Tafsir Surah Ar-Rum ayah 17 | Learn Quran Tafsir

The Command to pray Five Times Daily

Allah says:

فَسُبۡحَانَ اللَّهِ حِينَ تُمۡسُونَ وَحِينَ تُصۡبِحُونَ

So glorify Allah, when you enter the evening, and when you enter the morning.

Here Allah glorifies Himself and commands His servants to glorify and praise Him at these times which come one after the other and are indicative of His might and power in the heavens. This is when the night comes with its darkness, then in the morning the day comes with its light.

This glorification is followed by befitting praise, as Allah says

وَلَهُ الۡحَمۡدُ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالاَۡرۡضِ

And His is all the praise in the heavens and the earth;

meaning, He is the One who is to be praised for what He has created in the heavens and on earth.

Then Allah says:

وَعَشِيًّا وَحِينَ تُظۡهِرُونَ

and in `Ashiyya and when Tuzhirun. --

the `Ashiyy is the time when the darkness is most intense, and Izhar is the brightest point of the day.

Glory be to the One Who created both of them, the Cleaver of the daybreak and the One Who makes night a time of rest.

Allah says:

وَالنَّهَارِ إِذَا جَلَّـهَا

وَالَّيۡلِ إِذَا يَغۡشَـهَا

By the day as it shows up its brightness. By the night as it conceals it. (91:3-4)

وَالَّيۡلِ إِذَا يَغۡشَى

وَالنَّهَارِ إِذَا تَجَلَّى

By the night as it envelops. By the day as it appears in brightness. (92:1-2)

وَالضُّحَى

وَالَّيۡلِ إِذَا سَجَى

By the forenoon (after sunrise). By the night when it darkens. (93:1-2)

And there are many similar Ayat

يُخۡرِجُ الۡحَيَّ مِنَ الۡمَيِّتِ وَيُخۡرِجُ الۡمَيِّتَ مِنَ الۡحَيِّ

He brings out the living from the dead, and brings out the dead from the living.

This is what we see of His power to create things and their opposites.

These Ayat which come one after the other are all of the same; in each of them Allah mentions the creation of things and their opposites, to indicate to His creation the perfection of His power. Thus He creates the plant from the seed and the seed from the plant; He creates the egg from the chicken and the chicken from the egg; He creates man from sperm and sperm from man; He creates the believer from the disbelievers and the disbeliever from the believers.

وَيُحۡيِي الاَۡرۡضَ بَعۡدَ مَوۡتِهَا

And He revives the earth after its death.

This is like the Ayat:

وَءَايَةٌ لَّهُمُ الاٌّرۡضُ الۡمَيۡتَةُ أَحۡيَيۡنَـهَا وَأَخۡرَجۡنَا مِنۡهَا حَبّاً فَمِنۡهُ يَأۡكُلُونَ

And a sign for them is the dead land. We give it life, and We bring forth from it grains, so that they eat thereof. until:

وَفَجَّرۡنَا فِيهَا مِنَ الۡعُيُونِ

and We have caused springs of water to gush forth therein. (36:33-34)

وَتَرَى الاٌّرۡضَ هَامِدَةً فَإِذَا أَنزَلۡنَا عَلَيۡهَا الۡمَأءَ اهۡتَزَّتۡ وَرَبَتۡ وَأَنبَتَتۡ مِن كُلِّ زَوۡجٍ بَهِيجٍ

And you see the earth barren, but when We send down water on it, it is stirred, and it swells and puts forth every lovely kind. until:

وَأَنَّ اللَّهَ يَبۡعَثُ مَن فِى الۡقُبُورِ

and certainly, Allah will resurrect those who are in the graves. (22:5-7)

وَهُوَ الَّذِى يُرۡسِلُ الرِّيَاحَ بُشۡرىً بَيۡنَ يَدَىۡ رَحۡمَتِهِ حَتَّى إِذَا أَقَلَّتۡ سَحَابًا ثِقَالاً

And it is He Who sends the winds as heralds of glad tidings, going before His mercy. Till when they have carried a heavy-laden cloud, until:

لَعَلَّكُمۡ تَذَكَّرُونَ

so that you may remember or take heed. (7:57)

Allah says here:

وَكَذَلِكَ تُخۡرَجُونَ

And thus shall you be brought out.

Among the Signs of Allah

Allah says:

وَمِنۡ ايَاتِهِ أَنۡ خَلَقَكُم مِّن تُرَابٍ

And among His signs is this that He created you from dust, --

which speak of His might and power, is the fact that He created your father Adam out of dust.

ثُمَّ إِذَا أَنتُم بَشَرٌ تَنتَشِرُونَ

and then -- behold you are human beings scattered!

So man's origins lie in dust, then in a despised liquid, then he is formed and becomes a clot, then a lump of flesh, then bones in the form of a human being. Then Allah clothes the bones with flesh. Then the soul is breathed into him and he can hear and see. Then he comes forth from his mother's womb, small and weak, but the longer he lives, the stronger he becomes, until he reaches the age where he can build cities and strongholds, and he travels to different lands and across the seas, earning a living and amassing wealth, and he is smart and intelligent and crafty, with ideas and opinions of his own, and each one is able to achieve great things in this world and in the Hereafter according to his individual means.

Glory be to the One Who has enabled them and made it easy for them to learn all kinds of skills for earning a living, and has caused them to vary in their levels of knowledge and intellectual ability, and in how handsome or ugly, rich or poor they are, and in whether they are blessed and doomed.

Allah says:

وَمِنۡ ايَاتِهِ أَنۡ خَلَقَكُم مِّن تُرَابٍ ثُمَّ إِذَا أَنتُم بَشَرٌ تَنتَشِرُونَ

And among His signs is this that He created you from dust, and then -- behold you are human beings scattered!

Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Musa said,

The Messenger of Allah said:

إِنَّ اللَّهَ خَلَقَ ادَمَ مِنۡ قَبۡضَةٍ قَبَضَهَا مِنۡ جَمِيع الاَۡرۡضِ فَجَاءَ بَنُو ادَمَ عَلَى قَدۡرِ الاَۡرۡضِ جَاءَ مِنۡهُمُ الاَۡبۡيَضُ وَالاَۡحۡمَرُ وَالاَۡسۡوَدُ وَبَيۡنَ ذَلِكَ وَالۡخَبِيثُ وَالطَّيِّبُ وَالسَّهۡلُ وَالۡحَزۡنُ وَبَيۡنَ ذَلِك

Allah created Adam from a handful taken from throughout the earth. Hence the sons of Adam vary as the earth varies, so they are white and red and black and (colors) in between, evil and good, easy-going or difficult -- or something in between.

This was also recorded by Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi, who said, This Hadith is Hasan Sahih.

Allah said

وَمِنۡ ايَاتِهِ أَنۡ خَلَقَ لَكُم مِّنۡ أَنفُسِكُمۡ أَزۡوَاجًا

And among His signs is this that He created for you wives from among yourselves,

meaning, `He created females of your own kind, to be wives for you.'

لِّتَسۡكُنُوا إِلَيۡهَا

that you may find repose in them,

This is like the Ayah,

هُوَ الَّذِى خَلَقَكُمۡ مِّن نَّفۡسٍ وَحِدَةٍ وَجَعَلَ مِنۡهَا زَوۡجَهَا لِيَسۡكُنَ إِلَيۡهَا

It is He Who has created you from a single person, and He has created from him his wife, in order that he might enjoy the pleasure of living with her. (7:189)

This refers to Hawwa'. Allah created her from Adam, from the short rib on his left. If Allah had made all of Adam's progeny male, and created the females from another kind, such as from Jinn or animals, there would never have been harmony between them and their spouses. There would have been revulsion if the spouses had been from a different kind.

وَجَعَلَ بَيۡنَكُم مَّوَدَّةً وَرَحۡمَةً

and He has put between you affection and mercy.

Out of Allah's perfect mercy He made their wives from their own kind, and created love and kindness between them. For a man stays with a woman because he loves her, or because he feels compassion towards her if they have a child together, or because she needs him to take care of her, etc.

And Allah reminds:

إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَايَاتٍ لِّقَوۡمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ

Verily, in that are indeed signs for a people who reflect.

Allah said:

وَمِنۡ ايَاتِهِ

And among His signs,

indicating His magnificent power.

خَلۡقُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالاَۡرۡضِ

is the creation of the heavens and the earth,

The heavens with their vast height and brightness and beauty of the stars and planets, and the earth with its density and its mountains, valleys, seas, plains, animals and trees.

وَاخۡتِلَافُ أَلۡسِنَتِكُمۡ وَأَلۡوَانِكُمۡ

and the difference of your languages and colors,

So, we see that some speak Arabic, and the Tatars have their own language, as do the Georgians, Romans, Franks, Berbers, Tou Couleurs (of Sudan), Ethiopians, Indians, Persians, Slavs, Khazars, Armenians, Kurds and others. Only Allah knows the variety of languages spoken among the sons of Adam.

And the difference of their colors mentioned here refers to their appearance, for all the people of this world, from the time that Allah created Adam, and until the Hour begins, each of them has two eyes, two eyebrows, a nose, a forehead, a mouth and two cheeks, but none of them looks like another; there is bound to be some difference in posture, appearance and speech, whether it is apparent or is hidden and can only be noticed with careful observation. Each face has its own characteristics and does not look like another; even if there was a group of people who looked alike, having a beautiful or ugly characteristic in common, there would still be a difference between one person and the next.

إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَايَاتٍ لِّلۡعَالِمِينَ

Verily, in that are indeed signs for men of sound knowledge

وَمِنۡ ايَاتِهِ مَنَامُكُم بِاللَّيۡلِ وَالنَّهَارِ وَابۡتِغَاوُكُم مِّن فَضۡلِهِ

And among His signs is your sleep by night and by day, and your seeking of His bounty.

Among His signs is the cycle of sleep that He has created during the night and the day, when people are able to cease moving and rest, so that their tiredness and exhaustion will go away. And He has enabled you to seek to earn a living and to travel about during the day, this is the opposite of sleep.

إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَايَاتٍ لِّقَوۡمٍ يَسۡمَعُونَ

Verily, in that are indeed signs for a people who listen.

meaning, understand

Allah says,

وَمِنۡ ايَاتِهِ

And among His signs,

which speak of His greatness,

...

يُرِيكُمُ الۡبَرۡقَ خَوۡفًا وَطَمَعًا

He shows you the lightning, for fear and for hope,

Sometimes you fear the heavy rain and destructive thunderbolts that follow it, and sometimes you feel hope, when you see a flash of lightning, that much-needed rain will come.

Allah says:

...

وَيُنَزِّلُ مِنَ السَّمَاء مَاء فَيُحۡيِي بِهِ الاَۡرۡضَ بَعۡدَ مَوۡتِهَا

and He sends down water from the sky, and therewith revives the earth after its death.

After it was barren, with nothing growing there, then the water comes to it and

اهۡتَزَّتۡ وَرَبَتۡ وَأَنبَتَتۡ مِن كُلِّ زَوۡجٍ بَهِيجٍ

it is stirred, and it swells and puts forth every lovely kind (of growth). (22:5)

In this is a clear sign and proof of the resurrection and the coming of the Hour.

Allah says:

...

إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَايَاتٍ لِّقَوۡمٍ يَعۡقِلُونَ

Verily, in that are indeed signs for a people who understand.

Then Allah says:

وَمِنۡ ايَاتِهِ أَن تَقُومَ السَّمَاء وَالاَۡرۡضُ بِأَمۡرِهِ

And among His signs is that the heaven and the earth stand by His command.

This is like the Ayat:

وَيُمۡسِكُ السَّمَأءَ أَن تَقَعَ عَلَى الاٌّرۡضِ إِلاَّ بِإِذۡنِهِ

He withholds the heaven from falling on the earth except by His leave. (22:65)

إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُمۡسِكُ السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرۡضَ أَن تَزُولَا

Verily, Allah grasps the heavens and the earth lest they should move away from their places. (35:41)

Whenever Umar bin Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, swore an emphatic oath, he would say,

No, by the One by Whose command the heaven and the earth stand,

i.e., they stand firm by His command to them and His subjugation of them. Then, when the Day of Resurrection comes, the Day when the earth will be exchanged with another earth and the dead will come forth from their graves, brought back to life by His command and His call to them,

ثُمَّ إِذَا دَعَاكُمۡ دَعۡوَةً مِّنَ الاَۡرۡضِ إِذَا أَنتُمۡ تَخۡرُجُونَ

Then afterwards when He will call you by a single call, behold, you will come out from the earth.

This is like the Ayat:

يَوۡمَ يَدۡعُوكُمۡ فَتَسۡتَجِيبُونَ بِحَمۡدِهِ وَتَظُنُّونَ إِن لَّبِثۡتُمۡ إِلاَّ قَلِيلً

On the Day when He will call you, and you will answer with His praise and obedience, and you will think that you have stayed but a little while! (17:52)

فَإِنَّمَا هِىَ زَجۡرَةٌ وَحِدَةٌ

فَإِذَا هُم بِالسَّاهِرَةِ

But it will be only a single Zajrah. When behold, they find themselves on the surface of the earth alive after their death. (79:13-14)

إِن كَانَتۡ إِلاَّ صَيۡحَةً وَحِدَةً فَإِذَا هُمۡ جَمِيعٌ لَّدَيۡنَا مُحۡضَرُونَ

It will be but a single Sayhah, so behold they will all be brought up before Us! (36:53)

Allah says:

وَلَهُ مَن فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالاَۡرۡضِ

To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and the earth.

means, He owns it and it is enslaved to Him.

كُلٌّ لَّهُ قَانِتُونَ

All are obedient to Him.

they are humble before Him and submit to Him, whether willingly or unwillingly.

Repeating the Creation is easier for Allah

Allah's saying

وَهُوَ الَّذِي يَبۡدَأُ الۡخَلۡقَ ثُمَّ يُعِيدُهُ وَهُوَ أَهۡوَنُ عَلَيۡهِ

And He it is Who originates the creation, then He will repeat it; and this is easier for Him.

Ibn Abi Talhah reported that Ibn Abbas said,

This means it is easier for Him.

Mujahid said:

Repeating it is easier for Him than originating it, and originating it is easy for Him.

This was also the view of Ikrimah and others.

Al-Bukhari recorded that Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, said that the Prophet said:

قَالَ اللهُ

كَذَّبَنِي ابۡنُ ادَمَ وَلَمۡ يَكُنۡ لَهُ ذَلِكَ وَشَتَمَنِي وَلَمۡ يَكُنۡ لَهُ ذَلِكَ فَأَمَّا تَكۡذِيبُهُ إِيَّايَ فَقَوۡلُهُ لَنۡ يُعِيدَنِي كَمَا بَدَأَنِي وَلَيۡسَ أَوَّلُ الۡخَلۡقِ بِأَهۡوَنَ عَلَيَّ مِنۡ إِعَادَتِهِ وَأَمَّا شَتۡمُهُ إِيَّايَ فَقَوۡلُهُ اتَّخَذَ اللهُ وَلَدًا وَأَنَا الاَۡحَدُ الصَّمَدُ الَّذِي لَمۡ يَلِدۡ وَلَمۡ يُولَدۡ وَلَمۡ يَكُنۡ لَهُ كُفُوًا أَحَد

Allah says;

The son of Adam denied Me, and he had no right to do so. And he reviled Me, and he had no right to do so.

As for his denying Me, it is his saying:`He will not remake me as He originated me' -- while originating the creation is not easier for Me than re-creating him.

As for his reviling Me, it is his saying:`Allah has taken to Himself a son,' while I am the One, the Self-Sufficient Master; I beget not, nor was I begotten, and there is none comparable to Me.

This was recorded only by Al-Bukhari.

وَلَهُ الۡمَثَلُ الاَۡعۡلَى فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالاَۡرۡضِ

His is the highest description in the heavens and in the earth.

Ali bin Abi Talhah reported Ibn Abbas said,

This is like the Ayah:

لَيۡسَ كَمِثۡلِهِ شَىۡءٌ

There is nothing like Him. (42:11)

Qatadah said:

His description is La ilaha illallah, and there is no Lord but He.

وَهُوَ الۡعَزِيزُ الۡحَكِيمُ

And He is the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.

Ar-Rum: 17

Ayah

Translation

Tafsir

Ar-Rum: 17