Surah No. 56
Surah No. 561
(56:1) When the Occurrence occurs.2
(56:2) And, there is no denying its occurrence. 3
(56:3) Abasing (some), raising (others). 4
(56:4) When the earth is rocked, rockingly.
(56:5) And the mountains are crushed, crushingly.
(56:6) Then it shall be (like) scattered dust. 5
(56:7) And you shall be three kinds. 6
(56:8) So, as for the Companions of the Right .. what of the Companions of the Right?!
(56:9) And the Companions of the Left; what of the Companions of the Left?! 7
(56:10) And the Outrunners? – the Outrunners. 8
(56:11) They are the ones brought nigh.
(56:12) In gardens of bliss.
(56:13) A throng from the earlier ones.
(56:14) And a few from the later ones. 9
(56:15) Upon couches studded (with precious stones). 10
(56:16) Reclining upon them, face to face.
(56:17) Perpetual youths going around them11
(56:18) With goblets, beakers and glass(es) 12 (filled out of) flowing-fountains. 13
(56:19) No headache shall they undergo thereby nor intoxication.
(56:20) And with fruits such as they choose. 14
(56:21) And flesh of fowl such as they desire. 15
(56:22) And wide-eyed Houris.
(56:23) In the likeness of pearls well-preserved.
(56:24) A reward for that they labored.
(56:25) They shall hear no idle talk therein nor commission of sin.
(56:26) But for the saying, ‘Peace, Peace.’
(56:27) And the Companions of the Right .. what of the Companions of the Right?
(56:28) Amid thornless lote trees. 16
(56:29) And layered bananas. 17
(56:30) And extended shade. 18
(56:31) And water poured out.
(56:32) And fruits abundant..
(56:33) Unfailing, unforbidden. 19
(56:34) And upraised couches.
(56:35) Indeed, We have created them - (a new) creation. 20
(56:36) So We made them virgins.
(56:37) Loving ones, 21 of equal age. 22
(56:38) For the Companions of the Right.
(56:39) A throng from the earlier ones
(56:40) And a throng from the later ones. 23
(56:41) And the Companions of the Left .. what of the Companions of the Left?!
(56:42) Amid scorching winds and boiling water
(56:43) And shadows of dark smoke. 24
(56:44) Neither cold nor goodly. 25
(56:45) Indeed, before this they were the ones indulging in luxuries.
(56:46) And persisted in the great sin. 26
(56:47) And they would say, ‘What, when we are dead and become dust and bones, are we to be raised up?
(56:48) And our fathers of old (too)?’
(56:49) Say, ‘The firsts and the lasts..
(56:50) will be brought together at the appointed time of a known day.
(56:51) Then you shall – O you the ignorant ones, those who cried lies –
(56:52) be surely eating out of the Zaqqum tree..
(56:53) filling the bellies therewith.
(56:54) And drinking on top of that boiling water.
(56:55) Drinking like the drinking of thirsty camels. 27
(56:56) This is their hospitality on the day of Reckoning.
(56:57) It is We who have created you, so why do you not acknowledge?
(56:58) Have you considered that which you emit? 28
(56:59) Is it you who creates it or, are We the Creator? 29
(56:60) It is We who have decreed death among you, 30 and We are not to be frustrated..
(56:61) that We should substitute (you) with the likes of you, and develop you into (a form) which you do not know (now). 31
(56:62) You have already known the first creation, 32 therefore, why do you not take heed?
(56:63) Have you considered that which you sow (in the ground)?
(56:64) Is it you who cause it to grow or, are We the Grower? 33
(56:65) Had We wished, We could have broken it into broken orts, and you would be left wondering34 .
(56:66) ‘We are indeed debt-ridden.
(56:67) Nay, We have been denied.’ 35
(56:68) Have you considered the water that you drink?
(56:69) Is it you who send it down from the clouds, or are We the Sender? 36
(56:70) Had We wished, We could have made it bitter. So, only if you would give thanks. 37
(56:71) Have you considered the fire you kindle? 38
(56:72) Is it you who produced its tree, 39 or are We the Producer?
(56:73) We made it a reminder40 and a provision for the wayfarers. 41
(56:74) Therefore, chant the glory of your Lord, the Supreme.’ 42
(56:75) Nay, I swear by the falling of the stars. 43
(56:76) And, it is a solemn oath, if you but knew.
(56:77) It is surely a Noble Qur’ān.
(56:78) In a well-guarded44 Book. 45
(56:79) Touch it not but the purified. 46
(56:80) A sending down by the Lord of the worlds.
(56:81) What, do you treat this discourse47 with indifference? 48
(56:82) And make (it) your thanks that you should cry lies49
(56:83) Then, why is it not that when it reaches the throat, 50
(56:84) And at that moment you are looking on.
(56:85) We51 are closer to him than you, but you see not.
(56:86) Why not then, if you are not to be held accountable? 52
(56:87) bring it back53 if you are truthful.
(56:88) Then, if he is of those drawn nigh.
(56:89) Then, comfort54 and fragrance, 55 and a garden of delight. 56
(56:90) And, if he is a Companion of the Right.
(56:91) Then, ‘Peace be upon you, 57 (O you) of the Companions of Right.’ 58
(56:92) But if he was of those who cried lies, and of the erring ones.
(56:93) Then (for him there is) hospitality of boiling water.
(56:94) And roasting in Hell.
(56:95) Surely, this is the ascertained truth.
(56:96) Therefore, chant the glory of your Lord, the Supreme. 59
1. Ibn Kathir quotes a hadīth from Tirmidhi which Tirmidhi declared weak. However, another version is found in Tabarani’s collection which Haythami declared as carrying narrators of Sahih works :
Abu Bakr says I said to the Prophet, “Oldness seems to be hastening upon you.” He replied “Surah al-Waqi`ah, Surah al-Naba’ and Surah al-Takweer have hastened old age on me” (Au.).
However, ahadīth that mention the recitation of this Surah as cure for poverty, are weak (Au.).
2. That is, when the Hour strikes.
3. Alternatively, no soul will, at that moment, deny it; or deny other Unseen affairs that it denies now (Zamakhshari).
4. I.e., raising those who were lowly – but righteous in this world – over and above many self-conceited ones of this world, ushering them high into Paradise, while debasing others; i.e., the self-conceited ones of this world, casting them low into Hellfire (Au.).
5. “Habaa’” is for that spark which shoots out of fire and dies out in a moment (Ibn Jarir, Shawkani).
When it rises, you see it as something but when it falls, it leaves no trace of itself (Qurtbi).
6. This Ayah has its parallel in another verse of the Qur’ān:
“Then We gave the Book in inheritance to such of Our servants as We chose. Of them are some who wrong their own souls, and of them some who are on the middle course, while some who are by Allah’s grace, outrunners in good deeds.” Thus, the division into three groups echoes in this verse also (Ibn Kathir, Shawkani).
That is how the people will be divided on the Judgment day: (i) Some on the right side of the `Arsh, those that were brought forth from the right side of Adam (at the start of the creation). They will be given their Records in their right hands and will be taken to the right side. Suddi said that the great majority of the dwellers of Paradise will belong to this group. (ii) Another group will be placed on the left side of the `Arsh.
They had emerged from the left side of Adam. They will be given their Records in their left hands and will be taken to the left side. They will be the dwellers of Hellfire. (iii) A third category will comprise of those who were foremost (in every act of virtue:
Au.), and will be nearest to Allah.
These will be Prophets, Messengers Siddiqoon and martyrs (Ibn Kathir).
7. These have also been mentioned in the narrative coming through Abu Dharr in Muslim (and many other works). The Prophet said (while speaking of his ascent to the heavens) “As we rose up to this world’s firmament we found a man who had a huge dark patch on his right hand side and a huge dark patch on his left hand side.
When he looked at those at the right hand side, he laughed. But when he looked at those at the left hand side, he wept. He said (to me), ‘Welcome, a righteous Prophet and a righteous son.’ He said, I asked Jibril. He said it was Adam – peace be upon him. And these dark patches on his right and left are the souls of his sons.
Those of the right hand side are inhabitants of Paradise while the dark patch on his left hand side are inhabitants of the Fire..” (Qurtubi).
8. What the commentators have said in a variety of ways can be summed up as follows: Outrunners are those who forerun all others in all kinds of virtuous deeds (Ibn Kathir).
Kashshaf places a line which aptly describes his own situation, if we keep in mind his long travels in search of knowledge. He writes:
Those are meant who hastened to all good things, and tore through dust seeking their Lord’s pleasure.
9. That is, these Outrunners will be more from the nations of the past while few from the followers of our Prophet (Ibn Jarir). That is because this Ummah was the last to appear.
There were numerous Prophets and Messengers who appeared before it.
Jointly, the numbers of their Outrunners are expected to be more than that of this single Ummah; hence the words, “a few from the later ones.” This was hard for the Companions to hear (since it promised low numbers) and so the Prophet consoled them by saying that, all in all, they will yet be half of those in Paradise (Kashshaf, Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir and others).
Ibn Abi Hatim has preserved a report from Hasan that when `Ali (b. Abi Talib) passed by this Ayah, he remarked, “As for the Outrunners they have been; but, O Allah, make of us those of the Right Hand side.” However, Hasan himself believed, as also did Muhammad b. Seereen, that by “a throng from the earlier ones” the allusion is to the first group of believers of this Ummah (Ibn Kathir).
Asad’s note needs consideration:
“The above stress on the ‘many’ and the ‘few’ contains an allusion to the progressive diminution, in the historical sense, of the element of excellence in men’s faith and ethical achievements.”
10. Another possible meaning is “lined up”, i.e., the couches shall be lined up (Ibn Jarir).
11. That is, young ones who will never grow in age, but remain unchanged forever, serving the dwellers of Paradise.
12. “Akwaab” (sing.: koob) have no sprout and no ears (handles). “Abaareeq” (sing.: ibreeq) are those that have a sprout and ears; while in classical Arabic “ka’s” was generally referred to those glasses that had wine filled in them; i.e., when empty they were not referred to as “ka’s”.
13. The translation is literal, but Ibn `Abbas, Dahhak and Qatadah explained as in Ibn Jarir, that here it stands for wine.
14. The mention of fruits reminds Ibn Kathir of a hadīth preserved by Ahmed (and Abu Ya`la and which Haythami declared as of narrators same as of Sahih works: Sami) :
Anas reports that good dreams pleased the Prophet. Sometimes he would ask, “Has anyone of you seen a dream?” If one of them had experienced one, he would ask him to narrate it. If he did not see anything unpleasant in it, the man would be pleasing to him on that score. Now one day a woman came and said “Messenger of Allah. I saw as if I have entered Paradise. I heard a huge noise which shook Paradise.
I looked up, and lo, so and so, son of so and so, and, so and so, son of so and so, until she counted 12 that were brought in.” [Indeed earlier the Prophet had sent a force against an enemy]. She continued “They were brought in with torn clothes and their neck veins bleeding. It was said, ‘Take them to the Sadakh – or may be the narrator said, Bayzakh – spring.’ They were taken there and a dip given after which their faces became like moon in the middle of the month.” The narrator said, “Then golden chairs were brought for them. As they sat on them a large plate – or maybe the narrator said another word of this kind - was brought up that had half-ripe dates. They ate thereof. And, they did not turn it to a side but ate thereof a fruit of their choice. I too ate with them.” Then a news-carrier came from a battalion the Prophet had sent earlier and said, “Messenger of Allah it (the battle) went this way and that way, and so and so and so and so were martyred” - naming the twelve the woman had named. The Prophet ordered that the woman be brought back. When she came he told her “Now, narrate your dream to this man.” Hafiz Diyaa’ judged the narrative as meeting with the standards of Muslim (Ibn Kathir).
15. Ahmed has a hadīth of this context. The Prophet said, “Fowls of Paradise are like long-necked (birds).
They feed on the trees of Paradise.” Abu Bakr asked, “Messenger of Allah, are these birds soft (of flesh)?” He answered, “But those who eat of them will be in greater blessing” – he said that three times – “and I hope you will be of those who will eat of them, O Abu Bakr” (Ibn Kathir).
[Haythami added: The above report is also in Tirmidhi in a shorter form while Ahmed’s report has narrators of Sahih ahadīth except for Sayyar b. Hatim, who in any case was trustworthy:
Au.].
Ibn Kathir reproduces several other narratives of this nature that have been preserved and judged variously by hadīth doctors. Although they are weak, they strengthen each other (Au.).
16. A tradition preserved by Hakim reports, Abu Umamah said that the Companions of the Prophet would await a Bedouin to turn up, who could ask questions and thus Allah bestow benefit through him.
Once a Bedouin came in and asked, “Messenger of Allah. Allah has mentioned an irritating tree in the Qur’ān. I never imagined that there would be a tree in Paradise that would trouble its dwellers.” The Prophet asked him what it was and he said “Lote tree, for it is full of thorns.” The Prophet read out, “(Among thornless lote-trees) – Allah will remove its thorns and replace every thorn with a fruit. It will fructify with fruits and whenever a fruit opens up, seventy-two colors will open up, none of the colors like any other” – Qurtubi Ibn Kathir, Shawkani.
Hakim declared it as of good chain and Dhahabi confirmed his opinion (Au.).
There is another report of similar meaning In sum it says that a Bedouin said to the Prophet, “You mention a tree (talh) in Paradise, but which is full of thorns” and the Prophet replied, “Allah will replace every thorn with a fruit like a castrated light-skinned ram, each of a different colored-food, that will not resemble another” (Ibn Kathir Shawkani).
[Note that “talh” meant, in Yemeni dialect banana, while among the Hijazis it referred to a thorny tree of the deserts: Au.].
It may also be noted that the Prophet drew a simile that was familiar to a shepherd (Au.).
The report was treated trustworthy by Haythami (Sami).
17. The great majority of the Salaf have believed that “talh” is for bananas (Ibn Jarir). In fact, its leaves are also layered (Razi).
Note the contrast, which could be the reason why the comparatively unknown lote-tree has been mentioned:
The lote-tree has the smallest of leaves among the (fruit) plants while banana tree has the largest of leaves (Razi).
18. We have a hadīth in this reference.
(It is in Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi and other collections: Au.). The Prophet is reported by Anas as having said, “Paradise has a tree in whose shade a rider might ride for a hundred years, but will not be able to cross it” (Ibn Jarir).
The report is in the Sahihayn and others, of “mutawatir” status and a report of Ahmed names it as “shajaratu al-khuld” that is the immortal tree. Nonetheless scholars have pointed out that there will be no sun in Paradise but, as Ibn Mas`ud said, rather like the time after Fajr, neither dark nor bright (Ibn Kathir).
19. We have passed by a verse of similar meaning :
i.e., “Every time they are fed with a fruit they will say, ‘This is what we have been fed with before.’ And, (indeed) they will be given the like of it.” Yet another report of similar nature is in Abu Ya`la and others :
Ka`b reported from his father that “once while we were lined up behind the Prophet in Zuhr Prayers, we saw the Prophet reach out for something. He stepped back and so did the people. Then he stepped back a second time and so did the people. I said ‘Messenger of Allah, we saw you doing something that normally you do not do in Prayers?’ He answered, ‘Paradise was shown to me along with its fruits and flowers. I tried to reach out for a bunch of grapes. Had I taken it everyone in the heaven and earth would have eaten out thereof without any reduction. But a barrier was created between me and it’” (Ibn Kathir).
Dhahabi declared this hadīth of Hakim as Sahih (Au.).
20. Most commentators agree that these will be especially created women.
The hadīth that says that the allusion is to the re-creation of the old, decrepit women of this world, is weak (Au.).
It is narrated about Sulayman al-Darani that he said, “I offered (tahajjud) Prayers one night and then began to supplicate. It was an extremely cold night so I began to supplicate with one hand. Then sleep overtook me and I saw a Hourie the like of whom I had never seen before. She said, ‘O Abu Sulayman. Do you supplicate with one hand while I have been preparing food for you in the Blissful Garden for five hundred years?’” (Ibn Kathir).
21. “`Urub” are those who desire after their husbands - lovingly. Another connotation is, “those of amorous gestures” (Ibn Jarir from the Salaf).
22. A hadīth can be quoted in support :
The Prophet said, “The inhabitants of Paradise will enter therein with no hair growth on their heads or cheeks, with kohl in their eyes, of age thirty-three years” (Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir, Alusi).
Tirmidhi himself declared the report as a kind of weak one. But Albani treated it as Sahih. Haythami said that some of its parts are in the Sahih works (Au.).
Sex in Paradise Ibn Kathir mentions a few ahadīth here on the topic of sex in Paradise during the search of which we have found a few others. Bukhari and Muslim have no reports, neither in favor nor in denial. But a few other collections do deal with the subject although in passing. As is our habit we present only those that enjoy some credibility ignoring those of the lesser order, whether Ibn Kathir presents them or not (Au.).
Prophet was asked, “Shall we have sex with our women in Paradise just as we do in this life?” He answered, “By Him in whose hands is my life, a man will have sex during a day with a hundred virgins.” The above was preserved by Abu Ya`la and others which Haythami treated as not so untrustworthy.
However, Albani said it is Sahih. Tabarani recorded that the Prophet was asked whether the dwellers of Paradise will have sex. He answered, “Yes: with organs that will not get weary and a desire that will never be satiated – forcefully, forcefully.” According to another version, “Without ejaculation-liquid from either side.” Another report in Tabarani is on the authority of Zayd b. al- Arqam. It says: A Jewish man said to the Prophet, “O Abu al- Qasim, do you claim that the inhabitants of Paradise will eat and drink?” He replied, “Yes. And, by Him in whose hand is my life, a man will be given the strength of a hundred men in matters of eating drinking, and intercourse.” The Jew said, “Whoever eats and drinks will need to relieve himself, but Paradise is a clean place.” He answered, “The manner of a man’s relief will be issuance of a liquid of smell like musk. With that his stomach will be cleansed” (Au.).
(Haythami declared it as carrying a trustworthy chain: Au.).
Yet another hadīth is as follows:
asked the Prophet whether, “We shall have intercourse with our women in Paradise as we have intercourse with them in this life?” He answered, “By Him in whose hands is my life, during a single day a man will have intercourse with a hundred virgins” (Au.).
Haythami treated the above as quite trustworthy (Au.).
The hadīth of course does not mention the length of the day or night in Paradise.
According to yet another version when asked whether the inhabitants of Paradise will have sex he answered “Yes; and they will also eat and drink.” Haythami remarked: These were preserved by Tabarani being reports with some narrators trusted while others considered weak. Tabarani and Abu Ya`la have it that the Prophet was asked “Messenger of Allah. Shall we have sex with our women in Paradise?” He answered, “Yes. By Him in whose hands is my life, a man will have sex with a hundred virgins in a day.” Haythami adds: The narrators of the above report are those of the Sahih works but for Muhammad b. Thawab who was, anyway, also trustworthy.
Another narration of Tabarani says :
The Prophet said, “A man will be married to seventy women in Paradise.” It was asked, “Messenger of Allah. Will he have the ability?” He answered, “He will be given the power of a hundred.” Although it is partly available in Tirmidhi it has been considered weak by Haythami.
Ibn Hibban’s Sahih has the following:
The Prophet was asked, “Shall we have sex in Paradise?” He replied, “Yes. By Him in whose hand is my soul, forcefully, forcefully.
When he moves away from her, she would turn purified, virgin.” Shu`ayb al-Arna’oot however declared it a Hasan report, i.e., a kind of weak, but not too weak (Au.). Tirmidhi’s report, considered Sahih-Ghareeb by him quotes the Prophet as having said, “A believer will be given the power to co-habit, to such and such level.” He was asked, “Messenger of Allah. Will he have the strength for it?” He answered, “He will be given the strength of a hundred.” The above are the ahadīth that the books yield on this subject. Some are in Ibn Kathir. We may terminate by re-quoting another hadīth, relevant to the above, answering how a man could have strength of so many.
Apart from other things, it speaks of their size in Paradise. It is in the Sahihayn and other works :
The Prophet said, “The first group to enter Paradise will have faces like the full-moon. Those who follow them will be like the most shining star in the sky. They will not have to attend to the call of nature. They will not spit, nor spit phlegm. Their combs will be of gold and their sweat musk; their perfume-burners of high quality material; their spouses wide-eyed houris. They will be on one pattern of creation, on the face of their progenitor Adam sixty feet in the sky.” Before closing this subject, we may also point out that the reports on this topic are a clear proof of the authenticity of the general body of hadīth.
We know that in sexual terms the Arab Peninsula is identified as the most active and passionate region in the world. Interest in sex starts pretty early in life, and remains till quite late in old age. It is treated with frankness and as a matter of fact. Its discussion involves no shame. The poetry that the Companions would have heard was no other than the Jaahiliyy poetry concerned with nothing but wars wine and women. Had the ahadīth in Bukhari, Muslim, Ahmed, and major works been fabricated, surely, one would have found dozens of ahadīth on this topic of popular interest - in every one of these books. But none are found in them. In comparison there are scores of ahadīth on letting down the beards and trimming the moustaches. But the deviant minds of the Orientalists and their followers rarely give an ear to a keynote that would threaten their resolutely adopted position of rejection (Au.).
23. Hasan said that the allusion is to a large number of people from among the people before Prophet Muhammad and a large number from those of his followers (Ibn Jarir).
Ibn Kathir reproduces a hadīth to the effect that the two “throngs” will be from this Ummah. But it is untrustworthy.
Ibn Jarir and Ibn Kathir also produce another hadīth of Bazzar Hakim (which Dhahabi declared trustworthy) and Ibn Hibban (which Arna’oot declared Sahih) in which the Prophet used the words of the Qur’ān, but which does not clearly specify that both the “throngs” will be from this Ummah. The hadīth however is as follows:
`Imran b. Husayn reports that we spoke in the company of the Prophet until we prolonged the talk, so we returned to our homes. Next day we went up to the Prophet. He said, “Last night Prophets were shown to me along with their followers. A Prophet would pass with three followers or a Prophet with a group of followers or another with a slightly smaller number of followers with him, and one without any follower from the people he was raised in; until I saw Musa b. `Imran among a large number of the Children of Israel. Their numbers amazed me. I asked, ‘My Lord! Who are these?’ He said, ‘This is your brother Musa b. `Imran and those who followed him from among the Children of Israel.’ I asked ‘And where are my followers?’ I was told, ‘Look at your right,’ and lo, one of the smaller hillock of Makkah was covered with men. I said, ‘My Lord! Who are these?’ I was told, ‘Your followers.’ And then it was said, ‘Are you satisfied?’ I said, ‘My Lord, I am satisfied my Lord, I am satisfied.’ I was told, ‘Look at your left.’ I found the horizon covered with people.
I asked, ‘My Lord, who are these?’ It was said, ‘Your followers.’ Then it was said, ‘Are you satisfied?’ I said, ‘My Lord, I am satisfied, my Lord, I am satisfied.’ It was said to me, ‘Along with these there will be seventy thousand who will enter Paradise without reckoning.’ At that point `Ukkasha – a man from Banu Asad of Khuzaymah – got up and said, “Messenger of Allah, seek from Allah that He place me among them.” The Prophet said, “O Allah place him among them.” Then another man and rose up and said “Prophet of Allah, seek from Allah that He place me among them.” He said, “`Ukkasha overtook you.” Then the Prophet continued, “My parents be sacrificed for you, if you can manage to be from among the ‘seventy’ then be. But if you are unable and fall short, then be of the hillock. But if you are unable and fall short, be of those that stretched to the horizon for, I saw people there jostling up there.” Then he added, “I hope that those who follow me will be one fourth of Paradise.” We chanted Allah’s greatness. Then he said, “I hope that they will be one-third.” We chanted Allah’s greatness. Then he added, “I hope you will be one half.” We chanted Allah’s greatness.
The Prophet then recited, “A throng from the earlier ones and a throng from the later ones.” The Muslims discussed it between themselves as to who could those be, saying, “We did not see them but as those who were born into Islamic homes and so kept living according to it and died upon it,” until their talk reached the Prophet. He said, “It is not that way.
But rather they are a people who do not seek to be charmed (by charmers) do not get tattooed with hot iron, and do not seek after and follow omens but rather, place trust on their Lord.”
24. This Ayah reminds us of another passage of the Qur’ān :
“Move on to a shadow that has three branches. Neither providing shade nor saving from the flames.
It sends out sparks the size of palaces as if they are yellow camels.
Woe then that day unto the deniers” (Ibn Kathir).
25. Ibn Jarir offers examples of similar usages among the Arabs (i.e. where the sentence ends with “ka- reem”). In Arabic, everything that is not good is termed as “laysa bi-kareemin” (Qurtubi).
26. That is, the sin of Association (Mujahid, Dahhak, Qatadah and others as in Ibn Jarir).
27. “Heem” is also referred to a camel which suffers from a certain disease because of which it drinks but its thirst is not satiated, so that it keeps on drinking until it dies. The medicine with which it is then treated is known as “huyaam” (Ibn Jarir from the Salaf, Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir).
28. That is, the seminal fluid of the male and female (Au.).
29. The sperm cell is a special creation of Allah. It has a head, a short body and a long tail. It behaves like a little one. In fact earliest biological text books drew a little man to illustrate the spermatozoa.
With reference to the number of chromosomes, there are two types of cells that the human body manufactures:
those with the standard 46 chromosomes and those with half the numbers, i.e., 23. The latter are manufactured in testicles and ovaries. Chromosomes are helical strands that contain 3 billion molecules around 3% of which function as genes. Genes are spread far and wide on the 46 chromosomes, and randomly placed, yield meaningful messages. They are the blue-prints of life. A whole human being can be built with the instructions contained in the 46 chromosomes.
During cell division, the 46 chromosomes replicate to become two sets of chromosomes. These two new sets of 46 chromosomes each, move to extreme ends of the cell, which then splits from the middle to result in two daughter cells. Each daughter cell now has 46 chromosomes or 23 pairs.
The cells made in testicles and ovaries are specialized forms called sperms and eggs. In their case something mysterious happens during the division of normal cells containing 46 chromosomes. The helical strands open up in the testicle and the 23 pairs of chromosomes uncoil to resemble a ladder. Then they are vertically sliced into two halves from the middle. The two sliced sets of chromosomes move apart to two ends of the by now enlarged cell. The cell itself splits into two, giving birth to two daughter cells. Each daughter cell contains only half the chromosomes 23. When these two specialized cells, sperm and egg, merge to become one cell during fertilization the two sliced halved chromosomes (from sperm and egg) join together to become, once again, 23 pairs, thus completing the number 46.
Emitted into the vagina, the spermatozoa in their millions begin to swim upstream with the help of their long tails, as if searching for an egg. Once found, each tries to force itself into the egg. Normally only one succeeds.
(If more than one succeeds, the result is twins or more). The head forces itself into the egg with the help of an enzyme at the tip which breaks the outer lining of the egg. As soon as a sperm penetrates into an egg, the egg undergoes massive chemical changes in an instant. Its wall hardens up to render it impenetrable by other sperms. Soon the 23 sliced pieces of chromosomes of the male sperm and female egg find each other, arrange themselves, join up, and assuming the shape of a ladder, result in 23 complete pairs.
This is a simplistic description of the sperm and egg, and of the fertilization with reference to the chromosomes alone. A detailed description describing thousands of events, each a miracle in itself, has to be obtained from biological books (Au.).
30. So that, it comes early to some late to others (Ibn Jarir).
31. That is, are you not afraid that Allah should destroys you to bring another people in your place, and then, He should develop you into a new creation altogether, in form and shape completely different from what you are now? (Ibn Jarir)
32. Why can you not recall the creation of Adam to convince yourself that the Power that created him can create another kind of creation in your place? (Ibn Jarir with slight modification). Alternatively, why should you not consider your own creation: from semen drop, to a clot to a chewed flesh-like piece, and so on – although you were nothing earlier? (Qurtubi)
33. Today’s botanic knowledge is so well spread that we may not repeat any of the amazing things that are reported in the media, and perhaps taught in schools. We shall present here some of the latest findings about plant life, some functions within, especially their ability to communicate with trained persons, express feelings of joy and fear, and friendliness with those who care for them. The source is “The Secret Life of Plant” by Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird (Rupa Publications, 2006):
“The true matrix of human life is the greensward covering mother earth.
Without green plants we would neither breathe nor eat. On the undersurface of every leaf a million movable lips are engaged in devouring carbon dioxide and expelling oxygen. All together, 25 million square miles of leaf surface are daily engaged in this miracle of photosynthesis, producing oxygen and food for man and beast… Of the 375 billion tons of food we consume each year the bulk comes from plants, which synthesize it out of air and soil with the help of sunlight. The remainder comes from animal products, which in turn are derived from plants. All the food, drink, intoxicants, drugs and medi¬cines that keep man alive and if properly used, radiantly healthy are ours through the sweetness of photosynthesis. Sugar produces all our starches, fats, oils, waxes, cellulose.
From crib to coffin, man relies on cellulose as the basis for his shelter clothing, fuel, fibers, basketry cordage, musical instruments, and the paper on which he scribbles his philosophy.
Instinctively aware of the aesthetic vibrations of plants, which are spiritually satisfying, human beings are happiest and most comfortable when living with flora. At birth, marriage death, blossoms are prerequi¬sites as they are at mealtime or festivities.
We give plants and flowers as tokens of love, of friendship, or homage and of thanks for hospitality. Our houses are adorned with gardens, our cities with parks, our nations with national preserves. The first thing a woman does to make a room livable is to place a plant in it or a vase of fresh cut flowers… Wormlike rootlets, which Darwin likened to a brain, burrow con¬stantly downward with thin white threads, crowding themselves firmly into the soil, tasting it as they go. Small hollow chambers in which a ball of starch can rattle indicate to the root tips the direction of the pull of gravity.
When the earth is dry, the roots turn toward moister ground, finding their way into buried pipes, stretching, as in the case of the lowly alfalfa plant as far as forty feet, developing an energy that can bore through concrete.
No one has yet counted the roots of a tree, but a study of a single rye plant indicates a total of over 13 million rootlets with a combined length of 380 miles. On these rootlets of a rye plant are fine root hairs estimated to number some 14 billion with a total length of 6,600 miles, almost the distance from pole to pole.
As the special burrowing cells are worn out by contact with stones pebbles, and large grains of sand they are rapidly replaced, but when they reach a source of nourishment they die and are replaced by cells designed to dissolve mineral salts and collect the resulting elements. This basic nourishment is passed from cell to cell up through the plant which constitutes a single unit of protoplasm, a watery or gelatinous substance considered the basis of physical life.
The root is thus a water pump, with water acting as a universal solvent raising elements from root to leaf evaporating and falling back to earth to act once more as the medium for this chain of life. The leaves of an ordinary sunflower will transpire in a day as much water as a man perspires.
On a hot day a single birch can absorb as much as four hundred quarts, exuding cooling moisture through its leaves.
No plant, says France, is without movement; all growth is a series of movements; plants are constantly preoccupied with bending, turning and quivering. He describes a summer day with thousands of polyp like arms reaching from a peaceful arbor, trembling, quivering in their eager¬ness for new support for the heavy stalk that grows behind them.
When the tendril, which sweeps a full circle in sixty-seven minutes finds a perch, within twenty seconds it starts to curve around the object and within the hour has wound itself so firmly it is hard to tear away. The tendril then curls itself like a corkscrew and in so doing raises the vine to itself.
A climbing plant which needs a prop will creep toward the nearest support.
Should this be shifted, the vine within a few hours, will change its course into the new direction. Can the plant see the pole? Does it sense it in some unfathomed way? If a plant is growing between obstruc¬tions and cannot see a potential support it will unerringly grow toward a hidden support, avoiding the area where none exists.
Plants, says France, are capable of intent: they can stretch toward, or seek out, what they want in ways as mysterious as the most fantastic creations of romance.
Far from existing inertly, the inhabitants of the pasture—or what the ancient Hellenes called botane—appear to be able to perceive and to react to what is happening in their environment at a level of sophistica¬tion far surpassing that of humans.
The sundew plant will grasp at a fly with infallible accuracy, moving in just the right direction toward where the prey is to be found. Some parasitical plants can recognize the slightest trace of the odor of their victim, and will overcome all obstacles to crawl in its direction.
Plants seem to know which ants will steal their nectar, closing when these ants are about, opening only when there is enough dew on their stems to keep the ants from climbing. The more sophisticated acacia actually enlists the protective services of certain ants which it rewards with nectar in return for the ants’ protection against other insects and herbivorous mammals.
Is it chance that plants grow into special shapes to adapt to the idiosyncrasies of insects which will pollinate them, luring these insects with special color and fragrance, rewarding them with their favorite nectar devising extraordinary canals and floral machinery with which to ensnare a bee so as to release it through a trap door only when the pollination process is completed? Some plants, unable to find nitrogen in swampy land, obtain it by devouring living creatures. There are more than five hundred varieties of carnivorous plants, eating any kind of meat from insect to beef, using endlessly cunning methods to capture their prey, from tentacles to sticky hairs to funnel-like traps. The tentacles of carnivorous plants are not only mouths but stomachs raised on poles with which to seize and eat their prey, to digest both meat and blood and leave nothing but a skeleton…” Plants are even sentient to orientation and to the future. Frontier men and hunters in the prairies of the Mississippi Valley discovered a sunflower plant, Silphium laciniatum whose leaves accurately indicate the points of the compass. Indian licorice, or Arbrus precatorius is so keenly sensitive to all forms of electrical and magnetic influences it is used as a weather plant. Botanists who first experimented with it in London’s Kew Gardens found in it a means for predicting cyclones, hurricanes tornadoes, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
So accurate are alpine flowers about the seasons, they know when spring is coming and bore their way up through lingering snowbanks, developing their own heat with which to melt the snow… Whereas plants have been almost universally looked upon as senseless automata, they have now been found to be able to distinguish between sounds inaudible to the human ear and color wavelengths such as infra-red and ultraviolet invisible to the human eye; they are specially sensitive to X-rays and to the high frequency of television… (Introduction pp. vii-xii).
If a plant is threatened with overwhelming danger or damage, Backster (a scientist) observed that it reacts self-defensively in a way similar to an opossum — or, indeed, to a human being—by “passing out,” or going into a deep faint. The phenomenon was dramatically demonstrated one day when a physiologist from Canada came to Backster’s lab to witness the reaction of his plants.
The first plant gave no response whatsoever. Nor did the second; nor the third Backster checked his polygraph instruments, and tried a fourth and a fifth plant; still no success.
Finally, on the sixth, there was enough reaction to demonstrate the phenome¬non.
Cjrious to discover what could have influenced the other plants, Backster asked: “Does any part of your work involve harming plants?” “Yes,” the physiologist replied. “I terminate the plants I work with. I put them in an oven and roast them to obtain their dry weight for my analysis.” To see if a plant could display memory a scheme was devised whereby Backster was to try to identify the secret killer of one of two plants. Six of Backster’s polygraph students volunteered for the experiment, some of them veteran policemen. Blindfolded the students drew from a hat folded slips of paper, on one of which were instructions to root up, stamp on, and thoroughly destroy one of two plants in a room. The criminal was to commit the crime in secret; neither Backster nor any of the other students was to know his identity; only the second plant would be a witness.
By attaching the surviving plant to a polygraph and parading the students one by one before it, Backster was able to establish the culprit. Sure enough, the plant gave no reaction to five of the students, but caused the meter to go wild whenever the actual culprit approached. Backster was careful to point out that the plant could have picked up and reflected the guilt feelings of the culprit; but as the villain had acted in the interests of science, and was not particularly guilty, it left the possibility that a plant could remember and recognize the source of severe harm to its fellow.
In another series of observations Backster noted that a special com¬munion or bond of affinity appeared to be created between a plant and its keeper, unaffected by distance.
With the use of synchronized stop¬watches, Backster was able to note that his plants continued to react to his thought and attention from the next room, from down the hall, even from several buildings away. Back from a fifteen-mile trip to New Jersey, Backster was able to establish that his plants had perked up and shown definite and positive signs of response—whether it was relief or welcome he could not tell—at the very moment he had decided to return to New York” – Au.
But perhaps the most interesting for someone with a flare of biology, and a doubter of the theory of evolution would be the latest finding that plants seem to be capable of rectifying gene errors:
“Challenging a scientific law of inheritance that has stood for 150 years, scientists say plants sometimes select better bits of DNA in order to develop normally even when they inherited genetic flaws from their predecessors.
In the Purdue experiment, researchers found that a plant belonging to the mustard and watercress family sometimes corrects the genetic code it inherited from its flawed parents and grows normally like its unflawed grandparents and other ancestors.
Researchers found that in 10 percent of Arabidopsis thaliana plants with two copies of a mutant gene called “hothead” didn’t always blossom with deformed flowers like their parents, which carried the mutant genes. Instead, those plants had normal white flowers like their grandparents which didn’t carry the hothead gene. So the deformity appeared only for a single, previous generation.” (JOSEPH B. VERRENGIA Yahoo News (Au.).
34. This is how Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid and Qatadah understood the word “tafakkahoon” though there have been other (minor) opinions (Ibn Jarir).
35. That is, this is what you would have said in frustration if Allah had broken the seed into broken orts (Au.).
36. How rain drops form, i.e., as large as about 6-8 mm in dia., has been a mystery, since the droplets must necessarily fall off the clouds because of gravitational force, even when of dia. 2-3mm. Now with a new instrument, scientists have effectively reached into the clouds, revealing that a process they call cloudstirring leads to the rainfall.
“As water vapor rises from the surfaces of the oceans and other bodies of water, it begins to cool off. This cooling causes condensation, which transforms the vapor into tiny water droplets — that form clouds — with diameters smaller than the width of a human hair. These droplets are far too small to fall as raindrops, which are typically at least a millimeter across and a million times heavier. To balloon to raindrop size, the droplets need to collide and stick together.
Past studies have relied on computer simulations of the rain-making process.
These showed that once the itsybitsy droplets materialized inside the clouds, they turned into raindrops in one or two hours. In the real world however, rain can start to fall within 15 minutes of cloud formation.
Something must be speeding up the mergers of tiny droplets, which are so light they float around in clouds and often easily avoid the collisions necessary to make rain.
One way to speed the coalescence of droplets is to stir them up. If you stir up the droplets, they will more readily collide with one another.
It is now found that that droplets boasting larger-than-raindrop sizes in sinking pockets of air are found at the tops of clouds. This implies mixing occurs at the cloud edges, a support for the process of entrainment.
But that doesn’t completely rule out turbulence” (LiveScienc.com) - Au.
37. Water is a miracle, in the truest sense of the word; for details see Surah al-A`raf, note 22.
38. The Prophet has said about this world’s fire :
“Your fire is one-seventieth part of the fire of Hell.” It was said “Messenger of Allah, it would have sufficed as it is.” He replied “It has been made more intense by sixty-nine times, each of them of the same intensity as it is now” (Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir).
39. “The relation of Fire to Trees is intimate. In nearly all the fire that we bum, the fuel is derived from the wood of trees. Even mineral coal is nothing but the wood of prehistoric forests petrified under the earth through geological ages” (Yusuf Ali).
40. That is, the fire of the world is a reminder for the Fire of the Hereafter (Ibn Jarir, Razi).
41. The word “muqween” carries several other meanings (Ibn Jarir and others).
Asad explains: “The participial noun muqw is derived from the verb qawiya ‘it became deserted’ or ‘desolate’.
From the same root is derived the noun qawaa (or qiwaa’) which signifies ‘desert’, ‘wilderness’ or ‘wasteland’ as well as ‘hunger’ or ‘starvation’.
Hence muqw denotes ‘one who is hungry’ as well as ‘one who is lost [or “who wanders”] in a deserted place.’”
42. Although the following quote is slightly off the mark, stopping at Nature rather than proceeding to God it could still be read with profit and applied with success to the study of the Qur’ān as well. It is from a lecture delivered by a botanist Burbank on “How to Produce new Fruits and Flowers”: “In pursuing the study of any of the universal and everlasting laws of nature, whether relating to the life, growth, structure and movement of a giant planet, the tiniest plant or of the psychological movements of the human brain, some conditions are necessary before we can become one of nature’s interpreters or the creator of any valuable work for the world. Preconceived notions, dogmas and all personal prejudice and bias should be laid aside. Listen patiently, quietly and reverently to the lessons one by one which Mother Nature has to teach shedding light on that which was before a mystery, so that all who will may see and know. She conveys her truths only to those who are passive and receptive. Accepting these truths as suggested, wherever they may lead then we have the whole universe in harmony with us. At last man has found a solid foundation for science having discovered that he is part of a universe which is eternally unstable in form, eternally immutable in substance.” The author follows up with another quote from another scientist called Fechner. It reads: “it is a dark and cold world we sit in if we will not open the inward eyes of the spirit to the inward flame of nature.” (The Secret Life of Plants, Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird, Rupa Publications 2006).
43. Depending on how “nujum” is understood, the translation can vary.
Ibn `Abbas thought that the allusion is to the fact of the Qur’ān being sent down “munajjam” and hence the word meaning of “nujum” is “separately, in parts, etc.” However Mujahid, Qatadah (and Hasan: Ibn Kathir) have adopted the preferred meaning of “nujum” as “stars” and of “mawaaqi`” as their falling, (or their locations: Ibn Kathir) which will happen at the final Hour (Ibn Jarir Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir).
Most commentators see the legitimacy of both the explanations (Au.).
Asad expounds: “The term mawqi` (of which mawaaqi` is the plural) denotes the ‘time [or ‘place’ or ‘manner’] at which something comes down.’ Although many of the commentator think that the phrase ‘mawaaqi` annujoom’ relates to the break-up of the stars at the Last Hour. Ibn `Abbas `Ikrimah and Suddi were definitely of the opinion, strongly supported by the subsequent verses, that this phrase refers to the step-by-step revelation of – or coming down in parts (nujum) – of the Qur’ān .. By ‘calling to witness’ the gradual manner of its revelation, the Qur’ān points implicitly to the astounding fact that it has remained free of all inconsistencies and inner contradictions (cf. 4: 82..) despite all the dramatic changes in the Prophet’s life during the twentythree years of the ‘unfolding’ of the divine writ: and this explains, too the subsequent parenthetic clause (verse 76).”
44. “Maknoon” has two possible meanings: (a) hidden, and, (b) well- guarded. Both fit the noun that they qualify (Au.).
45. The allusion by the Book is to the Lawh al-Mahfuz (Razi).
46. The allusion is to the Book in the heavens which none touches but angels (Ibn `Abbas, Sa`eed b. Jubayr `Ikrimah, Mujahid and others: Ibn Jarir, Ibn Kathir).
The pagans alleged that the Qur’ān is a Satanic revelation. Allah refuted them by saying that only the purified (angels) touch it, never the devils (Sayyid).
Nonetheless, in view of a few ahadīth some scholars have said that the written Qur’ān may not be touched but by those in a state of purity, (i.e. those in wudu: Au.). One hadīth is in Imām Malik’s Muwattaa’ :
`Abdullah b. Abi Bakr al-Hazm reported that in the letter that the Prophet wrote to `Amr b. Hazm he mentioned), “Let none touch the Qur’ān but he who is in a state of purity.” Ibn Kathir adds that the chain of narrators of this report is questionable.
Shawkani and Alusi quote from Hakim’s Mustadrak that once when Salman al-Farsi was requested by some acquaintances to recite the Qur’ān for them, and offered to make wudu, he said that there was no need for ablution since he was after all, not going to touch the mushaf.
We might add here that there are other ahadīth that confirm the Prophet’s directive. One is as follows :
`Abdullah ibn `Umar reported as recorded by Tabarani in two of his books, that the Prophet said “Let none but a person in a purified state touch the Qur’ān.” Another report in Tabarani, which is quite trustworthy, says `Uthman b. Abi al-`Aas, who was a young man then said, “We went up to the Prophet as a delegation.
They found me – although the youngest - as the most learned of the Qur’ān and given preference because of my memorization of Surah al-Baqarah. The Prophet told me, ‘I place you as the Imām of your group although you are the youngest of them. Now, do not touch the Qur’ān unless you are in a state of purity’” (Au.).
The great majority have believed that none but a “taahir” may touch the mushaf such as, Ibn Mas`ud, Sa`d b. Waqqas, Sa`eed ibn Zayd, `Ataa Zuhri, Nakha`ee, Hakam, Hammad Malik, Shafe`ee and others. One of the two opinions of Abu Haneefah is that one could touch the outer cover the sides, or areas that do not carry the original text (Qurtubi).
Fiqh Rules and Aadaab Alusi writes that one may not recite the Qur’ān with a stinking mouth.
It is makruh to do so. It is also recommended that the recitation of the Qur’ān is done in a clean place, the reciter facing the Qiblah, reciting with complete presence of mind from a state of complete self-composure reciting unhurriedly, pondering over the meanings, in a pleasant tone and weeping or with a humble heartbroken face. He is also directed not to place the mushaf close by during intercourse, unless it is covered not place any other book on top of it and not turn its pages with a finger wetted with saliva.
Those were the aadaab. Except for the Maliki school of thought, all others agree that the Qur’ān should not be touched from a state of impurity major or minor, and that if someone who is reading it, and is not in ablution may use a piece of wood or some such artifact to turn its pages.
Malikiyyah make the exception that if it is a Qur’ānic class, then girl-students may recite the Qur’ān before a teacher, even if they are undergoing the cycle, for the fear that they might forget what they have so far memorized.
Otherwise, all schools agree that a woman undergoing menstruation or a man or woman who has had intercourse may not recite the Qur’ān, not even from memory without a ritual bath, far from touching it. However, the above applies to masaahif and not to other religious books which contain Qur’ānic quotations.
Someone in a state of major or minor impurity, may read such materials, but take care not to place a finger on the Qur’ānic Arabic text.
This would also apply to such Tafsir works that contain more of explanatory notes than Qur’ān text. They are not masaahif per se. That said, it is for extreme circumstances, otherwise, it is not at all advisable – for men - that they should read a religious text containing Qur’ānic Arabic texts while in the state of major impurity (Au.).
47. The textual word “hadeeth” has both the connotations of “discourse” as well as “new.” The Qur’ān – although Qadeem - is new in two senses:
when compared to older revelations and, for the fact that whenever it is recited, it sounds new, which every Arabic knowing person has no difficulty acknowledging (based on Razi’s long note).
48. The translation reflects one connotation of the word, which has Zamakhshari’s backing. But, as usual and as shown by Razi and others many other meanings and interpretations are possible (such as “disdain”) without any conflict between them (Au.).
49. That is, your denial of the Qur’ān, seems to be your way of giving thanks for the provision bestowed on you (Shawkani, quoting Wahidi).
There are instances of the word “shukr” used in the sense of provision.
`Ali ibn Abi Talib and Ibn `Abbas held this opinion (Ibn Jarir, Zakmakhshari Ibn Kathir). The opinion of Ibn `Abbas is in Bukhari (Au.).
In fact, adds Ibn Jarir, there is a hadīth to this effect :
The Prophet said in reference to the Ayah, “Your thanks (of this reference) is that you say ‘We have been rained because of the moon falling into a certain sphere, or because of such and such a star.’” A third opinion – as expressed by Hasan (al-Busri) – was, “Evil are a people who drew no (spiritual) provision from the Qur’ān but denial” (Ibn Jarir, Ibn Kathir, Shawkani in parts and Alusi).
Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir and Alusi add a few more ahadīth on the nature of disbelief in Allah through attribution of an independent role to nature and natural laws :
Zayd b. Khalid al-Juhani reports:
One day in Hudaybiyyah the Prophet offered the Fajr Prayers under a sky that had rained the previous night. When he was through with the Prayers he turned to the people and said “Do you know what says your Lord?” They said, “Allah and His Messenger know best.” He said “He says, ‘Some of My slaves became believers by the morning while others became unbelievers in Me. As for him who said “We were rained by Allah’s grace and His mercy” are believers in Me and disbelievers in stars. As for those who said, “We received rain because of the position of the stars (in the heavens)” – he is the one who disbelieved in Me and believed in stars.’” The hadīth is in Sahih works also.
Another hadīth puts it slightly differently.
It is in Muslim. The Prophet said, “Allah does not send down a grace from the heaven but a group of people become unbelievers.
Allah sends down the rain but they say, ‘(It happened) because of such and such a star.’” It is reported that `Umar offered Prayers for rains and then asked `Abbas as to how many days were left - according to the Jahiliyy starbased calculations - for it to rain, if it would. `Abbas replied that by those calculations seven days were left. But it rained before the seventh day and `Umar remarked, “This is by Allah’s grace” (Ibn Jarir, Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir).
50. That is, at the time of death.
51. By “we” the reference is to angels (Ibn Jarir). As Allah said in another place :
i.e., “He is the Irresistible, Supreme over His slaves and appoints over you (angels as) guardians till, when death comes upon one of you, Our messengers take away his soul and they fail not.
Then they are restored to Allah their true Protector. Lo! The judgment is His and He is the swiftest of reckoners.”
52. The word “deen” can be alternatively translated as “resurrection.” The argument is, if you deny Hereafter as the permanent abode, then this life should be of permanent nature.
So, why do you not bring back the soul to abide forever? (Razi).
53. That is, bring back the soul. The challenge remains unanswered to this day when every cell in a human body has been – so to say – analyzed and understood for its character and function. But the scientists prefer never to talk about the soul (Au.).
54. Alternative meanings for the word “rawh” are: coolness, mercy comfort, bliss, etc. (Ibn Jarir, Razi Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir).
Razi and Alusi point to another usage of the word in the Qur’ān in the sense of mercy, i.e., “Do not despair of Allah’s mercy. Surely, none despairs of Allah’s mercy but an unbelieving people.”
55. Alternative meanings for the words “rayhaan” are: ease, provision etc. (Ibn Jarir, Razi, Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir).
Many commentators point out that the allusion could be to the fragrant (leaves, flowers, etc.: Razi, Qurtubi) that the angels carry with them when taking the soul of the righteous. This explains, as it has been experienced the fragrance that the corpses of some believers emit immediately after death, lasting quite a while (Au.).
Ibn Kathir offers a few ahadīth at this point in reference to the happenings at death; but not very trustworthy.
One of them, although which Haythami did not look at kindly, has its confirmation from other sources. It is in Ahmed :
`Ataa’ b. Saa’ib said that the first time he knew who `Abd al-Rahman ibn abi Layla was when he saw an old man, white-haired in head and beard, on a donkey behind a coffin. I heard him say “So and so narrated to me from the Prophet that, ‘He who loves to meet Allah, Allah also loves to meet him. While he who dislikes meeting Allah, Allah too dislikes meeting him.’” At that the people began to weep. He asked, “What made you weep?” They said “All of us hate to die.” He said “That’s not what is meant. But rather, it applies to the time death arrives, as Allah said (‘Then, if he is of those drawn nigh; then comfort and fragrance, and a garden of delight’). When he is given this glad tiding he wishes to meet Him while Allah is more loving of meeting him. But (‘But if he was of those who cried lies and of the erring ones, then (for him there is) hospitality of boiling water; and roasting in Hell’).” See Surah Ibrahim, Ayah 27 of this work for a few other relevant ahadīth (Au.).
56. Three rewards have been mentioned against three qualities of a true believer: belief in the kalimah tayyibah, pronouncement of it, and a life confirming with its demands (Razi).
57. The true meaning is, be in peace against any fear of punishment on this Day (Razi, Qurtubi). The allusion could be to Salam at different points of time such as, at death, at the time Munkar and Nakeer arrive and thirdly, when resurrected (Qurtubi).
58. Alternatively, “And, if he is a Companion of the Right, then ‘Peace be upon you, from the Companions of Right,” where the allusion is to angels, wishing him, as they stand at his right side (from Ibn Jarir, slightly abridged, combined and modified).
59. Do not pay attention to the attitude of the unbelievers. That will make you unhappy. Instead, keep yourself busy in chanting Allah’s glory. That is a good way of preparing yourself for the journey to the Hereafter, and avoiding the chagrin caused by the debaucheries of the unbelievers and the ungodly (Shabbir).
What is the difference between العظيم and الأعلى ? Imām Razi explains (at Ayah 74) that العظيم indicates (an entity at) close (quarters), while الأعلى indicates (an entity at a) distance.
Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir, Shawkani and Alusi offer the following hadīth in reference to this last verse :
“When these words were revealed )فَسَبِّحْ بِسْمِ رَبِّكَ الْعَظِيمِ( the Prophet said, ‘place it in your ruku` (deep bow).’ And when the Ayah of Surah al-A`laa was revealed )سَبِّحِ اسْمَ رَبِّكَ الأَعْلَى( he said, ‘place it in your sujood.’” The hadīth was declared weak by Tirmidhi although also found in Abu Da`ud, Nasa’i, and Ibn Majah (Ibn Kathir).
Haythami made no comment on it.
However, both Ibn Hibban as well as Hakim placed this hadīth in their Sahih works (Au.).