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

Tafsir of Surah Al-A'la

And it is Meccan according to the statement of the majority. Al-Naqqash reported from Al-Dahhak that it is Medinan, and that is weak. This is only supported by the statement of those who said that it mentions the prayer of Eid in it.

His saying, exalted is He:

﴿Glorify the name of your Lord, the Most High﴾ ﴿Who created and fashioned﴾ ﴿And Who determined and guided﴾ ﴿And Who brought forth the pasture﴾ ﴿Then made it a dark, muddy mass﴾ ﴿We will make you recite, so you shall not forget﴾ ﴿Except what Allah wills. Indeed, He knows the open and what is hidden﴾ ﴿And We will ease you towards ease﴾ ﴿So remind, if the reminder benefits﴾ ﴿The one who fears will remember﴾ ﴿And the wretched will avoid it﴾ ﴿Who will burn in the greatest fire﴾ ﴿Then he will neither die in it nor live﴾

"Glorify" in this verse means: to declare free from imperfections and to sanctify. And say: 'Glory be to Him' from all deficiencies and others, and what the polytheists say. "And the name" which is: "Alif, Seen, Meem" comes in places of eloquent speech, intended by it the named, and it comes in places intended by it the naming, like his saying, blessings and peace be upon him: "Indeed, Allah has ninety-nine names" and other than that. And whenever the named is intended, it is merely a connection like the added. As if He, exalted is He, said in this verse: Glorify your Lord, meaning declare Him free from imperfections. And if the name is one of the names like Zayd and Amr, it comes in speech as I said. You say: "Zayd is standing," intending the named, (p-590) and you say: "Zayd has three letters," intending by it the naming. And this verse can bear this first meaning, and it can be intended by the name the naming itself, meaning: declare the name of your Lord free from being named by a statue or an idol, so it is said to it: god and lord and similar to that.

And "the Most High" can be a description of the name, and it can be a description of the Lord, exalted is He. Al-Tabari mentioned that Ibn Umar and Ali, may Allah be pleased with them both, recited this surah: "Glory be to my Lord, the Most High, Who created and fashioned." He said: And it is in the Mushaf of Ubayy ibn Ka'b likewise, and it is the recitation of Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari and Ibn Al-Zubair, and Malik ibn Dinar. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, when he recited this verse, he said: "Glory be to my Lord, the Most High." And Ibn Mas'ud and Ibn Umar and Ibn Al-Zubair would do that. And when this surah was revealed, the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "Make it in your prostrations." And some said: The meaning of ﴿Glorify the name of your Lord﴾ is: declare the name of Allah, exalted is He, free from being mentioned except when you are humble. And Ibn Abbas said: The meaning of the verse is: connect with the name of your Lord, the Most High, as you say: begin with the name of Allah, exalted is He, and he omitted the preposition.

'Siwa' means: to be just and to perfect until matters become equal, indicating His power and oneness. The majority of the reciters read 'Qaddara' with a strong dal, which may be from qadar and qada, or it may be from taqdir and weighing between things. Al-Kisai alone read 'Qadara' with a softened dal, which may be from qudra, or it may be from taqdir and weighing. His saying, 'So He guided,' is general for all guidance in humans and animals. Some of the commentators specified certain types of guidance. Al-Farra said: Its meaning is guidance and misguidance, and he sufficed with one to indicate the other. Al-Muqatil and al-Kalbi said: He guided the animal to mate the males with the females. It was said: He guided the newborn at birth to suckle from the breast. Mujahid said: He guided people to good and evil and animals to pastures. (p-591) Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: These sayings are examples, and the generality in the verse is more accurate in every estimation and in every guidance. 'Al-Mar'a' is the vegetation, which is a fundamental part of sustenance, as it is the food of livestock, and from it, people benefit in their own selves. 'Al-Ghuthaa' is what has dried, withered, and broken from the vegetation, which is what the flood carries, and with it, people liken those who have no worth. 'Al-Ahwi' is said to be the green that has a blackness due to the intensity of its greenness and freshness. It is said to be the black that has a tinge of greenness, and from it is the saying of Dhī al-Rummah: 'Lamia in her lips is a hue for honey, and in her gums and in her fangs is a mustache.' The estimation of this verse is: He brought forth the pasture as ahwi, meaning black from its greenness and freshness, and made it ghuthaa when it dried. So 'ahwi' is a state. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, said: The meaning is: He made it ghuthaa ahwi, meaning black; for when the ghuthaa is presented and the rains hit it, it becomes black and shrinks, thus it becomes ahwi. This is a description. And His saying, 'We will make you recite, so you will not forget,' said Al-Hasan, Qatadah, and Malik ibn Anas: This verse is in the meaning of His saying, 'Do not move your tongue with it' [Al-Qiyamah: 16], and Allah has promised him that He will recite it to him and informed him that he will not forget a forgetfulness after which there will be no remembrance, so the verse will not be lost. This is because the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, used to move his lips quickly out of fear that he would forget. In this interpretation, there is a verse for the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, indicating that he is unlettered, and Allah has preserved the revelation for him and protected him from forgetting it. Others said: This verse is not in the meaning of that, but rather this is a promise of reciting the law and the chapters, and He commanded him not to forget, in the sense of affirmation and confirmation. And Allah knew that leaving forgetfulness is not in his ability, so it is a prohibition against neglecting the commitment. He affirmed the ya in 'tansā' to adjust the heads of the verses. Al-Junaid said: The meaning of 'do not forget' is do not leave the action based on what you are obliged to do regarding command and prohibition.

And His saying, exalted is He: "Except what Allah wills." Al-Hasan, Qatadah, and others said: Its meaning is: From what Allah has decreed, glorified is He, by abrogating it and that its recitation and ruling be lifted. Al-Farra' and a group from the people of meanings said: It is an exception in the speech, according to Allah's way in exceptions. And there is nothing that has been permitted to be forgotten. Ibn Abbas said: Except what Allah wills for you to forget, so that you may establish by it, in accordance with his saying, blessings and peace be upon him: "Indeed, I forget, or I forget to establish." Some of the interpreters said: Except what Allah wills for forgetfulness to overcome you, then He reminds you of it afterwards. From this is the saying of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, when he heard the recitation of Abbad ibn Bishr: "May Allah, exalted is He, have mercy on him; he reminded me of such and such in such and such Surah."

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: The forgetfulness of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, is impossible in what he was commanded to convey, as he is infallible. So if he conveys it and understands it, then forgetfulness is permissible on the condition that he remembers it afterwards, and that he establishes it, or on abrogation.

Then He, exalted is He, informed him that He knows the open and hidden things, and this is due to His encompassing knowledge of all things. With this, the report is correct that He does not forget anything except that Allah, exalted is He, reminds him of it. And His saying, exalted is He: "And We will make it easy for you to the easy." Its meaning is: We will guide you towards the commendable matters in your worldly life and your Hereafter, from victory, triumph, and elevation of the message and status on the Day of Resurrection, and exaltation in Paradise.

Then He, exalted is He, commanded him to remind. The people differed in the meaning of His saying, exalted is He: "If the reminder benefits." Al-Farra' and Al-Zahrawi said: Its meaning is: And if it does not benefit, then suffice with the one oath as it indicates the second. Some of the skilled ones said: His saying, exalted is He: "If the reminder benefits" is an interruption between the two statements in the context of reproaching Quraysh, meaning: If the reminder benefits these tyrant oppressors. This is similar to the saying of the poet:

"You would have heard - if you had called a living one - but there is no life for whom you call."

And all of this is as if you say to a man: Say to so-and-so and prepare for him that your hearing is merely a reproach to the one referred to. Then He, exalted is He, informed that he will remember who fears Allah and the Hereafter, and they are the scholars and the believers, each according to the extent they have been guided. And the one who has been destined for wretchedness, who has disbelieved, will avoid the reminder and its benefit, and it is obligatory for him to be in the Fire. Al-Hasan said: "The greater fire" is the Fire of the Hereafter, and the lesser fire is the fire of this world. Some of the interpreters said: The fire of all of the Hereafter, even if it is severe, is differentiated, for in it is something greater than something else. Al-Farra' said: The greater one is the lowest of the levels of the Fire.

And His saying, exalted is He: "He does not die in it nor does he live" means: He does not die in it a restful death nor does he live a pleasant life. So he is certainly alive, and it has been reported in the narration that the sinners in the Fire are dead.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: And he meant it in a figurative sense, for it is like a state of slumber, stillness, and lethargy, so he made it death.