57:2 Al-Hadid (The Iron)

ثم أخبر عن عموم ملكه، فقال: { لَهُ مُلْكُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ يُحْيِي وَيُمِيتُ } أي: هو الخالق لذلك، الرازق المدبر لها بقدرته { وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ }

أي هو المالك المتصرف في خلقه فيحيي ويميت ويعطي من يشاء ما يشاء "وهو على كل شيء قدير" أي ما شاء كان وما لم يشأ لم يكن.

Which was revealed in Madina

The Virtues of Surat Al-Hadid

Imam Ahmad recorded that `Irbad bin Sariyah said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to recite Al-Musabbihat before he went to sleep, saying,

«إِنَّ فِيهِنَّ آيَةً أَفْضَلُ مِنْ أَلْفِ آيَة»

(In them there is an Ayah that is better than a thousand Ayat.) Abu Dawud, At-Tirmidhi and An-Nasa'i collected this Hadith; At-Tirmidhi said, "Hasan Gharib." The Ayah referred to in this Hadith is -- and Allah knows best --

هُوَ الاٌّوَّلُ وَالاٌّخِرُ وَالظَّـهِرُ وَالْبَـطِنُ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عَلِيمٌ

(He is Al-Awwal and Al-Akhir, Az-Zahir and Al-Batin. And He is the All-Knower of everything.)(57:3) Allah willing, we will again mention this subject. Upon Allah we trust and our total reliance and dependence are on Him, and sufficient He is to us as Supporter and Helper.

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

Everything that exists glorifies Allah and mentioning some of His Attributes

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,

تُسَبِّحُ لَهُ السَّمَـوَتُ السَّبْعُ وَالاٌّرْضُ وَمَن فِيهِنَّ وَإِن مِّن شَىْءٍ إِلاَّ يُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدَهِ وَلَـكِن لاَّ تَفْقَهُونَ تَسْبِيحَهُمْ إِنَّهُ كَانَ حَلِيمًا غَفُورًا

(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:

وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ

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

الْحَكِيمُ

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

لَهُ مُلْكُ السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ يُحْىِ وَيُمِيتُ

(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,

وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ

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

هُوَ الاٌّوَّلُ وَالاٌّخِرُ وَالظَّـهِرُ وَالْبَـطِنُ

(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,

فَإِن كُنتَ فِي شَكٍّ مِّمَّآ أَنزَلْنَآ إِلَيْكَ فَاسْأَلِ الَّذِينَ يَقْرَءُونَ الْكِتَـبَ مِن قَبْلِكَ لَقَدْ جَآءَكَ الْحَقُّ مِن رَّبِّكَ

(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,

هُوَ الاٌّوَّلُ وَالاٌّخِرُ وَالظَّـهِرُ وَالْبَـطِنُ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عَلِيمٌ

(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 ﷺ would recite this supplication while going to bed,

«اللْهُمَّ رَبَّ السَّموَاتِ السَّبْعِ، وَرَبَّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ، رَبَّنَا وَرَبَّ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ، مُنْزِلَ التَّوْرَاةِ وَالْإِنْجِيلِ وَالْفُرْقَانِ، فَالِقَ الْحَبِّ وَالنَّوَى، لَا إِلهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ، أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ أَنْتَ آخِذٌ بِنَاصِيَتِهِ، أَنْتَ الْأَوَّلُ لَيْسَ قَبْلَكَ شَيْءٌ، وَأَنْتَ الْاخِرُ لَيْسَ بَعْدَكَ شَيْءٌ، وَأَنْتَ الظَّاهِرُ لَيْسَ فَوْقَكَ شَيْءٌ، وَأَنْتَ الْبَاطِنُ لَيْسَ دُونَكَ شَيْءٌ. اقْضِ عَنَّا الدَّيْنَ، وَأَغْنِنَا مِنَ الْفَقْر»

(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,

«اللْهُمَّ رَبَّ السَّموَاتِ وَرَبَّ الْأَرْضِ وَرَبَّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ، رَبَّنَا وَرَبَّ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ، فَالِقَ الْحَبِّ وَالنَّوَى، وَمُنْزِلَ التَّوْرَاةِ وَالْإِنْجِيلِ وَالْفُرْقَانِ، أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ كُلِّ ذِي شَرَ أَنْتَ آخِذٌ بِنَاصِيَتِهِ، اللْهُمَّ أَنْتَ الْأَوَّلُ فَلَيْسَ قَبْلَكَ شَيْءٌ، وَأَنْتَ الْاخِرُ فَلَيْسَ بَعْدَكَ شَيْءٌ، وَأَنْتَ الظَّاهِرُ فَلَيْسَ فَوْقَكَ شَيْءٌ، وَأَنْتَ الْبَاطِنُ فَلَيْسَ دُونَكَ شَيْءٌ، اقْضِ عَنَّا الدَّيْنَ، وَأَغْنِنَا مِنَ الْفَقْر»

(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 ."

To Him belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth; He gives life through His act of creation and He brings death thereafter and He has power over all things.

Some of the Merits of Surah Al-Hadid

It is recorded in Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi and Nasa'i that Sayyidna ` Irbad Ibn Sariyah ؓ said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to recite Al-Musabbihat before he went to sleep and said: "In them there is a verse that is more meritorious than a thousand verses." The collective name of the series Al-Musabbihat refers to the following five Surahs: [ 1] Al-Hadid; [ 2] Al-Hashar; [ 3] As-Saff; [ 4] Jumu'ah; and [ 5] At-Taghabun. Having cited this Hadith, Ibn Kathir says that the best verse referred to in Surah Al-Hadid is verse [ 3] هُوَ الْأَوَّلُ وَالْآخِرُ‌ وَالظَّاهِرُ‌ وَالْبَاطِنُ ۖ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ (He is the First and the Last, and the Manifest and the Hidden, and He is All-Knowing about everything....57:3] Among the five Surahs, the first three, namely Al-Hadid, Al-Hashr and As-Saff commence with the past perfect tense 'sabbaha' [ purity has been proclaimed ] whilst the last two, namely Al-Jumu` ah and Al-Taghabun commence with the imperfect tense yusabbihu [ purity is proclaimed ]. This implies that the purity of Allah should be declared at all times, the past, the present and the future. [ Mazhari ]

To Him belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth. The seven heavens and the seven earths are His kingdom and property. They are kept by His help, penetrated by His will, and driven by His decree. All creatures are incapable, and He is powerful and potent. All are weak, and He is subjugating and strong. All are ignorant, and He is knowing and knowledgeable. The artifacts and determined things are a mark of His power, the beings and newly arrived things are the explication of His wisdom, the existents and the known things are the proof of His existence. Increase does not befall Him, nor does decrease come upon Him. He is the powerful, eternal, knowing, wise, the God of all.