27:59 An-Naml (The Ant)

أي: قل الحمد لله الذي يستحق كمال الحمد والمدح والثناء لكمال أوصافه وجميل معروفه وهباته وعدله وحكمته في عقوبته المكذبين وتعذيب الظالمين، وسلم أيضا على عباده الذين تخيرهم واصطفاهم على العالمين من الأنبياء والمرسلين وصفوة الله من العالمين، وذلك لرفع ذكرهم وتنويها بقدرهم وسلامتهم من الشر والأدناس، وسلامة ما قالوه في ربهم من النقائص والعيوب.{ آللَّهُ خَيْرٌ أمَا يُشْرِكُونَ ْ} وهذا استفهام قد تقرر وعرف، أي: الله الرب العظيم كامل الأوصاف عظيم الألطاف خير أم الأصنام والأوثان التي عبدوها معه، وهي ناقصة من كل وجه، لا تنفع ولا تضر ولا تملك لأنفسها ولا لعابديها مثقال ذرة من الخير فالله خير مما يشركون.ثم ذكر تفاصيل ما به يعرف ويتعين أنه الإله المعبود وأن عبادته هي الحق وعبادة [ما] سواه هي الباطل فقال:

يقول تعالى آمرا رسوله صلى الله عليه وسلم أن يقول "الحمد لله" أي على نعمه على عباده من النعم التي لا تعد ولا تحصى وعلى ما اتصف به من الصفات العلى والأسماء الحسنى وأن يسلم على عباد الله الذين اصطفاهم واختارهم وهم رسله وأنبياؤه الكرام عليهم من الله أفضل الصلاة والسلام هكذا قال عبد الرحمن بن زيد بن أسلم وغيره إن المراد بعباده الذين اصطفى هم الأنبياء قال وهو كقوله "سبحان ربك رب العزة عما يصفون وسلام على المرسلين والحمد لله رب العالمين" وقال الثوري والسدي هم أصحاب محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم ورضي عنهم أجمعين وروي نحوه عن ابن عباس أيضا ولا منافاة فإنهم إذا كانوا من عباد الله الذين اصطفى فالأنبياء بطريق الأولى والأخرى والقصد أن الله تعالى أمر رسوله ومن اتبعه بعد ذكره لهم ما فعل بأوليائه من النجاة والنصر والتأييد وما أحل بأعدائه من الخزي والنكال والقهر أن يحمدوه على جميع أفعاله وأن يسلموا على عباده المصطفين الأخيار وقد قال أبو بكر البزار حدثنا محمد بن عمارة بن صبيح حدثنا طلق بن غنام حدثنا الحكم بن ظهير عن السدي إن شاء الله عن أبي مالك عن ابن عباس "وسلام على عباده الذين اصطفى" قال هم أصحاب محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم اصطفاهم الله لنبيه رضي الله عنهم وقوله تعالى "آلله خير أم ما يشركون" استفهام إنكار على المشركين في عبادتهم مع الله آلهة أخرى.

The Command to praise Allah and send Blessings on His Messengers

Allah commands His Messenger to say:

الْحَمْدُ للَّهِ

(Praise and thanks be to Allah,) meaning, for His innumerable blessings upon His servants and for His exalted Attributes and most beautiful Names. And He commands him to send peace upon the servants of Allah whom He chose and selected, i.e., His noble Messengers and Prophets, may the best of peace and blessings from Allah be upon them. This was the view of `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam and others; the meaning of the servants He has chose is the Prophets. He said, "This like He said in the Ayah;

سُبْحَـنَ رَبِّكَ رَبِّ الْعِزَّةِ عَمَّا يَصِفُونَ

وَسَلَـمٌ عَلَى الْمُرْسَلِينَ - وَالْحَمْدُ للَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَـلَمِينَ

(Glorified be your Lord, the Lord of honor and power! (He is free) from what they attribute unto Him! And peace be on the Messengers! And all the praises and thanks be to Allah, Lord of all that exists.) (37:180-182)." Ath-Thawri and As-Suddi said, "This refers to the Companions of Muhammad ﷺ, may Allah be pleased with them all." Something similar was also narrated from Ibn `Abbas, and there is no contradiction between the two views, because they were also among the servants of Allah whom He had chosen, although the description is more befitting of the Prophets.

ءَآللَّهُ خَيْرٌ أَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ

(Is Allah better, or what they ascribe as partners (to Him)) This is a question aimed at denouncing the idolators for their worship of other gods besides Allah. Some more Proofs of Tawhid Then Allah begins to explain that He is the Only One Who creates, provides and controls, as He says:

أَمَّنْ خَلَقَ السَّمَـوَتِ

(Is not He Who created the heavens) meaning, He created those heavens which are so high and serene, with their shining stars and revolving planets. And He created the earth, with its varying heights and densities, and He created everything in it, mountains, hills, plains, rugged terrain, wildernesses, crops, trees, fruits, seas and animals of all different kinds and colors and shapes, etc.

وَأَنزَلَ لَكُمْ مِّنَ السَّمَآءِ مَآءً

(and sends down for you water from the sky,) means, He sends it as a provision for His servants,

فَأَنبَتْنَا بِهِ حَدَآئِقَ ذَاتَ بَهْجَةٍ

(whereby We cause to grow wonderful gardens full of beauty and delight) means, beautiful and delightful to behold.

مَّا كَانَ لَكُمْ أَن تُنبِتُواْ شَجَرَهَا

(It is not in your ability to cause the growth of their trees.) meaning, `you are not able to cause their trees to grow. The One Who is able to do that is the Creator and Provider, Who is doing all this Alone and Independent of any idol and other rival.' The idolators themselves admitted this, as Allah says in another Ayah:

وَلَئِن سَأَلْتَهُم مَّنْ خَلَقَهُمْ لَيَقُولُنَّ اللَّهُ

(And if you ask them: "Who has created them" they will certainly say: "Allah.") (31:25)

وَلَئِن سَأَلْتَهُمْ مَّن نَّزَّلَ مِنَ السَّمَآءِ مَآءً فَأَحْيَا بِهِ الاٌّرْضَ مِن بَعْدِ مَوْتِهَا لَيَقُولُنَّ اللَّهُ

(And if you were to ask them: "Who sends down water from the sky, and gives life therewith to the earth after its death" they will surely reply: "Allah.") (29:63) Meaning they will admit that He is the One Who does all these things, Alone, with no partner or associate, but then they worship others alongside Him, others who they admit cannot create or provide anything. But the Only One Who deserves to be worshipped is the Only One Who can create and provide, Allah says:

أَإِلَـهٌ مَّعَ اللَّهِ

(Is there any god with Allah) meaning, `is there any god that can be worshipped alongside Allah, when it is clear to you and anyone who with reason that He is the Creator and Provider, as you yourselves admit' Then Allah says:

بَلْ هُمْ قَوْمٌ يَعْدِلُونَ

(Nay, but they are a people who ascribe equals (to Him)!) meaning, they describe others as being equal and comparable to Allah.

Say O Muhammad (s) ‘Praise be to God for the destruction of the disbelievers of past communities and peace be on His servants whom He has chosen’. Is God read a-Allāhu pronouncing both hamzas; or by substituting an alif for the second one; or by not pronouncing the second one but inserting an alif between the one not pronounced and the other one or without such an insertion better for those who worship Him or the partners which they ascribe? read either tushrikūna ‘you ascribe’ or yushrikūna ‘they ascribe’ they being the people of Mecca the partners they ascribe to Him in other words are such gods better for those who worship them?

Commentary

This incident has been related at many places in the Qur'an, especially in Surah Al-A` raf, where its necessary details have been discussed and may be consulted if required.

قُلِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّـهِ (Say,"Praise belongs to Allah - 27:59). After describing some events of the prophets and earlier people, and the episodes of torments they faced, this sentence is addressed to the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، that he should express his gratitude to Allah Ta’ ala, for his followers have been exempted from the punishment in this world. He is further asked to say salam to the earlier prophets and God-fearing persons. Majority of the commentators have adopted this explanation, but some feel that this sentence is also addressed to Sayyidna Lut (علیہ السلام) .

It appears that the expression الَّذِينَ اصْطَفَىٰ (His slaves whom He has chosen - 27:59) is used in this verse for the prophets, like in another verse salam has been addressed to the prophets, وَسَلَامٌ عَلَى الْمُرْ‌سَلِينَ ﴿181﴾ (And salam is on the messengers - 37:181). But Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ is of the opinion that it refers to the companions of the Holy Prophet ﷺ . This explanation is also adopted by Sufyan Ath-Thauri. (Ibn Jarir)

If the explanation of Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ عنہما is adopted and the meaning of الَّذِينَ اصْطَفَىٰ - 27:59 is taken for the companions, then there will be a case for saying "Alaihis Salam" to non-prophets also. This subject will be discussed in detail Inshallah under Surah Al-Ahzab for the verse صَلُّوا عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا (33:56).

Ruling

This verse also teaches the formalities of an address, a sermon or a lecture, that it should start with the praise of Allah and the salah (durood) and salam to the prophets. This had always been the practice of the Holy Prophet ﷺ in his addresses. His companions also adopted the same practice by commencing not only their addresses but also all the important jobs by praising Allah Ta’ ala and then salah and salam on the Holy Prophet ﷺ '. (Ruh).

Say: " The praise belongs to God, and peace be upon His servants whom He has chosen. " Know that the stations of the religion's road are of two sorts: One sort are called the preliminar- ies, for they are not the goal in themselves. These are like repentance, patience, fear, renuncia- tion, poverty, and self-accounting, all of which are the means of approach to something beyond themselves. The second sort are called the destinations or the ends, for they are the goal in themselves. These are like love, yearning, approval, tawḤīd, and trust, all of which are goals in themselves. They are not needed as the means of approach to something else. Praise of God and thanking and lauding Him are of this sort, for they are goals in themselves. Anything that is a goal in itself will remain at the resurrection and will never be cut off in paradise. Praise pertains to this category because the Exalted Lord says about the attribute of the par- adise-dwellers, " And the last of their supplication will be 'Praise belongs to God, the Lord of the worlds' " [10:10]; " Praise belongs to God, who has put away sorrow from us " [35:34]; " Praise belongs to God, who was truthful in His promise to us " [39:74]. In the Splendorous Qur'an He linked gratitude and praise with remembrance when He says, " So remember Me; I will remember you. And be grateful for Me and not ungrateful toward Me " [2:152]. Tomorrow, at the most tremendous courtyard and greatest gathering place, when the portico of magnificence is raised and the carpet of tremendousness spread, a caller will call out, " Let the praisers stand up! " At this time no one will stand up except those who in all states and times were constantly praising and thanking God and showing the rightful due of gratitude for His blessings. The servant will not become sound in the station of gratitude and praise unless three things exist in him: first knowledge, second state, and third deed. First is knowledge; from knowledge the state is born, and from state the deed rises up. Knowledge is recognizing the blessings from the Lord. State is the heart's happiness with those blessings. He alludes to this with His words, " In that let them rejoice " [10:58].