Council, Consultation, The Counsel — Verse 4

Which was revealed in Makkah بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. The Revelation and Allah's Might We have previously discussed the individual letters. كَذَلِكَ يُوحِى إِلَيْكَ وَإِلَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكَ اللَّهُ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ (Likewise Allah, the Almighty, the All-Wise sends revelation to you as to those before you.) means, `just as this Qur'an has been revealed to you, so too the Books and Scriptures were revealed to the Prophets who came before you.' اللَّهِ الْعَزِيزِ (Allah, the Almighty) means, in His vengeance الْحَكِيمُ (the All-Wise) means, in all that He says and does. Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, narrated that `A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said, "Al-Harith bin Hisham asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ , `O Messenger of Allah, how does the revelation come to you' The Messenger of Allah ﷺ  said: «أَحْيَانًا يَأْتِينِي مِثْلَ صَلْصَلَةِ الْجَرَسِ، وَهُوَ أَشَدُّهُ عَلَيَّ فَيَفْصِمُ عَنِّي وَقَدْ وَعَيْتُ مَا قَالَ، وَأَحْيَانًا يَأْتِينِي الْمَلَكُ رَجُلًا فَيُكَلِّمُنِي فَأَعِي مَا يَقُول» (Sometimes it comes to me like the ringing of a bell, which is the most difficult for me; then it goes away, and I understand what was said. And sometimes the angel comes to me in the image of a man, and he speaks to me and I understand what he says.)" `A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said, "I saw him receiving the revelation on a very cold day, and when it departed from him, there were beads of sweat on his forehead." It was also reported in the Two Sahihs, and the version quoted here is that recorded by Al-Bukhari. لَهُ مَا فِى السَّمَـوَت وَمَا فِى الاٌّرْضِ (To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on the earth,) means, everything is subject to His dominion and control. وَهُوَ الْعَلِىُّ الْعَظِيمُ (and He is the Most High, the Most Great.) This is like the Ayat: الْكَبِيرُ الْمُتَعَالِ (the Most Great, the Most High) (13:9), and وَهُوَ الْعَلِىُّ الْكَبِيرُ (He is the Most High, the Most Great) (22:62). And there are many similar Ayat. تَكَادُ السَّمَـوَتُ يَتَفَطَّرْنَ مِن فَوْقِهِنَّ (Nearly the heavens might be rent asunder from above them,) Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, Ad-Dahhak, Qatadah, As-Suddi and Ka`b Al-Ahbar said, "Out of fear of His might." وَالْمَلَـئِكَةُ يُسَبِّحُونَ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّهِمْ وَيَسْتَغْفِرُونَ لِمَن فِى الاٌّرْضِ (and the angels glorify the praises of their Lord, and ask for forgiveness for those on the earth.) This is like the Ayah: الَّذِينَ يَحْمِلُونَ الْعَرْشَ وَمَنْ حَوْلَهُ يُسَبِّحُونَ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّهِمْ وَيُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ وَيَسْتَغْفِرُونَ لِلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ رَبَّنَا وَسِعْتَ كُـلَّ شَىْءٍ رَّحْمَةً وَعِلْماً (Those who bear the Throne and those around it glorify the praises of their Lord, and believe in Him, and ask forgiveness for those who believe (saying): "Our Lord! You comprehend all things in mercy and knowledge,") (40:7) أَلاَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ (Lo! Verily, Allah is the Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.) This is a reminder, to take heed of this fact. وَالَّذِينَ اتَّخَذُواْ مِن دُونِهِ أَوْلِيَآءَ (And as for those who take as protecting friends others besides Him) This refers to the idolators, اللَّهُ حَفِيظٌ عَلَيْهِمْ (Allah is Hafiz over them.) meaning, He is Witness to their deeds, recording and enumerating them precisely, and He will requite them for them in full. وَمَآ أَنتَ عَلَيْهِم بِوَكِيلٍ (and you are not a trustee over them.) meaning, `you are just a warner, and Allah is the Trustee of all affairs.'

To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth as possession creation and servants and He is the Exalted above His creatures the Tremendous the Great.

لله وحده ما في السماوات وما في الأرض، وهو العليُّ بذاته وقدره وقهره، العظيم الذي له العظمة والكبرياء.

أي الجميع عبيد له وملك له تحت قهره وتصريفه "وهو العلي العظيم" كقوله تعالى "وهو الكبير المتعال" "وهو العلي الكبير" والآيات في هذا كثيرة.

ثم ذكر - سبحانه - صفات أخرى لذاته فقال : ( لَهُ مَا فِي السماوات وَمَا فِي الأرض وَهُوَ العلي العظيم ) .أى : لقد أوحى الله - تعالى - إليك أيها الرسول الكريم - بهذا القرآن كما أوحى إلى الرسل من قبلك بما شاء من وحى ، وهو - سبحانه - العزيز الذى لا يغلبه غالب ، الحكيم فى كل أقواله وأفعاله ، والذى له جميع ما فى السماوات وما فى الأرض خلقا وملكا وتصرفا . . وهو - سبحانه - ( العلي ) أى : المتعالى عن الأشباه والانداد والأمثال والأضداد ( العظيم ) أى : فى ذاته وفى صفاته ، وفى أفعاله .

القول في تأويل قوله تعالى : لَهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الأَرْضِ وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْعَظِيمُ (4)يقول تعالى ذكره: (لِلَّهِ) ملك (مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الأَرْضِ) من الأشياء كلها(وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ) يقول: وهو ذو علوّ وارتفاع على كل شيء, والأشياء كلها دونه, لأنهم في سلطانه, جارية عليهم قدرته, ماضية فيهم مشيئته (الْعَظِيمُ ) الذي له العظمة والكبرياء والجبرية.

" له ما في السموات وما في الأرض وهو العلي العظيم "

لَهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْعَظِيمُ (4)جملة { له ما في السموات وما في الأرض } مقررة لوصفه { العزيز الحكيم } [ الشورى : 3 ] لأن من كان ما في السماوات وما في الأرض مِلكاً له تتحقق له العزّة لقوة ملكوته ، وتتحقق له الحكمة لأن الحكمة تقتضي خلقَ ما في السماوات والأرض وإتقانَ ذلك النظام الذي تسير به المخلوقات . ولكون هذه الجملة مقررةً معنى التي قبلها كانت بمنزلة التأكيد فلم تعطف عليها .وجملة { وهو العلي العظيم } عطف عليها مقررة لما قررته الجملة قبلها فإن مَن اتصف بالعلاء والعظمة لو لم يكن عزيزاً لتخلف علاؤهُ وعظمته ، ولا يكون إلا حكيماً لأن عَلاءه يقتضي سموّه عن سفاسف الصفات والأفعال ، ولو لم يكن عظيماً لتعلقت إرادته بسفاسف الأمور ولتنازل إلى عبث الفعال .والعلو هنا علو مجازي ، وهو السموّ في الكمال بحيث كان أكمل من كل موجود كامل . والعظمة مجازية وهي جلالة الصفات والأفعال . وأفادت صيغة الجملة معنى القصر ، أي لا عليّ ولا عظيم غيره لأن مَن عداه لا يخلو عن افتقار إليه فلا علوّ له ولا عظمة . وهذا قصر قلب ، أي دون آلهتكم فلا علو لها كما تزعمون . قال أبو سفيان : أعْلُ هُبل .وتقدم معنى هاتين الجملتين في خلال آية الكرسي من سورة البقرة .

وهو تنزيل من اتصف بالألوهية والعزة العظيمة والحكمة البالغة، وأن جميع العالم العلوي والسفلي ملكه وتحت تدبيره القدري والشرعي.وأنه { الْعَلِيُّ } بذاته وقدره وقهره. { الْعَظِيمِ } الذي من عظمته

له ما في السماوات وما في الأرض وهو العلي العظيم تقدم في غير موضع .

If man were to be blessed with boundless vision, he would see with his own eyes that there is one God alone who is the Lord of the heavens and the earth in their entirety. His Power is so immense that the Universe, so to say, dreads it and bursts with fear. The angels, who are directly aware of God’s omnipotence, are awe-struck and continue to recite His praises at all times. Then man will also see that God, in exercise of His special powers, selects certain individuals as His messengers and sends them directly to mankind so that they may inform all God’s creatures of the truth. Although man does not see these facts directly, he can sense them indirectly by a process of reasoning. This is man’s real test. It is man’s responsibility to intuitively grasp those things which are not visible to his eyes. He should be able to recognise the voice of God in the voice of the prophets and bow down before it. He should accept the Unseen reality as if he were seeing everything with his own eyes. On the Day of Judgement, the excuse that one was not able to see the reality directly with one’s own eyes, will not be acceptable because, in this world of trial, it is not at all the divine intention to show reality directly. If the divine message reaches a person fully, in the eyes of God this is sufficient to conclude the process of argumentation.

Commentary (Ha Meem ` Ayn Seen Qaf) Only Allah knows the meaning of these letters. The gist of the first five verses is as follows: Just as this surah was revealed to the Holy Prophet ﷺ for the ascertainment of the religious principles and for other benefits, similarly Allah Ta’ ala has been sending other prophets who preceded him. His Magnificence is such that whatever there is in the heavens and in the earth is His. He is the Supreme, the Most Magnificent. Even though some of the people of this world do not recognize and do not admit the greatness of His magnificence, yet the number of the angels in the heavens, who know Him and recognize His greatness, is so large that their load may, quite likely, cause the heavens to burst apart from above. A hadith narrated in Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah states that due to the large number of the angels, such crackling sounds are produced in the heavens as are produced when an excessive load is placed on something. And that is how it should be, because throughout the heavens there is not even a space of four fingers left vacant by angels who are in the state of prostration.

(Unto Him belongeth all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth) of created beings: they are all His slaves, (and He is the Sublime) most sublime than all that is, (the Tremendous) greater than all that is.