Tafsir al Quran 2

سُوۡرَةُ الاٴعلی
بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
سَبِّحِ ٱسۡمَ رَبِّكَ ٱلۡأَعۡلَى (١) ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ فَسَوَّىٰ (٢) وَٱلَّذِى قَدَّرَ فَهَدَىٰ (٣) وَٱلَّذِىٓ أَخۡرَجَ ٱلۡمَرۡعَىٰ (٤) فَجَعَلَهُ ۥ غُثَآءً أَحۡوَىٰ (٥) سَنُقۡرِئُكَ فَلَا تَنسَىٰٓ (٦) إِلَّا مَا شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ‌ۚ إِنَّهُ ۥ يَعۡلَمُ ٱلۡجَهۡرَ وَمَا يَخۡفَىٰ (٧) وَنُيَسِّرُكَ لِلۡيُسۡرَىٰ (٨)

87:1 Glorify the name of your Lord, the Most High (spiritual height refers to height in Jannah, the subatomic, this is how Allah taught this matter),

87:2 Who creates (from subatomic particles), then makes complete (makes complete means begins the creation from particles then brings it into our world by finishing the form began with the particles),

87:3 And Who makes (things) according to a measure (according to defined laws in the universe, it isn’t haphazard or an accident), then guides (them to their goal…then guides all aspects of it’s creation until it reaches it’s destined role in this world),

87:4 And Who brings forth herbage (vegetation is an excellent visual representation of how this process occurs from the subatomic. Just like vegetation grows slowly and forms it’s shape and finally it’s role in the ecosystem, all created things follow a similar process from the subatomic, an infant in the womb created from a female egg and sperm grows in a similar way)

87:5 Then makes it dried up, dust-colored (the death of vegetation is likewise an excellent visual example of how life ends and leaves created things).

87:6 We will make you recite (the Quran) so you shall not forget, (the intellect, memory and imagination rely on the subatomic world to function and remember, Allah will bless your mind from the subatomic so it doesn’t forget)

87:7 Except what Allah pleases, surely He knows the manifest (what is seen in the world), and what is hidden (what is more hidden, Yakhfa, Allah knows the subatomic aspect of every creation and He knows how each creation impacts the subatomic, Hence He knows what will cause you to forget and it will only occur as Allah pleases).

87:8 And We will make your way smooth to a state of ease (You will see blessing (baraka, which makes life easier) in your life manifest in this world from the subatomic, it’s increase will occur just like plants grow and mature, the way of ease is related to the blessing, baraka, that comes into this world from what is Akhfa to it).

سُوۡرَةُ الحَشر
بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
سَبَّحَ لِلَّهِ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتِ وَمَا فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ‌ۖ وَهُوَ ٱلۡعَزِيزُ ٱلۡحَكِيمُ (١
لَوۡ أَنزَلۡنَا هَـٰذَا ٱلۡقُرۡءَانَ عَلَىٰ جَبَلٍ۬ لَّرَأَيۡتَهُ ۥ خَـٰشِعً۬ا مُّتَصَدِّعً۬ا مِّنۡ خَشۡيَةِ ٱللَّهِ‌ۚ وَتِلۡكَ ٱلۡأَمۡثَـٰلُ نَضۡرِبُہَا لِلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمۡ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ (٢١) هُوَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِى لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ‌ۖ عَـٰلِمُ ٱلۡغَيۡبِ وَٱلشَّهَـٰدَةِ‌ۖ هُوَ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ (٢٢) هُوَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِى لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ٱلۡمَلِكُ ٱلۡقُدُّوسُ ٱلسَّلَـٰمُ ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنُ ٱلۡمُهَيۡمِنُ ٱلۡعَزِيزُ ٱلۡجَبَّارُ ٱلۡمُتَڪَبِّرُ‌ۚ سُبۡحَـٰنَ ٱللَّهِ عَمَّا يُشۡرِڪُونَ (٢٣) هُوَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلۡخَـٰلِقُ ٱلۡبَارِئُ ٱلۡمُصَوِّرُ‌ۖ لَهُ ٱلۡأَسۡمَآءُ ٱلۡحُسۡنَىٰ‌ۚ يُسَبِّحُ لَهُ ۥ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِ‌ۖ وَهُوَ ٱلۡعَزِيزُ ٱلۡحَكِيمُ (٢٤

“All that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth glorifieth Allah, and He is the Mighty, the Wise.” (1)

“The seven heavens and the earth and all that is therein praise Him, and there is not a thing but hymneth His praise; but ye understand not their praise. Lo! He is ever Clement, Forgiving.”(17:44)

Allah began the universe with a word, Kun (Be), the response of mater and particles to being created where also words…to praise their Creator…their movement, vibrations or hymn in obedience of His laws are praise of Allah, just as the prophet (saws) explained the orbit of the stars, moon and sun are their prayer (obedience) to Allah, and hence the universe from the first particle to exist, to every particle after it, was built upon the praise of Allah, and upon the praise of the particle that came before it, layer upon layer (light upon light, 24:35) until this earth and everything in it was created from them…”The seven heavens and the earth and all that is therein praise Him”…this universe is nothing but the praise (hymn) of Allah….Hence Allah said about the vibrations of particles “and there is not a thing but hymneth His praise”.
“If We had caused this Qur’an to descend upon a mountain, thou (O Muhammad) verily hadst seen it humbled, rent asunder by the fear of Allah. Such similitudes coin We for mankind that haply they may reflect.” (21)

If the Quran is just words in a book how can it humble a mountain…this is the simple thought Allah wants us to reflect upon. The Quran before becoming the revelation given to the prophet (saws) is first given to the Angel Gabriel, a being made of light, the particle called the photon. Allah said about Him, He is an Angel endowed with Might in surah al Najm, this is his quality in contrast to other Angels.

Jibril must embody the Qualities of each verse perfectly in order to carry it as revelation, Allah says had the Angels descended to earth and walked as men, Judgment of people would have been passed instantly upon them (15:8), this is because Angels embody qualities perfectly, while mankind embodies them with crookedness, hence standing in their light would have annihilated the crookedness in us instantly and it would have hurt us spiritually, psychologically and physically, because our body is both physical and spiritual.

This is called judgment upon man because He embodied his imperfections through his own actions. The mountain would have crumbled at the sight of the Quran being revealed to it because it is Allah’s qualities embodied perfectly in words, through the Angel Jibril (as). This is exactly the same as when Allah revealed His light to the mountain for Musa (as) that Light wasn’t simply light it was Allah’s qualities embodied in light, the simile is of Angels who are created from light carrying the perfect qualities of Allah and his revelations, the Angels embody the power of the Quran as certain as we know Atoms have tremendous atomic power in them, enough to level a city, which is another simile for the mountain being levelled.

“He is Allah, other than Whom there is no God (there is no one else who knows the universe like him), the Knower of the Invisible (subatomic) and the Visible (physical world). He is the Beneficent, Merciful.” (the one who turns towards his creation and their personal lives) (22)

“He is Allah, other than Whom there is no God (there is no one else who is controlling the universe), the Sovereign Lord (in control of all matter and the laws they obey), the Holy One (unlike the universe He is free from being a mixture of things. The most pure creatures the Angels are created from one particle, the photon), the Peace (being free is the origin of peace, hence He is the originator of peace, salam, hence purifying the self of mixtures, entanglements of the heart is salaam, and tawheed, oneness, is freeing it from other than Allah), the Keeper of Faith (who preserves Iman in the heart, through purity (Al Qudus) and salaam), the Guardian (of people’s heart that houses their Iman, salam, and purity), the Majestic (who dresses mans entire self with the qualities his heart embodies), the Compeller (who subdues all imperfections and impurities in life through mans heart), the Superb (the pure example of perfection and perfect qualities, who raises man to stations only befitting Himself). Glorified be Allah from all that they ascribe as partner (unto Him, nothing is perfect in the same way He is perfect).” (23)

He is Allah (there is no one else who originated everything in the universe), the Creator (of all things from subatomic particles), the Shaper out of naught (who gave all particles the path they would take for everything to form in the universe), the Fashioner (who made the physical world from what He designed with these particles). His are the most beautiful names. All that is in the heavens and the earth glorifieth Him, and He is the Mighty, the Wise.” (24)…the movement, vibrations and hymn of particles in obedience of His laws are praise of Allah, “and there is not a thing but hymneth His praise; but ye understand not their praise”, Allah began this surah with this subject and ended it with this subject, creation is built upon the praise of Allah, we are nothing but the praise of Allah given life.

A more amazing question Allah wants man to ponder over because of this surah, is why will the Quran level the mountain because of it’s power but not man’s heart, understanding the physiology and physics of this opens up the Quran as Allah wanted it to be known.

(6) Unto Him belongeth whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth, and whatsoever is between them (the subatomic), and whatsoever is beneath the ground. (In this verse Allah continues the subtext and encompasses everything in this list that relates to this knowledge of the Throne…everything that is subject in life, to the fact He Istiwa, established His qualities on the throne).

(7) And if you utter the saying aloud, then surely He knows what is secret, and what is yet more hidden (Akhfa). (Allah is tying these prior subjects to the thing that helps us visualise it most in life, by way of an allusion the educated can understand. If you say your thoughts aloud, this represents the physical world around you, or if you keep them in your mind, this represents the subatomic world within everything, He knows both because He knows every part of the universe, and the Throne (Allah’s qualities) encompasses it All and affects it All. The subtext is Allah’s qualities, the Arsh and our relationship to it in life, remember this surah began by assuring the prophet (saws) of the Quran’s literal benefit to Man, so in these verses Allah is teaching Him the secret behind it. Every verse builds up to the verse about the throne and His qualities in the universe, then Allah affirms this meaning in the next verse by mentioning His qualities directly).

(8) Allah! There is no God save Him. His are the most beautiful names.

سُوۡرَةُ الحَدید
بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
سَبَّحَ لِلَّهِ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِ‌ۖ وَهُوَ ٱلۡعَزِيزُ ٱلۡحَكِيمُ (١) لَهُ ۥ مُلۡكُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِ‌ۖ يُحۡىِۦ وَيُمِيتُ‌ۖ وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىۡءٍ۬ قَدِيرٌ (٢) هُوَ ٱلۡأَوَّلُ وَٱلۡأَخِرُ وَٱلظَّـٰهِرُ وَٱلۡبَاطِنُ‌ۖ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَىۡءٍ عَلِيمٌ (٣) هُوَ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضَ فِى سِتَّةِ أَيَّامٍ۬ ثُمَّ ٱسۡتَوَىٰ عَلَى ٱلۡعَرۡشِ‌ۚ يَعۡلَمُ مَا يَلِجُ فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ وَمَا يَخۡرُجُ مِنۡہَا وَمَا يَنزِلُ مِنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ وَمَا يَعۡرُجُ فِيہَا‌ۖ وَهُوَ مَعَكُمۡ أَيۡنَ مَا كُنتُمۡ‌ۚ وَٱللَّهُ بِمَا تَعۡمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ۬ (٤) لَّهُ ۥ مُلۡكُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِ‌ۚ وَإِلَى ٱللَّهِ تُرۡجَعُ ٱلۡأُمُورُ (٥) يُولِجُ ٱلَّيۡلَ فِى ٱلنَّہَارِ وَيُولِجُ ٱلنَّہَارَ فِى ٱلَّيۡلِ‌ۚ وَهُوَ عَلِيمُۢ بِذَاتِ ٱلصُّدُورِ (٦)

(1) All that is in the heavens and the earth glorifieth Allah; and He is the Almighty, the Wise. (In these six verses Allah sets out to make clear in peoples minds what belongs to Him and what He has sovereignty over, among all the things man thinks about in the universe. It is an amazing set of statements if we consider they are revealed in a time when man did not have science, and most people are illiterate. So these would have been very powerful words in the minds of the Arabs, who are being introduced to these subjects for the first time in their History. Allah begins by saying “Glorifying Allah, is everything in the heavens and the Earth. He is the Noble (Almighty), the Wise”, because the subject of praise is about all matter in the universe, beginning with subatomic particles and ending with all the inanimate objects on earth and in space, the two Qualities of Al Azaziz and Hakim are mentioned. Al Aziz meaning the noble Al mighty first refers to spiritual elevation, nobility, this is represented by the heavenly or subatomic, and Almighty refers to the power required to create and mould everything in the universe from subatomic particles, then to give it life. We know from nuclear explosions how much power is in the Atom, but we should rather understand that this is also the power needed to create it, which Allah has sovereignty over. Al Hakim, the wise refers to Allah’s wisdom in creating what He created, it wasn’t created in vein or haphazardly but to represent His Qualities through the knowledge that exists in the creation of everything, and the things they achieve in life).

(2) His is the Sovereignty of the heavens and the earth; He quickeneth (gives life) and He giveth death; and He is Able to do all things. (The verse affirms Allah’s sovereignty over all matter by saying He gives it life and ends it, it continues to draw the image of Allah’s dominion in the Arabs minds. In surah Al mulk Allah begins by saying blessed is He in whose hand is the sovereignty, here Allah says to Him belongs all sovereignty after mentioning He is the noble Almighty, the meaning is the same because tabaruk, blessing, or to bring about blessing for the things Allah created refers to spiritual superiority over matter. Allah has complete control over all matter and every created thing, and is able to place baraka, blessing in it’s life beocuse He is the Sovereign over the universe.)

(3) He is the First and the Last, and the Outward and the Inward; and He is Knower of all things. (Not only is Allah in control over the Universe and the Earth, but time as well, this verse is used to affirm every possible direction man can think of, belonging to Allah. He is the first, before everything else began, and He is the Last after everything ends, meaning all of time is His. His is also the outward world you know of, the east and the west, and the inward subatomic world you have yet to learn about, the world of Angels and Jinn, there isn’t a direction, time, or place that isn’t His.)

(4) He it is Who created the heavens and the earth in six Days; then He established (Himself on) the Throne. He knoweth all that entereth the earth and all that emergeth therefrom and all that cometh down from the sky and all that ascendeth therein; and He is with you wheresoever ye may be. And Allah is Seer of what ye do.(The context of these verses leads from the world the Arabs knew of, to the heavenly subatomic one they didn’t. The Universe was created from the subatomic part first in six stages, then Allah established His qualities on the Arsh (throne), the outer boundary of the universe, sidrat al muntaha, so creation can know Him. The reason Allah goes from the Arsh to knowing everything in creation, in this verse, is because He is referring to every created being and every thing, not just the physical part of this universe but the subatomic with all it’s creatures, the Angels created from the subatomic particle the photon (light), and the Jinn created from a smokeless fire (electricity), there are countless other spiritual creatures and worlds that they live on, all created from other subatomic particles and we don’t know anything about them, but Allah does, like the Buraq the prophet rode on the night of isra wal miraj, Allah’s knowing them establishes His superiority over us in our hearts who know nothing, which is the aim of the verse, so the pagan Arabs can know Him and then worship Him through their knowledge of Him. Allah then mentions every direction that every kind of creature can come from. All that is born on earth, and all that emerges from it, everything that comes down from the subatomic (heavenly), and everything that rises to it. Birds are born on earth and then fly, hence the sky (samawat) here and what comes from it, and space, refers to spiritual beings like the Angels, what rises to it refers to the Jinn and similar beings like the Buraq, born on the various planets in the universe who then live in the spiritual part of that planet. Allah is with us regardless of where we come from or what type of creature we are).

(5) His is the Sovereignty of the heavens and the earth, and unto Allah (all) things are brought back.(Allah affirms everything in the previous verse here, which mirrors verse 2, His is the sovereignty of everything, place and time. This is beocuse Allah just introduced to the desert Arabs, 1400 years ago, every kind of creature and place He looks after and is aware of so they can be aware of it in their life, and take responsibility for knowing it).

(6) He causeth the night to pass into the day, and He causeth the day to pass into the night, and He is knower of all that is in the breasts. (After listing everything in this last verse Allah is telling the Arabs He is also responsible for change in everything….Beocuse by this point after hearing these words most Arabs would be focused internally in wonder and amazement at these words, Allah then talks to them directly where their perception is focused, by saying He also knows what you keep in your hearts, this is the intimate language of Allah in the Quran, to speak to people directly so He can help them understand, in this way by the end of these verses they would be looking directly at Allah in their hearts when He would have spoken to them, and the prophets and saintly men would have seen Him.)

Imam Rumi said “I looked for Allah. I went to a temple, and I didn’t find him there. Then I went to a church, and I didn’t find him there. And then I went to a mosque, and I didn’t find him there. And then finally I looked in my heart, and there he was.”

This isn’t as hard a question as it may seem because the answer in part lies in the nature of the test Allah set for the Angels, but ultimately one must also know about the Angels themselves. Most know the Angels don’t have freewill/choice while man does, when this is looked at with understanding we will see that Allah didn’t take their ability to choose from them, Angels can make choices like any other creature Allah created but the nature of the place they exist in ghyab (the unseen) and the bodies of light Allah gave them, doesn’t allow them to have much choice.

Our freewill and choice comes from the nature of our heart and physical physiology which allows it, the Angels have bodies entirely made of light (photons) and so subatomic particles like light follow the subatomic forces of the universe (the laws of quantum mechanics) very closely with little buffer between the Angels and the forces that shape the universe which are powerful.

To mankind the bodies of the Angels are the equivalent of the light Allah placed in our heart, Angels are entirely made of light while man isn’t, and so on top of that light Allah gave man a physical body that is almost free from the laws of quantum mechanics (the laws and forces of subatomic space), because these laws and forces only work on subatomic particles while to our bodies we see them as influences in our life responsible for our spirituality and not things that run it. 

But to Angels they don’t have enough freedom in the choices they make because they act closely within the forces that shape the universe, this is the essence of mans freedom his physical nature affords him the most freedom of all creatures Allah created but the least power.

So the heart of the Angels experiences less freedom than mans, but at the same time they are closer to Allah than any other creature and have little veils between them and Allah, which is an immense source for power and happiness, so they don’t tire or fatigue mentally.

As the scholars understood and explained, because of their nature Angels don’t dream of distant things or have an imagination that takes them elsewhere, both of these things for man are his ability to sense the spiritual world and because Angels live there they are not in need of dreams or an imagination, they only know what they experience directly and this is the crux of the matter, of the example Allah was setting in front of them.

“And He taught Adam all the names, then showed them to the angels, saying: Inform Me of the names of these, if ye are truthful. They said: Glory be to Thee! we have no knowledge but that which Thou hast taught us; surely Thou art the Knowing, the Wise. He (Allah) said: O Adam! inform them of their names.”(2:31-33)

Insha Allah the nature of the question and the response given should be a lot more clearer after understanding that, man both dreams and has an imagination which the scholars called mans inner or spiritual sight, when this is purified by purifying the heart this is his window to his soul and as Imam Al Ghazali explained the inner sight must see absolutely truthfully, like the Angels sight, of what is there in the unseen world.

“And He taught Adam all the names…He (Allah) said: O Adam! inform them of their names. Then when he had informed them of their names, He said: Did I not say to you that I surely know what is ghayb (unseen) in the heavens and the earth and (that) I know what you manifest and what you hide? (2:33)

The Angels who could not name anything they had not seen or experienced before now saw that Adam could name things in the unseen world (ghayb) He had no experience with or seen before. Allah was teaching the Angels about what mans heart can do, it can be inspired to know things it had not seen before, and this is the nature of the revelations that Allah gave to each prophet (as), along with the inspiration He placed in the hearts of His saints and the guidance Allah gives to each believer, meaning a person who lets Allah guide his heart by doing acts that purify it. 

The Angels learnt for the first time that Mans heart can be spoken to by them and given knowledge of anything in the universe and this was the reason why He would be made Khalifa of the earth in every respect, physical and spiritual, and the Angels would have to follow His lead on earth because of it.

The Prophet (saws) said “In the nations before you were people who were spoken to (muhaddathun) though they were not prophets. If there is anyone in my Community, it is `Umar ibn al Khattab” (Bukhari, Muslim) Ibn Wahb explained “spoken to” as meaning “inspired” (mulhamun),” and this is the majority’s opinion according to Ibn Hajar in Fath al-Bari (7:62:#3689) who adds “spoken to” means “by the angels.”

Earth was mans domain now, both physical and spiritual, and the Angels would be asked to learn from him, “Did I not say to you that I surely know what is ghayb (unseen) in the heavens and the earth” and mankind would also come to know these things even if they reside on earth and never travel the universe to see them.

Adam had lived in Jannah but mankind had not and so Allah was teaching the Angels that mankind would know about the unseen world (ghayb) through inspiration placed in their hearts.

“and (that) I know what you manifest and what you hide” Allah here is referring to the work of the Angels in the unseen, the unseen being the context of the prior statement. What they manifest are the things Angels bring from the unseen world to earth, it makes better sense if we say from the subatomic world to the physical world beocuse this has to do with every living things reliance on the subatomic world, which is related to baraka we receive in life. 

What you hide means what is taken deeper into the unseen (the subatomic), and that refers to the things Angels put a distance between it and the physical world. 

All of this is talking about the qualities we see or don’t see in things Allah created (we usually say “their is something about this thing”, or “I have a feeling about this”), which the Angels make apparent or hide from people as either guidance or punishment.

Allah is telling the Angels that man would have influence over this as well by making it part of the example He is setting for them.

After Allah conclusively taught the Angels about the nature of man’s heart and what He will impact on earth He asked them to prostrate to Adam, the prostration in this context means follow His lead with Iman (faith), this is the meaning of this kind of prostration, it means you may not see where everything is coming from in the universe but have faith in what you see with him and learn from it.

Allah through man would teach the Angels about everything in the universe so they would know it completely before the end and in the next world they will act in it with complete knowledge and experience of what had created, which all of creation will benefit from at that time. 

“In time We shall make them (man) fully understand Our messages [through what they perceive] in the utmost horizons [of the universe] and within themselves [the microscopic and subatomic], so that it will become clear unto them that this [revelation] is indeed the truth.” [Qur’an 41:53] 

Before this promise mankind did not have knowledge of the universe and before them neither did the Angels, but through man Allah would bring the far reaches of the universe in front of them to learn from;

The Prophet (saws) said: “Utitu mafatiha kulli shay’in illa al-khams”, “I was given the keys to everything, except the five”.

But unfortunately this event in Adam’s life was also the point in time when Iblis (Allah’s curse be upon him) learnt He could whisper to man’s heart which caused Him to become Arrogant thinking He could dominate Adam, so why should He prostrate or follow Him, ‘I can tell Him what to think He should be following me’;

“And when We said unto the angels: Prostrate yourselves before Adam, they fell prostrate, all save Iblis. He demurred through pride, and so became a disbeliever.” (2:34)