ascending, encompassing it in [Ta-Ha] and others. And 'what enters the earth' refers to rain, the dead, and others. And 'what comes out of it' refers to plants, minerals, and others. ﴿And what descends from the heavens﴾ refers to angels, mercy, punishment, and others. ﴿And what ascends in it﴾ refers to deeds, both good and bad, angels, and others.

His saying, exalted is He: ﴿And He is with you wherever you are﴾ means: by His power, knowledge, encompassing, and guidance. The ummah has agreed on this interpretation in it, and that it is removing it from the meaning of its customary wording. And included in the consensus are those who say that this is a matter of all that is ambiguous; it should be accepted and believed in without interpretation. They have all agreed on the interpretation of this to clarify the necessity of removing it from its apparent meaning. Sufyan al-Thawri said: the meaning is: His knowledge is with you, and their interpretation of this is a proof against them in other matters.