O' people, to fear Allah and to praise Him profusely for His favours to you and His reward for you and His obligations on you. See how He chose you for favours and dealt with you with mercy...Seek the completion of Allah's favours on you by exercising endurance in His obedience and abstention from His disobedience, because tomorrow is close to today. How fast are the hours of the day, how fast are the days in the month, how fast are the months in the years and how fast the years in a life.
-Hazrat Ali, Najul Balagha, Sermon no.187
Below are given the opening verses with commentary from the Chapter of Quran: "The Compassionate"
1 The Compassionate
The Compassionate translates al-Raḥmān, which is considered to denote that aspect of mercy and compassion that is unqualified, boundless, and prior to the created order. In this regard, al-Raḥmān has also been rendered “the Infinitely Good” and “the Loving.” It is said to be one of the Divine Names that can only apply to God, for it is one of the Names by which existence itself is made manifest, a universal blessing or mercy (raḥmah) that cannot be attributed to anyone other than God. In this regard, many Sufis say that all of creation is brought forth through “the Breath of the Compassionate. It thus differs from the Merciful (al-Raḥīm), which is said to pertain to a more particular form of Divine Mercy and by which human beings may also be described. From this perspective, al-Raḥmān relates more directly to the Divine Essence, while al-Raḥīm can be seen as referring to the extension of God’s Mercy in all acts (see 1:3). It is also the Compassionate who is said to assume the Throne of God in 20:5.
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2 taught the Quran;
That the verb taught comes directly after the Divine Name al-Raḥmān indicates that teaching revelation is intrinsic to God’s compassionate nature. From one perspective, revelation is a blessing through which God sustains creation. Throughout the Quran teaching is presented as one of God’s essential functions in relation to human beings, for human beings are created for knowledge and God teaches Adam and thus all of humanity (2:31) before commanding, providing laws, and judging. According to some commentators, this verse is a direct response to the disbelievers who said of the Prophet and the Quran, He has merely been taught by a human being (16:103). Others understand it as an allusion to the manner in which God has made the Quran easy to learn, as in the refrain of the previous sūrah: And indeed We have made the Quran easy to remember (54:17). This verse could also be understood as the beginning of a new thought, that is, “He taught the Quran.”
3 created man;
Here man is understood by some as a specific reference to the Prophet Muhammad or to Adam. But most understand it as a reference to all of humanity. The creation of human beings following
directly upon the mention of God’s teaching the Quran indicates that human beings were made to know revelation even before their creation in this world. The correspondence between the mention of human beings and revelation here is similar to the combination mentioned in 96:1–2, which are considered by most to be the first two verses in the chronological order of revelation. The present verse also provides a subtle allusion to the mercy and blessing of the creation of human beings and animals, since the word for “womb,” raḥim, derives from the same root, r-ḥ-m, as the Compassionate, al- Raḥmān. In this vein a famous ḥadīth says, “The word ‘womb’ (al-raḥim) derives its name from al- Raḥmān, and God said [to the womb], ‘I will keep good relations with one who keeps good relations with you, and will sever relations with one who severs relations with you,’” meaning one who severs relations with family and kin; for the importance of maintaining womb relations, see 4:1.
4 taught him speech.
Just as human beings are distinguished by their ability to know revelation, so too are they distinguished from all other creatures by the faculty of speech through which they both articulate and comprehend. Vv. 2–4 can also be taken as an allusion to God’s honoring human beings by making the Quran, His very Word, something they are capable of learning and reciting, as in 44:58: We have only made this easy upon thy tongue, that haply they may remember (54:17). Speech translates bayān, which also means something that is clear or evident. It is thus seen by some as an allusion to God’s having taught Adam the names, all of them (2:31) or to God’s giving human beings the ability to distinguish between good and evil, between what is permitted and what is forbidden or between truth and falsehood, all of which is believed to be taught through revelation. Bayān is also considered one of the names of the Quran, as in 3:138: This is an exposition (bayān) for mankind, and a guidance and exhortation for the reverent.
5 The sun and the moon are upon a reckoning.
Are upon a reckoning (6:96) means that the sun and the moon run according to a known and established pattern from which they do not deviate and without which human beings would have no temporal or geographical bearings, as in 10:5: He it is Who made the sun a radiance, and the moon a light, and determined for it stations, that you might know the number of years and the reckoning [of time]. This is of particular importance to Muslims, as the position of the sun and the moon determines the times for the performance of three of the five pillars of the faith: prayer, fasting, and pilgrimage. This verse can also be seen as an allusion to the fact that celestial bodies were created and are therefore transient, as in 13:2 and 39:5: and He made the sun and the moon subservient, each running for a term appointed. It would then be a rebuke to those who worshiped celestial bodies, as in 41:37:
Prostrate not unto the sun, nor unto the moon. Prostrate unto God, Who created them, if it is He Whomyou worship (cf. 6:76–78).
6 And the stars and the trees prostrate.
As translated, this verse alludes to the prostration before God of all celestial and earthly entities, as in 22:18: Hast thou not considered that unto God prostrates whosoever is in the heavens and whosoever is on the earth (16:49). Stars translates najm, which occurs in the singular, but is understood as a reference to all stars. Najm could also be translated “herbs,” in which case the verse could be read as a reference to herbs, or all soft-stemmed plants, and trees, or all hard stemmed plants. In either interpretation, their prostration is an indication of their complete submission to God’s Will.
7 Heaven He has raised and the Balance He has set,
The Balance is seen by most as a reference to justice, religious law (al-sharīʿah), or the Quran itself (57:25). It can also be seen as a reference to honoring the balance and harmony of the created order.
8-9
that you transgress not in the balance.
So set right the weight and fall not short in the balance.
In the translation, v. 8 is taken as a subjunctive. But it can also be taken as an imperative: “So transgress not in the balance.” The injunction differs slightly in each translation: the first indicates that one must not be tyrannical and oppressive; the second indicates that one must not withhold what is due to another, a theme found in many other passages; ( see 11:84; 83:1). Insofar as the balance is related to justice, the fact that it is here thrice mentioned indicates the fundamental importance of justice as intrinsic to the order of God’s creation and also to human transactions. As the Prophet is reported to have said,
“The heavens and the earth are founded upon justice.”
10 The earth has He laid down for creatures.
Vv. 1–9 mentioned the realities that provide spiritual nourishment; vv. 10–12 now move to those that provide physical nourishment . This verse is taken variously as an allusion to all domesticated animals, to all that crawls upon the earth, or to all human beings and jinn.
11 Therein are fruit and date palms bearing sheaths,
The word for fruit, fākihah, derives from the same root as tafakkaha, meaning to “take delight” in something. This verse is thus interpreted by some as an allusion to all the blessings of this earth in
which people take delight. The date was for the Arabs the best of fruits. It is thus interpreted as a reference the greatest of God’s Blessings in the physical realm and indirectly as an allusion to all forms of fruit.
12 husked grains and fragrant herbs.
When v. 11 is taken as a reference to the delights one can find in food and earthly blessings in general, this verse can be understood as a reference to the more nutritive dimension of food. Some say husked grains refers to the stems of plants and fragrant herbs to their leaves.
13 So which of your Lord’s boons do you two deny?
This refrain, which is addressed to both human beings and jinn, is repeated thirty-one times in this sūrah. Both the possessive pronoun in your Lord (rabbukumā) and the predicate in do you two deny are in the dual form, referring to human beings and jinn. Deny may indicate their refusal to acknowledge that a particular blessing is from God by attributing it implicitly or explicitly to themselves or to some other human or natural agency. It could also be taken to indicate the denial of one aspect of God, while accepting another, as do those who believe in God, but scoff at the idea of resurrection or deny the reality of revelation. It is reported that the Prophet recited this sūrah to some of his Companions and said,
“Why do I see you silent? The jinn respond better than you, for I come not upon So which of your Lord’s boons do you two deny? but that they say, ‘There is naught among Thy blessings, Our Lord, that we deny. Unto Thee be Praise; unto Thee be thanks’”
Acknowledgements:
The Commentary of the verses are by Sayyed Hossein Nasr
Source: The Study Quran: A Translation and Commentary
