Tafsir of Ta-Ha 20:114

"Exalted is Allah, the Sovereign..."

This is an expression of glorification for Him, the Exalted, and for what has been spent in the Quran of promises, warnings, commands, prohibitions, and other matters. It is a declaration of the purity of His exalted Essence, that the revelation of His Noble Quran should not fail to reach its utmost perfection—a perfection that originates in the fact that it causes those to whom it was revealed to abandon sins and perform acts of obedience. Within this is an expression of wonder and a summons to turn towards Him and to venerate Him.

In His description of Himself, the Exalted, by saying, "the Sovereign"—meaning the One who acts with command and prohibition, the One worthy of having His promise hoped for and His warning feared—there is an indication that the staggering blows of the Quran are divine policies containing the well-being of both worlds; none turns away from them except the forsaken and the ruined.

His saying, "the Truth," is an attribute following an attribute for Allah, the Exalted and Majestic; that is, the One who is constant in His Essence and His attributes. Al-Raghib interpreted it as "the One who brings things into existence according to what wisdom demands."

More than one scholar has permitted that it be an attribute of "the Sovereign," meaning the opposite of falsehood; that is, the Truth in His sovereignty, which He, the Exalted, possesses by virtue of His Essence. This contains an allusion that the Quran—and the promises and warnings it contains—is entirely true, and that falsehood cannot approach its sanctuary in any way. Whoever turns toward it with his entire being is a person of truth, and whoever turns away from contemplating its deterrents is a person of falsehood.

This serves as a preface to connect the prohibition of haste regarding it in His, the Exalted’s, saying: "And do not hasten with the Quran before its revelation is completed for you." This means before its revelation is fulfilled, that is, before Gabriel (peace be upon him) finishes conveying it. For indeed, it is the right of the revelation to be received in this manner, and it is likewise the right of His glorification.

Al-Tayyibi mentioned that this sentence is a conjunction to His, the Exalted’s, saying: "Exalted is Allah, the Sovereign, the Truth," because it contains the creation of wonder. It is as if it were said: "Since you have been alerted to the greatness and majesty of the One who reveals, and you have been guided to the splendor of what is revealed, then venerate His presence—the Sovereign, the Truth, who acts within the Kingdom and the Dominion—and turn with all your being toward preserving His Book and verifying its structures, and do not hasten with it."

The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), when Gabriel (peace be upon him) would cast the Quran upon him, would follow him in the pronunciation of every letter and every word, fearing that the angel (peace be upon him) would ascend and he would not have memorized it. Thus, he was forbidden from doing so, for the act of pronouncing one word might distract from hearing what follows it. It was also revealed to him: "Do not move your tongue with it to hasten with it" (75:16). He (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) was commanded to seek the expansion of knowledge and to ask for more of it from Him, the Exalted. It was said: "And say, 'My Lord, increase me in knowledge.'"

That is, instead of being hasty, ask Allah, the Exalted, for an increase in knowledge absolutely, or specifically in the Quran; for under every word—nay, every letter of it—are secrets, symbols, and immense sciences. That is more beneficial for you.

It has been said that the sentence "And do not hasten" is an interpolated clause mentioned after the revelation. It has also been said that this is a prohibition against conveying what was ambiguous before its explanation arrived—but this is not strong, for the conveyance and recitation of the ambiguous before its explanation is something whose correctness and legality are beyond doubt.

Similar to this is what was said: that it is a prohibition against ordering it to be written down before the meanings were explained to him and established with him (peace be upon him)—but this is far inferior to the former.

It has also been said that it is a prohibition against judging matters for which a Quranic revelation was about to be sent down, based on what a group reported from Al-Hasan: that a woman complained to the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) that her husband had slapped her, so he said to her, "There is retaliation between you two." Then this verse was revealed, so he (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) refrained until it was revealed: "Men are the protectors and maintainers of women" (4:34).

Al-Mawardi said: It is a prohibition against being hasty in requesting its revelation. This is because the people of Mecca and the Bishop of Najran said, "O Muhammad, tell us about such-and-such," and they set a deadline of three days for him. The revelation was delayed, and the talk spread among the Jews, who claimed that he (peace be upon him) had been overcome. This weighed heavily upon him (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), and he became eager for the revelation, so "And do not hasten" was revealed. Both of these opinions have their points, as is not hidden.

'Abd Allah [Ibn Mas'ud], Al-Jahdari, Al-Hasan, Abu Haywah, Salam, Ya'qub, Al-Za'farani, and Ibn Miqsam recited "nuqdi" with the nun of greatness, and the ya with a fatha, and "wahyahu" in the accusative. Al-A'mash recited it similarly, except that he vocalized the ya of "nuqdi" with a sukun. The author of Al-Lawami' said: This is according to the dialect of those who do not allow the fatha of the ya under any circumstances if the preceding letter is broken and it sits in a terminal position.

The verse is used as evidence for the excellence of knowledge, as he (peace be upon him) was commanded to seek an increase in it. Some have noted that he (peace be upon him) was not commanded to seek an increase in anything except knowledge. Al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah reported from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) used to say: "O Allah, benefit me with what You have taught me, and teach me what will benefit me, and increase me in knowledge; and praise be to Allah in every state."

Sa'id ibn Mansur and 'Abd ibn Humayd reported from Ibn Mas'ud that he used to pray: "O Allah, increase me in faith, understanding, certainty, and knowledge." This is only because of the exceeding excellence of knowledge, and its excellence is too apparent to be mentioned. We ask Allah, the Exalted, to provide us with an increase in it and to grant us success in acting according to what it demands.