Qur'an and Tafsir, Surah 55
الرحمن
The Most Merciful
Makkah asked: what is the Most Merciful? This surah is the answer.
78 ayat, Makkan, Awaiting scholar review
Makkah
Muhammad ﷺ calls on ar-Rahman, the Most Merciful.
Makkah replies: and what is ar-Rahman?
This surah opens with that one word. Then it explains it.
The Ka'bah, early Makkah
The first to recite the Qur'an aloud at the Ka'bah, Ibn Ishaq reports, was Ibn Mas'ud. He recited this surah. Quraysh, the tribe that ran Makkah, beat him for it.
Journey map
Ar-Rahmān 55:1-2The name, alone. Then the first gift.
ٱلرَّحۡمَٰنُ ١ عَلَّمَ ٱلۡقُرۡءَانَ ٢
1 The Most Merciful
2 Taught the Qur’ān,
A closer look
The surah lists teaching the Qur'an before creating man. One commentary's reading: the human being was made in order to be guided, so the guidance is named first.
Ar-Rahmān 55:9He raised the sky and set up a balance. Then:
وَأَقِيمُواْ ٱلۡوَزۡنَ بِٱلۡقِسۡطِ وَلَا تُخۡسِرُواْ ٱلۡمِيزَانَ ٩
9 And establish weight in justice and do not make deficient the balance.
How translators put it
One translation says He "imposed the balance". The other says He "enjoined justice". Early scholars held both. Either way: weigh fairly.
Ar-Rahmān 55:13Then, for the first time, the question.
فَبِأَيِّ ءَالَآءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ ١٣
13 So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?
The refrain
Each time it follows something new, so each time it asks something new.
The "you" is the Arabic form for exactly two. Which two?
Ar-Rahmān 55:14The two being asked. The first:
خَلَقَ ٱلۡإِنسَٰنَ مِن صَلۡصَٰلࣲ كَٱلۡفَخَّارِ ١٤
14 He created man from clay like [that of] pottery.
Ar-Rahmān 55:15And the second:
وَخَلَقَ ٱلۡجَآنَّ مِن مَّارِجࣲ مِّن نَّارࣲ ١٥
15 And He created the jinn from a smokeless flame of fire.
The word
Man's clay is not wet mud. The word means dry clay that sounds when tapped, like a fired pot. The jinn's fire is the tip of the flame. No smoke in it.
The story behind it
The Companions heard the surah in silence. The jinn, the Prophet ﷺ said, answered every refrain: "We deny none of Your favours, our Lord, and to You belongs all praise."
Ar-Rahmān 55:19-20The world humans and jinn share also comes in twos.
مَرَجَ ٱلۡبَحۡرَيۡنِ يَلۡتَقِيَانِ ١٩ بَيۡنَهُمَا بَرۡزَخࣰ لَّا يَبۡغِيَانِ ٢٠
19 He released the two seas, meeting [one another];
20 Between them is a barrier so neither of them transgresses.
Ar-Rahmān 55:26Then the list of gifts stops.
كُلُّ مَنۡ عَلَيۡهَا فَانࣲ ٢٦
26 Everyone upon it [i.e., the earth] will perish,
Ar-Rahmān 55:27An early scholar said: never stop there. Read on.
وَيَبۡقَىٰ وَجۡهُ رَبِّكَ ذُو ٱلۡجَلَٰلِ وَٱلۡإِكۡرَامِ ٢٧
27 And there will remain the Face of your Lord, Owner of Majesty and Honor.
A closer look
Forgiving a sin, relieving a distress, raising some and lowering others. That is how a hadith on Ziyaad's sheet (Ibn Majah 202) explains it. Everyone is asking, so something is always being answered.
Ar-Rahmān 55:31The tone turns in one line.
سَنَفۡرُغُ لَكُمۡ أَيُّهَ ٱلثَّقَلَانِ ٣١
31 We will attend to you, O prominent beings.
Ar-Rahmān 55:33Then a dare, to both.
يَٰمَعۡشَرَ ٱلۡجِنِّ وَٱلۡإِنسِ إِنِ ٱسۡتَطَعۡتُمۡ أَن تَنفُذُواْ مِنۡ أَقۡطَارِ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِ فَٱنفُذُواْۚ لَا تَنفُذُونَ إِلَّا بِسُلۡطَٰنࣲ ٣٣
33 O company of jinn and mankind, if you are able to pass beyond the regions of the heavens and the earth, then pass. You will not pass except by authority [from Allāh].
A closer look
A modern commentary says plainly: this is no prediction of space travel. It states what humans and jinn cannot do. The jinn are named first, it suggests, because if anyone could, it would be them.
Ar-Rahmān 55:37The Arabic word here is literally "a rose".
فَإِذَا ٱنشَقَّتِ ٱلسَّمَآءُ فَكَانَتۡ وَرۡدَةࣱ كَٱلدِّهَانِ ٣٧
37 And when the heaven is split open and becomes rose-colored like oil -
A closer look
The refrain follows even the fire. Ibn Kathir's answer: the warning is itself the favour. People are told in advance, he says, while they can still turn back.
Ar-Rahmān 55:46Then the other outcome.
وَلِمَنۡ خَافَ مَقَامَ رَبِّهِۦ جَنَّتَانِ ٤٦
46 But for he who has feared the position of his Lord are two gardens -
A closer look
The couches of the gardens are described by their lining alone: thick silk. Ibn Mas'ud's remark: that is the lining, so what about the outside?
Ar-Rahmān 55:60The rule behind the gardens, in five Arabic words.
هَلۡ جَزَآءُ ٱلۡإِحۡسَٰنِ إِلَّا ٱلۡإِحۡسَٰنُ ٦٠
60 Is the reward for good [anything] but good?
Where scholars differ
Ar-Rahmān 55:78The surah began with a name. It ends on one.
تَبَٰرَكَ ٱسۡمُ رَبِّكَ ذِي ٱلۡجَلَٰلِ وَٱلۡإِكۡرَامِ ٧٨
78 Blessed is the name of your Lord, Owner of Majesty and Honor.
Reflect, just for you
Virtue of the surah
"Everything has an adornment, and the adornment of the Qur'an is Ar-Rahman." The surah is often called "the Bride of the Qur'an".
al-Bayhaqi
Da'if (weak)The scholars behind this grading are still to be named.
Seen by lamplight. It gives more each time.
Makkah asked: what is the Most Merciful? This surah is the answer.