Tafsir of Ar-Rum 30:17-18

"So exalted is Allah when you enter the evening and when you enter the morning. And to Him belongs [all] praise throughout the heavens and the earth, and at the time of your evening and when you are at the noon."

After having set forth the state of the two parties—the believers who act righteously and the disbelievers who deny the signs—and the reward and punishment that correspond to each, He, the Almighty, guides toward that which saves from the latter and leads to the former. This is done through declaring Allah, Exalted is His Majesty, free from all that does not befit His status, and through praising Him, the Exalted, extolling Him, and describing Him with the beautiful attributes and magnificent affairs of which He is worthy. The first (declaring Him free of imperfection) is placed before the second (praise) because "cleansing" (the soul) precedes "adornment." Furthermore, it is the first thing to which those who disbelieve—who were previously mentioned—are called, without delay.

The fa (in fa-subhana) is for ordering what follows it upon what preceded it. The literal view of the scholars is that Subhana here is in the accusative case due to an implied imperative verb. It is as if it were said: "When you know this, or when the state of the two parties and their final destination has become clear and manifest, then say: Subhana Allah..."—meaning: Declare Him, the Exalted, free from imperfection in a manner befitting His Majesty, at these times.

It is stated in Al-Kashf that there is a difficulty here, for "Subhana Allah" has adhered to one specific form and cannot be governed by an imperative verb because it is an "inception" (insha') of a different category. The answer is that this serves to clarify the meaning; its occurrence as a response to a condition—as in "If you do such and such, then how well you have acted"—is also an inception, yet it stands in the place of a report (khabar). It is even more eloquent in establishing the declaration of His imperfection at these times to escape the severity of His punishment and to seek the abundance of His reward. The condition and the response are spoken upon the tongues of the servants.

In the marginalia of Sheikh Zadeh, it is stated that an imperative, or rather an "inception sentence" in general, cannot be linked to a condition, because inception is the instantiation of a meaning by a word that accompanies it; if it were permissible to link it, it would necessitate its delay beyond the time of utterance, which is impermissible. What is linked to a condition is the report about the inception of wishing, hoping, praising, dispraising, interrogating, and the like. Thus, when you say, "If you do such and such, may Allah forgive you" or "How well you have acted," the meaning is: "You have done that for which you deserve that Allah forgive you" or "that you be praised," except that the inception sentence is placed in its stead for the sake of emphasis to indicate that merit. Thus, the meaning of the verse is: "If the matter is as has been established, then you must glorify Allah, the Exalted, at the aforementioned times," and it is in the meaning of an imperative to glorify Him at those times.

This is perhaps clearer than what is in Al-Kashf; in fact, the claim that the condition and response are spoken on the tongues of the servants is not apparent. Some scholars suggest that the speech is based on an implied "saying" (i.e., say: "We glorify..."), but the weakness in this is apparent. It seems that you may deny that Subhana is bound to one single method, as was mentioned first; it is permissible to govern it with an imperative verb if the context requires it and the speech indicates it. However, you seem to lean towards considering the sentence as declarative in wording but inception in meaning—meaning an imperative is intended—in order to harmonize with the sentence "To Him belongs all praise." For even if that is declarative, the report of the necessity of praise to Him for the discerning ones among the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth—as is indicated by the mention of the promise and the threat that follows it, and its derivation from it via the fa—is in the meaning of an imperative to do so in the most eloquent manner, as some great scholars have stated. Thus, it is as if it were said: "Glorify Allah, the Exalted, with a glorification that befits Him at these times, and praise Him."

The apparent view of the majority is that the sentence "To Him belongs all praise" is a conjunctive clause to the preceding sentence, and that "and at the time of your evening" is conjunctive to "when you enter the evening." Indeed, they explicitly stated this. According to this, "To Him belongs all praise" acts as a separator between the conjunct and the conjunction. In this case, the verse resembles the verse of Wudu (ablution), according to the view of the Ahl al-Sunnah. In Al-Kashshaf, it is said that "and at the time of your evening" is connected to His saying "when you enter the evening," and that the statement "To Him belongs all praise" is a parenthetical clause between them, and its meaning is that it is incumbent upon all discerning ones, among the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth, to praise Him.

Abu al-Baqa also leaned toward the sentence being parenthetical, and he considered "in the heavens" as a state (hal) from "praise." There is a dispute regarding the permissibility of the hal originating from it, given the possibility that it is a subject (mubtada'), which is the apparent view. Perhaps those who do not permit this consider the prepositional phrase to be related to the existence (thubut) necessitated by the attribution.

The intended meaning of "glorification" (tasbih) and "praise" (hamd) is their literal meaning, according to a group of eminent scholars. It is said that "glorification" refers to prayer. Abd al-Razzaq, Al-Firyabi, Ibn Jarir, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Abi Hatim, Al-Tabarani, and Al-Hakim—who authenticated it—narrated from Abu Razin that Nafi' ibn al-Azraq came to Ibn Abbas and asked: "Do you find the five prayers in the Quran?" He replied: "Yes," and then recited: "So exalted is Allah when you enter the evening" (Maghrib prayer), "and when you enter the morning" (Subh/Fajr prayer), "and at the time of your evening" (Asr prayer), "and when you are at the noon" (Dhuhr prayer). And he recited: "...and after the prayer of the night (Isha)." Ibn Abi Shaybah, Ibn Jarir, and Ibn al-Mundhir also narrated from him that he said: "This verse gathers the timings of the prayer: 'when you enter the evening' (Maghrib and Isha), 'when you enter the morning' (Fajr), 'at the time of your evening' (Asr), and 'when you are at the noon' (Dhuhr)." Al-Hasan adhered to this, to the extent that he held the verse to be Medinan, as he believed the five prayers were made obligatory in Medina, whereas in Mecca, the obligation was two rak'ahs at whatever time the prayer occurred. However, the correct view is that they were made obligatory in Mecca, and the Hadith of the Mi'raj provides clear evidence for this.

Imam Al-Razi preferred interpreting tasbih as "declaration of imperfection" (tanzih). He said: "It is stronger, and following it is more appropriate because it encompasses prayer." This is because the tanzih commanded involves:

1. Tanzih by the heart: which is certain belief.
2. Tanzih by the tongue: which is good remembrance (dhikr).
3. Tanzih by the limbs: which is righteous action.

The first is the foundation, the second is the fruit of the first, and the third is the fruit of the second. For when a person believes in something, it manifests from his heart to his tongue; and when he speaks, the sincerity of his words manifests in the state of his actions. The tongue is the interpreter of the heart, and the limbs are the proof of the tongue. Prayer is the best of the actions of the limbs, and it contains remembrance by the tongue and intention by the heart; thus, it is tanzih in reality. When the Exalted says, "Glorify Me," this is one of the types of tanzih, and an absolute command is not restricted to one type over another; therefore, it must be applied to everything that is tanzih, making this a command for prayer.

Furthermore, our interpretation aligns with what preceded. When Allah, the Exalted, clarified that the highest station and the greatest reward are for those who believe and do righteous deeds—where He said, "As for those who believed and did righteous deeds, they will be in a garden, delighted"—He said: "When you know that this station is for those who believed and did righteous deeds—and faith is tanzih by the heart and unification (tawhid) by the tongue, and righteous deeds are the employment of the limbs—then all are tanzihs and praises. So, Subhana Allah... meaning, perform that which leads to delight in the gardens and arrival at the basins." I follow the Imam in his claim of the priority of holding to the literal meaning.

I also choose the view that His saying "To Him belongs all praise" is a parenthetical clause reinforcing the conjunction. Its meaning, according to what I heard from Al-Kashshaf, is that it is incumbent upon all discerning ones, among the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth, to praise Him. If tasbih is interpreted as prayer, then this speech reinforces the obligation, because "praise" can be used metaphorically for prayer, just like tasbih. The aspect of reinforcement lies in its indication that this is a command encompassing all the accountable ones among the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth. If it is interpreted literally, then the aspect of it is that it acts as a "rectification" (istidrak) for the command of tasbih. Since they are from the same source, each reinforces the other, indicating the eternal obligation of praise at these times and the obligation of tasbih upon the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth. As for the indication of obligation, it is from the fact that the mention of the promise and threat follows "Subhana Allah" via the fa, for it is understood that this is the necessary path for salvation from the depths and attainment of the degrees, and whatever is determined as a path for that is obligatory. Such is stated in Al-Kashf.

The Imam mentioned that there is a subtlety in this parenthetical clause: when Allah, the Exalted, commanded the servants to perform tasbih, it is as if He, the Exalted, said: "Explain to them that their tasbih of Allah is for their own benefit, not for a benefit that returns to Allah, the Exalted. Thus, they must praise Allah, the Exalted, when they glorify Him." This is as in His saying: "They consider it a favor to you that they have accepted Islam. Say: 'Do not consider your Islam a favor to me. Rather, Allah has conferred favor upon you that He guided you to the faith.'"

Some allowed the possibility that "at the time of your evening" ('ashiyyan) is conjunctive to "in the heavens," but this was rejected because a time adverb is not conjoined to a place adverb, nor vice-versa. It is said: it is possible that it is conjoined to an implied element—i.e., "To Him belongs praise in the heavens and the earth, eternally and in the evening"—as a specification after generalization, and the clause is parenthetical or circumstantial. The specification of the aforementioned times is due to the manifestation of the traces of power, greatness, and mercy at those times. Evening is placed before morning because of the priority of night and darkness. The evening is placed before the noon because it is to the noon as the evening is to the morning. In Al-Bahr, it is said that the evening is contrasted with the evening (al-imsa') and the noon is contrasted with the morning (al-isbah), because each is followed by what it is contrasted with; the evening is followed by the evening, and the morning is followed by the noon. The scholar Abu al-Sa'ud stated that the precedence of "at the time of your evening" over "when you are at the noon" is for the sake of observing the rhythmic endings of the verses, but this is not strong. The Imam mentioned that evening is placed before morning here, but the opposite occurs in His saying: "Glorify Him morning and evening" (bukratan wa asila), because the beginning of the speech here mentions the Resurrection and return, and so does its end, and the evening is the end; thus, the end was mentioned first to remind of the Hereafter. The change of style in "at the time of your evening" is because the verb form does not come from it in the sense of "entering the evening," unlike evening (masa'), morning (sabah), and noon (zahira). Perhaps the secret in this, as it is said, is that it is not one of the times in which people's states fluctuate and change in a clear manner that justifies describing them as exiting what preceded and entering them, unlike the aforementioned times; for each of them is a time in which states change clearly. As for evening and morning, it is apparent; as for noon, it is a time when one disrobes for the midday nap (qaylula), as previously alluded to in Surah An-Nur.

The excellence of tasbih and tahmid (praise) is too manifest to require evidence. They have mentioned several reports regarding the excellence of what the verse contains. Imam Ahmad, Ibn Jarir, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Abi Hatim, Al-Sunni in Amal al-Yawm wa al-Layla, Al-Tabarani, Ibn Marduyah, and Al-Bayhaqi in Al-Da'awat narrated from Mu'adh ibn Anas from the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) that he said: "Shall I not tell you why Allah, the Exalted, named Ibrahim His 'Friend' (Khalil) who fulfilled? Because he says whenever he enters the morning and the evening: 'So exalted is Allah when you enter the evening and when you enter the morning. And to Him belongs all praise throughout the heavens and the earth, and at the time of your evening and when you are at the noon.'" Abu Dawud, Al-Tabarani, Ibn al-Sunni, and Ibn Marduyah narrated from Ibn Abbas from the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) that he said: "Whoever says when he enters the morning: 'So exalted is Allah when you enter the evening and when you enter the morning' until His saying: '...and likewise you will be brought out,' will attain what he missed in his day; and whoever says it when he enters the evening will attain what he missed of his night," along with other reports. Perhaps there is support in this for the view that "So exalted is Allah..." is spoken upon the tongues of the servants. Consider this.

Ikrimah recited: hīnan tumsūna wa hīnan tuṣbiḥūna (with tanwin on hīnan); thus, the sentence is an adjective from which the antecedent has been omitted—the estimate being "you enter the evening in it" and "you enter the morning in it." According to the reading of the majority, the sentence is in the genitive case (muḍāf ilayh), and there is no estimation of a pronoun at all.