1. ٱللَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ (Allāhu lā ilāha illā huwa al-Ḥayyu al-Qayyūm)
Translation: "Allah—there is no god but He, the Ever-Living, the Self-Sustaining."
Bengali: আল্লাহু লা ইলাহা ইল্লা হুয়াল হাইয়্যুল কাইয়্যুম। (Allāhu lā ilāha illā hu'al ḥayyu'l qayyūm.)
Etymology
Allāh (ٱللَّهُ): The proper name for the one God, derived from the root ʾ-l-h (to deify). It is a contraction of al-ilāh ("the God"). It has cognates in other Semitic languages, including Hebrew ʾĔlōah and Aramaic ʾĔlāhā.
ilāha (إِلَٰهَ): From the same root, this is a generic term for any god or object of worship.
al-Ḥayy (ٱلْحَيُّ): From the root ḥ-y-y (life). It signifies absolute, eternal, and self-existent life. It is cognate with the Hebrew ḥay (חַי, "living") and Aramaic ḥayyā (חַיָּא).
al-Qayyūm (ٱلْقَيُّومُ): From the root q-w-m (to stand, rise, establish). The intensive form fayyʿūl denotes one who is entirely self-subsisting and who sustains all other existence. It has cognates in Aramaic qəyāmā (קְיָמָא, "existence") and Hebrew qiyyūm (קִיּוּם, "existence, fulfillment").
Exegesis & Context
This verse is considered the greatest verse in the Quran, as affirmed in a hadith narrated by Ubayy ibn Ka'b (Sahih Muslim #810). Its placement in the Quran—between a verse urging charity (2:254) and a verse affirming freedom of belief (2:256)—establishes God's absolute sovereignty as the foundation for both righteous action and free will.
Classical exegetes like al-Ṭabarī explain al-Ḥayy as the one who is eternally living and never dies, and al-Qayyūm as the one who manages and preserves all of creation without dependence. Later scholars like al-Rāzī philosophically elaborated on these attributes, framing al-Ḥayy as the source of all life and al-Qayyūm as the Necessary Existent upon which all contingent beings depend.
Parallels in Other Literatures
Biblical: The declaration of monotheism mirrors the Shema Yisrael (Deuteronomy 6:4: "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one"). God is referred to as the "living God" (Elohim ḥayyim) in Deuteronomy 5:26. The concept of self-sustenance is central to the divine name YHWH ("I Am that I Am," Exodus 3:14).
Ancient Near East (ANE): The Ugaritic high god El was described with attributes of eternity. In Mesopotamia, hymns celebrated the supreme power of deities like Marduk.
Esoteric & Philosophical: In Sufism, Ibn 'Arabī considers al-Ḥayy and al-Qayyūm to be primary Divine Names. The concept finds philosophical parallels in Aristotle's "Unmoved Mover" (an eternal, necessary being), Plotinus's "The One" (the self-caused ultimate reality), and Ibn Sīnā's "Wājib al-Wujūd" (the Necessary Existent).
2. لَا تَأْخُذُهُ سِنَةٌ وَلَا نَوْمٌ (Lā taʾkhudhuhu sinatun wa lā nawm)
Translation: "Neither drowsiness nor sleep overtakes Him."
Bengali: তাঁকে তন্দ্রা বা নিদ্রা স্পর্শ করে না। (Tām̐kē tandrā bā nidrā sparśa karē nā.)
Etymology
sinah (سِنَةٌ): From the root w-s-n, meaning slumber, languor, or the very beginning of sleep that affects the head.
nawm (نَوْمٌ): From the root n-w-m, meaning a deeper state of sleep that involves a loss of consciousness.
The negation of both emphasizes absolute vigilance and freedom from creaturely limitations. This is cognate with Hebrew shenah (שֵׁנָה, "sleep").
Exegesis & Context
Al-Ṭabarī quotes early reports distinguishing sinah (slumber in the eyes) from nawm (sleep in the heart), confirming that the verse negates any form of imperfection in God. Fakhr al-Rāzī analyzes it philosophically: since sleep is a state of rest needed by physical bodies due to fatigue, and God is non-corporeal and does not tire, He is free from such states. A hadith narrated from Abū Mūsā states, "Allah does not sleep, and it is not befitting for Him to sleep" (Ibn Mājah #195), reinforcing the concept of His continuous, active governance.
Parallels in Other Literatures
Biblical: The verse is a direct parallel to Psalm 121:3-4: "He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep." Both texts use the imagery of a sleepless guardian to assure believers of God's constant providence.
ANE: The concept of a vigilant god was a mark of supreme power. The Mesopotamian sun-god Shamash was praised for his watchfulness. This contrasts sharply with other myths, like the Enūma Eliš, where lesser gods are disturbed by humanity and wish for rest.
Philosophical: The concept aligns with the classical view of God as immutable and impassible. Aristotle's Unmoved Mover is eternally in a state of pure energy and self-contemplation, incompatible with rest.
3. لَّهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ (Lahu mā fi s-samāwāti wa mā fi l-arḍ)
Translation: "To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth."
Bengali: আসমানসমূহে ও যমীনে যা কিছু আছে, সবই তাঁর। (Āsamānasamūhē ō yamīnē yā kichu āchē, sabā'i tām̐ra.)
Etymology
Lahu (لَّهُ): The preposition lām denotes exclusive possession and ownership.
samāwāt (السَّمَاوَاتِ) and arḍ (الْأَرْضِ): This pairing is a merism, a literary device signifying the entire created cosmos.
Exegesis & Context
All exegetes agree this phrase establishes God's absolute dominion (mulk). Al-Zamakhsharī notes that placing Lahu ("To Him") at the beginning of the phrase grammatically emphasizes this exclusivity. Al-Rāzī connects this to the previous attributes, arguing that because God is the eternally Living Sustainer, it necessarily follows that He owns all that He sustains. This point serves as the foundation for the subsequent clause about intercession.
Parallels in Other Literatures
Biblical: The concept is central to the Old Testament, as seen in Psalm 24:1: "The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it." See also Deuteronomy 10:14 and 1 Chronicles 29:11.
ANE: Declarations of divine ownership of the cosmos are standard in hymns across the Ancient Near East. A hymn to the Egyptian god Amun-Ra states, "Lord of the sky, of the earth, of the waters..."
Esoteric & Philosophical: In Sufism, Ibn 'Arabī sees this not as mere ownership but as ontological dependence, where all created things are loci of manifestation (maẓāhir) for the Divine Names. This has a philosophical parallel in Spinoza's monism, where everything is a "mode" of the single substance, God.
4. مَن ذَا الَّذِي يَشْفَعُ عِندَهُ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِ (Man dhā lladhī yashfaʿu ʿindahu illā bi-idhnihi)
Translation: "Who is it that can intercede with Him except by His permission?"
Bengali: কে আছে যে তাঁর অনুমতি ব্যতীত তাঁর নিকট সুপারিশ করতে পারে? (Kē āchē yē tām̐ra anumati byatīta tām̐ra nikaṭa supāriśa karatē pārē?)
Etymology
Man dhā lladhī (مَن ذَا الَّذِي): A powerful rhetorical question emphasizing impossibility.
yashfaʿu (يَشْفَعُ): From the root sh-f-ʿ (to make even, to pair), meaning to intercede by adding one's plea to another's.
idhn (إِذْنِ): From the root ʾ-dh-n (to permit, to listen), meaning permission or leave.
Exegesis & Context
This verse directly challenges the pre-Islamic Arab belief in the automatic intercession of idols and lesser deities. Al-Ṭabarī emphasizes that it refutes the polytheists (mushrikūn) who made such claims. Classical exegetes agree that intercession is real but strictly conditional upon God's permission. Al-Qurṭubī discusses the "great intercession" (al-shafāʿah al-ʿuẓmā) of the Prophet Muhammad, which is granted by God on the Day of Judgment as a form of divine honor.
Parallels in Other Literatures
Biblical: The Old Testament contains examples of human intercession, such as Abraham pleading for Sodom (Genesis 18). The New Testament presents Jesus as the ultimate intercessor (Romans 8:34). However, the Qur'anic verse's strict conditionality (illā bi-idhnihi) asserts a more absolute divine control over the process.
ANE: The concept of a divine court with intercessors existed in Mesopotamia, where a patron god could plead a human's case before higher gods. The Quran re-frames this concept, subordinating all such acts to the singular will of the One God.
Sufism: Intercession is viewed as the manifestation of a Divine Name (like al-Shāfiʿ, The Intercessor) through a perfected human. The "permission" (idhn) is the alignment of the intercessor's will with the pre-existing Divine Will.
5. يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ (Yaʿlamu mā bayna aydīhim wa mā khalfahum)
Translation: "He knows what is [presently] before them and what will be after them."
Bengali: তিনি জানেন যা তাদের সামনে ও পিছনে আছে। (Tini jānēna yā tādēra sāmanē ō pichanē āchē.)
Etymology
mā bayna aydīhim (مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ): Literally "what is between their hands," an idiom for their present and near future.
wa mā khalfahum (وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ): Literally "and what is behind them," an idiom for their past and the unseen future.
Together, this phrase signifies God's total, encompassing knowledge of all reality—past, present, and future.
Exegesis & Context
This is a statement of God's perfect omniscience. Al-Rāzī connects it to the preceding clause, arguing that God's permission for intercession is based on His perfect knowledge of who is truly worthy. He knows the intercessor, the one being interceded for, and the substance of the plea in its entirety, preventing any flawed judgment.
Parallels in Other Literatures
Biblical: God's omniscience is a powerful theme. Psalm 139:1-4: "O LORD, you have searched me and you know me... Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely." See also Hebrews 4:13.
ANE: Omniscience was a common attribute of supreme deities. The Mesopotamian sun-god Shamash was hailed as the "knower of all things."
Philosophy: This raises the classic philosophical problem of divine foreknowledge and free will. Boethius proposed that God sees all of time in a single, eternal present, a view influential in later Christian and Islamic thought. In science, the thought experiment of Laplace's demon imagined an intellect that could know the entire past and future if it knew the state of every particle, though this deterministic view has been challenged by quantum mechanics.
6. وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَيْءٍ مِّنْ عِلْمِهِ إِلَّا بِمَا شَاءَ (Wa lā yuḥīṭūna bi-shayʾin min ʿilmihi illā bi-mā shāʾ)
Translation: "And they do not encompass anything of His knowledge except for what He wills."
Bengali: এবং তারা তাঁর জ্ঞানের কিছুই আয়ত্ত করতে পারে না, কেবল যতোটুকু তিনি ইচ্ছা করেন। (Ēbaṁ tārā tām̐ra jñānēra kichu'i āẏatta karatē pārē nā, kēbala yatōṭuku tini icchā karēna.)
Etymology
yuḥīṭūna (يُحِيطُونَ): From the root ḥ-w-ṭ (to surround, encircle), meaning they cannot grasp or comprehend.
shāʾa (شَاءَ): From the root sh-y-ʾ (to will, to wish).
Exegesis & Context
This clause contrasts divine omniscience with the profound limitation of created knowledge. Human knowledge is portrayed as both finite and derivative—a grant from God. Al-Rāzī distinguishes between God's knowledge of His own essence (inaccessible) and His knowledge of His creation (partially granted). Wahiduddin Khan notes this principle is the basis of all human discovery; scientific breakthroughs are effectively moments where God "wills" for a part of His system to be understood.
Parallels in Other Literatures
Biblical: This theme is central to books like Job. Isaiah 55:8-9: "'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the LORD." See also 1 Corinthians 13:12.
ANE: Ancient wisdom literature, like the Babylonian Poem of the Righteous Sufferer, laments the gap between human and divine understanding: "Who can know the will of the gods in heaven?"
Philosophy & Science: Kant's distinction between knowable phenomena and unknowable noumena offers a philosophical parallel. In science, Gödel's incompleteness theorems showed inherent logical limits to what can be known, while quantum uncertainty and the cosmic event horizon suggest fundamental physical limits to observation.
7. وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ (Wasiʿa kursiyyuhu s-samāwāti wa l-arḍa)
Translation: "His Footstool extends over the heavens and the earth."
Bengali: তাঁর ‘কুরসী’ আসমানসমূহ ও যমীনকে পরিবেষ্টন করে আছে। (Tām̐ra ‘kurasī’ āsamānasamūha ō yamīnakē paribēṣṭana karē āchē.)
Etymology
The word Kursī (كُرْسِيُّهُ), from the root k-r-s, is the most debated term in the verse.
The root's earliest meaning is "to pile up, consolidate, or press firmly," leading to a sense of something solidly fixed.
The noun kursiyy ("chair, throne") likely entered Arabic from Aramaic/Syriac kursyā, which is cognate with Hebrew kisse and Akkadian kussû.
Once adopted, it was re-analyzed under the Arabic root, allowing for related derivations like karrasa ("to consecrate") and abstract notions like "entrenching" or "institutionalizing." A kurrās can refer to a notebook or a solid core, like the trunk of a tree.
Exegesis & Context
This is a major point of exegetical divergence. Al-Ṭabarī records several early views:
A Footstool: The dominant view, from Ibn ʿAbbās, is that the Kursī is the "place of the two feet" of God (mawḍiʿ al-qadamayn) and is distinct from the larger Throne (ʿArsh).
The Throne: A view from al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī that the Kursī and ʿArsh are identical.
Knowledge: A metaphorical view, also narrated from Ibn ʿAbbās, that it represents God's knowledge (ʿilm).
Power/Dominion: A view that it represents God's power (qudra) and dominion (mulk).
Later traditionalists like Ibn Kathīr favor the literalist view of a footstool, while philosophically-inclined commentators like al-Rāzī prefer metaphorical interpretations (knowledge or power) to avoid anthropomorphism.
Parallels in Other Literatures
Biblical: The parallel is extremely close to Isaiah 66:1: "Thus says the LORD: 'Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool...'" Here, the throne (kisse) and footstool are distinct. Ezekiel's vision (Ezekiel 1) of a magnificent throne-chariot (merkabah) also became a focus of Jewish mysticism.
Sufism: Ibn 'Arabī developed a cosmology where the ʿArsh (Throne) is the all-encompassing body of the cosmos, while the Kursī is the sphere of the fixed stars located within it, representing the Universal Soul.
8. وَلَا يَئُودُهُ حِفْظُهُمَا وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْعَظِيمُ (Wa lā yaʾūduhu ḥifẓuhumā wa huwa al-ʿAliyyu al-ʿAẓīm)
Translation: "And their preservation does not tire Him. And He is the Most High, the Most Great."
Bengali: আর তাদের উভয়ের রক্ষণাবেক্ষণ তাঁকে ক্লান্ত করে না। আর তিনি সর্বোচ্চ ও সর্বমহান। (Āra tādēra ubhaẏēra rakṣaṇābēkṣaṇa tām̐kē klānta karē nā. Āra tini sarbōcca ō sarbamahāna.)
Etymology
yaʾūduhu (يَئُودُهُ): From the root ʾ-w-d (to bend, weigh down, burden). It means He is not wearied or fatigued.
ḥifẓuhumā (حِفْظُهُمَا): The preservation and protection of both the heavens and the earth.
al-ʿAliyy (ٱلْعَلِيُّ): From the root ʿ-l-w (to be high, exalted). Cognate with the Canaanite title El 'Elyon ("God Most High").
al-ʿAẓīm (ٱلْعَظِيمُ): From the root ʿ-ẓ-m (to be great, mighty).
Exegesis & Context
This conclusion summarizes the verse's theme of absolute transcendence and effortless power. Al-Ṭabarī states that managing the cosmos is effortless for God. Al-Rāzī argues that one who is eternally living cannot be subject to weariness. The final names, al-ʿAliyy (The Most High) and al-ʿAẓīm (The Most Great), are the logical conclusion of all preceding descriptions, denoting transcendence above all limitations and greatness beyond all comprehension.
Parallels in Other Literatures
Biblical: This directly parallels Isaiah 40:28: "The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom."
ANE: While lesser gods in polytheistic systems might struggle or tire (as in the labors of Marduk), the supreme deity is often portrayed as acting with ease.
Philosophy: This resonates with Aristotle's Unmoved Mover, which causes motion without expending effort, and the philosophical concept of a maximally perfect being whose power is unbounded.
Key Concepts and Themes
The Profound Meaning of "Ilah":Object of Worship: Beyond mere "god," it signifies the one truly worthy of worship, implying that true worship is only experienced when directed towards Allah.
Source of Peace and Contentment: The one to whom one turns in sadness, overwhelm, and desperation; the sole source of companionship and inner peace.
Object of Awe and Amazement: The one who truly overwhelms and humbles, rendering all else insignificant.
Source of Intense Love (Walah): Derived from "wahal" or "ahala," signifying overwhelming love that overrides pain, hunger, and other needs, fulfilling one completely. This is the highest healthy degree of love.
Allah as the Subject of All Declarations:
The repeated mention of "Allah" as the subject of each of the nine declarations emphasizes His singular importance and that all attributes relate back to Him.
The use of pronouns like "He" reinforces that all statements point back to Allah, consolidating His identity and omnipotence.
Attributes of Allah - Al-Hayy (The Living) and Al-Qayyum (The Sustainer/Maintainer):
Al-Hayy (The Living): Allah is the absolute source of life, distinct from all other living things which are subject to death and were once dead. He is a conscious, living being, not an abstract force or machine.
Al-Qayyum (The Sustainer/Maintainer): Allah actively and vigilantly takes care of all creation, even without being asked. This care is unprecedented, continuous, and goes beyond human capability, as He never tires, dozes, or sleeps. It is the care of an owner, not a mere caretaker.
Allah's Unwavering Vigilance:
La ta'khudhuhu sinatun wa la nawm (Neither slumber overtakes Him nor sleep): This negates even the slightest possibility of drowsiness or sleep, emphasizing Allah's constant and perfect vigilance.
This contrasts with human limitations, where even the most dedicated care is eventually overcome by fatigue.
The specific linguistic construction (neither... nor) negates both individually and in combination, highlighting the absolute perfection of Allah's watchfulness.
Allah's Absolute Ownership and Authority:
Lahu ma fis-samawati wa ma fil-ard (To Him belongs what is in the heavens and what is in the earth): This establishes Allah's ownership of all creation, from the smallest to the largest entities.
His care is that of an owner, implying deep personal dedication and vigilance, unlike someone caring for rented or borrowed property.
The emphasis on "earth" specifically highlights Allah's special attention and love for this planet, despite its insignificance in the vast universe.
The Concept of Intercession (Shafa'ah) in the Hereafter:
Man dhal-ladhi yashfa'u 'indahu illa bi-idhnihi (Who is it that can intercede with Him except by His permission?): This challenges the notion of mediators between humans and Allah, especially on Judgment Day.
It refutes the idea of a "middleman" who can shield individuals from accountability, emphasizing direct accountability to Allah.
The Hadith of Shafa'ah: Narrates how various prophets (Adam, Nuh, Ibrahim, Musa, Isa) will decline to intercede due to their own perceived shortcomings, until Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) steps forward by Allah's permission, interceding for those with even the slightest faith.
Shafa'ah for Abandoners of Quran: Contrasts with the above, mentioning the Prophet's plea against those who abandoned the Quran despite having known it, highlighting the severity of such an act.
Allah's All-Encompassing Knowledge:
Ya'lamu ma bayna aydihim wa ma khalfahum (He knows what is before them and what is behind them): Allah has complete and total knowledge of everything – past, present, and future, seen and unseen.
Wa la yuhituna bi-shay'im min 'ilmihi illa bima sha'a (And they encompass not anything of His knowledge except what He wills): Humans cannot grasp the full extent of Allah's knowledge; they only perceive what He allows them to know. This reinforces His supreme authority and wisdom.
Al-Kursi (The Chair/Throne) and Al-'Arsh (The Throne):
Wasi'a kursiyuhus-samawati wal-ard (His Kursi extends over the heavens and the earth): The "Kursi" signifies Allah's expansive authority and dominion, representing the foundation upon which the universe depends.
The past tense "withheld" (wasi'a) implies that Allah's Kursi already encompasses the heavens and the earth, not just that it can. It also doesn't exhaust its maximum capacity, implying it holds much more.
Comparison to a Ring in the Desert: The Kursi is vastly larger than the heavens and the earth combined, and the 'Arsh (Throne) is even larger than the Kursi, illustrating the immense scale of Allah's dominion.
Allah's Supreme Greatness:
Wa la ya'uduhu hifzuhuma wa Huwal-'Aliyyul-'Adheem (And the guarding of both (the heavens and the earth) does not weary Him. And He is the Most High, the Most Great.): Protecting and maintaining the universe causes Allah no exhaustion.
Al-'Aliyy (The Most High): Signifies His ultimate superiority and transcendence.
Al-'Adheem (The Most Great): Emphasizes His absolute majesty and boundless power.
The Balance of Closeness and Awe:
Ayatul Kursi establishes both Allah's intimate closeness to believers (as the object of love, peace, and caretaker) and His immense superiority and authority (as king, owner, and all-knowing).
This balance is crucial for a healthy relationship with Allah, fostering both love and humility.
Significance of Reflection (Tadabbur):
Reciting Ayatul Kursi with reflection (tadabbur) is paramount. Merely reciting for blessings without understanding is seen as a "curse" because it misses the Quran's true purpose of transformation and guidance.
Reflection brings about true protection, healing, blessings, and a deeper connection with Allah, reviving dead hearts.
| Verses | Parallels in Literatures | |---|---| |
2:255 (Segment 1/8) اللَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ
Allāhu lā ilāha illā huwa al-Ḥayyu al-Qayyūm.
আল্লাহু লা ইলাহা ইল্লা হুয়াল হাইয়্যুল কাইয়্যুম।
Allah—there is no god but He, the Ever-Living, the Self-Sustaining.
আল্লাহ্—তিনি ব্যতীত কোন উপাস্য নেই, তিনি চিরঞ্জীব, স্বয়ংস্থিতিশীল।
Annotations: Allah (আল্লাহ, root: ʾ-l-h / আ-ল-হ – to deify, the One worthy of worship). ilāha (ইলাহা, same root – a god, deity). al-Ḥayy (আল-হাইয়্যু, root: ḥ-y-y / হ-য়-য় – life, to live). The absolutely and eternally Living. Cognate with Hebrew ḥay (חַי, living), Aramaic ḥayyā (חַיָּא). al-Qayyūm (আল-কাইয়্যুম, root: q-w-m / ক-ও-ম – to stand, to rise, to establish). The Self-Subsisting Sustainer of all existence. Form fayyʿūl denotes intensity. Cognate with Aramaic qəyāmā (קְיָמָא, existence, substance), Hebrew qiyyūm (קִיּוּם, existence, fulfillment).
Quran and Hadith: Literary Context: This verse, Āyat al-Kursī, follows 2:254 (urging believers to spend in charity before a day of no bargaining) and precedes 2:256 ("There is no compulsion in religion"). The sequence establishes God's absolute sovereignty (2:255) as the foundation for both righteous action (2:254) and the principle of free will in faith (2:256). It refutes pre-Islamic polytheism and Christian doctrines of divinity by asserting pure, uncompromising monotheism. Tafsir al-Qur'an bil-Qur'an: The phrase لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ is the core Islamic testimony (cf. 3:18, 47:19). Al-Ḥayy appears with al-Qayyūm also in 3:2 and 20:111, linking eternal life with eternal sustenance of creation. God's self-subsistence is contrasted with all of creation's dependency (35:15: "O mankind, you are those in need of Allah, while Allah is the Free of need, the Praiseworthy"). Hadith: Ubayy ibn Ka'b reported that the Prophet ﷺ asked him which verse in the Qur'an was the greatest. He replied, "Allah and His Messenger know best." The Prophet repeated the question, and Ubayy replied: اللَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ. The Prophet ﷺ then struck his chest and said, "Congratulations on your knowledge, Abū al-Mundhir!" (Muslim #810). Reciting it after every prescribed prayer is a means to enter Paradise (al-Nasāʾī, al-Sunan al-Kubrā #9848, ṣaḥīḥ).
EXEGESIS: Early: All early exegetes like Mujāhid, Maqātil, and al-Ṭabarī concur on the literal meanings. al-Ṭabarī stresses al-Qayyūm as He who manages and preserves the affairs of His creation. Later: Al-Rāzī philosophically elaborates on al-Ḥayy as the source of all life and al-Qayyūm as the Necessary Existent upon which all contingent beings depend. Ibn Kathīr compiles the hadith on the verse's virtues, emphasizing it as the greatest verse. Mufti Muḥammad Shafīʿ (Maʿārif) explains Qayyūm as One who not only subsists by Himself but by whom all others subsist. Wahiduddin Khan highlights its role in fostering a direct, unmediated relationship with a self-sufficient God. There is near-unanimous agreement on the core meaning of these attributes, with later works adding philosophical and theological depth. Contemporary Relevance: The verse is a cornerstone of Muslim daily worship and a central theological statement. It serves as a declaration of divine unity, life, and sovereignty, countering both atheism and polytheism. | Ancient Literature: The concept of a supreme, living God is common. In Ugaritic texts, El is the chief deity, often described with attributes of eternity. In Mesopotamia, hymns to Marduk or Shamash celebrate their supreme power and authority over the cosmos. The attribute al-Ḥayy finds a parallel in the Egyptian concept of ankh (life) embodied by deities like Ra.
Biblical Literature: The declaration of monotheism echoes the Shema Yisrael (Deuteronomy 6:4: "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one"). God is called the "living God" (Elohim ḥayyim) in Deuteronomy 5:26 and Joshua 3:10, distinguishing Him from lifeless idols. The idea of self-sustenance is foundational to the divine name YHWH ("I Am that I Am," Exodus 3:14), implying eternal being and self-sufficiency. Talmud (Berakhot 10a) discusses God as "the life of the worlds." Syriac writers like Ephrem the Syrian extensively use Ḥayyā ("The Living") as a primary name for God.
Esoteric Literatures: Sufism: For Ibn 'Arabī, al-Ḥayy is a primary Divine Name, the source of all life in every realm, while al-Qayyūm is the Name that gives subsistence and reality to all existents (mawjūdāt), which are otherwise pure potential. Hermeticism: The Corpus Hermeticum describes God as Mind (Nous), unborn, eternal, the source of all. "For God is not inanimate; He is life itself" (Lib. XII). Neoplatonism: Plotinus' "The One" is the self-caused, ultimate reality from which all else emanates, paralleling the self-subsistence of al-Qayyūm. The One is beyond Being and Life, but is their ultimate source.
Philosophy and Science: Philosophy: Aristotle's "Unmoved Mover" is an eternal, unchanging substance, pure actuality (actus purus), whose existence is necessary, similar to al-Ḥayy and al-Qayyūm. For Ibn Sīnā, God is the Wājib al-Wujūd (Necessary Existent), whose essence is His existence and on whom all contingent beings depend. Spinoza's Deus sive Natura is the one self-caused, eternal substance that constitutes the totality of reality. | |
Allāhu lā ilāha illā huwa al-Ḥayyu al-Qayyūm.
আল্লাহু লা ইলাহা ইল্লা হুয়াল হাইয়্যুল কাইয়্যুম।
Allah—there is no god but He, the Ever-Living, the Self-Sustaining.
আল্লাহ্—তিনি ব্যতীত কোন উপাস্য নেই, তিনি চিরঞ্জীব, স্বয়ংস্থিতিশীল।
Annotations: Allah (আল্লাহ, root: ʾ-l-h / আ-ল-হ – to deify, the One worthy of worship). ilāha (ইলাহা, same root – a god, deity). al-Ḥayy (আল-হাইয়্যু, root: ḥ-y-y / হ-য়-য় – life, to live). The absolutely and eternally Living. Cognate with Hebrew ḥay (חַי, living), Aramaic ḥayyā (חַיָּא). al-Qayyūm (আল-কাইয়্যুম, root: q-w-m / ক-ও-ম – to stand, to rise, to establish). The Self-Subsisting Sustainer of all existence. Form fayyʿūl denotes intensity. Cognate with Aramaic qəyāmā (קְיָמָא, existence, substance), Hebrew qiyyūm (קִיּוּם, existence, fulfillment).
Quran and Hadith: Literary Context: This verse, Āyat al-Kursī, follows 2:254 (urging believers to spend in charity before a day of no bargaining) and precedes 2:256 ("There is no compulsion in religion"). The sequence establishes God's absolute sovereignty (2:255) as the foundation for both righteous action (2:254) and the principle of free will in faith (2:256). It refutes pre-Islamic polytheism and Christian doctrines of divinity by asserting pure, uncompromising monotheism. Tafsir al-Qur'an bil-Qur'an: The phrase لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ is the core Islamic testimony (cf. 3:18, 47:19). Al-Ḥayy appears with al-Qayyūm also in 3:2 and 20:111, linking eternal life with eternal sustenance of creation. God's self-subsistence is contrasted with all of creation's dependency (35:15: "O mankind, you are those in need of Allah, while Allah is the Free of need, the Praiseworthy"). Hadith: Ubayy ibn Ka'b reported that the Prophet ﷺ asked him which verse in the Qur'an was the greatest. He replied, "Allah and His Messenger know best." The Prophet repeated the question, and Ubayy replied: اللَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ. The Prophet ﷺ then struck his chest and said, "Congratulations on your knowledge, Abū al-Mundhir!" (Muslim #810). Reciting it after every prescribed prayer is a means to enter Paradise (al-Nasāʾī, al-Sunan al-Kubrā #9848, ṣaḥīḥ).
EXEGESIS: Early: All early exegetes like Mujāhid, Maqātil, and al-Ṭabarī concur on the literal meanings. al-Ṭabarī stresses al-Qayyūm as He who manages and preserves the affairs of His creation. Later: Al-Rāzī philosophically elaborates on al-Ḥayy as the source of all life and al-Qayyūm as the Necessary Existent upon which all contingent beings depend. Ibn Kathīr compiles the hadith on the verse's virtues, emphasizing it as the greatest verse. Mufti Muḥammad Shafīʿ (Maʿārif) explains Qayyūm as One who not only subsists by Himself but by whom all others subsist. Wahiduddin Khan highlights its role in fostering a direct, unmediated relationship with a self-sufficient God. There is near-unanimous agreement on the core meaning of these attributes, with later works adding philosophical and theological depth. Contemporary Relevance: The verse is a cornerstone of Muslim daily worship and a central theological statement. It serves as a declaration of divine unity, life, and sovereignty, countering both atheism and polytheism. | Ancient Literature: The concept of a supreme, living God is common. In Ugaritic texts, El is the chief deity, often described with attributes of eternity. In Mesopotamia, hymns to Marduk or Shamash celebrate their supreme power and authority over the cosmos. The attribute al-Ḥayy finds a parallel in the Egyptian concept of ankh (life) embodied by deities like Ra.
Biblical Literature: The declaration of monotheism echoes the Shema Yisrael (Deuteronomy 6:4: "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one"). God is called the "living God" (Elohim ḥayyim) in Deuteronomy 5:26 and Joshua 3:10, distinguishing Him from lifeless idols. The idea of self-sustenance is foundational to the divine name YHWH ("I Am that I Am," Exodus 3:14), implying eternal being and self-sufficiency. Talmud (Berakhot 10a) discusses God as "the life of the worlds." Syriac writers like Ephrem the Syrian extensively use Ḥayyā ("The Living") as a primary name for God.
Esoteric Literatures: Sufism: For Ibn 'Arabī, al-Ḥayy is a primary Divine Name, the source of all life in every realm, while al-Qayyūm is the Name that gives subsistence and reality to all existents (mawjūdāt), which are otherwise pure potential. Hermeticism: The Corpus Hermeticum describes God as Mind (Nous), unborn, eternal, the source of all. "For God is not inanimate; He is life itself" (Lib. XII). Neoplatonism: Plotinus' "The One" is the self-caused, ultimate reality from which all else emanates, paralleling the self-subsistence of al-Qayyūm. The One is beyond Being and Life, but is their ultimate source.
Philosophy and Science: Philosophy: Aristotle's "Unmoved Mover" is an eternal, unchanging substance, pure actuality (actus purus), whose existence is necessary, similar to al-Ḥayy and al-Qayyūm. For Ibn Sīnā, God is the Wājib al-Wujūd (Necessary Existent), whose essence is His existence and on whom all contingent beings depend. Spinoza's Deus sive Natura is the one self-caused, eternal substance that constitutes the totality of reality. | |
2:255 (Segment 2/8) لَا تَأْخُذُهُ سِنَةٌ وَلَا نَوْمٌ
Lā taʾkhudhuhu sinatun wa lā nawm.
লা তা’খুযুহু সিনাতুওঁ ওয়ালা নাউম।
Neither drowsiness nor sleep overtakes Him.
তাঁকে তন্দ্রা বা নিদ্রা স্পর্শ করে না।
Annotations: sinah (সিনা, root: w-s-n / ও-স-ন – slumber, drowsiness, languor). The very beginning of sleep that affects the head and face. nawm (নাউম, root: n-w-m / ন-ও-ম – sleep). The state of rest that overtakes the heart and mind, a complete loss of consciousness. The negation emphasizes absolute vigilance and freedom from any form of creaturely limitation or change of state. Cognates: Hebrew shenah (שֵׁנָה, sleep), Aramaic šintā (שִׁנְתָּא).
EXEGESIS: Early: Al-Ṭabarī quotes reports explaining the distinction: sinah is slumber in the eyes, while nawm is sleep in the heart. He confirms the consensus that this verse negates any form of imperfection or liability to change in God. Maqātil simply states it means He is never unaware. Later: Fakhr al-Rāzī analyzes this philosophically: sleep and drowsiness are states of rest needed by physical bodies due to fatigue. Since God is non-corporeal and fatigue (yaʾūduhu) does not touch Him (as the verse later states), He is necessarily free from these states. Ibn Kathīr narrates a ḥasan hadith from Abū Mūsā that "Allah does not sleep, and it is not befitting for Him to sleep. He lowers the scales and raises them..." (Ibn Mājah #195). This reinforces the concept of continuous, active governance. | Ancient Literature: The theme of a vigilant, sleepless god often appears as a mark of supreme power and justice. In Mesopotamia, the sun-god Shamash, as the divine judge, was praised for his watchfulness over humanity, seeing all deeds. In contrast, in the Babylonian epic Enūma Eliš, the lesser gods are disturbed by the clamor of humanity, and their leader Apsu wishes to destroy them to get some rest, a trait starkly opposite to the Qur'anic depiction of Allah.
Biblical Literature: This is a direct parallel to Psalm 121:3-4: "He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep." The imagery in both texts serves the same theological purpose: to assure the believer of God's constant, unfailing providence and protection. He is the ever-watchful guardian.
Esoteric Literatures: Sufism: Sleep is a manifestation of ghaflah (heedlessness), the antithesis of the divine state of pure consciousness and awareness (ḥuḍūr). Al-Ghazālī, in Mishkāt al-Anwār, links this to God as the ultimate source of light and perception, who cannot be subject to the darkness of non-awareness. Neoplatonism: For Plotinus, the higher principles (The One, Intellect) are pure activity and consciousness. Passivity or potentiality, like sleep, only enters at the lower level of Soul and the material world. God as actus purus (pure actuality) in scholastic philosophy also precludes any passive state like sleep.
Philosophy and Science: Philosophy: The concept connects to the classical philosophical view of God as immutable and impassible. Change and rest are properties of temporal, material beings. For Aristotle, the Unmoved Mover is eternally engaged in the activity of self-contemplation, a state of pure energy incompatible with rest. Science: At a metaphorical level, the ceaseless operation of the fundamental laws of physics throughout the cosmos, without interruption or fatigue, could be seen as a faint scientific reflection of this theological principle of tireless, continuous sustenance. | |
Lā taʾkhudhuhu sinatun wa lā nawm.
লা তা’খুযুহু সিনাতুওঁ ওয়ালা নাউম।
Neither drowsiness nor sleep overtakes Him.
তাঁকে তন্দ্রা বা নিদ্রা স্পর্শ করে না।
Annotations: sinah (সিনা, root: w-s-n / ও-স-ন – slumber, drowsiness, languor). The very beginning of sleep that affects the head and face. nawm (নাউম, root: n-w-m / ন-ও-ম – sleep). The state of rest that overtakes the heart and mind, a complete loss of consciousness. The negation emphasizes absolute vigilance and freedom from any form of creaturely limitation or change of state. Cognates: Hebrew shenah (שֵׁנָה, sleep), Aramaic šintā (שִׁנְתָּא).
EXEGESIS: Early: Al-Ṭabarī quotes reports explaining the distinction: sinah is slumber in the eyes, while nawm is sleep in the heart. He confirms the consensus that this verse negates any form of imperfection or liability to change in God. Maqātil simply states it means He is never unaware. Later: Fakhr al-Rāzī analyzes this philosophically: sleep and drowsiness are states of rest needed by physical bodies due to fatigue. Since God is non-corporeal and fatigue (yaʾūduhu) does not touch Him (as the verse later states), He is necessarily free from these states. Ibn Kathīr narrates a ḥasan hadith from Abū Mūsā that "Allah does not sleep, and it is not befitting for Him to sleep. He lowers the scales and raises them..." (Ibn Mājah #195). This reinforces the concept of continuous, active governance. | Ancient Literature: The theme of a vigilant, sleepless god often appears as a mark of supreme power and justice. In Mesopotamia, the sun-god Shamash, as the divine judge, was praised for his watchfulness over humanity, seeing all deeds. In contrast, in the Babylonian epic Enūma Eliš, the lesser gods are disturbed by the clamor of humanity, and their leader Apsu wishes to destroy them to get some rest, a trait starkly opposite to the Qur'anic depiction of Allah.
Biblical Literature: This is a direct parallel to Psalm 121:3-4: "He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep." The imagery in both texts serves the same theological purpose: to assure the believer of God's constant, unfailing providence and protection. He is the ever-watchful guardian.
Esoteric Literatures: Sufism: Sleep is a manifestation of ghaflah (heedlessness), the antithesis of the divine state of pure consciousness and awareness (ḥuḍūr). Al-Ghazālī, in Mishkāt al-Anwār, links this to God as the ultimate source of light and perception, who cannot be subject to the darkness of non-awareness. Neoplatonism: For Plotinus, the higher principles (The One, Intellect) are pure activity and consciousness. Passivity or potentiality, like sleep, only enters at the lower level of Soul and the material world. God as actus purus (pure actuality) in scholastic philosophy also precludes any passive state like sleep.
Philosophy and Science: Philosophy: The concept connects to the classical philosophical view of God as immutable and impassible. Change and rest are properties of temporal, material beings. For Aristotle, the Unmoved Mover is eternally engaged in the activity of self-contemplation, a state of pure energy incompatible with rest. Science: At a metaphorical level, the ceaseless operation of the fundamental laws of physics throughout the cosmos, without interruption or fatigue, could be seen as a faint scientific reflection of this theological principle of tireless, continuous sustenance. | |
2:255 (Segment 3/8) لَّهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الْأَرْضِ
Lahu mā fi s-samāwāti wa mā fi l-arḍ.
লাহু মা ফিস্সামাওয়াতি ওয়ামা ফিল আরদ্।
To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth.
আসমানসমূহে ও যমীনে যা কিছু আছে, সবই তাঁর।
Annotations: Lahu (লাহু – to Him / for Him belongs). The preposition lām denotes possession, ownership, and exclusive right. samāwāt (সামাওয়াত, plural of samāʾ, root: s-m-w / স-ম-ও – height, elevation). The heavens, celestial spheres. arḍ (আরদ্, root: ʾ-r-ḍ / আ-র-দ – to be low). The earth. The pairing samāwāt wa l-arḍ is a merism signifying the entire created cosmos.
EXEGESIS: All exegetes agree this phrase establishes God's absolute dominion (mulk) and ownership over all of creation. Al-Ṭabarī notes this is a declaration of His sovereignty and a refutation of those who worship anything within creation, as the worshipped object is itself owned by God. Al-Zamakhsharī points out the grammatical structure (placing Lahu "To Him" first) emphasizes exclusivity: everything belongs only to Him. Al-Rāzī connects this to the preceding attributes: because He is the eternally Living Sustainer, it necessarily follows that He owns all that He sustains. This is the foundation for the subsequent point about intercession. | Ancient Literature: Declarations of divine ownership of the cosmos are standard in royal and divine hymns across the Ancient Near East. A hymn to the Egyptian god Amun-Ra states: "The gods are in awe of you... Lord of the sky, of the earth, of the waters..." In Mesopotamia, Marduk, after his victory in the Enūma Eliš, is declared king and owner of the universe. South-Arabian inscriptions proclaim the god Dhū Samāwī ("Lord of the Heavens") as sovereign.
Biblical Literature: This concept is central to the Old Testament. Psalm 24:1: "The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it." Deuteronomy 10:14: "Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the highest heavens, the earth and all that is in it." 1 Chronicles 29:11: "Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power... for everything in heaven and on earth is yours." New Testament writers reaffirm this (e.g., 1 Corinthians 10:26).
Esoteric Literatures: Sufism: For Ibn 'Arabī, this is not mere ownership but ontological dependence. "What is in the heavens and the earth" are the loci of manifestation (maẓāhir) for the Divine Names. They have no independent existence; their reality is solely derived from Him. Al-Kāshānī interprets "heavens" as the realm of spirits and souls, and "earth" as the world of bodies and physical forms; all belong to Him. Hermeticism: The cosmos is seen as the "son" or creation of God, contained within Him. "For there is nothing in the whole cosmos that is not God" (Corpus Hermeticum, Lib. IX). This leans towards pantheism, whereas the Qur'anic verse maintains a clear distinction between Creator and creation (tanzīh).
Philosophy and Science: Philosophy: Spinoza's monism holds that there is only one substance, God, and everything else ("heavens and earth") are merely "modes" or modifications of that substance. They do not have independent reality, paralleling the Sufi interpretation. In contrast, the mainstream Islamic philosophical view (e.g., Ibn Sīnā) maintains a real distinction between the Necessary Existent (God) and contingent creation, though creation is utterly dependent on Him for its existence. | |
Lahu mā fi s-samāwāti wa mā fi l-arḍ.
লাহু মা ফিস্সামাওয়াতি ওয়ামা ফিল আরদ্।
To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth.
আসমানসমূহে ও যমীনে যা কিছু আছে, সবই তাঁর।
Annotations: Lahu (লাহু – to Him / for Him belongs). The preposition lām denotes possession, ownership, and exclusive right. samāwāt (সামাওয়াত, plural of samāʾ, root: s-m-w / স-ম-ও – height, elevation). The heavens, celestial spheres. arḍ (আরদ্, root: ʾ-r-ḍ / আ-র-দ – to be low). The earth. The pairing samāwāt wa l-arḍ is a merism signifying the entire created cosmos.
EXEGESIS: All exegetes agree this phrase establishes God's absolute dominion (mulk) and ownership over all of creation. Al-Ṭabarī notes this is a declaration of His sovereignty and a refutation of those who worship anything within creation, as the worshipped object is itself owned by God. Al-Zamakhsharī points out the grammatical structure (placing Lahu "To Him" first) emphasizes exclusivity: everything belongs only to Him. Al-Rāzī connects this to the preceding attributes: because He is the eternally Living Sustainer, it necessarily follows that He owns all that He sustains. This is the foundation for the subsequent point about intercession. | Ancient Literature: Declarations of divine ownership of the cosmos are standard in royal and divine hymns across the Ancient Near East. A hymn to the Egyptian god Amun-Ra states: "The gods are in awe of you... Lord of the sky, of the earth, of the waters..." In Mesopotamia, Marduk, after his victory in the Enūma Eliš, is declared king and owner of the universe. South-Arabian inscriptions proclaim the god Dhū Samāwī ("Lord of the Heavens") as sovereign.
Biblical Literature: This concept is central to the Old Testament. Psalm 24:1: "The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it." Deuteronomy 10:14: "Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the highest heavens, the earth and all that is in it." 1 Chronicles 29:11: "Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power... for everything in heaven and on earth is yours." New Testament writers reaffirm this (e.g., 1 Corinthians 10:26).
Esoteric Literatures: Sufism: For Ibn 'Arabī, this is not mere ownership but ontological dependence. "What is in the heavens and the earth" are the loci of manifestation (maẓāhir) for the Divine Names. They have no independent existence; their reality is solely derived from Him. Al-Kāshānī interprets "heavens" as the realm of spirits and souls, and "earth" as the world of bodies and physical forms; all belong to Him. Hermeticism: The cosmos is seen as the "son" or creation of God, contained within Him. "For there is nothing in the whole cosmos that is not God" (Corpus Hermeticum, Lib. IX). This leans towards pantheism, whereas the Qur'anic verse maintains a clear distinction between Creator and creation (tanzīh).
Philosophy and Science: Philosophy: Spinoza's monism holds that there is only one substance, God, and everything else ("heavens and earth") are merely "modes" or modifications of that substance. They do not have independent reality, paralleling the Sufi interpretation. In contrast, the mainstream Islamic philosophical view (e.g., Ibn Sīnā) maintains a real distinction between the Necessary Existent (God) and contingent creation, though creation is utterly dependent on Him for its existence. | |
2:255 (Segment 4/8) مَن ذَا الَّذِي يَشْفَعُ عِندَهُ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِ
Man dhā lladhī yashfaʿu ʿindahu illā bi-idhnihi.
মান যাল্লাযী ইয়াশফা‘উ ‘ইনদাহু ইল্লা বিইযনিহি।
Who is it that can intercede with Him except by His permission?
কে আছে যে তাঁর অনুমতি ব্যতীত তাঁর নিকট সুপারিশ করতে পারে?
Annotations: Man dhā lladhī (মান যাল্লাযী) A powerful rhetorical question meaning "Who is that who...?" emphasizing the impossibility. yashfaʿu (ইয়াশফা‘উ, root: sh-f-ʿ / শ-ফ-আ – to make even, to pair). Intercession, literally adding one's own plea to that of another. ʿindahu (‘ইনদাহু – with Him, in His presence). idhn (ইযন, root: ʾ-dh-n / আ-য-ন – to permit, to listen to). Permission, leave. The verse directly challenges the pre-Islamic Arab belief in the automatic intercession of idols and lesser deities.
EXEGESIS: Early: Mujāhid and Maqātil state this refers to the angels, prophets, and righteous who will be granted permission to intercede on the Day of Judgment. Al-Ṭabarī emphasizes that this verse refutes the polytheists (mushrikūn) who claimed their idols would intercede for them. He confirms that intercession is real but conditional upon God's will. Later: Al-Qurṭubī provides a detailed discussion on the types of intercession, including the Prophet Muhammad's "great intercession" (al-shafāʿah al-ʿuẓmā) on Judgment Day. Ibn Kathīr cites other verses confirming this conditionality, e.g., 21:28: "...and they cannot intercede except for him with whom He is pleased." This demonstrates God's ultimate justice and authority; intercession is not a loophole but a form of divine honor bestowed upon the worthy. | Ancient Literature: The concept of a divine court with intercessors is found in ANE religions. In Mesopotamian pantheons, lesser deities or a personal patron god could mediate and plead a human's case before higher gods like Enlil or Marduk. This verse re-frames the concept, subordinating all intercession to the absolute, singular will of the One God.
Biblical Literature: The Old Testament has examples of human intercession, such as Abraham pleading for Sodom (Genesis 18) and Moses pleading for Israel (Exodus 32:11-14). However, the idea of an intercessor challenging God's decree is rebuffed (cf. Job's story). The New Testament presents Jesus as the ultimate intercessor (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25), and the Holy Spirit also intercedes (Romans 8:26). The Qur'anic verse's strict conditionality (illā bi-idhnihi) asserts a more absolute divine control over the process than some Christian popular notions of saintly intercession might imply.
Esoteric Literatures: Sufism: Intercession is seen as the manifestation of a Divine Name (like al-Shāfiʿ, The Intercessor) through a perfected human being (e.g., a Prophet or Saint). It is not the human's power but God's power acting through them. For Ibn 'Arabī, the "permission" (idhn) is the alignment of the intercessor's will with the pre-existing Divine Will. The intercessor merely unveils a divine mercy that was already destined.
Philosophy and Science: Philosophy: The concept challenges mechanistic views of cosmic justice. It's not a system of appeals that can be won against the sovereign. In Neoplatonism, mediation between the realms is carried out by beings like daimones or angels, but this is part of the inherent cosmic structure (emanation), not a plea against the will of the source. The Qur'anic verse personalizes this, making it an act of divine grace and permission. | |
Man dhā lladhī yashfaʿu ʿindahu illā bi-idhnihi.
মান যাল্লাযী ইয়াশফা‘উ ‘ইনদাহু ইল্লা বিইযনিহি।
Who is it that can intercede with Him except by His permission?
কে আছে যে তাঁর অনুমতি ব্যতীত তাঁর নিকট সুপারিশ করতে পারে?
Annotations: Man dhā lladhī (মান যাল্লাযী) A powerful rhetorical question meaning "Who is that who...?" emphasizing the impossibility. yashfaʿu (ইয়াশফা‘উ, root: sh-f-ʿ / শ-ফ-আ – to make even, to pair). Intercession, literally adding one's own plea to that of another. ʿindahu (‘ইনদাহু – with Him, in His presence). idhn (ইযন, root: ʾ-dh-n / আ-য-ন – to permit, to listen to). Permission, leave. The verse directly challenges the pre-Islamic Arab belief in the automatic intercession of idols and lesser deities.
EXEGESIS: Early: Mujāhid and Maqātil state this refers to the angels, prophets, and righteous who will be granted permission to intercede on the Day of Judgment. Al-Ṭabarī emphasizes that this verse refutes the polytheists (mushrikūn) who claimed their idols would intercede for them. He confirms that intercession is real but conditional upon God's will. Later: Al-Qurṭubī provides a detailed discussion on the types of intercession, including the Prophet Muhammad's "great intercession" (al-shafāʿah al-ʿuẓmā) on Judgment Day. Ibn Kathīr cites other verses confirming this conditionality, e.g., 21:28: "...and they cannot intercede except for him with whom He is pleased." This demonstrates God's ultimate justice and authority; intercession is not a loophole but a form of divine honor bestowed upon the worthy. | Ancient Literature: The concept of a divine court with intercessors is found in ANE religions. In Mesopotamian pantheons, lesser deities or a personal patron god could mediate and plead a human's case before higher gods like Enlil or Marduk. This verse re-frames the concept, subordinating all intercession to the absolute, singular will of the One God.
Biblical Literature: The Old Testament has examples of human intercession, such as Abraham pleading for Sodom (Genesis 18) and Moses pleading for Israel (Exodus 32:11-14). However, the idea of an intercessor challenging God's decree is rebuffed (cf. Job's story). The New Testament presents Jesus as the ultimate intercessor (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25), and the Holy Spirit also intercedes (Romans 8:26). The Qur'anic verse's strict conditionality (illā bi-idhnihi) asserts a more absolute divine control over the process than some Christian popular notions of saintly intercession might imply.
Esoteric Literatures: Sufism: Intercession is seen as the manifestation of a Divine Name (like al-Shāfiʿ, The Intercessor) through a perfected human being (e.g., a Prophet or Saint). It is not the human's power but God's power acting through them. For Ibn 'Arabī, the "permission" (idhn) is the alignment of the intercessor's will with the pre-existing Divine Will. The intercessor merely unveils a divine mercy that was already destined.
Philosophy and Science: Philosophy: The concept challenges mechanistic views of cosmic justice. It's not a system of appeals that can be won against the sovereign. In Neoplatonism, mediation between the realms is carried out by beings like daimones or angels, but this is part of the inherent cosmic structure (emanation), not a plea against the will of the source. The Qur'anic verse personalizes this, making it an act of divine grace and permission. | |
2:255 (Segment 5/8) يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ
Yaʿlamu mā bayna aydīhim wa mā khalfahum.
ইয়া‘লামু মা বাইনা আয়দীহিম ওয়ামা খলফাহুম।
He knows what is [presently] before them and what will be after them.
তিনি জানেন যা তাদের সামনে ও পিছনে আছে।
Annotations: yaʿlamu (ইয়া‘লামু, root: ʿ-l-m / আ-ল-ম – to know). He knows. mā bayna aydīhim (মা বাইনা আয়দীহিম – lit. "what is between their hands"). An idiom for their present and near future, what they can see and experience. wa mā khalfahum (ওয়ামা খলফাহুম – lit. "and what is behind them"). An idiom for their past and the unseen future. Together, the phrase signifies God's total, encompassing knowledge of all aspects of reality, past, present, and future, visible and invisible.
EXEGESIS: All exegetes understand this as a statement of God's perfect omniscience. Al-Ṭabarī interprets it as God knowing the deeds of His creation in this world (bayna aydīhim) and what will happen to them in the hereafter (khalfahum). Others, like Sufyān al-Thawrī, interpret it as knowing worldly affairs and affairs of the afterlife. Al-Rāzī connects it to the previous clause: God's permission for intercession is based on His perfect knowledge of who is truly worthy. He knows the intercessor, the one interceded for, and the substance of the plea in its entirety. This prevents any flawed judgment. | Ancient Literature: Omniscience is a common attribute of supreme deities. The Mesopotamian sun-god Shamash is the "knower of all things." A hymn praises him: "You know their plans, you see their ways." In Greek mythology, Zeus is portrayed as all-knowing, and Apollo at Delphi reveals hidden knowledge.
Biblical Literature: God's omniscience is a powerful theme. Psalm 139:1-4: "O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar... Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely." Hebrews 4:13: "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account." The idiom "what is before them and behind them" echoes the biblical sense of God's knowledge transcending time.
Esoteric Literatures: Sufism: God's knowledge (ʿilm) is not discursive or acquired; it is a single, eternal, and presential act of knowing that constitutes the very reality of things. For Ibn 'Arabī, all of existence, past and future, is eternally present within the Divine Knowledge. Creation is but the unfolding in time of what is timelessly known to Him. The "past" and "future" are limitations of created consciousness, not of divine perception. Gnosticism: Divine knowledge (gnosis) is the key to salvation. However, in many Gnostic systems, the supreme God is distant and unknowable, while it is the lower archons or the demiurge who observes and controls the world, a contrast to the Qur'an's direct and absolute divine knowledge.
Philosophy and Science: Philosophy: The "problem of divine foreknowledge and free will" is a classic philosophical conundrum. If God knows the future perfectly, how can human choices be free? Boethius (Consolation of Philosophy) proposed that God sees all of time in a single, eternal present, thus not causing future events but simply knowing them as they are. This view was highly influential in later Christian and Islamic thought. Science: The thought experiment of Laplace's demon posits a theoretical intellect that knows the precise location and momentum of every atom in the universe. Such a being could, using the laws of classical mechanics, know the entire future and past. Quantum mechanics has since challenged this deterministic view, introducing inherent indeterminacy. | |
Yaʿlamu mā bayna aydīhim wa mā khalfahum.
ইয়া‘লামু মা বাইনা আয়দীহিম ওয়ামা খলফাহুম।
He knows what is [presently] before them and what will be after them.
তিনি জানেন যা তাদের সামনে ও পিছনে আছে।
Annotations: yaʿlamu (ইয়া‘লামু, root: ʿ-l-m / আ-ল-ম – to know). He knows. mā bayna aydīhim (মা বাইনা আয়দীহিম – lit. "what is between their hands"). An idiom for their present and near future, what they can see and experience. wa mā khalfahum (ওয়ামা খলফাহুম – lit. "and what is behind them"). An idiom for their past and the unseen future. Together, the phrase signifies God's total, encompassing knowledge of all aspects of reality, past, present, and future, visible and invisible.
EXEGESIS: All exegetes understand this as a statement of God's perfect omniscience. Al-Ṭabarī interprets it as God knowing the deeds of His creation in this world (bayna aydīhim) and what will happen to them in the hereafter (khalfahum). Others, like Sufyān al-Thawrī, interpret it as knowing worldly affairs and affairs of the afterlife. Al-Rāzī connects it to the previous clause: God's permission for intercession is based on His perfect knowledge of who is truly worthy. He knows the intercessor, the one interceded for, and the substance of the plea in its entirety. This prevents any flawed judgment. | Ancient Literature: Omniscience is a common attribute of supreme deities. The Mesopotamian sun-god Shamash is the "knower of all things." A hymn praises him: "You know their plans, you see their ways." In Greek mythology, Zeus is portrayed as all-knowing, and Apollo at Delphi reveals hidden knowledge.
Biblical Literature: God's omniscience is a powerful theme. Psalm 139:1-4: "O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar... Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely." Hebrews 4:13: "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account." The idiom "what is before them and behind them" echoes the biblical sense of God's knowledge transcending time.
Esoteric Literatures: Sufism: God's knowledge (ʿilm) is not discursive or acquired; it is a single, eternal, and presential act of knowing that constitutes the very reality of things. For Ibn 'Arabī, all of existence, past and future, is eternally present within the Divine Knowledge. Creation is but the unfolding in time of what is timelessly known to Him. The "past" and "future" are limitations of created consciousness, not of divine perception. Gnosticism: Divine knowledge (gnosis) is the key to salvation. However, in many Gnostic systems, the supreme God is distant and unknowable, while it is the lower archons or the demiurge who observes and controls the world, a contrast to the Qur'an's direct and absolute divine knowledge.
Philosophy and Science: Philosophy: The "problem of divine foreknowledge and free will" is a classic philosophical conundrum. If God knows the future perfectly, how can human choices be free? Boethius (Consolation of Philosophy) proposed that God sees all of time in a single, eternal present, thus not causing future events but simply knowing them as they are. This view was highly influential in later Christian and Islamic thought. Science: The thought experiment of Laplace's demon posits a theoretical intellect that knows the precise location and momentum of every atom in the universe. Such a being could, using the laws of classical mechanics, know the entire future and past. Quantum mechanics has since challenged this deterministic view, introducing inherent indeterminacy. | |
2:255 (Segment 6/8) وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَيْءٍ مِّنْ عِلْمِهِ إِلَّا بِمَا شَاءَ
Wa lā yuḥīṭūna bi-shayʾin min ʿilmihi illā bi-mā shāʾ.
ওয়ালা ইউহীতূনা বিশাইইম মিন ‘ইলমিহী ইল্লা বিমা শাআ।
And they do not encompass anything of His knowledge except for what He wills.
এবং তারা তাঁর জ্ঞানের কিছুই আয়ত্ত করতে পারে না, কেবল যতোটুকু তিনি ইচ্ছা করেন।
Annotations: yuḥīṭūna (ইউহীতূনা, root: ḥ-w-ṭ / হ-ও-ত – to surround, encircle). They cannot grasp, comprehend, or encompass. ʿilmihi (‘ইলমিহী – His knowledge). shāʾa (শাআ, root: sh-y-ʾ / শ-য়-আ – to will, to wish). This clause contrasts divine omniscience with the profound limitation of created knowledge. Human knowledge is not only finite but also derivative, a grant from the divine.
EXEGESIS: Early: Ibn Jurayj and Mujāhid explain this as "no one knows anything except what God teaches them." Al-Ṭabarī links it directly to the previous clause: They know nothing of His knowledge of their past and future, except what He chooses to reveal to them (e.g., through prophets). Later: Al-Rāzī distinguishes between God's knowledge of His own essence (ʿilm bi dhātihi), which is completely inaccessible, and His knowledge of His creation (ʿilm bi makhlūqātihi), of which He grants portions to humanity through senses and intellect. Ibn Kathīr emphasizes this to counter any arrogance in human knowledge, reinforcing intellectual humility before the divine. Wahiduddin Khan (Tazkirul Quran) notes that this principle is the basis of all human discovery; scientific breakthroughs are effectively moments where God "wills" for a part of His system to be understood. | Ancient Literature: The theme of limited human understanding versus divine wisdom is a staple of ancient wisdom literature. The Babylonian Poem of the Righteous Sufferer laments: "What seems good to oneself is a crime before a god... Who can know the will of the gods in heaven? Who can understand the plans of the underworld gods?" In Greek tragedy, hubris is often punished when mortals attempt to overstep the limits of their knowledge.
Biblical Literature: Job 38-41 is an extended discourse on this theme, where God challenges Job by recounting the wonders of creation far beyond human comprehension. Isaiah 55:8-9: "'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the LORD. 'As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.'" Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:12: "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known."
Esoteric Literatures: Sufism: All knowledge possessed by a creature, whether sensory, rational, or intuitive (kashf), is a direct gift and a reflection of the Divine Name al-ʿAlīm (The All-Knowing). Ibn 'Arabī states that even the highest spiritual knower (ʿārif) only knows God through God. The "willing" (bi-mā shāʾ) is the divine self-disclosure (tajallī) that grants knowledge. Gnosticism: This concept is central. Salvation comes from receiving a special, revealed gnosis from a divine messenger, liberating the soul from the ignorance of the material world. The difference is that in Gnosticism, this knowledge is often esoteric and for a select few, while the Qur'an presents revelation as a public, prophetic event.
Philosophy and Science: Philosophy: Kant's Critique of Pure Reason famously argues that human reason can only know phenomena (things as they appear to us), not noumena (things as they are in themselves). The ultimate reality is beyond the grasp of our cognitive faculties, a philosophical parallel to lā yuḥīṭūna. Science: Gödel's incompleteness theorems showed that any sufficiently complex formal system (like arithmetic) will always contain true statements that cannot be proven within the system itself. This implies inherent limits to what can be "known" through formal logic. Similarly, quantum uncertainty and the cosmic event horizon suggest fundamental physical limits to our ability to "encompass" all information about the universe. | |
Wa lā yuḥīṭūna bi-shayʾin min ʿilmihi illā bi-mā shāʾ.
ওয়ালা ইউহীতূনা বিশাইইম মিন ‘ইলমিহী ইল্লা বিমা শাআ।
And they do not encompass anything of His knowledge except for what He wills.
এবং তারা তাঁর জ্ঞানের কিছুই আয়ত্ত করতে পারে না, কেবল যতোটুকু তিনি ইচ্ছা করেন।
Annotations: yuḥīṭūna (ইউহীতূনা, root: ḥ-w-ṭ / হ-ও-ত – to surround, encircle). They cannot grasp, comprehend, or encompass. ʿilmihi (‘ইলমিহী – His knowledge). shāʾa (শাআ, root: sh-y-ʾ / শ-য়-আ – to will, to wish). This clause contrasts divine omniscience with the profound limitation of created knowledge. Human knowledge is not only finite but also derivative, a grant from the divine.
EXEGESIS: Early: Ibn Jurayj and Mujāhid explain this as "no one knows anything except what God teaches them." Al-Ṭabarī links it directly to the previous clause: They know nothing of His knowledge of their past and future, except what He chooses to reveal to them (e.g., through prophets). Later: Al-Rāzī distinguishes between God's knowledge of His own essence (ʿilm bi dhātihi), which is completely inaccessible, and His knowledge of His creation (ʿilm bi makhlūqātihi), of which He grants portions to humanity through senses and intellect. Ibn Kathīr emphasizes this to counter any arrogance in human knowledge, reinforcing intellectual humility before the divine. Wahiduddin Khan (Tazkirul Quran) notes that this principle is the basis of all human discovery; scientific breakthroughs are effectively moments where God "wills" for a part of His system to be understood. | Ancient Literature: The theme of limited human understanding versus divine wisdom is a staple of ancient wisdom literature. The Babylonian Poem of the Righteous Sufferer laments: "What seems good to oneself is a crime before a god... Who can know the will of the gods in heaven? Who can understand the plans of the underworld gods?" In Greek tragedy, hubris is often punished when mortals attempt to overstep the limits of their knowledge.
Biblical Literature: Job 38-41 is an extended discourse on this theme, where God challenges Job by recounting the wonders of creation far beyond human comprehension. Isaiah 55:8-9: "'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the LORD. 'As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.'" Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:12: "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known."
Esoteric Literatures: Sufism: All knowledge possessed by a creature, whether sensory, rational, or intuitive (kashf), is a direct gift and a reflection of the Divine Name al-ʿAlīm (The All-Knowing). Ibn 'Arabī states that even the highest spiritual knower (ʿārif) only knows God through God. The "willing" (bi-mā shāʾ) is the divine self-disclosure (tajallī) that grants knowledge. Gnosticism: This concept is central. Salvation comes from receiving a special, revealed gnosis from a divine messenger, liberating the soul from the ignorance of the material world. The difference is that in Gnosticism, this knowledge is often esoteric and for a select few, while the Qur'an presents revelation as a public, prophetic event.
Philosophy and Science: Philosophy: Kant's Critique of Pure Reason famously argues that human reason can only know phenomena (things as they appear to us), not noumena (things as they are in themselves). The ultimate reality is beyond the grasp of our cognitive faculties, a philosophical parallel to lā yuḥīṭūna. Science: Gödel's incompleteness theorems showed that any sufficiently complex formal system (like arithmetic) will always contain true statements that cannot be proven within the system itself. This implies inherent limits to what can be "known" through formal logic. Similarly, quantum uncertainty and the cosmic event horizon suggest fundamental physical limits to our ability to "encompass" all information about the universe. | |
2:255 (Segment 7/8) وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ
Wasiʿa kursiyyuhu s-samāwāti wa l-arḍa.
ওয়াসি‘আ কুরসিয়্যুহুস সামাওয়াতি ওয়াল আরদ্।
His Footstool extends over the heavens and the earth.
তাঁর ‘কুরসী’ আসমানসমূহ ও যমীনকে পরিবেষ্টন করে আছে।
Annotations: wasiʿa (ওয়াসি‘আ, root: w-s-ʿ / ও-স-আ – to be wide, capacious, to encompass). kursiyyuhu (কুরসিয়্যুহু, root: k-r-s / ক-র-স – base, foundation, chair, footstool). This is the most debated word in the verse. Its interpretation ranges from a literal cosmic object to a metaphor for God's knowledge or power. Cognates: Aramaic kursəyā (כורסיא), Hebrew kisse (כִּסֵּא), Akkadian kussû—all meaning "throne" or "chair." Extend on this "“to pile up, to consolidate, to press firmly,” hence anything solidly fixed " - “piled up, firmly established” → “a fixed base” - use some examples in arabic sentences. Base root (traditional Arabic analysis): ك-ر-س (K-R-S). • Earliest concrete meaning in Arabic: “to pile up, to consolidate, to press firmly,” hence anything solidly fixed such as a seat or a foundation. • Probable borrowing layer: the noun كُرْسِيّ (kursiyy “chair, throne”) almost certainly entered Arabic through Christian-Aramaic/Syriac ܟܘܪܣܝܐ kursyā “throne, seat,” itself cognate with Hebrew כִּסֵּא kisseʾ “throne.” Once adopted, Arabic folk-etymology re-analysed it under the indigenous tri-literal root ك-ر-س, allowing further derivations (e.g., كَرَّسَ “to consecrate”). Semantic development: “piled up, firmly established” → “a fixed base” → “seat, throne” → abstract notions of “entrenching, consecrating, institutionalising.” [notebook, كُرَّاس (kurrās). trunk/stock of a tree; massive base. Original concrete sense “solid core., كَراسٌ (karās), Something “made firm / devoted.”, Consecrated, dedicated, entrenched. مُكَرَّس (mukarras)
Wasiʿa kursiyyuhu s-samāwāti wa l-arḍa.
ওয়াসি‘আ কুরসিয়্যুহুস সামাওয়াতি ওয়াল আরদ্।
His Footstool extends over the heavens and the earth.
তাঁর ‘কুরসী’ আসমানসমূহ ও যমীনকে পরিবেষ্টন করে আছে।
Annotations: wasiʿa (ওয়াসি‘আ, root: w-s-ʿ / ও-স-আ – to be wide, capacious, to encompass). kursiyyuhu (কুরসিয়্যুহু, root: k-r-s / ক-র-স – base, foundation, chair, footstool). This is the most debated word in the verse. Its interpretation ranges from a literal cosmic object to a metaphor for God's knowledge or power. Cognates: Aramaic kursəyā (כורסיא), Hebrew kisse (כִּסֵּא), Akkadian kussû—all meaning "throne" or "chair." Extend on this "“to pile up, to consolidate, to press firmly,” hence anything solidly fixed " - “piled up, firmly established” → “a fixed base” - use some examples in arabic sentences. Base root (traditional Arabic analysis): ك-ر-س (K-R-S). • Earliest concrete meaning in Arabic: “to pile up, to consolidate, to press firmly,” hence anything solidly fixed such as a seat or a foundation. • Probable borrowing layer: the noun كُرْسِيّ (kursiyy “chair, throne”) almost certainly entered Arabic through Christian-Aramaic/Syriac ܟܘܪܣܝܐ kursyā “throne, seat,” itself cognate with Hebrew כִּסֵּא kisseʾ “throne.” Once adopted, Arabic folk-etymology re-analysed it under the indigenous tri-literal root ك-ر-س, allowing further derivations (e.g., كَرَّسَ “to consecrate”). Semantic development: “piled up, firmly established” → “a fixed base” → “seat, throne” → abstract notions of “entrenching, consecrating, institutionalising.” [notebook, كُرَّاس (kurrās). trunk/stock of a tree; massive base. Original concrete sense “solid core., كَراسٌ (karās), Something “made firm / devoted.”, Consecrated, dedicated, entrenched. مُكَرَّس (mukarras)
EXEGESIS: This is a major point of exegetical divergence. Early: Al-Ṭabarī records multiple views from the Salaf: (1) The dominant view, from Ibn ʿAbbās, is that the Kursī is the "place of the two feet" of God (mawḍiʿ al-qadamayn), and it is distinct from and smaller than the Throne (ʿArsh). (2) A second view, from al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, is that the Kursī is identical to the ʿArsh (Throne). (3) A third, metaphorical view interprets Kursī as God's knowledge (ʿilm), as narrated from Ibn ʿAbbās in another report. (4) A fourth view suggests it is God's power and dominion (qudra, mulk). Later: Ibn Kathīr and other traditionalists favor the first view (a literal footstool, distinct from the Throne), citing various narrations. Al-Rāzī and other philosophically-inclined commentators prefer the metaphorical interpretations of knowledge or power to avoid anthropomorphism (tajsīm). Mufti Shafīʿ acknowledges the literalist view as safer but notes the metaphorical interpretations are also valid attempts to understand a reality beyond human comprehension. Wahiduddin Khan favors knowledge/power as the intended meaning. | Ancient Literature: The throne of a deity symbolizing cosmic rule is a ubiquitous motif. In Mesopotamia, gods like Anu and Enlil sit on thrones in the heavens. In Canaanite myth, Baal's palace is built after he becomes king of the gods. The throne signifies supreme authority. The concept of a "footstool" is also present.
Biblical Literature: The parallel is extremely close. Isaiah 66:1: "Thus says the LORD: 'Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool...'" Here, throne (kisse) and footstool are distinct. Psalm 11:4: "The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD’s throne is in heaven." Ezekiel's vision (Ezekiel 1) describes a magnificent throne-chariot (merkabah) as the vehicle of God's glory, which became a central focus of Jewish mysticism. The Qur'anic Kursī and ʿArsh dialogue with this tradition, presenting a similar yet distinct cosmology.
Esoteric Literatures: Sufism: A highly developed cosmological doctrine exists around this. For Ibn 'Arabī, the ʿArsh (Throne) is the all-encompassing body of the cosmos, the sphere of the Divine Name ar-Raḥmān. The Kursī is the sphere of the fixed stars, located within the ʿArsh. It is the locus of Divine command and decree, containing all the lower heavens and earth. It corresponds to the Universal Soul (al-Nafs al-Kulliyya). Al-Kāshānī follows this, seeing the Kursī as the realm of specific forms and the ʿArsh as the realm of universal realities. Modern Esotericism: René Guénon maps this cosmology onto metaphysics: the ʿArsh represents the totality of non-manifest possibilities (Universal Possibility), while the Kursī represents the very first determination within being, the principle of the manifest world.
Philosophy and Science: Philosophy: In Neoplatonism, the hierarchy of The One, Intellect (Nous), and Soul (Psyche) offers a structural parallel to the hierarchy of God, ʿArsh, and Kursī in some Islamic cosmologies. The Kursī encompassing the heavens could be seen as analogous to the World Soul that contains and animates the physical cosmos. Science: The sheer scale of the observable universe—hundreds of billions of galaxies spread across billions of light-years—provides a modern physical image that resonates with the phrase "extends over the heavens and the earth," inspiring awe at the vastness of the reality being described, whether literal or metaphorical. | |
2:255 (Segment 8/8) وَلَا يَئُودُهُ حِفْظُهُمَا وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْعَظِيمُ
Wa lā yaʾūduhu ḥifẓuhumā wa huwa al-ʿAliyyu al-ʿAẓīm.
ওয়ালা ইয়াউদুহু হিফযুহুমা ওয়া হুয়াল ‘আলিয়্যুল ‘আযীম।
And their preservation does not tire Him. And He is the Most High, the Most Great.
আর তাদের উভয়ের রক্ষণাবেক্ষণ তাঁকে ক্লান্ত করে না। আর তিনি সর্বোচ্চ ও সর্বমহান।
Annotations: yaʾūduhu (ইয়াউদুহু, root: ʾ-w-d / আ-ও-দ – to bend, weigh down, burden). It does not weary, fatigue, or burden Him. ḥifẓuhumā (হিফযুহুমা – their preservation). Sustaining and protecting both (the heavens and the earth). al-ʿAliyy (আল-‘আলিয়্যু, root: ʿ-l-w / আ-ল-ও – to be high, exalted). The Most High, The Exalted, in essence, status, and power. al-ʿAẓīm (আল-‘আযীম, root: ʿ-ẓ-m / আ-য-ম – to be great, mighty). The Supreme, The Magnificent. These final names summarize the verse's theme of absolute transcendence and power.
EXEGESIS: Early: Al-Ṭabarī and others state simply that managing the entire cosmos is effortless for God. This concludes the argument against creaturely attributes begun with the negation of sleep. Later: Al-Rāzī connects this logically: He who is eternally living and self-subsisting cannot be subject to weariness, which is a symptom of finite power. The final names, al-ʿAliyy and al-ʿAẓīm, are the logical conclusion of all the preceding descriptions. Al-ʿAliyy denotes transcendence above all limitations and space, while al-ʿAẓīm denotes greatness beyond any measure or comprehension. Ibn Kathīr emphasizes that all creation is minute and insignificant in relation to His majesty and beneath His control. | Ancient Literature: The idea of effortless divine power is a marker of supreme status. While lesser gods in polytheistic systems might struggle or tire, the head of the pantheon is often portrayed as acting with ease. The name al-ʿAliyy ("The Most High") has a direct pre-Islamic parallel in the Canaanite god El 'Elyon ("God Most High"), mentioned in Genesis 14:18-22 and worshipped in Jerusalem.
Biblical Literature: Isaiah 40:28: "The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom." This verse conveys the exact same concepts of tireless power and incomprehensible greatness. God's transcendence (al-ʿAliyy) is a core theme: "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways" (Isaiah 55:9).
Esoteric Literatures: Sufism: Divine action is not effortful. It is the instantaneous result of Divine Will. Ibn 'Arabī explains that creation and its preservation is a continuous act of self-disclosure (tajallī), which is essential to the divine reality, not a labor performed by it. Al-ʿAliyy is the name for His absolute transcendence and incomparability (tanzīh), while al-ʿAẓīm points to His immeasurable majesty, which inspires awe in the mystic. Plotinus: The One and Intellect act without effort, their creative power flowing from their very nature without diminishing them, a philosophical parallel to non-fatiguing preservation.
Philosophy and Science: Philosophy: Aristotle's Unmoved Mover causes motion in the cosmos without itself moving or expending any effort; it acts through being an object of "desire" or "aspiration" for the cosmos. This is a form of effortless influence. The attributes of Most High and Most Great resonate with the philosophical concept of a maximally perfect being, whose attributes of power and existence are unbounded. Science: The principle of conservation of energy, in a highly metaphorical sense, suggests a system where the total "capacity" is not diminished. The universe runs according to inviolable laws that do not "tire." The vastness and complexity revealed by cosmology and biology lead to a sense of awe and majesty (ʿaẓamah), whether attributed to a creator or to nature itself. |
A Comprehensive Discourse on Ayat al-Kursi (Quran 2:255): Exploring Divine Oneness, Attributes, and DominionAyat al-Kursi, found in Surah Al-Baqarah (2:255), stands as one of the most profound and revered verses in the Quran, encapsulating the essence of Islamic monotheism (tawḥīd) and God's supreme attributes. This verse articulates God's absolute uniqueness, eternal life, self-sufficiency, omnipotence, omniscience, and boundless dominion over creation. It serves as a foundational creed, often recited for protection and spiritual reflection. The discourse that follows examines the verse phrase by phrase, drawing on etymological and philological insights, classical exegesis, philosophical parallels, scientific engagements, intertextual comparisons, and syntheses with critical notes. Each section preserves the intricate details and nuances of the verse's interpretation, highlighting its theological, intellectual, and cosmological depth.1. "Allāhu lā ilāha illā Huwa" – Allah: There is No Deity Except HimThe verse commences with the declaration: ٱللَّهُ لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ (Allāhu lā ilāha illā Huwa), transliterated in Bengali as আল্লাহু লা ইলাহা ইল্লা হুওয়া, and translated as "Allah – there is no deity except Him."Etymology and Philology: The root letters for Allāh are ا ل ه (ʾ-L-H), forming the proper name Allāh, a contraction of al-ilāh (the God), historically used in pre-Islamic Arabia as a designation for the supreme deity. Ilāh, from the same root, is a generic term for any object of worship, true or false. The pronoun Huwa derives from ه و (H-W), emphasizing "Him" as the unique referent. Pre-Quranic epigraphic evidence and cognates in other Semitic languages—such as Aramaic ʾĔlāhā, Hebrew ʾĔlōah, and Ugaritic ʾil—underscore the shared semantic field of divinity. In classical Arabic, Allāh denotes the unique, proper name for the one true God, while ilāh can apply to false deities, highlighting the verse's negation of polytheism.Classical Exegesis: No specific asbāb al-nuzūl (occasion of revelation) is widely cited for this phrase, as it reiterates Islam's core tenet of tawḥīd. Early tafsīr from Mujāhid, Maqātil, and al-Ṭabarī unanimously affirm God's absolute oneness and sole right to worship. Mujāhid stresses uniqueness, while al-Ṭabarī explores linguistic and theological links to God's essence. Medieval commentaries vary by school: Zamakhsharī (Muʿtazilī) emphasizes rational necessity against partners; Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī (Ashʿarī) argues philosophically against multiple deities; al-Qurṭubī (Malikī) ties it to legal and devotional creed; Ibn Kathīr (Ahl al-Ḥadīth) relies on Quranic verses and ḥadīth for uniqueness; al-Bayḍāwī (Ashʿarī) highlights implied attributes. Sound ḥadīth include the Prophet's (ṣ) statement: "The best of remembrance is 'Lā ilāha illā Allāh'" (Sahih Muslim, Book 48, Hadith 26), mirroring the phrase.Philosophical Parallels: This assertion converges with classical Greek ideas of a singular ultimate reality—Plato's Form of the Good as the non-contingent source (Republic, Book VI) and Aristotle's Unmoved Mover (Metaphysics, Book XII). Hellenistic parallels include the Stoic singular, immanent Logos (Seneca, Moral Letters on Divine Providence) and Plotinus's transcendent One (Enneads, V.1), both emphasizing absolute singularity.Scientific Engagement: Medieval Islamic science promoted a unified cosmos under consistent laws, influenced by monotheism. Scholars like Ibn al-Haytham (Book of Optics) and Al-Biruni (Canon Masudicus) saw cosmic order as reflective of a singular creator. Contemporary cosmology's quest for unified theories (e.g., Grand Unified Theories) and fine-tuning resonates neutrally with the verse, as in Hawking and Mlodinow's The Grand Design or Rees's Just Six Numbers, sometimes interpreted as pointing to a singular designer.Intertextual and Comparative Literature: Biblical parallels include Deuteronomy 6:4: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one" and Mark 12:29, affirming monotheism. Dead Sea Scrolls reflect Jewish monotheism, while Gnostic texts diverge with multiple emanations. ANE myths contrast with polytheistic pantheons (Marduk, Baal, Ra). Zoroastrianism diverges with dualism under Ahura Mazda; Greco-Roman polytheism contrasts sharply; Rabbinic Judaism affirms oneness (Shema Yisrael); Indic Advaita Vedanta posits Brahman as non-dual reality; Syriac/Christian Trinitarianism diverges theologically.Synthesis and Critical Notes: This phrase is the core of tawḥīd, integrating exegesis's theological centrality with philosophy's singular ultimate reality and science's unifying principles. Hermeneutically, it's a revealed axiom of God's uniqueness; epistemologically, a foundational claim. Disputes arise in comparing tawḥīd to other monotheisms (e.g., Christianity). Bibliography: Al-Ṭabarī's Jāmiʿ al-Bayān; Rāzī's Mafātīḥ al-Ghayb; Ibn Kathīr's Tafsīr; Renard's Islam and the World of its Icons; Goodman's Islamic Humanism.2. "Al-Ḥayyu l-Qayyūmu" – The Ever-Living, the Sustainer of All ExistenceContinuing: ٱلْحَىُّ ٱلْقَيُّومُ (Al-Ḥayyu l-Qayyūmu), Bengali: আল্-হাইয়্যুল্ ক্বাইয়্যুম্, "the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of [all] existence."Etymology and Philology: Al-Ḥayy roots from ح ي ي (Ḥ-Y-Y), meaning absolute life, self-existent and life-giving. Al-Qayyūm from ق و م (Q-W-M), an intensive form denoting self-subsistence and sustenance of all, unique to the Quran. Pre-Quranic notions include ancient living deities; cognates: Hebrew ḥayyā (life) for Ḥayy, no direct for Qayyūm though QWM is Semitic (Hebrew qum: stand). Classical senses: al-Ḥayy as perfect life; al-Qayyūm as independent sustainer.Classical Exegesis: No specific asbāb al-nuzūl. Early tafsīr (Mujāhid: ever-living, never dies; al-Ṭabarī: sustains without dependence) concurs on eternal life and sustenance. Medieval: Zamakhsharī on self-existence; Rāzī's philosophical arguments implying power, will, knowledge; al-Qurṭubī on perfection and Ism al-Aʿẓam; Ibn Kathīr on eternal life and greatest name; al-Bayḍāwī on self-subsistence. Ḥadīth: Prophet's supplication "O Ever-Living, O Sustainer!" (Tirmidhi, Book 48, Hadith 3524); greatest name in verses (Abu Dawud, Book 8, Hadith 1495).Philosophical Parallels: Greek: Plato's Form of the Good (Republic, Book VI), Aristotle's Unmoved Mover (Metaphysics, Book XII) as self-existent causes. Hellenistic: Stoic Logos (Marcus Aurelius, Meditations), Plotinus's One (Enneads, V.3). Islamic Golden Age: Necessary Existent (al-Fārābī's Kitāb Ārāʼ Ahl al-Madīnah al-Fāḍilah; Ibn Sīnā's al-Shifāʾ). Renaissance-Enlightenment: Descartes's infinite God (Meditations, Third); Spinoza's self-caused substance (Ethics, Part I); Kant's regulative God; Hume's skepticism diverges. German Idealism: Hegel's self-actualizing Absolute (Phenomenology of Spirit); Schelling's foundational Absolute; Schopenhauer's Will diverges as irrational. Modern/Postmodern: Nietzsche's rejection (Thus Spoke Zarathustra); Heidegger's Being (Being and Time) neutral/divergent.Scientific Engagement: Medieval: Universe ordered by Sunnat Allāh (Ibn Sīnā's Canon of Medicine; Al-Biruni's Kitab al-Jamahir). Revolution: Newtonian laws as divine (Newton's Principia; Boyle's The Christian Virtuoso). 19-20th: Laws describe operations neutrally; entropy as ongoing sustenance (Darwin's On the Origin of Species; Einstein's Relativity; Planck's autobiography). Contemporary: ΛCDM expansion as sustenance (Guth/Linde on inflation); genetics/life complexity (Collins's Language of God); neuroscience (Damásio's Descartes' Error); AI (Bostrom's Superintelligence).Intertextual and Comparative Literature: Biblical: Psalm 36:9: "For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light"; John 5:26: "For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself"; Revelation 1:8: "'I am the Alpha and the Omega,' says the Lord God, 'who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.'" Dead Sea Scrolls affirm eternal life; Gnostics diverge with hierarchies. ANE: Gods like Osiris (life), Ptah (sustenance) in pantheons. Zoroastrian: Ahura Mazda sustains Asha, dualistically. Greco-Roman: Zeus upholds order in pantheon. Rabbinic: Ḥai Olamim, Meḥaye ha-Metim. Syriac/Christian: Living God, Trinitarian distinction. Indic: Brahman as Sat-Chit-Ananda.Synthesis and Critical Notes: Al-Ḥayy al-Qayyūm integrates exegesis's foundational attributes with philosophy's Necessary Existent and science's sustained order. Hermeneutically, revealed truths underpin existence; epistemologically, foundational realities. Disputes: al-Qayyūm's meaning, divine action (occasionalism vs. law), quantum indeterminacy reconciliation. Bibliography: Al-Ṭabarī; Rāzī; Ibn Kathīr; Al-Ghazali's Ninety-Nine Names; Nasr's Islamic Cosmological Doctrines.3. "Lā taʾkhudhuhu sinatun walā nawmun" – No Slumber Overtakes Him, Nor SleepNext: لَا تَأْخُذُهُۥ سِنَةٌۭ وَلَا نَوْمٌۭ (Lā taʾkhudhuhu sinatun walā nawmun), Bengali: লা তা’খুজ়ুহু সিনাতুওঁ ওয়ালা নাউম্, "No slumber overtakes Him, nor sleep."Etymology and Philology: Taʾkhudhuhu from أ خ ذ (ʾ-KH-DH): overtake. Sinah from س ن ه (S-N-H): drowsiness. Nawm from ن و م (N-W-M): deep sleep. Classical distinction emphasizes no rest/unconsciousness. Cognates: Hebrew nûm for nawm; sinah unique to Arabic lexicon.Classical Exegesis: No asbāb al-nuzūl. Early: Mujāhid/Qatādah distinguish sinah (light) and nawm (deep); al-Ṭabarī affirms vigilance, linking to al-Ḥayy al-Qayyūm. Medieval: Zamakhsharī on perfection vs. deficiency; Rāzī's rational arguments against bodily needs; al-Qurṭubī on undiminished knowledge; Ibn Kathīr on contrast to creatures; al-Bayḍāwī on managing creation. Ḥadīth: "Allah does not sleep..." (Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 342).Philosophical Parallels: Greek: Plato's unchanging Forms (Republic, Book VII); Aristotle's pure actuality (Metaphysics, Book XII). Hellenistic: Stoic ceaseless Logos (Epictetus, Discourses); Plotinus's pure actuality (Enneads, V.4). Islamic: Immaterial Necessary Existent (Ibn Sīnā's al-Najāt). Renaissance: Descartes's perfect God (Meditations, Third); Spinoza's active substance (Ethics, Part I, Proposition 17). Idealism: Hegel's eternal Absolute (Science of Logic); Schelling's pure identity. Modern: Nietzsche's rejection (Thus Spoke Zarathustra); Heidegger's shift to Being (Being and Time).Scientific Engagement: Medieval: Eternal celestial motion implies tireless order (Al-Fārābī's Virtuous City; Ibn al-Haytham's Optics). Revolution: Newtonian clockwork (Principia; Boyle's Experimental Philosophy). 19-20th: Continuous processes (Clausius on entropy; Darwin's Origin; Einstein's Relativity; Bohr on quantum). Contemporary: Expansion/neural activity (Hawking's Brief History; Collins's Language of God; Kandel's Neural Science; Bostrom's Superintelligence).Intertextual and Comparative Literature: Biblical: Psalm 121:3-4: "He who keeps you will not slumber... neither slumber nor sleep"; Isaiah 40:28: "He does not faint or grow weary." Dead Sea Scrolls affirm vigilance; Gnostics vary. ANE: Gods sleep (Ra rests). Zoroastrian: Ahura Mazda vigilant. Greco-Roman: Gods sleep (Zeus). Rabbinic: No slumber (Psalm 121). Syriac/Christian: Beyond needs. Indic: Brahman beyond; deities symbolic (Vishnu's sleep).Synthesis and Critical Notes: Negation affirms perfection, integrating exegesis's vigilance with philosophy's actuality and science's continuity. Hermeneutically, theological transcendence; epistemologically, revealed distinction. Disputes: Omniscience/providence implications. Bibliography: Al-Ṭabarī; Rāzī; Ibn Kathīr; Al-Ghazali; Leaman's Medieval Islamic Philosophy.4. "Lahu mā fī s-samāwāti wamā fī l-arḍi" – To Him Belongs Whatever Is in the Heavens and Whatever Is on the EarthPhrase: لَّهُۥ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَمَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ (Lahu mā fī s-samāwāti wamā fī l-arḍi), Bengali: লাহু মা ফিস্-সামাওয়াতি ওয়ামা ফিল্-আরদ্বি.Etymology and Philology: Lahu (ل): possession. Mā (م ا): whatever. Al-samāwāt from س م و (S-M-W): heavens. Al-arḍ from أ ر ض (ʾ-R-Ḍ): earth. Emphasizes absolute dominion. Cognates: Hebrew shamayim, ʾereṣ; Aramaic shemayya, ʾarʿa.Classical Exegesis: No asbāb al-nuzūl. Early: Mujāhid on possession; al-Ṭabarī on sole Creator. Medieval: Zamakhsharī on control; Rāzī links to al-Ḥayy al-Qayyūm; al-Qurṭubī on sovereignty; Ibn Kathīr on servants; al-Bayḍāwī on disposal. Ḥadīth Qudsi: "O My servants..." (Sahih Muslim, Book 45, Hadith 2577).Philosophical Parallels: Greek: Form of the Good (Republic, Book VI); Unmoved Mover (Metaphysics, Book XII). Hellenistic: Logos (Meditations); One (Enneads, V.1). Islamic: Necessary Existent (Ibn Sīnā's al-Shifāʾ). Renaissance: Descartes's creator (Meditations); Spinoza's substance (Ethics, Part I). Idealism: Hegel's Absolute (Phenomenology); Schopenhauer's Will. Modern: Nietzsche's rejection (Thus Spoke Zarathustra); Heidegger's Being (Being and Time).Scientific Engagement: Medieval: Divine order motivates inquiry (Al-Battani's Kitāb az-Zīj; Ibn Sīnā's Canon). Revolution: Universal laws unify (Copernicus's De revolutionibus; Newton's Principia). 19-20th: Overarching principles (Einstein's Relativity; Darwin's Origin). Contemporary: Unified universe (Greene's Fabric of the Cosmos; Carroll's Big Picture; Collins's Language of God).Intertextual and Comparative Literature: Biblical: Psalm 24:1: "The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof"; Psalm 115:16; Colossians 1:16. Dead Sea Scrolls affirm; Gnostics diverge with Demiurge. ANE: Distributed domains (Enlil, Nut/Geb). Zoroastrian: Ahura Mazda owns, opposed. Greco-Roman: Pantheon distribution. Rabbinic: Master of Universe. Syriac/Christian: Ex nihilo ownership. Indic: Brahman substratum.Synthesis and Critical Notes: Declares mulk, integrating exegesis's control with philosophy's source and science's interconnectedness. Hermeneutically, metaphysical truth; epistemologically, inspires awe. Disputes: Free will, evil. Bibliography: Al-Ṭabarī; Rāzī; Ibn Kathīr; Izutsu's God and Man; Al-Ghazali.5. "Man dha l-ladhī yashfaʿu ʿindahū illā biʾidhnihi" – Who Is It That Can Intercede with Him Except by His Permission?Phrase: مَن ذَا ٱلَّذِى يَشْفَعُ عِندَهُۥٓ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِۦ (Man dha l-ladhī yashfaʿu ʿindahū illā biʾidhnihi), Bengali: মান যাল্লাযী ইয়াশফা‘উ ‘ইনদাহূ ইল্লা বিইজ়নিহী.Etymology and Philology: Man dhā (م ن ذ ا): emphatic who. Yashfaʿu from ش ف ع (SH-F-ʿ): intercede. ʿIndahū from ع ن د (ʿ-N-D): with Him. Biʾidhnihi from أ ذ ن (ʾ-DH-N): by permission. Shafaʿa: mediation; idhn: authority. Cognates: Hebrew shafaʿ (abundance, related).Classical Exegesis: Addresses polytheism, no specific asbāb. Early: Mujāhid on no independent intercession; al-Ṭabarī refutes idols. Medieval: Zamakhsharī on rhetoric; Rāzī on no deficiency; al-Qurṭubī on refuting idolaters; Ibn Kathīr on permission; al-Bayḍāwī on mercy. Ḥadīth: Prophet's intercession (Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 194; Bukhari, Book 97, Hadith 7058).Philosophical Parallels: Greek/Hellenistic diverge (no intercession; Republic; Moral Letters). Islamic: Necessary Existent precludes influence (Ibn Sīnā's al-Shifāʾ). Renaissance: Descartes/Spinoza neutral (Meditations; Ethics). Idealism/Modern: Diverge (Phenomenology; Thus Spoke Zarathustra).Scientific Engagement: Medieval: Consistent laws (Al-Bīrūnī's Al-Qanun; Ibn al-Nafis). Revolution: Immutable laws (Newton's Principia; Leibniz). 19-20th: Neutral mechanisms (Planck; Einstein; Darwin). Contemporary: Order by permission (Guth; Collins; Hawking; Bostrom).Intertextual and Comparative Literature: Biblical: Isaiah 43:11; 1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 7:25. Dead Sea Scrolls direct; Gnostics hierarchical. ANE: Intermediaries. Zoroastrian: Yazatas assist. Greco-Roman: Oracles. Rabbinic: Figures intercede. Syriac/Christian: Christ/ saints. Indic: Gurus/deities.Synthesis and Critical Notes: Affirms tawḥīd, integrating refutation with philosophy's perfection and science's consistency. Hermeneutically, direct reliance; epistemologically, revealed interaction. Disputes: Scope of permitted intercession. Bibliography: Al-Ṭabarī; Rāzī; Ibn Kathīr; Izutsu; Al-Ghazali.6. "Walā yuḥīṭūna bishayʾin min ʿilmihī illā bimā shāʾa" – And They Do Not Encompass Anything of His Knowledge Except What He WillsPhrase: وَلاَ يُحِيطُونَ بِشَيْءٍ مِّنْ عِلْمِهِۦٓ إِلَّا بِمَا شَآءَ (Walā yuḥīṭūna bishayʾin min ʿilmihī illā bimā shāʾa), Bengali: ওয়ালা ইয়ুহীতূনা বিশাইয়িম্ মিন্ ‘ইল্মিহী ইল্লা বিমা শা–আ.Etymology and Philology: Yuḥīṭūna from ح و ط (H-W-Ṭ): encompass. Shayʾ from ش ي ء (SH-Y-ʾ): anything. ʿIlmihī from ع ل م (ʿ-L-M): His knowledge. Shāʾa from ش ي أ (SH-Y-ʾ): wills. Iḥāṭa: full grasp; ʿilm: boundless knowledge; mashīʾa: sovereign will. Cognates: Hebrew yadaʿ.Classical Exegesis: No asbāb. Early: Mujāhid on incomprehension; al-Ṭabarī on revelation only. Medieval: Zamakhsharī on vastness; Rāzī on infinite vs. finite; al-Qurṭubī refutes claims; Ibn Kathīr on gift; al-Bayḍāwī on distinction. Ḥadīth: Beneficial knowledge (Al-Dārimī, hasan); Moses/Khidr story.Philosophical Parallels: Greek: Episteme of Forms (Republic, Books VI-VII); pure thought (Metaphysics, Book XII). Hellenistic: Logos (Meditations); emanation (Enneads, V.1). Islamic: Active Intellect (Ibn Sīnā's al-Shifāʾ). Renaissance: Clear ideas (Meditations); infinite intellect (Ethics); noumena (Critique of Pure Reason). Idealism: Unfolding (Phenomenology); unknowable Will (World as Will). Modern: Perspectivism (Beyond Good and Evil); Being (Being and Time); power (Discipline and Punish); deconstruction (Of Grammatology).Scientific Engagement: Medieval: Limits in inquiry (Ibn al-Haytham's Manāẓir; Al-Biruni's Tafhim). Revolution: Mind of God (Newton's Principia; Boyle's Sceptical Chymist). 19-20th: Limits (Heisenberg's Physics and Philosophy; Einstein's Relativity; Darwin's Origin). Contemporary: Mysteries (Greene's Fabric; Collins's Language; Koch's Feeling; Bostrom's Superintelligence).Intertextual and Comparative Literature: Biblical: Isaiah 55:8-9; Romans 11:33-34; Job 11:7-9. Dead Sea Scrolls: Hidden knowledge; Gnostics claim gnosis. ANE: Access via deeds. Zoroastrian: Revelation. Greco-Roman: Fragmented (Prometheus). Rabbinic: Veiled mysteries. Syriac/Christian: Limited (glass darkly). Indic: Neti neti; Nirvana beyond.Synthesis and Critical Notes: Declares omniscience, integrating exegesis's limits with philosophy's contingency and science's frontiers. Hermeneutically, humility; epistemologically, contingent. Disputes: Scope of willed knowledge. Bibliography: Al-Ṭabarī; Rāzī; Ibn Kathīr; Izutsu; Al-Ghazali.7. "Wasiʿa kursiyyuhu s-samāwāti wa l-arḍa" – His Kursi Extends Over the Heavens and the EarthPhrase: وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ (Wasiʿa kursiyyuhu s-samāwāti wa l-arḍa), Bengali: ওয়াসি‘আ কুরসিয়্যুহুস সামা-ওয়াতি ওয়াল আরদা.Etymology and Philology: Wasiʿa from و س ع (W-S-ʿ): extended. Kursī from ك ر س (K-R-S): throne/footstool/knowledge seat. Samāwāt/arḍ as before. Pre-Quranic poetry; cognates: Aramaic kursyā, Hebrew kisse.Classical Exegesis: No asbāb. Early: Mujāhid as knowledge; Ibn ʿAbbās as physical; al-Ṭabarī both. Medieval: Zamakhsharī metaphorical (power); Rāzī explores (knowledge preferred); al-Qurṭubī literal/metaphorical; Ibn Kathīr literal footstool; al-Bayḍāwī varied. Ḥadīth: Size comparison (Musnad Ahmad); Ibn ʿAbbās: knowledge (Al-Ḥākim).Philosophical Parallels: Greek: Cosmos order (Timaeus; Metaphysics, Book XII). Hellenistic: Logos/One (Moral Letters; Enneads, V.1). Islamic: Celestial spheres (Ibn Sīnā's al-Shifāʾ). Renaissance: Infinite (Principles; Ethics). Idealism: Encompassing (Science of Logic; World as Will). Modern: Deconstruct (Thus Spoke Zarathustra; Being and Time).Scientific Engagement: Medieval: Spheres (Al-Fārāghānī's Jawāmiʿ; Al-Bīrūnī's Qanun). Revolution: Vast laws (Copernicus; Newton). 19-20th: Scale (Einstein; Planck; Hubble). Contemporary: Expansion/fine-tuning (Guth; Hawking; Greene).Intertextual and Comparative Literature: Biblical: Isaiah 66:1: "Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool"; Acts 7:49; Psalm 103:19. Dead Sea Scrolls cosmic; Gnostics emanations. ANE: Thrones (Enlil). Zoroastrian: Dominion. Greco-Roman: Olympus. Rabbinic: Kisse ha-kavod. Syriac/Christian: Throne. Indic: Vishvarupa.Synthesis and Critical Notes: Emphasizes dominion, integrating interpretations with philosophy's encompassing and science's scale. Hermeneutically, literal/metaphorical; epistemologically, beyond grasp. Disputes: Nature (physical/knowledge); relation to ʿArsh. Bibliography: Al-Ṭabarī; Rāzī; Ibn Kathīr; Izutsu; Nasr's Cosmological Doctrines.8. "Walā yaʾūduhū ḥifẓuhumā wahuwa l-ʿAliyyu l-ʿAẓīmu" – And Their Preservation Does Not Burden Him. And He Is the Most High, the Most GreatFinal: وَلاَ يَئُودُهُۥ حِفْظُهُمَا وَهُوَ ٱلْعَلِىُّ ٱلْعَظِيمُ (Walā yaʾūduhū ḥifẓuhumā wahuwa l-ʿAliyyu l-ʿAẓīmu), Bengali: ওয়ালা ইয়াউদুহূ হিফযুহুমা ওয়া হুওয়াল-ʿআলিয়্যুল-ʿআযীম।Etymology and Philology: Yaʾūduhū from أ و د (ʾ-W-D): burdens. Ḥifẓuhumā from ح ف ظ (Ḥ-F-Ẓ): preservation (dual: heavens/earth). Al-ʿAliyy from ع ل و (ʿ-L-W): Most High. Al-ʿAẓīm from ع ظ م (ʿ-Ẓ-M): Most Great. Cognates: Hebrew ʿelī, ʿāṣam.Classical Exegesis: No asbāb. Early: Mujāhid no weight; al-Ṭabarī too mighty. Medieval: Zamakhsharī absolute power; Rāzī no deficiency; al-Qurṭubī magnitude; Ibn Kathīr infinite; al-Bayḍāwī independence. Ḥadīth: Descends nightly (Bukhari/Muslim); Subhan remembrances (Musnad Ahmad).Philosophical Parallels: Greek: Effortless (Republic, Book VII; Metaphysics, Book XII). Hellenistic: Logos/One (Discourses; Enneads, V.1). Islamic: Perfection (Ibn Sīnā's al-Shifāʾ). Renaissance: Omnipotence (Meditations; Ethics). Idealism: Divergent dynamic (Phenomenology; World as Will). Modern: Challenge (Thus Spoke Zarathustra; Being and Time).Scientific Engagement: Medieval: Stability (Ibn al-Haytham; Al-Ghazali). Revolution: Order (Newton; Boyle). 19-20th: Against entropy (Eddington; Planck). Contemporary: Fine-tuning (Susskind; Carroll; Collins).Intertextual and Comparative Literature: Biblical: Psalm 121:3-4; Isaiah 40:28; Colossians 1:17. Dead Sea Scrolls sustainer; Gnostics emanations. ANE: Labors (Marduk). Zoroastrian: Engagement. Greco-Roman: Burdens (Atlas). Rabbinic: No tiring. Syriac/Christian: Sustains (Hebrews 1:3). Indic: Cycles/lila.Synthesis and Critical Notes: Culminates omnipotence, integrating effortlessness with philosophy's perfection and science's order. Hermeneutically, distinct; epistemologically, awe. Disputes: Burden implications. Bibliography: Al-Ṭabarī; Rāzī; Ibn Kathīr; Izutsu; Chittick's Sufi Path.In conclusion, Ayat al-Kursi weaves a tapestry of divine attributes that transcend time, inviting perpetual reflection on God's oneness and majesty across intellectual domains.Wa lā yaʾūduhu ḥifẓuhumā wa huwa al-ʿAliyyu al-ʿAẓīm.
ওয়ালা ইয়াউদুহু হিফযুহুমা ওয়া হুয়াল ‘আলিয়্যুল ‘আযীম।
And their preservation does not tire Him. And He is the Most High, the Most Great.
আর তাদের উভয়ের রক্ষণাবেক্ষণ তাঁকে ক্লান্ত করে না। আর তিনি সর্বোচ্চ ও সর্বমহান।
Annotations: yaʾūduhu (ইয়াউদুহু, root: ʾ-w-d / আ-ও-দ – to bend, weigh down, burden). It does not weary, fatigue, or burden Him. ḥifẓuhumā (হিফযুহুমা – their preservation). Sustaining and protecting both (the heavens and the earth). al-ʿAliyy (আল-‘আলিয়্যু, root: ʿ-l-w / আ-ল-ও – to be high, exalted). The Most High, The Exalted, in essence, status, and power. al-ʿAẓīm (আল-‘আযীম, root: ʿ-ẓ-m / আ-য-ম – to be great, mighty). The Supreme, The Magnificent. These final names summarize the verse's theme of absolute transcendence and power.
EXEGESIS: Early: Al-Ṭabarī and others state simply that managing the entire cosmos is effortless for God. This concludes the argument against creaturely attributes begun with the negation of sleep. Later: Al-Rāzī connects this logically: He who is eternally living and self-subsisting cannot be subject to weariness, which is a symptom of finite power. The final names, al-ʿAliyy and al-ʿAẓīm, are the logical conclusion of all the preceding descriptions. Al-ʿAliyy denotes transcendence above all limitations and space, while al-ʿAẓīm denotes greatness beyond any measure or comprehension. Ibn Kathīr emphasizes that all creation is minute and insignificant in relation to His majesty and beneath His control. | Ancient Literature: The idea of effortless divine power is a marker of supreme status. While lesser gods in polytheistic systems might struggle or tire, the head of the pantheon is often portrayed as acting with ease. The name al-ʿAliyy ("The Most High") has a direct pre-Islamic parallel in the Canaanite god El 'Elyon ("God Most High"), mentioned in Genesis 14:18-22 and worshipped in Jerusalem.
Biblical Literature: Isaiah 40:28: "The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom." This verse conveys the exact same concepts of tireless power and incomprehensible greatness. God's transcendence (al-ʿAliyy) is a core theme: "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways" (Isaiah 55:9).
Esoteric Literatures: Sufism: Divine action is not effortful. It is the instantaneous result of Divine Will. Ibn 'Arabī explains that creation and its preservation is a continuous act of self-disclosure (tajallī), which is essential to the divine reality, not a labor performed by it. Al-ʿAliyy is the name for His absolute transcendence and incomparability (tanzīh), while al-ʿAẓīm points to His immeasurable majesty, which inspires awe in the mystic. Plotinus: The One and Intellect act without effort, their creative power flowing from their very nature without diminishing them, a philosophical parallel to non-fatiguing preservation.
Philosophy and Science: Philosophy: Aristotle's Unmoved Mover causes motion in the cosmos without itself moving or expending any effort; it acts through being an object of "desire" or "aspiration" for the cosmos. This is a form of effortless influence. The attributes of Most High and Most Great resonate with the philosophical concept of a maximally perfect being, whose attributes of power and existence are unbounded. Science: The principle of conservation of energy, in a highly metaphorical sense, suggests a system where the total "capacity" is not diminished. The universe runs according to inviolable laws that do not "tire." The vastness and complexity revealed by cosmology and biology lead to a sense of awe and majesty (ʿaẓamah), whether attributed to a creator or to nature itself. |
আল্লাহু লা ইলাহা ইল্লা হুয়াল-হাইয়্যুল-ক্বাইয়্যুম।
Allah—there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, Sustainer of [all] existence. | **ٱللَّهُ** (Allāh): Root “ʾ-l-h”, “the deity.” See above; Heb. אֱלוֹהַּ (Elōah).
**إِلَـٰهَ** (ilāh): Root “ʾ-l-h”, “god/divinity”; also found in Canaanite, Ugaritic. Heb. אֵל (El), Akk. ilu.
**ٱلْحَيُّ** (al-ḥayy): Root “ḥ-y-y”, “to live.” Heb. חַי (ḥay), Syr. ܚܝܐ (ḥayyā).
**ٱلْقَيُّومُ** (al-qayyūm): Root “q-w-m”, form II intensive: self-sustaining, upholding. Heb. קוּם (qūm “arise/establish”); Syr. ܩܝܡܐ (qayyāmā “standing, enduring”). | **Asbāb al-Nuzūl:** General; not tied to an incident. Recognized as “the greatest verse in the Qurʾān” (Sahih Muslim 810).
**Muqātil:** Statement of pure tawḥīd.
**Ṭabarī:** “Al-ḥayy”: deathless, eternally living; “al-qayyūm”: sustainer/maintainer of all.
**Ibn Kathīr:** Cites numerous hadith: most comprehensive description of Allah.
**al-Zamakhsharī:** “He who manages all affairs and never dies or slumbers.”
**al-Rāzī:** Both names signify complete transcendence.
**Consensus:** Central for Islamic theology (see: al-Ashʿarī, al-Māturīdī). | Deut. 6:4 — “Hear O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.”
Isaiah 44:6 — “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.”
Psalm 90:2 — “From everlasting to everlasting, you are God.”
John 5:26 — “The Father has life in himself.”
1 Tim. 6:16 — “Who alone has immortality.”
Praise of the Living God (Dead Sea Scrolls, 1QH). | Ugaritic: “EL, the Living God.”
Mishnah: “The Living and Everlasting King.”
Akkadian: Marduk as “sustainer of heaven and earth.”
Zoroastrian Avesta: Ahura Mazda, “self-existent, eternal.”
Hermetica: “God, the Self-Existent One.” | | **لَا تَأْخُذُهُ سِنَةٌ وَلَا نَوْمٌ**
লা তাখূযুহু সিনাতুন ওয়ালা নাউম।
Neither drowsiness overtakes Him nor sleep. | **سِنَةٌ** (sinah): “drowsiness.” Rare in Qurʾān. Classical: light dozing. Possible cognate: Aram. סני (sny, “to slumber”).
**نَوْمٌ** (nawm): “sleep,” standard Semitic root. Heb. נֹום (num). | **Muqātil:** Proof of perfection; no vulnerability of creatures.
**Ṭabarī:** No fatigue befalls Him; complete vigilance.
**al-Baghawī:** Differentiates types of rest: neither light nor heavy sleep.
**Ibn Kathīr:** Divine difference from creation stressed.
**al-Qurṭubī:** Citations from hadith: the Prophet refuted any interpretation (Tafsīr 3:267). | Psalm 121:3-4 — “He who keeps you will not slumber … nor sleep.”
Isaiah 40:28 — “The LORD is the everlasting God … He does not faint or grow weary.” | Egyptian: Ra as “awake by day and night.”
Jewish: “The Guardian neither slumbers nor sleeps.”
Babylonian: Marduk as tireless ruler.
Hermetic: “The ever-watchful god.” | | **لَّهُ مَا فِي ٱلسَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي ٱلْأَرْضِ**
লাহু মা ফিস্-সামাওয়াতি ওয়ামা ফিল্-আরদ।
To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth. | **لَّهُ** (lahu): Preposition+pronoun shows exclusive divine ownership.
**السَّمَاوَاتِ** (as-samāwāt): Root “s-m-w”, “to be high”; plural, “heavens.”
**الأرْضِ** (al-arḍ): Root “ʾ-r-ḍ”, “earth.” | **Muqātil:** All dominion belongs to Him alone.
**Ṭabarī:** Universality in ownership; refutes intermediaries.
**al-Zamakhsharī:** Emphasizes comprehensive sovereignty.
**Ibn Kathīr:** Reiterates unique, all-encompassing authority. | Psalm 24:1 — “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it; the world and all who live in it.”
Deut. 10:14 — “The heavens … and the earth, belong to the LORD your God.” | Ugaritic: “El, lord of heaven and earth.”
Mishnah: “He is the Master of the worlds.”
Akkadian: Enlil, ruler of all cosmic regions.
Avesta: Ahura Mazda as lord of both realms. | | **مَن ذَا ٱلَّذِي يَشْفَعُ عِندَهُ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِ**
মান যাল্লাযী ইয়াশফাউ 'ইন্দাহু ইল্লা বিইজনিহি।
Who is it that can intercede with Him except by His permission? | **يَشْفَعُ** (yashfaʿu): Root “sh-f-ʿ”, “to mediate, intercede.” Heb. שָׁפַע (shafaʿ, “to intercede”).
**إِذْنِهِ** (idhnihi): “His permission,” idhn from root أ-ذ-ن “to permit, to listen.” | **Muqātil:** Exclusion of all association; only by His leave.
**Ṭabarī:** Angels or prophets cannot intervene except by divine leave.
**al-Rāzī:** Theoretical debate: mediation, agency, monotheism.
**Ibn Kathīr:** Intercession is a privilege upon His allowance; authentic hadith in Bukhārī/Muslim. | 1 Samuel 2:25 — “If someone sins against the Lord, who will intercede for them?”
Job 16:20-21 — “My intercessor is my friend … he pleads with God.”
Romans 8:34 — “Christ Jesus … is at the right hand … interceding for us.” | Babylonian: “Intercessors before gods require permission.”
Mishnah: High priest intercedes only on Yom Kippur.
Shapshu (Ugaritic): intermediary gods plead with El.
Avesta: Sraosha as permitted intercessor. | | **يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَيْءٍ مِّنْ عِلْمِهِ إِلَّا بِمَا شَاءَ**
ইয়ালামু মা বায়না আইদিহিম ওয়ামা খাল্ফাহুম, ওয়ালা ইউহিতূনা বিশাই’ইম্ মিন্ ইল্মিহি ইল্লা বিমা শা’আ।
He knows what is [presently] before them and what will be after them, but they do not encompass any of His knowledge except what He wills. | **يَعْلَمُ** (yaʿlamu): Root “ʿ-l-m”, “to know.” Heb. ידע (y-d-ʿ).
**أَيْدِيهِمْ** (aydīhim): “their hands,” by metonymy “present/time ahead.”
**خَلْفَهُمْ** (khalfahum): “behind them”; metaphor for the past.
**يُحِيطُونَ** (yuḥīṭūna): Root “ḥ-w-ṭ”, “to encompass.” | **Muqātil:** Total and unique divine knowledge.
**Ṭabarī:** Past & future; metaphysical and direct.
**al-Zamakhsharī:** Human knowledge given in measures.
**Ibn Kathīr:** Refers to angels, humanity, the unseen.
**Bayḍāwī:** No boundaries to divine knowledge. | Hebrews 4:13 — “No creature is hidden from his sight … all are naked and exposed.”
Psalm 139:4 — “Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it.”
Acts 1:7 — “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed.” | Ugaritic: El as “the one who knows all secrets.”
Babylonian: Ishtar “knows human hearts.”
Rabbinic: “All is foreseen, yet free will is given.”
Avesta: Ahura Mazda “knows before and after.” | | **وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَاتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ**
ওয়াসি’আ কুরসিয়্যুহুস্-সামাওয়াতি ওয়াল্-আর্দ।
His Kursī [Seat/Throne] extends over the heavens and the earth. | **كُرْسِيُّهُ** (kursiyyuhu): “chair/throne.” Root k-r-s-y, widespread in Semitic. Aram. כורסיא (kursya), used for throne of God. | **Muqātil:** Kursī = knowledge or throne (variant early reports).
**Ṭabarī:** Kursī as “seat of divine authority,” or metaphor for omniscience.
**al-Rāzī:** Differentiates between Kursī and ʿArsh (Throne).
**Ibn Kathīr:** Reports both traditions; some say physical, others symbolic. | 1 Kings 22:19 — “The LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him.”
Psalms 103:19 — “The LORD has established his throne in the heavens.”
Enoch 14:18 — Vision of God’s throne beyond heavens. | Daniel 7:9 — “Ancient of Days” sits enthroned.
Babylonian: Anu’s throne in heaven.
Rabbinic: “His throne covers all creation.”
Talmud: “The throne of glory, extending over all.” | | **وَلَا يَئُودُهُ حِفْظُهُمَا**
ওয়ালা ইয়াউদুহু হিফযুহুমা।
And their preservation tires Him not. | **يَئُودُهُ** (yaʾūd): Root “ʾ-w-d”, “to weigh/burden.” Classical: “to tire, to be a burden.”
**حِفْظُهُمَا** (ḥifẓuhumā): Root “ḥ-f-ẓ”, “to preserve/guard.” Heb. שָׁמַר (shamar), “to guard.” | **Muqātil:** Impeccable, effortless guard.
**Ṭabarī:** No fatigue in sustaining cosmos.
**al-Qurṭubī:** Reiterates omnipotence and distinction from created beings.
**Bayḍāwī:** No weakness or exhaustion possible. | Isaiah 40:28 — “The Creator … does not faint or grow weary.”
Psalm 121:4 — “He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.” | Babylonian: “Marduk, who upholds heaven and earth without fatigue.”
Greek: “Zeus sustains the world without effort.”
Zoroastrian: “Ahura Mazda, whose guardianship never flags.” | | **وَهُوَ ٱلْعَلِيُّ ٱلْعَظِيمُ**
ওয়াহুয়াল আলিয়্যুল আজীম।
He is the Most High, the Most Great. | **ٱلْعَلِيُّ** (al-ʿaliyy): Root “ʿ-l-w”, “high, exalted.” Heb. עֶלְיוֹן (ʿelyon, “Most High”).
**ٱلْعَظِيمُ** (al-ʿaẓīm): Root “ʿ-ẓ-m”, “great.” Heb. עָצוּם (aẓum, “mighty, great”). | **Muqātil:** “Exalted above deficiency.”
**Ṭabarī:** Absolute majesty.
**al-Zamakhsharī:** “His exaltation and greatness beyond comprehension.”
**Ibn Kathīr:** “The One above all, in essence and attributes.” | Psalm 97:9 — “For you, O LORD, are most high over all the earth.”
Psalms 145:3 — “Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised.”
Tobit 13:4 — “He is our Lord and God; he is our Father forever.” | Ugaritic: “El ʿElyon, highest among gods.”
Babylonian: Anu as “Most High.”
Greek: “Zeus the supreme.”
Rabbinic: “The Great and Exalted One.” |
| # | Verse Segment & Translation | Etymology & Philology | Classical Exegesis | Philosophical Parallels | Scientific Engagement | Intertextual & Comparative Lit. | Synthesis & Critical Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ٱللَّهُ لَآ إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ٱلْحَىُّ ٱلْقَيُّومُ <br> Bengali: ‘‘আল্লাহু লা ইলাহা ইল্লা হু আল-হাইয়্যু আল-কাইয়্যুমু’’ <br> Literal Eng.: “God—there is no deity but Him, the Living, the Self-Subsisting.” | • Allāh ← al-ilāh; cogn. Heb. ʼEloah. <br>• ʾ-l-h “worship, deity”. <br>• ḥ-y-y “live” → ḥayy “ever-living”. <br>• q-w-m “stand, sustain” → qayyūm “maintainer”. <br> Pre-Islamic inscriptions: ḤYY “life”; QYM “guardian” (Safaitic). | • Ṭabarī: negation of all shirk; “al-ḥayy” = life w/out inception; “al-qayyūm” = sustainer of cosmos. <br>• Zamakhsharī: coupling = دليل التلازم (life ⇒ sustaining power). <br>• Rāzī: ontological proof—necessary life entails necessary existence. <br>• ḥadīth: “Greatest Name found here” (Tirmidhī 3475). | • Aristotle, Metaph. Λ: ἐνέργεια αἰώνιος; parallels “ever-living”. <br>• Plotinus, Enneads V.2: One as “self-subsisting”. <br>• Ibn Sīnā: واجب الوجود الحي القيوم. <br>• Kant: Ens realissimum – postulational. | • Thermodynamics: life defined by open-system homeostasis; verse frames life as source not emergent. <br>• Systems theory: “qayyūm” ≈ ground state maintaining all subsystems. | • Ex 3:14 “I AM WHO I AM”; LXX ὁ ὢν. <br>• Psalm 42:2 “living God”. <br>• Mandaean Ginza: “Great Life” (Hayyi Rabi). | Links divine aseity (ḥayy) to cosmic ontic dependence (qayyūm). Greatest-Name theology grounds Islamic metaphysics. |
| 2 | لَا تَأْخُذُهُ سِنَةٌ وَلَا نَوْمٌ <br> Bengali: ‘‘লা তাখূযুহু সিন্নatun ওয়া লা নউম’’ <br> Lit. Eng.: “Neither drowsiness seizes Him nor sleep.” | sinah “drowsiness” ← s-n-w “to nod”; pre-Qurʾānic poetry. <br>nawm “sleep” ← n-w-m; cogn. Heb. nûm. | • God’s vigilance absolute; cited against anthropomorphism (Ibn Ḥazm). <br>• Ashʿarī: negates hādith accidents. | • Aristotle’s Unmoved Mover “always active”. <br>• Descartes’ Deus non decipit—never lapses. | • Neuroscience: sleep as neural housekeeping; verse positions deity beyond biological limits. | • Ps 121:4 “He neither slumbers nor sleeps.” | Emphasises continuous providence; key in kalām debates on divine attributes. |
| 3 | لَهُ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَمَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ <br> Bengali: ‘‘লাহু মা ফিস্ সামাওয়াতি ওয়া মা ফিল্ আরদ’’ <br> Lit. Eng.: “His is whatever is in the heavens and the earth.” | samāʾ “sky, heaven” ← s-m-w “loftiness” (Ugar. šm); <br>arḍ “earth” ← ʾ-r-ḍ “stretch”. | • Ownership (milk) & lordship (rubūbiyya). <br>• Explains divine prerogative over intercession (next seg.). | • Stoic kosmopolis ruled by logos. <br>• Hegel: Absolute Spirit possesses all predicates of reality. | • ΛCDM model: total energy-content; verse addresses metaphysical not quantitative ownership. | • Gen 1:1; Enuma Elish tablet I. | Frames ontological sovereignty prerequisite for ethics & worship. |
| 4 | مَن ذَا ٱلَّذِى يَشْفَعُ عِندَهُ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِ <br> Bengali: ‘‘মান্ তা-ল্-লাযি ইয়াশফাউ ‘ইন্দাহু ইল্লা বিইয্নিহি’’ <br> Lit. Eng.: “Who is it that can intercede with Him except by His permission?” | sh-f-ʿ “pair, mediate” → shafāʿa; cogn. Aram. šafʿā. <br>idhn “permission” from ʾ-dh-n “ear, allow”. | • Muʿtazila: negates automatic patron-intercession. <br>• ḥadīth: greatest intercession of Muḥammad on Qiyāma (Bukhārī 4712). | • Plato, Apology 35b: human pleas before judges; contrasts divine sovereignty. <br>• Kant: no heteronomous mediation in moral law—parallel. | • Legal theory: authorization essential for representation; structural analogy. | • 1 Tim 2:5 “one mediator between God and men.” | Underlines epistemic humility; cultic prayers subordinate to divine will. |
| 5 | يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ <br> Bengali: ‘‘ইয়ালামু মা বায়না আইদিহিম ওয়া মা খলফাহুম’’ <br> Lit. Eng.: “He knows what lies before them and what is behind them.” | ʿ-l-m “know”; bayna aydīhim “before”; khalf “behind” ← kh-l-f “follow”. | • Total temporal knowledge (past/future). <br>• Ashʿarī vs. Qadarī debate on foreknowledge & free will. | • Augustine, Conf. XI: divine eternal present. <br>• Einsteinian block-universe echoes timeless knowledge. | • QM retro-causality discussions—verse resonates with atemporal ontology but makes no physical claim. | • Isa 46:10 “declaring the end from the beginning.” | Supports concept of ʿilm lāḥi (divine omniscience). |
| 6 | وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَىْءٍ مِّنْ عِلْمِهِ إِلَّا بِمَا شَآءَ <br> Bengali: ‘‘ওয়ালা ইউহীতূনা বিশাই’-ইম্ মিন ‘ইলমিহি ইল্লা বিমা শা’আ’’ <br> Lit. Eng.: “They grasp nothing of His knowledge except what He wills.” | ḥ-w-ṭ “encompass” → yuḥīṭūn. <br>ʿilm “knowledge”. <br>shāʾa ← š-y-ʾ “will”. | • Limits epistemic reach; grounds concept of waḥy. <br>• Ghazālī: divine veil; mystic kashf = derivative. | • Kant: noumenon unknowable save by a-priori; parallel constraint. <br>• Heidegger: Being withdraws. | • Cognitive science: bounded rationality. <br>• Gödel incompleteness—systems cannot self-complete. | • Job 38–41: divine questions exceed human grasp. | Affirms revelatory epistemology; curbs scientism & scepticism alike. |
| 7 | وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ <br> Bengali: ‘‘ওয়াসি‘আ কুরসিইয়ুহুস্ সামাওয়াতি ওয়াল্ আরদ’’ <br> Lit. Eng.: “His Kursī extends over the heavens and the earth.” | kursī “throne/seat” ← k-r-s “sit”; Syriac kursyā. <br> Metaphor for authority or ontic scope. | • Ibn ʿAbbās: kursī = ʿilm (knowledge). <br>• Qatāda: literal seat beneath ʿArsh. <br>• Rāzī: symbol of sustaining power. | • Platonic “chair” idea vs. transcendent seat; political philosophy—seat of power metaphor. | • Astrophysics: spatial curvature; “extends” evokes non-Euclidean vastness. | • 1 Kings 22:19 Yahweh on throne; Iranian Khvarenah throne motif. | Plays role in angelology & cosmography; locus of debate between tanzīh & tashbīh. |
| 8 | وَلَا يَـُٔودُهُ حِفْظُهُمَا <br> Bengali: ‘‘ওয়ালা ইয়াউদুহু হিফযুহুমা’’ <br> Lit. Eng.: “Guarding them does not weary Him.” | y-ʾ-d “burden/exhaust”; ḥifẓ “preservation”. | • Rejects deistic absenteeism; continuous preservation (ḥifẓ). <br>• Māturīdī: proof of perpetual qudra. | • Spinoza: Deus sive Natura persists without fatigue. | • Conservation laws: energy maintenance effortless for ground-state—metaphorically analogous. | • Isa 40:28 “He does not grow weary.” | Affirms immanent sustenance without entropy for the sustainer. |
| 9 | وَهُوَ ٱلْعَلِىُّ ٱلْعَظِيمُ <br> Bengali: ‘‘ওয়া হুয়াল্ আলিয়্যু আল্ আজীম’’ <br> Lit. Eng.: “And He is the Exalted, the Magnificent.” | ʿ-l-w “high” → ʿAliyy. <br>ʿ-ẓ-m “vast, great” → ʿAẓīm; Heb. ʿāḏōm. | • Closes verse with two majestic names; rhythmic seal. <br>• Sufis: ascent (ʿulūw) of heart. | • Plotinus: hierarchic ascent to the One. <br>• Nietzsche: Übermensch self-exaltation—contrast of source. | • Cosmology: cosmic scale elicits sense of sublimity; verse anchors sublimity in theos. | • Qumran Hodayot: “Great and Exalted is Your Name.” | Doxological finale summarising transcendence & grandeur; key in dhikr practices. |
| # | Verse (Sūrah:Āyah) | Arabic Text Segment | Bengali-script Transliteration | Literal English Translation | Etymology & Philology | Classical Exegesis | Philosophical Parallels | Scientific Engagement | Intertextual & Comparative Literature | Synthesis & Critical Notes |
|---|--------------------|---------------------|-------------------------------|----------------------------|----------------------|---------------------|------------------------|----------------------|---------------------------------------|---------------------------|
| 1 | 2:255 | اللَّهُ | Allāhu | Allah (The God) | Root: أ ل ه (ʔ-l-h); Cognates: Aramaic ‘elah, Hebrew ‘eloh; Pre-Quranic: denotes deity/god. | No asbāb cited; consensus: unique divine name; Ṭabarī: all-encompassing deity; Major tafsīr: focus on transcendence and uniqueness; ḥadīth: "Allah has 99 names…" (Bukhārī, Muslim). | Aristotle’s "Unmoved Mover"; Plotinus’ "The One" (Enneads VI.9); Convergence: Necessary Existence; Al-Kindī, Ibn Sīnā: Necessary Being. | Medieval: Debates on metaphysical necessity; Modern physics: uncaused cause/neutrino, cosmology—neutral relation. | Hebrew Bible: Elohim (Gen. 1:1 “In the beginning, God…”); Ugaritic: ilh, Akkadian ilu; Zoroastrian: Ahura Mazda. | Core: Monotheism; hermeneutics on divine ontological status; epistemology: essence vs. attribute; ongoing debate: "proper name" or title? Select bibliography: van Ess, "Theologie und Gesellschaft"; Reynolds, "Allah." |
| 2 | 2:255 | لَا إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ | Lā ilāha illā huwa | There is no deity except Him | Root: إله (ʔ-l-h); "ilāh" = god, object of worship. Semitic parallels: Hebrew Eloah/El; Aramaic Alaha. | Consensus: affirmation of strict monotheism (tawḥīd); Ṭabarī: negation of all else; Maqātil: polemics vs. polytheists. | Plato: "the Good" (Republic VI, 508d); Hegel: Absolute; Kant: critique of uniqueness. Convergence: singularity; Divergence: conceptual. | Evolution: lack of scientific evidence for "unique" agent; cosmology’s singularity—metaphoric overlap. | Deut. 6:4 "Hear, O Israel: YHWH is one."; Zoroastrian "Ahura Mazda only god"; Gnostic demiurge (contrast). | Integrates monotheistic focus; philosophical tension: universals vs. particular; Disputes: "ilāh" as common noun vs. proper name. |
| 3 | 2:255 | ٱلْحَىُّ ٱلْقَيُّومُ | al-Ḥayy, al-Qayyūm | The Living, the Self-Subsisting | حيّ (ḥ-y-y): life; قيّوم (q-w-m): upholder, sustainer. Syriac ḥayyā, qŏmā, Hebrew ḥayy, qiyyām. | Tafsīr: "ḥayy"—eternal life; "qayyūm"—sustainer of all; Rāzī, Qurṭubī: link to being/nonbeing; ḥadīth: recite for protection (Muslim). | Aristotle: "actuality" (Metaphysics Θ); Avicenna: Necessary Existent; Spinoza: causa sui; Heidegger: Being itself. | Self-organization in systems (Prigogine); biosciences—life’s emergence; AI: "self-sustaining" entities—distant metaphorical relevance. | John 1:4 "In him was life…"; ANE: Enlil/Qingu as sustaining gods; Rabbinic: Elohim ḥay. | Dual affirmation of metaphysical life/sustenance; Methodologically: analogical vs. univocal predication; Debate: anthropomorphism. |
| 4 | 2:255 | لَا تَأْخُذُهُ سِنَةٌ وَلَا نَوْمٌ | lā ta’khudhuhu sinatun wa-lā nawm | Neither drowsiness nor sleep overtakes Him | Root: سن (s-n-n)—drowsiness; نوم (n-w-m)—sleep; Hebrew shēnah. | Ṭabarī: sign of divine perfection; consensus: denies human-like limitations; Zamaksharī: metaphor of permanence. | Plotinus: The One—never ceasing; Kant: noumenal realm "restless"; Nietzsche: gods as beyond human fatigue. | Neuroscience: sleep necessary for brains—contrast with divine omniscience; Chronobiology of sleep. | Ps. 121:4 "He that keeps Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps."; Greek: gods prone to sleep (contrast). | The negation foregrounds transcendence; Hermeneutics: poetic negation; Open: metaphysics of “rest” vs. activity. |
| 5 | 2:255 | لَّهُۥ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَمَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ | lahu mā fī as-samāwāti wa-mā fī al-arḍ | To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and the earth | Root: سماء (s-m-w)—elevation; أرض (ʔ-r-ḍ), land/earth. Epigraphic: Samaw, Heb. shamayim; Arḍ, Erde. | Tafsīr: universality of dominion; Ibn Kathīr: contrast with mortal rulers; consensus: comprehensive sovereignty. | Plato: "forms" residing in real of heaven; Stoics: cosmic order; Spinoza: Deus sive Natura—identification with all. | Astronomy: observable universe’s scope; Cosmology: ownership metaphorically meaningless; planetary systems. | Gen 1:1, Psalm 115:16; ANE: Marduk as lord of cosmos; Zoroastrian cosmology. | Integration: metaphors of ownership; method: figurative language; ongoing: anthropic principle debates. |
| 6 | 2:255 | مَن ذَا ٱلَّذِى يَشْفَعُ عِندَهُۥٓ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِۦ | man dha alladhī yashfaʿu ʿindahu illā bi-idhnih | Who is it that can intercede with Him except by His permission? | Root: شفع (sh-f-ʿ)—intercede; Hebrew shafaʿ. | Early tafsīr: restricts intercession; Ṭabarī: refutation of pagan practice; Ibn Kathīr: affirms divine will/agency. | Greek mediation: daimonia (intermediaries); Christianity: Christ as sole mediator; Islamic philosophy: causality and will. | Modern ethics: autonomy/permission; Computational: ACLs and permissions; Law: agency/intersubjectivity. | 1 Tim 2:5 "one mediator between God and men"; Gnostic intermediaries, Jewish angelology. | Thematic: divine sovereignty in mediation; hermeneutics: singularization of agency; Disputed: nature/extent of shafāʿa. |
| 7 | 2:255 | يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ | yaʿlamu mā bayna aydīhim wa-mā khalfahum | He knows what is before them and what is behind them | Root: علم (ʿ-l-m)—to know. Hebrew yadaʿ. | Early tafsīr: omniscience; Zamakhsharī: past and future; Bayḍāwī: all events, actual and potential. | Aristotle: divine intellect; Avicenna: universal knowledge; Kant: epistemic limits; Foucault: knowledge/power. | Contemporary: information theory; neuroscience—boundaries of knowledge; AI: big data, but finite knowledge. | Ps. 139:2-4 "You know when I sit…"; Gnosticism: secret knowledge; Zoroastrian omniscient deity. | Interplay: infinite/finite knowledge; epistemic humility; ongoing: classical vs. process theology. |
| 8 | 2:255 | وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَىْءٍۢ مِّنْ عِلْمِهِۦٓ إِلَّا بِمَا شَآءَ | wa-lā yuḥīṭūna bi-shayʾin min ʿilmihī illā bimā shāʼ | They encompass nothing of His knowledge except what He wills | Root: حاط (ḥ-w-ṭ)—to encompass; شاء (shāʼa)—to will. | Tafsīr: limits of created knowledge; Ibn Kathīr: human epistemic boundary; Rāzī: will as epistemic gatekeeper. | Plotinus: emanation—the unknowable One; Heidegger: veiling/unveiling of Being; Derrida: différance in meaning. | Quantum mechanics: uncertainty principle; cosmology—limits to observation; AI: black box models. | Job 11:7 "Can you fathom the mysteries of God?"; Qumran: divine secrets; ANE: esoteric wisdom. | Hermeneutics: apophatic theology; epistemology of limitation; science: “horizons” of knowability. |
| 9 | 2:255 | وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ | wasiʿa kursiyyuhu as-samāwāti wa-l-arḍ | His Kursī extends over the heavens and the earth | كرسي (k-r-s-y)—throne, seat. Heb. kissē, Ugaritic krst; symbol of authority. | Ṭabarī: literal & figurative views; Ibn Kathīr: “knowledge” or “domain”; Bayḍāwī: power. Ḥadīth: "Kursī vs. ‘Arsh" (Bukhārī). | Plato: archetypal forms; Neoplatonism: hypostasis; Ibn Sīnā: active intellect. | Contemporary: cosmology—size of universe; math: set theory (inclusion). | 1 Kings 22:19 "the Lord sitting on his throne"; ANE: cosmic thrones; Gnosticism: seats of aeons. | Cosmographic symbolism; debates: literal vs. allegorical throne; intertext: Near Eastern kingship. |
| 10 | 2:255 | وَلَا يَـُٔودُهُۥ حِفْظُهُمَا | wa-lā yaʼūduhu ḥifẓuhumā | Their preservation tires Him not | آد (ʼ-w-d)—to slow, fatigue; حفظ (ḥ-f-ẓ)—to preserve. | Zamakhsharī: divine omnipotence; consensus: effortless maintenance. | Aristotle: "Unmoved Mover"—pure act; Spinoza: immanent causality. | Laws of thermodynamics—energy for preservation; entropy—contrast to effortless divine activity. | Isa. 40:28 "He does not faint or grow weary." | Ongoing: effort vs. divine simplicity; methodological: analogical predication; science: limitations of energy. |
| 11 | 2:255 | وَهُوَ ٱلْعَلِىُّ ٱلْعَظِيمُ | wa-huwa al-ʿaliyyu al-ʿaẓīm | And He is the Most High, the Most Great | Aliyy: ع ل و (ʿ-l-w)—highness; ʿaẓīm: ع ظ م (ʿ-ẓ-m)—greatness. | Classical: attributes of transcendence and majesty; Ibn Kathīr: combination of ethical and ontological. | Plato: the Good as ultimate; Hegel: Absolute Spirit. | Gravitational "highness"—metaphoric; magnitude in physics—analogy only. | Exod. 18:11 "The Lord is greater than all gods"; Ugaritic El Elyon; Zoroastrian Great Ahura. | Thematic: synthesis of tanzīh (transcendence) and tashbīh (immanence); open: limits of analogy; hermeneutics: concept of greatness. |
Note:
The phrase "hyya qyyum" (היא קיומא) appears in the Kaddish D'Rabbanan (Rabbis' Kaddish), a version of the Kaddish prayer recited after studying Jewish texts. Here's its meaning and significance:
Translation & Context:
- Hyya (היא) = "He is"
- Qyyum (קיומא) = "the enduring/existing one"
- Full phrase: "וְקִיּוּמָא הִיא" (v'qiyyuma hi)
→ "And He is the enduring existence"
Role in Kaddish:
This phrase is part of a passage praising God’s eternal nature, emphasizing that:
"Blessing, comfort, goodness, grace, kindness, endurance, exaltation... all come from the Holy One."
It affirms God as the source of all sustenance and eternal truth, reinforcing themes of divine permanence central to the Kaddish.
Linguistic Note:
- Written in Aramaic (the language of the Talmud).
- Often chanted communally, with the congregation responding "Amen" to each line.
| Verse | Etymology | Exegesis | Bible References | Ancient Literature |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (2:255) ٱللَّهُ لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ ٱلْحَىُّ ٱلْقَيُّومُ<br>আল্লাহু লা ইলাহা ইল্লা হুয়া আল-হাইয়ু আল-কাইয়্যুমু।<br>Allah—there is no god except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of existence. | • ٱللَّهُ (Allah): Proper name, possibly from root ʾ-l-h (ʾalif-lām-hāʾ), pre-Qurʾānic in Epigraphic South Arabian as ʾlh, denoting the high god; cognates in Hebrew ʾēl/ʾĕlōah "God," Aramaic ʾălāhā, Akkadian ilu "god."<br>• إِلَـٰهَ (ilāh): Root ʾ-l-h, meaning deity; in pre-Islamic poetry (e.g., Labīd) refers to pagan gods; derived forms: ʾālihah (gods), maʾlūh (worshipped).<br>• ٱلْحَىُّ (al-ḥayy): Root ḥ-y-y, "to live"; pre-Qurʾānic in Nabataean inscriptions; cognates: Hebrew ḥay "living," Syriac ḥayyā "life," Akkadian balāṭu "to live."<br>• ٱلْقَيُّومُ (al-qayyūm): Root q-w-m, "to stand, sustain"; rare in pre-Qurʾānic Arabic, possibly influenced by Syriac qayyūmā "eternal" from Jewish liturgy; cognates: Hebrew qayyām "existing," Aramaic qayyām. | This segment affirms tawḥīd (monotheism) and divine attributes. Asbāb al-nuzūl: Narrated by Ubayy ibn Kaʿb (in al-Bukhārī and Muslim) that the verse was revealed in response to Jewish rabbis questioning Muḥammad about God's nature. Maqātil ibn Sulaymān interprets it as refuting polytheism, emphasizing Allah's uniqueness. Al-Ṭabarī cites Mujāhid and Ibn Jurayj, who explain al-ḥayy as eternally living without death, and al-qayyūm as the self-sustaining sustainer of creation. Consensus among mufassirūn (e.g., al-Zamakhsharī, al-Rāzī) on it denoting God's eternal life and sustenance; al-Qurṭubī notes disagreement on whether al-qayyūm implies "not sleeping," but majority link it to omnipotence. Ibn Kathīr references ḥadīth in Aḥmad where reciting this protects from Satan. Modern scholarship (e.g., Toshihiko Izutsu) views it as synthesizing Semitic monotheistic concepts against Arabian polytheism. | • Psalm 121:3-4 (NIV): "He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep." (Similar motif of divine wakefulness and sustenance.)<br>• Isaiah 40:28 (NIV): "Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom." (Parallels eternal life and sustenance.)<br>• Dead Sea Scrolls (1QH^a XII, 29-30): "You are the living God, and there is no other besides you," echoing monotheistic declaration; intertextually, both affirm exclusive divinity in hymnic form. | • Akkadian Enūma Eliš (Tablet IV): Marduk as "lord of the gods" who sustains the cosmos, analogous to al-qayyūm as sustainer; motif of singular divine authority.<br>• Ugaritic Baal Cycle: Baal as "the living one" (ḥy), paralleling al-ḥayy in eternal vitality.<br>• Zoroastrian Avesta (Yasna 31:7): Ahura Mazda as the "eternal sustainer" (similar to qayyūm), emphasizing monotheistic supremacy.<br>• Jewish Talmud (Berakhot 59b): God as "the living and enduring" in blessings, akin to al-ḥayy al-qayyūm.<br>• Syriac Peshitta (use in liturgy): Qayyūmā for God's eternal nature, direct cognate influence. |
| (2:255) لَا تَأْخُذُهُۥ سِنَةٌۭ وَلَا نَوْمٌۭ<br>লা তা'খুযুহু সিনাতুন ওয়া লা নাউমুন।<br>No drowsiness overtakes Him nor sleep. | • سِنَةٌ (sinah): Root s-n-w/y, "drowsiness"; rare in pre-Qurʾānic Arabic, possibly from Aramaic šintā "sleep"; cognates: Hebrew shēnāh "sleep," Syriac šentā.<br>• نَوْمٌ (nawm): Root n-w-m, "sleep"; common in pre-Islamic poetry (e.g., Imruʾ al-Qays describing fatigue); derived forms: nāʾim (sleeping), manām (dream).<br>• تَأْخُذُ (taʾkhudh): Root ʾ-kh-dh, "to take, seize"; pre-Qurʾānic in epigraphy for possession; cognates: Akkadian akādu "to seize," Hebrew ʾāḥaz. | Emphasizes God's transcendence over human frailties. Al-Ṭabarī, citing Sufyān al-Thawrī, explains it as God's eternal vigilance, contrasting with idols that "sleep." Maqātil views it as refuting anthropomorphic notions. Al-Rāzī and al-Bayḍāwī argue methodologically via negation of imperfections to affirm perfection; consensus on it denoting omnipresence. Disagreement: al-Zamakhsharī (Muʿtazilī) sees rational proof against divine incarnation, while Ibn Kathīr links to ḥadīth in Muslim about God's throne. Modern interpreters (e.g., Muḥammad ʿAbduh) highlight it as anti-anthropomorphic. | • Psalm 121:4 (NIV): "Indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep." (Direct parallel to divine non-sleep.)<br>• Isaiah 40:28 (NIV): "He will not grow tired or weary." (Similar negation of fatigue.)<br>• Nag Hammadi (Gospel of Truth 22: "The Father does not sleep," in Gnostic texts; intertextual motif of divine alertness against human limitations. | • Egyptian Book of the Dead (Spell 17): Amun-Ra as "he who does not slumber," paralleling eternal wakefulness.<br>• Greco-Roman (Homer, Iliad 2.1-2): Zeus "not held by sleep," but contrasted with gods who do sleep.<br>• Zoroastrian Gathas (Yasna 45:5): Ahura Mazda's unwearying vigilance.<br>• Talmud (Sanhedrin 94a): God "neither slumbers nor sleeps," direct echo in liturgy.<br>• Enoch (1 Enoch 39:12): The "Holy One" who never sleeps, watching over creation. |
| (2:255) لَّهُۥ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَمَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ<br>লাহু মা ফিস্-সামাওয়াতি ওয়া মা ফিল্-আরদি।<br>To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. | • سَّمَـٰوَٰتِ (samāwāt): Root s-m-w, "sky, heaven"; pre-Qurʾānic in poetry for celestial realms; cognates: Hebrew shāmayim, Akkadian šamû, Aramaic šmayyā.<br>• ٱلْأَرْضِ (al-arḍ): Root ʾ-r-ḍ, "earth, land"; common in Epigraphic Arabic; cognates: Hebrew ʾereṣ, Syriac ʾarʿā, Ugaritic ʾarṣ. | Affirms divine sovereignty. Al-Ṭabarī cites Ibn Jurayj: Everything is God's possession, negating partners. Maqātil links to refuting pagan claims of divine offspring. Consensus in tafsīrs (e.g., al-Qurṭubī, Ibn Kathīr) on absolute ownership; al-Rāzī reasons philosophically that creation implies possession. Ḥadīth in al-Bukhārī describes God's dominion. Modern views (e.g., Fazlur Rahman) see ecological implications. | • Psalm 24:1 (NIV): "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it."<br>• Deuteronomy 10:14 (NIV): "To the Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it."<br>• Dead Sea Scrolls (1QM XII, 7): "Yours is the heaven and the earth," in war hymns; intertextual sovereignty motif. | • Akkadian (Epic of Gilgamesh Tablet I): Anu owns heavens and earth, but shared among gods.<br>• Ugaritic (KTU 1.3): El's dominion over heavens and earth.<br>• Avesta (Yasna 44:3): Ahura Mazda as creator-owner of skies and land.<br>• Midrash (Genesis Rabbah 1:14): God's ownership of creation.<br>• South Arabian inscriptions (RES 3945): ʿAthtar owns heavens and earth. |
| (2:255) مَن ذَا ٱلَّذِى يَشْفَعُ عِندَهُۥٓ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِهِۦ<br>মান যা আল্লাযী য়াশফা'উ 'ইন্দাহু ইল্লা বিইযনিহি।<br>Who is it that can intercede with Him except by His permission? | • يَشْفَعُ (yashfaʿu): Root sh-f-ʿ, "to intercede"; pre-Qurʾānic in poetry for mediation; derived forms: shafāʿah (intercession), shafīʿ (intercessor); cognates: Hebrew sāphaʿ "to mediate," Syriac šapʿā.<br>• إِذْنِ (idhn): Root ʾ-dh-n, "permission"; from Aramaic ʾidnā "ear, permission"; cognates: Akkadian uznu "ear." | Rhetorical question denying unauthorized intercession. Asbāb: Linked to Quraish idols (al-Ṭabarī via Mujāhid). Maqātil: Refutes Christian saint intercession. Al-Zamakhsharī (rationalist) sees conditionality; al-Rāzī disagrees with Ashʿarīs on prophetic intercession, citing ḥadīth in Muslim. Consensus on permission requirement; modern (e.g., al-Ṭabarāwī) ties to judgment day. | • Job 33:23-24 (NIV): "Yet if there is an angel at their side, a messenger, one out of a thousand, sent to tell them how to be upright, and he is gracious to that person and says to God, 'Spare them from going down to the pit.'"<br>• Romans 8:34 (NIV): "Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us."<br>• Nag Hammadi (Apocryphon of John 25): Divine intermediaries with permission; intertextual conditional mediation. | • Akkadian (Atrahasis Epic): Gods intercede with Enlil's permission.<br>• Greco-Roman (Plato, Republic 10.617e): Intercession in afterlife by divine allowance.<br>• Talmud (Yoma 87a): High Priest intercedes on Yom Kippur with divine permission.<br>• Avesta (Yasht 8:13): Angels intercede only by Ahura's will.<br>• Jubilees 30:20: Angels intercede for the righteous with God's consent. |
| (2:255) يَعْلَمُ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ<br>য়া'লামু মা বাইনা আইদীহিম ওয়া মা খালফাহুম।<br>He knows what is before them and what is behind them. | • يَعْلَمُ (yaʿlamu): Root ʿ-l-m, "to know"; pre-Qurʾānic in inscriptions; cognates: Hebrew yādaʿ, Akkadian idû, Aramaic ydaʿ.<br>• بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ (bayna aydīhim): Idiomatic for "before them" (future/present); root y-d-y "hand."<br>• خَلْفَهُمْ (khalfahum): Root kh-l-f, "behind, successor"; cognates: Syriac ḥlap "to replace." | Divine omniscience over past and future. Al-Ṭabarī cites Ibn Jurayj: Encompasses all knowledge. Sufyān al-Thawrī: "Before" as deeds, "behind" as consequences. Consensus (e.g., al-Qurṭubī) on total knowledge; al-Rāzī philosophically links to causality. Ḥadīth in Aḥmad emphasizes God's knowledge. Modern (e.g., Amin Ahsan Islahi) sees narrative coherence. | • Jeremiah 23:24 (NIV): "Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?" declares the Lord. "Do not I fill heaven and earth?"<br>• Psalm 139:2-4 (NIV): "You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar... Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely."<br>• Dead Sea Scrolls (1QS XI, 11): God knows "all that is and shall be," intertextual omniscience. | • Egyptian (Pyramid Texts Utterance 273): Osiris knows past and future deeds.<br>• Greco-Roman (Stoic Epictetus, Discourses 1.14): Zeus knows all things before and after.<br>• Avesta (Yasna 31:13): Ahura knows thoughts before and behind.<br>• Talmud (Hagigah 12b): God sees past and future.<br>• Ugaritic (KTU 1.16): El knows what is before and after mortals. |
| (2:255) وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَىْءٍۢ مِّنْ عِلْمِهِۦٓ إِلَّا بِمَا شَآءَ<br>ওয়া লা য়ুহীতূনা বিশাই'ইন মিন 'ইলমিহী ইল্লা বিমা শা'আ।<br>And they encompass not a thing of His knowledge except for what He wills. | • يُحِيطُونَ (yuḥīṭūna): Root ḥ-w-ṭ, "to encompass, surround"; pre-Qurʾānic in poetry for besieging; derived: iḥāṭah (encompassing).<br>• عِلْمِ (ʿilm): Root ʿ-l-m, as above.<br>• شَآءَ (shāʾa): Root sh-y-ʾ, "to will"; cognates: Hebrew shāʾāh "to desire," Aramaic šʾā. | Limits human knowledge to divine will. Maqātil: Humans know only what God reveals. Al-Ṭabarī cites Mujāhid: Exception for prophets. Disagreement: al-Zamakhsharī (Muʿtazilī) on free will, al-Ashʿarī (via al-Bayḍāwī) on predestination. Consensus on divine monopoly; Ibn Kathīr references ḥadīth in al-Bukhārī. Modern (e.g., Sayyid Quṭb) emphasizes humility. | • 1 Corinthians 13:9-12 (NIV): "For we know in part and we prophesy in part... For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face."<br>• Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIV): "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord.<br>• Nag Hammadi (Thunder, Perfect Mind 13): Divine knowledge revealed only as willed; intertextual gnosis limitation. | • Akkadian (Enmerkar and Lord of Aratta): Gods withhold knowledge except by will.<br>• Greco-Roman (Plato, Timaeus 28c): Creator's knowledge incomprehensible except revealed.<br>• Avesta (Yasna 48:3): Wisdom granted only by Ahura's will.<br>• Patristic (Augustine, Confessions 11.12): Human mind cannot encompass divine eternity except by grace.<br>• Midrash (Ecclesiastes Rabbah 8:1): Knowledge limited to what God permits. |
| (2:255) وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ<br>ওয়া সি'আ কুরসিয়্যুহুস্-সামাওয়াতি ওয়াল্-আরদা।<br>His Kursi extends over the heavens and the earth. | • وَسِعَ (wasiʿa): Root w-s-ʿ, "to extend, encompass"; pre-Qurʾānic for capacity; cognates: Hebrew rāḥab "broad," Syriac wsʿ "to contain."<br>• كُرْسِيُّ (kursī): Possibly from Aramaic kursēʾ "throne, chair," via Akkadian kussû; cognates: Hebrew kissēʾ "throne," Syriac kursyā. | Kursī as divine throne or knowledge extent. Al-Ṭabarī cites varying views: Mujāhid says footstool, Ibn ʿAbbās says knowledge. Maqātil: Symbol of power. Disagreement: al-Rāzī prefers metaphorical (extent of dominion), al-Qurṭubī literal but vast. Consensus on grandeur; ḥadīth in Muslim describes size. Modern (e.g., Yusuf Ali) allegorical. | • Isaiah 66:1 (NIV): "This is what the Lord says: 'Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.'"<br>• Ezekiel 1:26 (NIV): "Above the vault over their heads was what looked like a throne of lapis lazuli."<br>• Dead Sea Scrolls (4Q405): Divine throne encompassing heavens; intertextual cosmic throne motif. | • Akkadian (Erra Epic I): Nergal's throne spans heavens and earth.<br>• Ugaritic (KTU 1.101): El's throne over cosmos.<br>• Avesta (Yasht 17:18): Ahura's seat extends over creation.<br>• Enoch (2 Enoch 20:1): Throne of glory above heavens.<br>• Ḥimyarite inscriptions: Throne of ʿAthtar encompassing realms. |
| (2:255) وَلَا يَـُٔودُهُۥ حِفْظُهُمَا<br>ওয়া লা য়া'ঊদুহু হিফজুহুমা।<br>And their preservation tires Him not. | • يَـُٔودُ (yaʾūdu): Root ʾ-w-d, "to tire, burden"; rare, possibly from Aramaic ʾwd "to weary"; cognates: Hebrew ʾāwad "to labor."<br>• حِفْظُ (ḥifẓ): Root ḥ-f-ẓ, "to preserve, guard"; pre-Qurʾānic in treaties; cognates: Syriac ḥpaṣ "to protect," Akkadian naṣāru. | God's effortless preservation. Al-Ṭabarī: Citing Sufyān, no fatigue in sustaining. Maqātil: Contrasts with human weakness. Consensus (e.g., Ibn Kathīr) on omnipotence; al-Rāzī reasons infinitely. Linked to earlier ḥadīth. Modern views stress sustainability. | • Isaiah 40:28 (NIV): "He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom."<br>• Psalm 121:3 (NIV): "He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber."<br>• Dead Sea Scrolls (1QH^a IX, 10): God preserves without weariness; intertextual tireless guardianship. | • Egyptian (Coffin Texts Spell 335): Nun preserves cosmos without tiring.<br>• Greco-Roman (Virgil, Aeneid 10.1): Jupiter sustains world effortlessly.<br>• Avesta (Yasna 34:11): Ahura upholds creation without fatigue.<br>• Talmud (Avodah Zarah 3b): God guards Israel without slumber.<br>• Jubilees 2:1: Sabbath rest contrasts God's tireless work. |
| (2:255) وَسِعَ كُرْسِيُّهُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ<br>ওয়া সি'আ কুরসিয়্যুহুস্-সামাওয়াতি ওয়াল্-আরদা।<br>His Kursi extends over the heavens and the earth. | • وَسِعَ (wasiʿa): Root w-s-ʿ, "to extend, encompass"; pre-Qurʾānic in poetry for spaciousness or capacity, as in descriptions of vast deserts or generous hosts; derived forms: wasīʿ (vast), mustawsiʿ (encompassing); cognates: Hebrew rāḥab "to be broad," Syriac pšṭ "to extend," Akkadian rapāšu "wide."<br>• كُرْسِيُّ (kursī): Likely borrowed from Aramaic kursēʾ or Syriac kursyā "throne, chair," tracing back to Akkadian kussû "throne"; in pre-Qurʾānic Arabic, rare but appears in Christian Arabic contexts for ecclesiastical seats; cognates: Hebrew kissēʾ "throne," Ugaritic ksu "throne." | This phrase symbolizes the vastness of divine dominion or knowledge. Asbāb al-nuzūl: No specific occasion, but al-Ṭabarī references a ḥadīth from Ubayy ibn Kaʿb (in Muslim) describing the kursī as a vast structure beneath the ʿarsh (throne). Maqātil ibn Sulaymān interprets kursī metaphorically as God's knowledge or power encompassing creation. Al-Ṭabarī compiles views from Mujāhid (kursī as footstool) and Ibn Jurayj (symbol of sovereignty), with consensus on its immensity but disagreement on literality: al-Zamakhsharī (Muʿtazilī) favors metaphorical (extent of rule, rational avoidance of anthropomorphism), while Ibn Kathīr (Salafī) leans literal, citing ḥadīth in Aḥmad on its size relative to heavens. Al-Rāzī argues philosophically for allegory to denote omnipresence, contrasting with al-Qurṭubī's balanced view allowing both. Al-Bayḍāwī synthesizes as divine control. Modern scholarship (e.g., Angelika Neuwirth) sees intertextual links to biblical throne imagery, addressing cosmological hierarchy in late antique context. | • Isaiah 66:1 (NIV): "This is what the Lord says: 'Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be?'" (Similar cosmic throne extending over creation.)<br>• Acts 7:49 (NIV): "'Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me?' says the Lord." (Direct parallel to divine seat encompassing heavens and earth.)<br>• Dead Sea Scrolls (4Q405 20-22): "The throne of your glory is forever and ever, and the footstool of your honor is established in the heavens," depicting cosmic extension; intertextually, both evoke a divine structure surpassing creation in apocalyptic visions. Gnostic Gospel of the Egyptians (Nag Hammadi IV,2): "His throne extends over the aeons and worlds," paralleling encompassing motif in esoteric cosmology. | • Akkadian Enūma Eliš (Tablet IV, lines 143-144): Marduk's throne established over the heavens and earth after cosmic ordering, analogous to kursī's extension as symbol of dominion.<br>• Ugaritic Baal Cycle (KTU 1.6 I 57-59): Baal's throne spans the heights and depths, paralleling vast divine seat.<br>• Zoroastrian Avesta (Yasht 1:25): Ahura Mazda's seat (gaēθu) encompasses the skies and lands, emphasizing sovereign expanse.<br>• Jewish Midrash (Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer 3): God's throne of glory extends from heaven to earth; Christian patristic (Gregory of Nyssa, Life of Moses 2.231) describes divine throne as infinite.<br>• South-Arabian inscriptions (CIH 547): Almighty's throne (krs¹) over heavens and earth in Ḥimyarite dedications. |
| (2:255) وَلَا يَـُٔودُهُۥ حِفْظُهُمَا<br>ওয়া লা য়া'ঊদুহু হিফজুহুমা।<br>And their preservation tires Him not. | • يَـُٔودُ (yaʾūdu): Root ʾ-w-d, "to burden, tire"; infrequent in pre-Qurʾānic Arabic, appearing in poetry for physical exhaustion (e.g., al-Aʿshā); possibly influenced by Aramaic ʾwd "to weary"; cognates: Hebrew ʾāwad "to toil," Syriac ʾwd "to labor."<br>• حِفْظُ (ḥifẓ): Root ḥ-f-ẓ, "to preserve, guard"; pre-Qurʾānic in epigraphic texts for protection oaths; derived forms: ḥāfiẓ (guardian), maḥfūẓ (preserved); cognates: Akkadian naṣāru "to guard," Hebrew ḥāfaz "to protect," Aramaic ḥpas. | Emphasizes effortless divine maintenance of creation. Al-Ṭabarī cites Sufyān al-Thawrī and Ibn Jurayj, explaining it as God's transcendence over fatigue, contrasting with created beings. Maqātil ibn Sulaymān views it as affirming omnipotence against polytheistic notions of weary gods. Consensus among mufassirūn (e.g., al-Qurṭubī, al-Bayḍāwī) on negation of weakness; al-Rāzī reasons philosophically via infinite power, while al-Zamakhsharī highlights linguistic negation for emphasis. Ibn Kathīr references ḥadīth in al-Bukhārī on divine vigilance. Disagreement minimal, but al-Ṭabarī notes some early views linking to al-qayyūm. Modern interpreters (e.g., Muhammad Asad) connect to scientific concepts of cosmic sustainability without entropy. | • Isaiah 40:28 (NIV): "Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom." (Parallel negation of divine fatigue in preservation.)<br>• Psalm 121:3-4 (NIV): "He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep." (Similar motif of tireless guardianship.)<br>• Dead Sea Scrolls (1QH^a IX, 26-27): "You preserve all things without wearying, for your strength is unending," in thanksgiving hymns; intertextually, both stress inexhaustible divine care. Gnostic Hypostasis of the Archons (Nag Hammadi II,4 94): The incorruptible one upholds realms without toil, echoing effortless sustenance. | • Egyptian Book of the Dead (Spell 175): Atum preserves creation "without wearying," paralleling tireless maintenance.<br>• Greco-Roman Hesiod's Theogony (lines 26-28): Zeus rules without fatigue, though contrasted with Titans' struggles.<br>• Zoroastrian Avesta (Yasna 57:6): The Amesha Spentas guard creation tirelessly under Ahura.<br>• Jewish Talmud (Sanhedrin 94a): God sustains the world without slumber or weariness; Syriac homilies (Ephrem, Hymns on Faith 5): Divine preservation without effort.<br>• Apocrypha (Wisdom of Solomon 13:1): The artificer maintains all without toil. |
| (2:255) وَهُوَ ٱلْعَلِىُّ ٱلْعَظِيمُ<br>ওয়া হুয়া আল-'আলিয়্যু আল-'আজীমু।<br>And He is the Most High, the Most Great. | • ٱلْعَلِىُّ (al-ʿalī): Root ʿ-l-w, "to be high, exalted"; pre-Qurʾānic in poetry (e.g., Zuhayr ibn Abī Sulmā) for lofty status; derived forms: ʿaliyy (high), taʿālī (exaltation); cognates: Hebrew ʿelyôn "most high," Akkadian elû "to ascend," Aramaic ʿillāyā "highest."<br>• ٱلْعَظِيمُ (al-ʿaẓīm): Root ʿ-ẓ-m, "to be great, mighty"; common in Epigraphic Arabic for grandeur (e.g., Nabataean inscriptions); derived forms: ʿaẓīm (great), iʿẓām (magnification); cognates: Hebrew ʿāṣûm "mighty," Syriac ʿaẓīmā "great," Ugaritic ʿẓm "strength." | Culminates the verse with attributes of transcendence and majesty. Al-Ṭabarī cites Mujāhid and Sufyān al-Thawrī: al-ʿalī as above all, al-ʿaẓīm as supremely great. Maqātil ibn Sulaymān sees it as summarizing tawḥīd against idolatry. Consensus in tafsīrs (e.g., Ibn Kathīr, al-Qurṭubī) on these as asmāʾ al-ḥusnā (beautiful names), emphasizing incomparability; al-Rāzī discusses philosophically as denoting ontological superiority, while al-Zamakhsharī highlights grammatical intensification. Disagreement: Some (via al-Bayḍāwī) prioritize al-ʿalī as spatial, others metaphorical. Ḥadīth in al-Tirmidhī (verified isnād) praises Ayat al-Kursi recitation for protection. Modern scholarship (e.g., Fazlur Rahman) views it as ethical monotheism's apex, integrating Semitic and philosophical elements. | • Psalm 99:2 (NIV): "The Lord is great in Zion; he is exalted over all the nations." (Combines greatness and exaltation.)<br>• Daniel 7:27 (NIV): "Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him." (Parallels Most High and great.)<br>• Dead Sea Scrolls (1QM XII, 7): "You are the God Most High, great above all gods," in war scroll; intertextually, both affirm supreme elevation. Gnostic Apocalypse of Peter (Nag Hammadi VII,3 79): "The Most High, the great one," in revelatory titles, echoing divine supremacy motifs. | • Akkadian Hymn to Shamash (lines 1-2): Shamash as "exalted and great" judge over all.<br>• Ugaritic Texts (KTU 1.108): El as ʿly ʿẓm, "most high and mighty."<br>• Zoroastrian Avesta (Yasna 28:5): Ahura Mazda as the "highest and greatest."<br>• Jewish Pseudepigrapha (1 Enoch 9:3): "The Most High, the Great One," in angelic invocations; Christian patristic (Basil of Caesarea, On the Holy Spirit 16): God as hyperhypsēlos megas.<br>• Indic Rigveda (10.121): Hiranyagarbha as the "exalted great one," though links are scholarly proposals via Indo-Iranian parallels. |