Qur'an and Tafsir
The Verse of the Throne
One ayah was called the greatest. The next refuses to force it on anyone.
7 min, Intro, Draft written with AI help: awaiting scholar review
Part 1 of 5
The Prophet asked a Companion, Ubayy ibn Ka'b, which ayah of the Qur'an was the greatest. Ubayy answered with Ayat al-Kursi. The Prophet struck his chest and said: may knowledge delight you.
Lesson
The title "greatest ayah" comes from a question the Prophet asked, and an answer he approved.
Part 2 of 5
The ayah is ten short sentences, and every one is about Allah. He is alive and never dies. He holds everything up. He does not doze or sleep. He owns everything, knows everything, and looking after it all does not tire Him.
Qur'an 2:255
ٱللَّهُ لَآ إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ٱلۡحَيُّ ٱلۡقَيُّومُۚ لَا تَأۡخُذُهُۥ سِنَةࣰ وَلَا نَوۡمࣰۚ لَّهُۥ مَا فِي ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَمَا فِي ٱلۡأَرۡضِۗ مَن ذَا ٱلَّذِي يَشۡفَعُ عِندَهُۥٓ إِلَّا بِإِذۡنِهِۦۚ يَعۡلَمُ مَا بَيۡنَ أَيۡدِيهِمۡ وَمَا خَلۡفَهُمۡۖ وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَيۡءࣲ مِّنۡ عِلۡمِهِۦٓ إِلَّا بِمَا شَآءَۚ وَسِعَ كُرۡسِيُّهُ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضَۖ وَلَا يَـُٔودُهُۥ حِفۡظُهُمَاۚ وَهُوَ ٱلۡعَلِيُّ ٱلۡعَظِيمُ ٢٥٥
255 Allāh - there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Self-Sustaining. Neither drowsiness overtakes Him nor sleep. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. Who is it that can intercede with Him except by His permission? He knows what is [presently] before them and what will be after them, and they encompass not a thing of His knowledge except for what He wills. His Kursī extends over the heavens and the earth, and their preservation tires Him not. And He is the Most High, the Most Great.
A long ayah: scroll within the card.
How it is built
The ayah says Allah holds up everything that exists. A listener might think: that must be exhausting. The very next words are that neither drowsiness nor sleep overtakes Him. One commentator reads parts of the ayah that way: a sentence answers the thought the one before it raises.
Lesson
Ten sentences, one subject: a God who needs nothing and never switches off.
Part 3 of 5
Near the end comes the word that gave the ayah its name: His Kursi stretches over the heavens and the earth. It is often put into English as Throne. An early explanation, from Ibn 'Abbas, says it is something else.
Where scholars differ
English calls it the Verse of the Throne. But an early explanation, from the Prophet's cousin Ibn 'Abbas, says the Kursi is the footstool, and that the Throne itself is beyond anyone's measure. Others read the Kursi as Allah's knowledge.
Lesson
The ayah is named after a word the commentators themselves explain in more than one way.
Part 4 of 5
A Companion guarding the Ramadan charity caught the same thief three nights running. To get free, the thief taught him to recite Ayat al-Kursi before sleep. The Prophet's verdict: he told you the truth, although he is a liar.
The story behind it
The habit of reciting Ayat al-Kursi before sleep goes back to advice from a thief who, the Prophet said, was Shaytan himself. His verdict: "He spoke the truth, although he is a liar." The advice stood, whoever gave it.
Lesson
Recited after prayer and before sleep, on the strength of a story with an odd teacher.
Part 5 of 5
The very next ayah says there is no compulsion in religion. By the best-known report it came down when Muslim parents in Madinah wanted to keep their children from leaving with a Jewish tribe. The children were left to choose.
Qur'an 2:256
لَآ إِكۡرَاهَ فِي ٱلدِّينِۖ قَد تَّبَيَّنَ ٱلرُّشۡدُ مِنَ ٱلۡغَيِّۚ فَمَن يَكۡفُرۡ بِٱلطَّٰغُوتِ وَيُؤۡمِنۢ بِٱللَّهِ فَقَدِ ٱسۡتَمۡسَكَ بِٱلۡعُرۡوَةِ ٱلۡوُثۡقَىٰ لَا ٱنفِصَامَ لَهَاۗ وَٱللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ ٢٥٦
256 There shall be no compulsion in [acceptance of] the religion. The right course has become distinct from the wrong. So whoever disbelieves in ṭāghūt and believes in Allāh has grasped the most trustworthy handhold with no break in it. And Allāh is Hearing and Knowing.
The story behind it
Before Islam, some mothers in Madinah whose babies kept dying vowed to raise a surviving son as a Jew. Later the Jewish tribe was leaving, and the parents, now Muslim, wanted their sons back. The ayah answered: no compulsion. The sons chose.
Lesson
Faith forced is not faith. The ayah after the greatest ayah leaves the choice open.
Reflect, just for you
Seen by lamplight. It gives more each time.
One ayah was called the greatest. The next refuses to force it on anyone.