40:15 Ghafir (The Forgiver)

ثم ذكر من جلاله وكماله ما يقتضي إخلاص العبادة له فقال: { رَفِيعُ الدَّرَجَاتِ ذُو الْعَرْشِ } أي: العلي الأعلى، الذي استوى على العرش واختص به، وارتفعت درجاته ارتفاعًا باين به مخلوقاته، وارتفع به قدره، وجلت أوصافه، وتعالت ذاته، أن يتقرب إليه إلا بالعمل الزكي الطاهر المطهر، وهو الإخلاص، الذي يرفع درجات أصحابه ويقربهم إليه ويجعلهم فوق خلقه، ثم ذكر نعمته على عباده بالرسالة والوحي، فقال: { يُلْقِي الرُّوحَ } أي: الوحي الذي للأرواح والقلوب بمنزلة الأرواح للأجساد، فكما أن الجسد بدون الروح لا يحيا ولا يعيش، فالروح والقلب بدون روح الوحي لا يصلح ولا يفلح، فهو تعالى { يُلْقِي الرُّوحَ مِنْ أَمْرِهِ } الذي فيه نفع العباد ومصلحتهم.{ عَلَى مَنْ يَشَاءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ } وهم الرسل الذين فضلهم الله واختصهم الله لوحيه ودعوة عباده.والفائدة في إرسال الرسل، هو تحصيل سعادة العباد في دينهم ودنياهم وآخرتهم، وإزالة الشقاوة عنهم في دينهم ودنياهم وآخرتهم، ولهذا قال: { لِيُنْذِرَ } من ألقى الله إليه الوحي { يَوْمَ التَّلَاقِ } أي: يخوف العباد بذلك، ويحثهم على الاستعداد له بالأسباب المنجية مما يكون فيه.وسماه { يوم التلاق } لأنه يلتقي فيه الخالق والمخلوق والمخلوقون بعضهم مع بعض، والعاملون وأعمالهم وجزاؤهم.

يقول تعالى مخبرا عن عظمته وكبريائه وارتقاع عرشه العظيم العالي على جميع مخلوقاته كالسقف لها كما قال تعالى "من الله ذي المعارج تعرج الملائكة والروح إليه في يوم كان مقداره خمسين ألف سنة" وسيأتي إن شاء الله تعالى بيان أن هذه مسافة ما بين العرش إلى الأرض السابعة في قول جماعة من السلف والخلف وهو الأرجح إن شاء الله وقد ذكر غير واحد أن العرش من ياقوته حمراء اتساع ما بين قطريه مسيرة خمسين ألف سنة وارتفاعه عن الأرض السابعة مسيرة خمسين ألف سنة وقد تقدم في حديث الأوعال ما يدل على ارتفاعه عن السموات السبع بشيء عظيم. وقوله تعالى "يلقي الروح من أمره علي من يشاء من عباده" كقوله جلت عظمته "ينزل الملائكة بالروح من أمره على من يشاء من عباده أن أنذروا أنه لا إله إلا أنا فاتقون" وكقوله تعالى "وإنه لتنزيل رب العالمين نزل به الروح الأمين على قلبك لتكون من المنذرين" ولهذا قال عز وجل "لينذر يوم التلاق" قال علي بن أبي طلحة عن ابن عباس يوم التلاق اسم من أسماء يوم القيامة حذر الله منه عباده وقال ابن جريج قال ابن عباس رضي الله عنهما يلتقي فيه آدم وآخر ولده وقال ابن زيد يلتقي فيه العباد وقال قتادة والسدي وبلال بن سعد وسفيان بن عيينة يلتقي فيه أهل السماء وأهل الأرض والخالق والخلق وقال ميمون بن مهران يلتقي الظالم والمظلوم وقد يقال إن يوم التلاق يشمل هذا كله ويشمل أن كل عامل سيلقى ما عمله من خير وشر كما قاله آخرون.

Allah sends the Revelation to warn His Servants of the Day of Mutual Meeting

Allah tells us of His might and pride, and that His Mighty Throne is raised above all of His creation like a roof. This is like the Ayah:

مِّنَ اللَّهِ ذِي الْمَعَارِجِ - تَعْرُجُ الْمَلَـئِكَةُ وَالرُّوحُ إِلَيْهِ فِى يَوْمٍ كَانَ مِقْدَارُهُ خَمْسِينَ أَلْفَ سَنَةٍ

(From Allah, the Lord of the ways of ascent. The angels and the Ruh (Jibril) ascend to Him in a Day the measure whereof is fifty thousand years.) (70:3-4). If Allah wills, we will discuss below which is the most correct view the distance between the Throne and the seventh earth according to a group of earlier and later scholars. More than one scholar said that the Throne is made of red rubies. The width between two corners of it is the distance of a fifty thousand year long journey and its height above the seventh earth is the distance of a fifty thousand years long journey.

يُلْقِى الرُّوحَ مِنْ أَمْرِهِ عَلَى مَن يَشَآءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ

(He sends the revelation of His command to any of His servants He wills,) This is like the Ayat:

يُنَزِّلُ الْمَلَـئِكَةَ بِالْرُّوحِ مِنْ أَمْرِهِ عَلَى مَن يَشَآءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ أَنْ أَنْذِرُواْ أَنَّهُ لاَ إِلَـهَ إِلاَ أَنَاْ فَاتَّقُونِ

(He sends down the angels with the Ruh (revelation) of His command to whom of His servants He wills (saying): "Warn mankind that none has the right to be worshipped but I, so have Taqwa of Me.") (16:2), and

وَإِنَّهُ لَتَنزِيلُ رَبِّ الْعَـلَمِينَ - نَزَلَ بِهِ الرُّوحُ الاٌّمِينُ - عَلَى قَلْبِكَ لِتَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُنْذِرِينَ

(And truly, this is a revelation from the Lord of all that exits, Which the trustworthy Ruh (Jibril) has brought down Upon your heart that you may be (one) of the warners.) (26:192-194) Allah says:

لِيُنذِرَ يَوْمَ التَّلاَقِ

(that he may warn (men) of the Day of Mutual Meeting.) `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn `Abbas said: "The Day of Mutual Meeting is one of the names of the Day of Resurrection, of which Allah warns His servants." That is the Day when everyone will find out about his deeds, good and bad.

يَوْمَ هُم بَـرِزُونَ لاَ يَخْفَى عَلَى اللَّهِ مِنْهُمْ شَىْءٌ

(The Day when they will come out, nothing of them will be hidden from Allah.) means, they will all appear in the open, with nothing to give them shelter or shade, or cover them. Allah says:

يَوْمَ هُم بَـرِزُونَ لاَ يَخْفَى عَلَى اللَّهِ مِنْهُمْ شَىْءٌ

(The Day when they will come out, nothing of them will be hidden from Allah.) meaning, everything will be equally known to Him.

لِّمَنِ الْمُلْكُ الْيَوْمَ لِلَّهِ الْوَحِدِ الْقَهَّارِ

(Whose is the kingdom this Day It is Allah's, the One, the Irresistible!) We have already mentioned the Hadith of Ibn `Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, that Allah will roll up the heavens and the earth in His Hand and will say,

«أَنَا الْمَلِكُ، أَنَا الْجَبَّارُ، أَنَا الْمُتَكَبِّرُ، أَيْنَ مُلُوكُ الْأَرْضِ؟ أَيْنَ الْجَبَّارُونَ؟ أَيْنَ الْمُتَكَبِّرُونَ؟»

("I am the King, I am the Compeller, I am the Proud, where are the kings of the earth Where are the tyrants Where are the proud") In the Hadith about the Trumpet, it says that Allah will take the souls of all of His creatures, and there will be none left but Him Alone, with no partner or associate. Then He will say, "Whose is the kingdom today" three times, and He will answer Himself by saying,

لِلَّهِ الْوَحِدِ الْقَهَّارِ

(It is Allah's, the One, the Irresistible!) meaning, He is the Only One Who has subjugated all things.

الْيَوْمَ تُجْزَى كُلُّ نَفْسٍ بِمَا كَـسَبَتْ لاَ ظُلْمَ الْيَوْمَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ سَرِيعُ الْحِسَابِ

(This Day shall every person be recompensed for what he earned. This Day no injustice (shall be done to anybody). Truly, Allah is swift in reckoning.) Here Allah tells us of His justice when He judges between His creation; He does not do even a speck of dust's weight of injustice, whether it be for good or for evil. For every good deed He gives a tenfold reward and for every bad deed He gives recompense of one bad deed. Allah says:

لاَ ظُلْمَ الْيَوْمَ

(This Day no injustice (shall be done to anybody).) It was reported in Sahih Muslim from Abu Dharr, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said that Allah said:

«يَا عِبَادِي إِنِّي حَرَّمْتُ الظُّلْمَ عَلى نَفْسِي وَجَعَلْتُهُ بَيْنَكُمْ مُحَرَّمًا فَلَا تَظَالَمُوا إلى أن قال يَا عِبَادِي إِنَّمَا هِيَ أَعْمَالُكُمْ أُحْصِيهَا عَلَيْكُمْ ثُمَّ أُوَفِّيكُمْ إِيَّاهَا، فَمَنْ وَجَدَ خَيْرًا فَلْيَحْمَدِ اللهَ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى، وَمَنْ وَجَدَ غَيْرَ ذَلِكَ فَلَا يَلُومَنَّ إِلَّا نَفْسَه»

("O My servants, I have forbidden injustice for Myself, and made it unlawful for you, so do not commit injustice to one another ...") up to: ("O My servants, these are your deeds, I record them for you then I will recompense you for them. Whoever finds something good, let him give praise to Allah, and whoever finds something other than that, let him blame no one but himself.")

إِنَّ اللَّهَ سَرِيعُ الْحِسَابِ

(Truly, Allah is swift in reckoning.) means, He will bring all His creation to account as if He is bringing just one person to account. This is like the Ayah:

مَّا خَلْقُكُمْ وَلاَ بَعْثُكُمْ إِلاَّ كَنَفْسٍ وَحِدَةٍ

(The creation of you all and the resurrection of you all are only as a single person) (31: 28).

وَمَآ أَمْرُنَآ إِلاَّ وَحِدَةٌ كَلَمْحٍ بِالْبَصَرِ

(And Our commandment is but one as the twinkling of an eye.) (54:50)

Exalter of ranks either means that God is One Whose attributes are majestic — or it means the raiser of the ranks of believers in Paradise — Lord of the Throne in other words the Creator thereof He casts the Spirit the Revelation of His command that is of His words upon whomever He will of His servants that he the one upon whom it is cast may warn them of that he may make people fear the Day of Encounter read yawma’l-talāqi omitting the final long yā’ or yawma’l-talāqī that is to say the Day of Resurrection so called because thereat the inhabitants of the heavens will encounter those of the earth and the worshipper will encounter the one whom he worshipped and the wrongdoer will encounter the person whom he wronged;

Commentary

The word: دَرَجَات (darajat, translated above as 'stations' ) in: رَ‌فِيعُ الدَّرَ‌جَاتِ (He is High in stations - 40:15) has been taken by some commentators as meaning 'attributes.' If so, the sense of the expression would be that His attributes of perfection are most exalted. Ibn Kathir has relied on the words as they appear outwardly and has said that it refers to the most exalted 'arsh' (throne) for it comprehends all land masses and heavens and is located above them all like a roof as in Surah Al-Ma'arij: مِّنَ اللَّـهِ ذِي الْمَعَارِ‌جِ ﴿3﴾ تَعْرُ‌جُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ وَالرُّ‌وحُ إِلَيْهِ فِي يَوْمٍ كَانَ مِقْدَارُ‌هُ خَمْسِينَ أَلْفَ سَنَةٍ (From Allah, the Lord of the stairways to whom ascend the angels and spirit, in a day the length of which is fifty thousand years - 70:3, 4).

According to some further investigation into this verse by Ibn Kathir, it should be borne in mind that this measure of fifty thousand years is a description of the travel distance from the seventh level of the earth up to the 'arsh, and this is what has been declared as the preferred position by a majority of earlier and later scholars. He has also said that according to many scholars, 'arsh is made of a red ruby the diameter of which is so big as would take a travel distance of fifty thousand years to cover. Similarly, its height would take an identical travel distance to cover. Then there are commentators who have said that رَ‌فِيعُ الدَّرَ‌جَاتِ (rafi` u-d-darajat) appears in the sense of رَافعُ الدَّرَ‌جَاتِ (rafi'u-d-darajat: that is, the One who elevates others in ranks), that is, Allah Ta'la is the one who elevates the ranks of believers who have His fear in their hearts as borne by verses of the Qur'an, such as: نَرْ‌فَعُ دَرَ‌جَاتٍ مَّن نَّشَاءُ (We raise in ranks whom We will -Al-An am, 6:83) and هُمْ دَرَ‌جَاتٌ عِندَ اللَّـهِ (They are of various ranks with Allah -'Al-'Imran, 3:163).

Uplifter of degrees is He, Possessor of the Throne. He uplifts the degrees of the disobedient to salvation, of the obedient to rewards, of the possessors of needs to sufficiency, of the friends to charismatic gifts, and of the recognizers to states of watch- fulness and encounter. He lifts up the degrees of the servants. He keeps each in a station and gives to each of them what is suitable for him. To the disobedient He gives salvation, to the obedient rewards, to the requesters sufficiencies, to the friends charismatic gifts, to the recognizers states of watchfulness and encounter. The degrees of the faithful and the friends are first today and then tomorrow. Today they are in knowledge and faith, as He says, “He will lift up in degrees those among you who have faith and those who have been given knowledge” [58:11]. Tomorrow they will be in the garden of ap- proval with repose and ease [56:89] in the neighborhood of the All-Merciful, as He says: “They are degrees with God” [3:163]. As for the degrees of the folk of form tomorrow in paradise, they are one thing, and the degrees of the folk of attributes are another thing, for the folk of form are one thing and the folk of attributes are another. The folk of form are in the valley of dispersion, the folk of attributes in the center point of togetherness. “The faithful indeed are siblings” [49:10]; this is in the world of form. As for what MuṣṬafā said, “The faithful are like one soul,” that is in the world of attributes. One of the nomad leaders came before MuṣṬafā and asked, “What has been put away for us in paradise, and how high will be our degrees?” This man was one of the folk of form. God's Messenger replied, “'Therein are rivers of water unstaling' [47:15], and therein are such and such and so on.” He counted out the flowing water, the roasted fowl, the various sorts of fruit, just as the Qur'an speaks of them. Someone else, one of the folk of attributes, asked him about this meaning. God's Messenger knew he was a man of attributes, not a man of form, so he said, “Within it are what no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what has never passed into the heart of any mortal.