Tafsir of Al-Hijr 15:87

(Meaning: seven verses, which is al-Fatiha). This is narrated from Umar, Ali, Ibn Abbas, Ibn Mas’ud, Abu Ja’far, Abu Abdullah, al-Hasan, Mujahid, Abu al-‘Aliyah, al-Dahhak, Ibn Jubayr, and Qatadah, may Allah the Exalted be pleased with them. It has also been attributed to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, in a marfu’ (elevated) hadith transmitted by Abu Hurairah and Ubayy bin Ka’b, may Allah be pleased with them.

It is also said: [The seven are] seven surahs, which are the Tiwal (the long ones). This is also narrated from Umar, Ibn Abbas, Ibn Mas’ud, Ibn Jubayr, and Mujahid. In one narration, these are al-Baqarah, Al 'Imran, an-Nisa', al-Ma'idah, al-An'am, al-A'raf, and al-Anfal combined with Bara'ah as one surah. In another, Bara'ah is counted as the seventh, excluding al-Anfal. In another, Yunus is counted instead of those two. In another, al-Kahf is counted. It is also said: The seven are the Al-Ha-Mim (the chapters starting with these letters). It is also said: Seven scrolls from the scriptures revealed to the prophets, peace be upon them, in the sense that he, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, was given that which contains the essence of seven of them, even if not in their literal wording—these being the "seven parts" (al-asba’). From Ziyad bin Abi Maryam: they are seven matters—commandment, prohibition, glad tidings, warning, parables, enumeration of blessings, and stories of nations.

The most correct of these opinions is the first, which has been recorded by al-Bukhari, Abu Dawud, and al-Tirmidhi as a marfu’ narration. Abu Hayyan stated: "One should not deviate from this, indeed it is not permitted."

An objection was raised against the opinion that they are the seven long surahs: this surah (al-Hijr) is Meccan, while those seven are Medinan. This was reported from al-Rabi’; for al-Bayhaqi in al-Shu’ab, Ibn Jarir, and others recorded that it was said to him, "They say it is the seven long ones," to which he replied, "This verse was revealed while none of the long ones had been revealed yet." The response to this is that the intent behind "having given you" is their descent to the lowest heaven, and there is no difference between the Meccan and Medinan in this regard. This was countered by the fact that the apparent meaning of "We have given you" resists this. Another said: This is a case of treating the expected as the actual for the purpose of expressing favor, of which there are many instances.

(The المثاني - al-Mathani) is an exposition of the "seven." According to what is stated in al-Kashshaf, it is the plural of mathna, meaning "repeated and recurring." It is possible that mathna is the muf’al form from tathniyah (doubling/repetition), as in His saying, “Then return [your] vision twice”—meaning time after time—and similar to their saying “Labbayk wa sa’dayk.” As stated in al-Kashf, the intent is the plural of the meaning of repetition and recurrence, as he "doubled" it for that purpose. However, using the word mathna for this meaning is more common because it is the first stage of repetition. It is possible he means that mathna signifies repetition and recurrence, just as the explicit mathna does in phrases like "two times," then [the form] is pluralized for hyperbole. His saying "from tathniyah" is an clarification of the meaning because it is from mathna in the sense of doubling. The first [view] is more likely when looking at the outward form of the expression, while the second is more likely when looking at the root.

He stated in another place: It is from tathniyah (doubling) or thana' (praise), and the singular is mathnah or mathniyah with a fatha on the mim according to most manuscripts; otherwise, it is measured—according to what the precise scholar said regarding the wording—as being derived from thana' (praise), or mathani is the plural of mathna (a noun of location), originally used as a description for hyperbole, like ard ma’sadah (a land of lions), because the place of praise or the place of the "doubled" occurs metaphorically. There is no distance in the field of grammar for it to be transferred [from a location] and not invented ab initio.

Assigning this name to al-Fatiha is because its recitation is repeated in prayer. This is narrated from al-Hasan and Abu Abdullah, may Allah have mercy upon them. Al-Zajjaj said: It is because it is "doubled" by what is recited after it from the Quran. It is also said—and attributed to al-Hasan—that it is because it was revealed twice: once in Mecca and once in Medina. This is countered by the fact that it was called by this name before its second revelation, for the surah—as you have heard more than once—is Meccan. It is also said: because many of its words are repeated, such as al-Rahman and al-Rahim, Iyyaka, al-Sirat, and alayhim. It is said: because it comprises the praise of Allah. These two opinions are as you see.

It is also said—and attributed to Ibn Abbas and Mujahid—that assigning al-Mathani to al-Fatiha is because Allah, Glorified be He, chose it and reserved it for this nation, not giving it to others. This "reservation" has also been reported regarding other things. In other instances, it is said that it is because its recitation, words, stories, or admonitions are repeated, or because it contains praise of Allah with what He is worthy of, or because it "praises" (doubles) the one who speaks it. Abu Zayd al-Balkhi says that the term al-Mathani is applied to it because it turns (yathni) the people of evil away from their evil. Reflect upon this. It is also permitted that "the Mathani" refers to the entire Quran. Ibn al-Mundhir and others recorded this from Abu Malik. We will later, Allah willing, discuss the rationale for applying this term to it amidst the difference between the singular and plural, and that it may refer to all the Books of Allah, in which case "from" (min) is for partitive meaning, whereas in the first [view] it is for exposition.

(والقرآن العظيم - And the Great Quran) in the accusative case, is a conjunction joined to "seven." If by "seven" one means the verses, surahs, or the seven matters reported from Ziyad, then this is the conjunction of the whole to the part, meaning by "the Quran" the collection of what is between the two covers; or it is the conjunction of the general to the specific, meaning the shared meaning between the whole and the part. This contains an indication of the distinction of the specific, as if it were something else, as is the case in its inverse. If one means by it the "seven parts," then it is the conjunction of one of the two descriptions to the other, as in the poet's saying: "To the King, the noble, the son of the brave." This is based on the premise that the Quran itself is the "seven parts," i.e., "We have given you that which is called the Seven Mathani and the Great Quran." Some preferred interpreting the "Great Quran"—like the Seven Mathani—as al-Fatiha, based on what al-Bukhari recorded from Abu Sa’id bin al-Mu’alla: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: "'All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the Worlds' is the Seven Mathani and the Great Quran which I have been given." In al-Kashf, it is stated that it being both [titles for] al-Fatiha is more in accordance with the demands of the context, due to what passed regarding the specification of "the Book and the clear Quran" as that surah, and it is more strongly matched to the reality, for at that time he, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, had not yet been given the entire Quran. And the matter of the conjunction is known from what preceded it.

A group recited "and the Quran" in the genitive case, as a conjunction to "al-Mathani." It is far-fetched for those who claim that the waw is redundant and the estimation is "seven of the Mathani—the Great Quran."