Surah Hadid Ayat 1 (57:1 Quran) With Tafsir

Ala-Maududi

(57:1) All that is in the heavens and the earth extols the glory of Allah.^[1] He is the Most Mighty, the Most Wise.^[2]

1. That is, it has always been so that everything in the universe has proclaimed the truth that its Creator and Sustainer is free from every blemish and defect, every weakness, error and evil. He is glorified in His essence, He is glorified in His attributes, He is glorified in His works as well as His commands whether they relate to the creation, or to the religious law for mankind. Here sabbaha has been used in the past tense; at other places yusabbihu has been used which includes both the present and the future tenses. This would signify that every particle in the universe has always been extolling the glory of its Creator and Sustainer in the past, is doing at present and will continue to do the same in the future forever and ever.

2. That is, not only is He All-Mighty and All-Wise, but the truth is that He alone is All-Mighty and All-Wise. The word Aziz signifies a mighty and powerful Being Whose decrees cannot be prevented by any power in the world from being enforced, Whom no one can oppose and resist, Who has to be obeyed by every one whether one likes it or not, Whose rebel cannot escape His accountability and punishment in any way. The word Hakim signifies that whatever He does, He does it wisely. His creation, His administration and rule, His commands and guidance, all are based on wisdom. None of His works is tarnished by any tract of folly or ignorance.

There is another fine point here, which one should fully understand. Seldom in the Quran has Allah’s attribute of Aziz (All-Mighty) been accompanied by His attributes of being Qawi (Strong), Muqtadir (Powerful), Jabber (Omnipotent), Dhuntiqam (Avenger) and the like, which only signify His absolute power, and this has been so only in places where the context demanded that the wicked and disobedient be warned of Allah’s relentless punishment. Apart from such few places, wherever the word Aziz has been used for Allah, it has everywhere been accompanied by one Or other of His attributes of being Hakim (Wise), Alim (Knower), Rahim (Merciful), Ghafur (Forgiving), Wahhab (Generous) and Hamid (Praiseworthy). The reason is that if a being who wields un-limited power is at the same time unwise, ignorant, un-forgiving as well as stingy and devoid of character, its power and authority cannot but lead to injustice and wickedness. Thus, wherever injustice and wickedness is being committed in the world, it is only because the one who wields authority over others, is either using his power un-wisely and foolishly, or he is merciless and hardhearted, or evil-minded and wicked. Wherever power is coupled with these evil traits of character, no good can be expected to result. That is why in the Quran Allah’s attribute of Aziz has necessarily been accompanied by His attributes of being All-Wise and Knowing, Compassionate and Forgiving, Praiseworthy and Generous. So that man may know that the God Who is ruling this universe has, on the one hand, such absolute power that no one, from the earth to the heavens, can prevent His decrees from being enforced. But, on the other hand, He is also All-Wise: His each decision is based on perfect wisdom. He is also All- Knowing: whatever decision He makes, it is precisely according to knowledge. He is also Compassionate: He does not use infinite power mercilessly. He is Forgiving as well: He does not punish His creatures for trifling faults, but overlooks their errors. He is also Generous: He does not treat His subjects stingily, but liberally and benevolently. And He is also Praiseworthy: He combines in Himself all praiseworthy virtues and excellences.

The importance of this statement of the Quran can be better understood by those people who are aware of the discussions of the philosophy of politics and law on the question of sovereignty. Sovereignty connotes that the one who possesses it should wield un-limited power: there should be no internal and external power to change or modify his decision or prevent it from being enforced, and none should have any alternative but to obey him. At the mere concept of this infinite and un-limited power, man’s common-sense necessarily demands that whoever attains to such power, should be faultless and perfect in knowledge and wisdom, for if the one holding this power is ignorant, merciless and evil, his sovereignty will inevitably lead to wickedness and corruption. That is why the philosophers, who regarded a single man, or a man-made institution, or an assembly of men as the holder of this power, have had to presume that he or it would be infallible. But obviously, neither can unlimited sovereignty be actually attained by a human power, nor is it possible for a king, or a parliament, or a nation, or a party that it may use the sovereignty attained by it in a limited circle faultlessly and harmlessly. The reason is that the wisdom that is wholly free of every trace of folly, and the knowledge that fully comprehends all the related truths, is not at all possessed even by entire mankind, not to speak of its being attained by an individual, or an institution, or a nation. Likewise, as long as man is man, his being wholly free of and above selfishness, sensuality, fear, greed, desires, prejudice and sentimental love, anger and hate is also not possible. If a person ponders over these truths, he will realize that the Quran is indeed presenting here a correct and perfect view of sovereignty. It says that no one except Allah in this universe is possessor of absolute power, and with this unlimited power He alone is faultless, All-Wise and All- Knowing, Compassionate and Forgiving, and Praiseworthy and Generous in His dealings with Hid subjects.

Ibn-Kathir

1. Whatever is in the heavens and the earth glorifies Allah — and He is the Almighty, All-Wise. 2. His is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth. It is He Who gives life and causes death; and He is Able to do all things. 3. He is Al-Awwal and Al-Akhir, Az-Zahir and Al-Batin. And He is the All-Knower of everything.

In this Ayah, Allah states that everything that exists in the heavens and earth praises and glorifies Him, including creatures and plants. Allah said in another Ayah,

(The seven heavens and the earth and all that is therein, glorify Him and there is not a thing but glorifies His praise. But you understand not their glorification. Truly, He is Ever Forbearing, Oft-Forgiving.)(17:44) And His saying:

(and He is the Almighty,) meaning the One to Whom all things submit humility,

(All-Wise.) in His creating, commanding and legislating,

(His is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth. It is He Who gives life and causes death;) He is the absolute Owner of His creation, bringing life and death and granting what He wills to whom He wills,

(and He is Able to do all things.) whatever He wills, is, and whatever He does not will, will never be. He said,

(He is Al-Awwal and Al-Akhir, Az-Zahir and Al-Batin.) This is the Ayah indicated in the Hadith of `Irbad bin Sariyah that is better than a thousand Ayat. Abu Dawud recorded that Abu Zamil said, “I mentioned to Ibn `Abbas that I felt something in my heart. He said, `Doubts’ and then laughed. Next, he said, `No one can escape this. Allah the Exalted stated,

(So if you are in doubt concerning that which We have revealed to you, then ask those who are reading the Book before you. Verily, the truth has come to you from your Lord.)(10:94)’ He then said to me, `When you feel any of this in your heart, recite,

(He is Al-Awwal and Al-Akhir, Az-Zahir and Al-Batin. And He is the All-Knower of everything.)”’ There are about ten and some odd number of different sayings collected from the scholars of Tafsir regarding the explanation of this Ayah. Al-Bukhari said, “Yahya said, `Az-Zahir: knowing all things, Al-Batin: knowing all things.”’ Our Shaykh Al-Hafiz Al-Mizzi said, “Yahya is Ibn Ziyad Al-Farra’, who authored a book entitled Ma`ani Al-Qur’an.” There are Hadiths mentioned about this. Among them, Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah would recite this supplication while going to bed,

(O Allah, Lord of the seven heavens and Lord of the Magnificent Throne! Our Lord, and the Lord of everything, Revealer of the Tawrah, the Injil and the Furqan, the Splitter of the grain of corn and the date stone! I seek refuge with You from the evil of everything whose forhead You have control over. O Allah! You are Al-Awwal, nothing is before You; Al-Akhir, nothing is after You; Az-Zahir, nothing is above You; and Al-Batin, nothing is below You. Remove the burden of debt from us and free us from poverty.) Muslim recorded this Hadith via Sahl, who said, “Abu Salih used to order us to lay on our right side when we were about to sleep, and then say,

(O Allah, Lord of the seven heavens and Lord of the Magnificent Throne! Our Lord, and the Lord of everything, Revealer of the Tawrah, the Injil and the Furqan, the Splitter of the grain of corn and the date stone! I seek refuge with You from the evil of everything whose forhead You have control over. O Allah! You are Al-Awwal, nothing is before You; Al-Akhir, nothing is after You; Az-Zahir, nothing is above You; and Al-Batin, nothing is below You. Remove the burden of debt from us and free us from poverty.) And he used to narrate that from Abu Hurayrah from the Prophet .”