Tafsir of As-Sajdah 32:5

"He directs the command" — it is said: meaning the affair of the world and its matters. The origin of tadbir (directing/managing) is to look into the aftermath of a matter and reflect upon it so that it may result in a praiseworthy outcome. In relation to Him, the Almighty and Exalted, it is a metaphor for willing a thing in a manner of perfection and observance of wisdom. The verb is implicitly imbued with the meaning of "sending down" (inzal), and the two prepositional phrases "from the heaven" and "to the earth" in His saying, "from the heaven to the earth," are connected to it. "From" (min) is for beginning and "to" (ila) is for termination; meaning: He, the Exalted, wills it with perfection and observance of wisdom, sending it down from the heaven to the earth. Its descent from the heaven is with respect to its causes, for its causes are celestial, consisting of the angels (peace be upon them) and others.

"Then it will ascend" — that is, climb and rise— "to Him," the Almighty and Exalted, after its directing. This ascension is a metaphor for its fixity in His, the Exalted’s, knowledge; meaning that His—the Glorified and Exalted—attachment to it is an actualizing attachment, in that He, the Majestic and Exalted, knows it as existing in actuality, or it refers to its being recorded in the scrolls of the angels (peace be upon them) who are tasked with His, the Almighty’s, command, as existing likewise.

"In a day the measure whereof is a thousand years of those which you count" — that is, in a long stretch of time. The intent is not the literal number; rather, the extended duration is expressed as "a thousand" because it is the limit of the ranks and the farthest of ends; there is no rank above it except that which branches out from its constituent numerical ranks.

The two verbs compete over the prepositional phrase, and the second of the two is given governance over it. Thus, the verse signifies the length of the time span between the attachment of His, the Glorified’s, will to the existence of events in their appointed times—perfectly and with wisdom observed—and their existence as such. Its apparent meaning suggests that their existence does not depend on a second attachment of the will, but rather the previous attachment suffices.

It is said: "in a day" is connected to "ascend" and the two verbs do not compete over it. The "ascension of the command to Him" after He, the Exalted, has directed it, means the arrival of the report of its actual existence, just as He, the Glorified, directed it by means of the angels and presented it in a station which He, the Exalted, has prepared for testing, by that which He, the Majestic and Exalted, knows better, to demonstrate the perfection of His greatness, Blessed be He, and the greatness of His authority, Exalted be His authority. This is like the angels (peace be upon them) presenting the deeds of the servants, which appears in the reports. A thousand years is taken as its reality, which is the distance between the earth and the convex surface of the lowest heaven according to the standard journeying of humans; for that which is between the heaven and the earth is five hundred years, and the thickness of the heaven is likewise, as stated in the authentic traditions, and the angel traverses that in a short time. Thus, the speech is metaphorical, as if it were said: He, the Exalted, wills the command perfectly, observing wisdom within it, by means of celestial causes whose effects and decrees descend to the earth, so it comes to be as He, the Exalted, willed. Then that command ascends with the angel, and the report of it rises to His presence, the Exalted, in a time that is like a thousand years of those which you count.

It is said: the ascension to Him, the Exalted, is the rising of the report of the command with the angel to Him, the Almighty and Exalted, as is narrated from Ibn Abbas, Qatadah, Mujahid, Ikrimah, and al-Dahhak. The two verbs are competing over "in a day," and the meaning is that it is the time of directing the command—if humans were to direct it—and the time of ascension—if it were also from them—otherwise, the time of directing and ascension is brief.

It is said: the meaning is that He directs the affair of the world by manifesting it in the Preserved Tablet, then the angel assigned to it descends from the heaven to the earth, then the angel, or the command with the angel, returns to Him, the Exalted, in a time that is—in view of the descent and ascension—like a thousand years of those which you count. By this, it is meant the measure of what is between the earth and the concave of the lowest heaven, going and coming. The apparent reading is that "directs" is imbued with the meaning of "descending," and the two prepositional phrases are connected to it, not to a hidden verb; meaning: the angel descends with it from the heaven to the earth, as has been said. Some have claimed that the pronoun in "to Him" refers to the heaven, and it can be feminine, as in His saying: "The heaven is cleft asunder thereby."

It is said: the meaning is that He, the Exalted, directs the affair of the whole world from the heaven to the earth for every day of the days of the Lord, the Glorified in His Majesty, and that is a thousand years, as He, the Exalted, said: "And a day with your Lord is as a thousand years of those which you count." Then it returns to Him, the Exalted, and is established with Him, the Almighty and Exalted, and is recorded in the scrolls of His angels, the Glorified and Exalted, at every moment of the moments of this duration, whatever rises of that command and enters into existence until the duration reaches its end. Then it is directed again for another day, and so on, until the Hour is established. This is indicated by what is narrated from Mujahid, who said: "He, the Exalted, directs and casts to the angels the affairs of a thousand of our years, which is a day with Him, the Exalted. When it is finished, He casts to them its like." On this view, "the command" means the affair/matter, and the two prepositional phrases are connected to it, or to a hidden state of it, and there is no inclusion of the meaning of "descending" in "directs." The ascension to Him, the Exalted, is a metaphor for its establishment and being written in the scrolls of the angels. "A thousand years" is taken literally, and "in a day" is connected to both verbs, with the second being given governance; as if it were said: He directs the command for a day whose measure is such-and-such, then it ascends to Him, the Exalted, within it. Just as you say, "I intended and looked into the book," meaning: I intended the book and looked into it; the difference in the prepositions does not prevent the competition. The repetition of the directing until the Day of Resurrection is indicated by the shift to the imperfect tense, even though the command is past, as if it were said: He renews this command continuously.

It is said: the meaning is that He directs the affair of the world from the heaven to the earth until the Hour is established, then that entire command ascends to Him, the Exalted—that is, it returns to Him, the Exalted, to be judged upon—in a day the measure whereof is a thousand years; and that is the Day of Resurrection. On this view, "the command" means the affair, and the two prepositional phrases are connected to it, or to a hidden state of it, as in the previous one. The ascension to Him, the Exalted, is the return to Him, the Exalted—not to be established in the scrolls of the angels, but for Him, the Majestic and Exalted, to judge regarding it. "In a day" is connected to the ascension, and there is no competition. The meaning of a day whose measure is such-and-such is the Day of Resurrection. This does not contradict His saying: "whose measure is fifty thousand years," based on one of the two interpretations regarding it, due to the variation in elongation according to the severity, or because there are fifty stations, each station being a thousand years.

It is said: the meaning is the revelation descends with Gabriel (peace be upon him) from the heaven to the earth, then what exists of its acceptance or rejection returns to Him, the Exalted, with Gabriel (peace be upon him) in a day the distance of the travel in which is a thousand years, which is what is between the heaven and the earth, downward and upward. On this view, "the command" refers to the revelation, as in His saying: "He sends down the Spirit from His command." The ascension to Him, the Exalted, is an expression for the report of acceptance and rejection along with the ascension of Gabriel (peace be upon him). Both directing and ascending are in a day, but based on expansion and distribution. Thus, the verbs compete over the adverb, but there is no difference in the preposition, and the verse does not contradict His saying: "The angels and the Spirit ascend to Him in a day the measure whereof is fifty thousand years," based on the other view regarding it—and you shall know them, God willing—because the ascension there is to the Throne, while here it is to the lowest heaven, and both are ascensions to God on a metaphorical basis.

It is said: the intent by "the command" is that which is commanded of acts of obedience and righteous deeds. The meaning is: He, the Exalted, sends it down as directed from the heaven to the earth, then it is not acted upon, nor does that which is commanded ascend to Him, the Exalted, purely as He finds satisfactory, except in a long duration, due to the scarcity of sincere servants. On this view, "directs" is imbued with the meaning of "descending," and "from" and "to" are connected to it. The meaning of ascension is rising, as in His saying: "To Him ascends the good word." The purpose of "the thousand" is the elongation of the duration, and the meaning is the scarcity of the worship of the sincere and the length of the time between the directing and the occurrence. "Then" is for remoteness. This meaning is inferred from His saying immediately after: "Little are you grateful," because the speech is partially connected to the other, and the scarcity of gratitude with the presence of those bounties indicates the scarcity of that which was mentioned.

It is said: the meaning is that He directs the affair of the sun in its rising from the east and its setting in the west and its rotation in the world from the heaven to the earth. The time from its rising until it sets and returns to its place of rising is a thousand years in distance, and it traverses that in a day and a night.

This is what they have said in the noble verse in clarification of what is intended by it. It is not hidden from a person of intellect that most of these views are forced and strongly contrary to the apparent meaning, and they are before you; so choose for yourself what you find pleasing. It appears to me that the intent by "the heaven" is the direction of height, like in His saying: "Are you secure that He who is in the heaven," and by the ascension of the command to Him, the Exalted, is the rising of its report, as you heard from the group. "In a day" is connected to the ascension without competition. I say: the verse is among the ambiguous (mutashabih) ones. I believe that God, the Exalted, directs the affairs of the world and its matters and wills them to be perfected, and He, the Exalted, is established upon His Throne, and that is the directing from the direction of height. Then the report of that ascends with the angel to Him, the Almighty and Exalted, to demonstrate the increase of His greatness—Exalted be His greatness—and the greatness of His authority—Exalted be His authority—to a judgment about which He, the Majestic and Exalted, is more knowing. All of this is in a sense befitting Him, the Exalted, consistent with transcendence, and distinct from anthropomorphism, just as the predecessors say regarding its likes. Some of them say: "The Throne is the place of directing, that which is below it is the place of detailing, and that which is below the heavens is the place of execution." This bears a trace of what we have mentioned. As for the estimation of the day of ascension here as a thousand years and in another verse as fifty thousand years, there has been much discussion in reconciling it, and some of it has already passed for you.