Tafsir of An-Nur 24:41

This is an initiation of discourse addressed to the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) to signal—as established in Irshad al-'Aql al-Salim—that Allah the Exalted has poured upon him the levels of light and clarified them, and has revealed to him the most precise and hidden secrets of the kingdom of the heavens and the earth.

Al-Tabarsi said: "It is an explanation of the 'signs' which He made into a light. The address is to him (upon him be peace and prayer), but the intent encompasses all those under religious obligation." The hamzah is for confirmation (taqrir).

"Vision" (ru'ya) here signifies knowledge ('ilm). It is apparent that the application of this word to knowledge is literal, though it has been said that it is literal for physical sight and its application to knowledge is a metaphor or a figurative expression due to the relationship of necessary connection. In any case, the meaning is: "Have you not known—by revelation, unveiling, or inference—that Allah the Exalted is declared free of imperfection, time after time, in His Essence, His attributes, and His actions, from everything that does not befit His glorious status, such as deficiency or defect?" This is a spiritual declaration of perfection understood by sound intellects.

"Everyone in the heavens and the earth" includes the rational and others, whosoever they may be. For every possible existence—whether composite or simple—in its essence, its existence, and its changing states, points to a Maker who is Necessary in Existence, possessed of the attributes of perfection, and free from everything unbefitting His glorious station. The Exalted has alerted us to the full power and utmost clarity of that indication by expressing it through the terminology of tasbih (glorification), which is reserved for rational beings. This is the strongest and most manifest level of declaring perfection, treating the "tongue of state" (lisan al-hal) as the "tongue of speech" (lisan al-maqal).

The specification of this declaration of perfection is mentioned alongside the indication of His attributes of perfection because the context of the discourse is to reproach the state of the disbelievers for their failure in declaring His perfection, as they attribute partners to Him in divinity, or ascribe to Him the taking of a son, and other things from which Allah is transcendently high. The application of "everyone" (man) to rational and non-rational beings is by way of dominance (taghlib). There is no need for it—or for a similar metaphor—to resort to the claim that the attribution of tasbih (which is ostensibly for rational beings) serves as the basis for the declaration, as some prominent scholars have imagined. Some have interpreted tasbih in a metaphorical sense that encompasses the glorification of both rational and non-rational beings—called a "universal metaphor" (umum al-majaz). This has been countered by the fact that some rational beings—the disbelievers among mankind and jinn—certainly do not glorify Him in that sense; their "glorification" is merely the aforementioned indication (of His existence) in which even the non-rational participate. Therein lies their reproach and denunciation. The claim that disbelievers glorify Him like the believers but "do not perceive it," as Al-Hallaj said—"My denial of You is a sanctification"—is something that those of intellect do not accept, and it is fitting that it not be accepted.

Others have said: if "everyone" is for dominance, then rational believers, rational disbelievers, and all non-rational beings are included in its generality. Thus, tasbih is interpreted in a metaphorical sense that allows it to be attributed to all of them. What prevents this? It is as you see. Abu Hayyan leaned towards keeping tasbih in its literal sense and restricting "everyone" to rational believers, but the first view mentioned is superior.

"And the birds" (in the nominative, al-tayr) is an appositive to "everyone" (man). Specifying them despite their inclusion in the general category of "those in the earth" is because their place is not fixed on earth, and they are independent, created with a brilliant craft and a wonderful design. The intent is to manifest their glorification from that perspective, given the clarity of their indication of the complete power of their Maker and the subtlety of the planning of their Originator, as expressed by the restriction in the Exalted's words: "spreading their wings" (saffat). That is, the birds glorify Him while they are spreading their wings. If He—the Exalted—grants heavy bodies that which enables them to hover in the air and move as they wish—by means of wings, tails, and hidden mechanisms—and guides them to the method of using them by contracting, expanding, and maneuvering left and right, it is an argument clearly indicating the completeness of the power of the Glorious Maker and the utmost wisdom of the Originator and Restorer.

The apposition (to "everyone") is also what Abu Hayyan considered the most likely, and he explicitly stated as much. It is reported from the majority that their glorification is literal, and its apparent meaning is that it is of the same kind as the glorification of rational beings (mankind and jinn). Perhaps those who adhere to this do not insist that literal glorification must be in the words familiar to us; otherwise, it would be impossible to claim that their glorification is literal while maintaining this requirement, as we lack the familiar words from them. It is permissible to say: He—the Exalted—inspired the birds with a specific glorification that befits them, which is different from the "glorification of state" (tasbih hali) that is the previous indication. A verb is understood as the subject, intended for that inspired meaning—i.e., "and the birds glorify." Specifying their glorification with this meaning is because their sounds are more manifest in existence and more easily interpreted as glorification, though the restriction by the "state" (hal) in this case is less elegant than the previous one.

Al-A'raj recited "and the birds" in the accusative case (al-tayra), as a comitative object (maf'ul ma'ahu). Al-Hassan and Kharijah (from Nafi') recited "and the birds, spreading their wings" (wa al-tayru saffatun) in the nominative as subject and predicate. It is apparent in this reading that His words "Each has known its prayer and its glorification" is a predicate following a predicate. In the majority's reading, it is an initiation brought to clarify the depth of the roots of each of those mentioned (from the birds and those included in the generality of "everyone in the heavens and earth") in declaring His perfection, and the firmness of their standing in it, by representing their state as the state of one who knows what issues from him of deeds, so he performs them with intent and purpose, not by coincidence without consideration.

The Exalted has embedded within this the indication that each of the things mentioned—along with the aforementioned declaration of perfection—has an essential need for Him, the Exalted, and a continuous emanation from Him for what concerns them, through the "tongue of their readiness" (lisan isti'dadihim). The reality is that every possible existence is in itself disconnected from deserving existence, but it is ready to have emanated upon it from Him—the Exalted—what befits its status of existence and the perfections that follow it, both initially and continuously. It receives emanation from Him constantly; thus, there emanates upon it in every instant forms of grace relating to its essence and attributes that the scope of speech cannot encompass, such that if the connection between it and Divine Providence were severed, it would cease to exist entirely. This spiritual emanation is expressed as "prayer" (salah), which is supplication and entreaty, to complete the representation, and it is mentioned before glorification because it precedes it in rank. So it is in Irshad al-'Aql al-Salim. The discourse is a representative metaphor.

The possessor of the noun to which the "each" (kull) refers includes the mentioned things and those included under the generality, even inanimate objects. The pronoun in "its prayer and its glorification" refers to "each one." Al-Zajjaj held this view.

Some argued that the "knowledge" ('ilm) here is a consequential metaphor (isti'ara taba'iyyah). They said in explaining this: It likens the indication of each of those mentioned regarding the Truth—by the tongue of reality and speech—and the inclination of each toward benefit (whether by choice or by nature) to the knowledge of glorification and prayer. Thus, the word "knowledge" is applied to each of those indications and inclinations by way of metaphor, and the verb "has known" is derived from it. Anyone with even the slightest taste does not find this acceptable. It was also permitted that "prayer" be a metaphor for inclination and "glorification" for indication. Even so, it is said that while this might be valid, it is not suitable for the representation. Some claimed it is better to make the possessor of the noun not include inanimate objects, but that is weak. It was permitted that the pronoun in "its prayer and its glorification" refers to Allah the Exalted, on the basis that the genitive construction is for the object. It was also permitted that it refers to each of those in the heavens and the earth, and the pronoun in "has known" refers to Allah the Exalted.

Many said: It is permissible that there is no metaphor here, and "knowledge" is in its literal sense, meaning absolute perception. What the "each" refers to (in place of a noun) is types of birds or individuals, and "prayer" and "glorification" refer to what Allah the Exalted inspired each one with of specific supplication and glorification. This inspiration is not counted as lost; the Exalted has inspired every type of animal with precise sciences that even the greatest of intellects could hardly find their way to. This is something that cannot be denied at all. How could it be? The hedgehog, despite being one of the animals furthest from perception, is said to sense the north and south winds before they blow, so it changes the entrance to its burrow. The sentence, in this view, is to declare the complete firmness in both matters, and that their issuing from the birds is not by way of coincidence without consideration, but by knowledge and mastery—similar to what passed, but not by way of representation.

A verb is understood as the subject for "the birds," i.e., "and the birds glorify," as previously mentioned. It is not made an appositive to "everyone" in the nominative; it is said that this is because it would lead to interpreting the glorification (indicated by the mentioned action) as a metaphorical meaning encompassing the glorification of speech and state from rational and non-rational beings, and what is wrong with that has already been discussed. It is permitted to make what the "each" refers to encompass birds and others included in the previous generality, but the objection is that among those included in the generality are inanimate objects, and knowledge is not attributed to them, even if it meant absolute perception. One who insists that they have knowledge, and that He, the Exalted, inspired them with a prayer and glorification befitting them—that is something not accepted by many people. What relates to this station has already passed in Surat al-Isra', so remember it.

Some permitted, on the assumption that knowledge is taken in its literal meaning, that the apposition of glorification to prayer is an apposition of explanation ('atf al-tafsir). You know that if this is accepted in that view, what prevents accepting it in the previous view of making the metaphor a representative one? Indeed, the "integration" (idmaj) that was pointed to earlier is missed in that case, but that is not a prevention. The truth is that the probability of explanation is distant, and there is no call to commit to it; rather, what is missed is missed, as is not hidden.

His words: "And Allah is Knowing of what they do."

That is, of that which they do. An intercalary suffix confirming the content of what preceded it. "What" (ma) is either an expression for the indication that encompasses all existents (rational and otherwise), and expressing it as an "act" assigned to the pronoun of the rational beings is due to what we pointed out at the beginning of the discussion. Or, it is an expression for that and the glorification specific to the birds together, or for the glorification of the birds only; thus, the "act" is literal, and its assignment to the pronoun of the rational beings is for the reason that passed. The intercalation, in this case, confirms the glorification of the birds only, and in the first two cases, it confirms the glorification of all. Or, it is an expression for what is broader than prayer and glorification, including other acts issuing from whoever is in the heavens and the earth and the states occurring to them; the intercalation, in this case, confirms the content of "each has known," meaning: Allah the Exalted knows its prayer and its glorification. The matter of expressing it as an "act" and assigning it to the pronoun of rational beings is not hidden. Because of the multiplicity of angles in what passed, the probabilities here are multiplied, so ponder and do not be negligent.

Al-Hassan, 'Isa, Salam, and Harun from Abu 'Amr recited "you do" (taf'alun) with the second-person ta'. There is, as it is said, a threat and intimidation in this. Perhaps the apparent meaning is that the address in it is to the disbelievers. It may be permissible that the plural pronoun in the majority's reading also refers to them, meaning that the intent of the sentence is to intimidate them for their turning away from His glorification, after He, the Exalted, informed us about whom He informed that they have known their prayer and glorification. Although this is distant, in the mentioned reading it is a type of support for it.