Tafsir of Al-Ahzab 33:43

{ He it is who sends blessings upon you } This is a new sentence, serving as a justification for what preceded it regarding the two aforementioned matters. { And His angels } is a conjunction linked to the pronoun in "yusalli" (He sends blessings), due to the separation which makes emphasis by a detached pronoun unnecessary, rather than being linked to "Huwa" (He).

As for the meaning of "Salah" (blessing/prayer), it is famously—and this is narrated from Ibn Abbas—that from Allah the Exalted, it is mercy; from the angels, it is seeking forgiveness (istighfar); and from the believers among humans and jinn, it is supplication.

According to those who permit the usage of a word in two meanings simultaneously, it is permissible that "Salah" here is intended to convey the first two meanings, such that it means first mercy and secondly seeking forgiveness. Those who do not permit this, like our scholars, argue for the generality of a figurative meaning (umum al-majaz), whereby "Salah" is meant to signify a general figurative concept of which both meanings are individual instances. This is either "concern for that which contains the goodness and welfare of the addressees," as both mercy and seeking forgiveness are true instances of this. This figurative interpretation of "Salah" as supplication is either a metaphor, because concern resembles supplication in that both are accompanied by the desire for good and that which is beloved, or it is a loose metaphor (majaz mursal) because supplication is a result of that concern.

As for "showing mercy" and "spiritual inclination" derived from the known ritual prayer—which includes the physical inclination of bowing and prostration—there is no doubt that the angels' seeking forgiveness and their supplication for the believers is a form of showing mercy to them. As for the claim that this is the cause of mercy because their supplication is answered, as some have said, it is a matter of debate.

It is considered more likely that the general meaning is as mentioned, because it is closer to what follows in the verse, as He explicitly stated: { And He is ever Merciful to the believers. } This indicates that the intended meaning of "Salah" is mercy. This has been objected to on the grounds that "rahima" (to have mercy) is a transitive verb, whereas "salla" (to send blessings) is intransitive, so it is not appropriate to define one by the other. Furthermore, it entails the permissibility of saying "rahima 'alayhi" (He had mercy upon him), and that the Exalted has distinguished between them by saying: { Those are they upon whom are blessings from their Lord and mercy, } where the conjunction implies a distinction.

The response to this is that the intent of explaining "salla" by "rahima" is merely to clarify that the meaning assigned to "salla" is the same as the meaning assigned to "rahima," regardless of the matters of transitivity and intransitivity. Synonyms often differ in such aspects, and that is not harmful. Thus, the claim that it is inappropriate and entails the permissibility of "rahima 'alayhi" is unfounded. Moreover, it is appropriate to use "salla" with the preposition "ala" (upon) unlike "rahima," because the former shows the appearance of the meaning of tenderness, compassion, and affection, and because "Salah" is a specific form of mercy. This degree of distinction is sufficient.

It has also been said that the multiplicity of the subject makes the verb like multiple verbs; it is as if mercy is intended by one word and seeking forgiveness by another. Thus, there is no need to argue for the generality of the metaphor. There is no usage of a single word, in reality or rule, for two meanings here; it is as you see. Similar to this is the case where { His angels } is an inchoative (mubtada') with a deleted predicate, due to the indication of what precedes it—as if it were said: "He it is who sends blessings upon you, and His angels send blessings upon you." Thus, there are two words, each with its own meaning.

God willing, what will give you more knowledge regarding the matter of "Salah" will follow. The cause of the revelation of the verse is what Abd ibn Humayd and Ibn al-Mundhir recorded: When { Indeed, Allah and His angels send blessings upon the Prophet } was revealed, Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Allah the Exalted has not revealed any good to you but that He has included us in it," so the verse { He it is who sends blessings upon you, and His angels } was revealed.

{ That He may bring you out from the darknesses into the light }—that is, from the darknesses of disobedience into the light of obedience. Al-Tabarsi said: "From ignorance of Allah the Exalted to knowledge of Him." For ignorance is most like darkness, and knowledge is most like light. Ibn Zayd said: "From misguidance to guidance." Muqatil said: "From disbelief to belief." It is said: "From the Fire to Paradise," as narrated by al-Mawardi. It is also said: "From the graves to the resurrection," as narrated by Abu Hayyan, but it is weak. The particle "lam" is connected to "yusalli"—meaning He, the Exalted, and His angels show concern for you or show mercy for you in order to bring you out thereby from the darknesses into the light.

{ And He is ever Merciful to the believers } is an interjection, confirming the content of what precedes it. It means He, the Exalted, is possessed of complete mercy toward all the believers—of whom you are a group—and therefore He does for you what He does, both directly and indirectly. Or, He is merciful to you, and the term "the believers" is used in place of the pronoun as a form of praise for them and to signal the cause of that mercy.