Tafsir of Ash-Shura 42:53

(The path of Allah): This is an appositive (badal) to the first [path] mentioned, and its attribution to the Majestic Name, followed by the description: (To whom belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on the earth), is to exalt its status, establish its rectitude, and confirm the necessity of following it. For you, and all that is within the heavens and the earth of existing things, belong to Him—by creation, ownership, and disposal—which necessitates this [submission] in the most complete manner.

(Unquestionably, to Allah do all matters return).

That is, all the matters of those who dwell in them [the heavens and earth] without exception; [they return] to no one other than Him. This will occur with the removal of intermediaries on the Day of Resurrection. Thus, there is in this a promise to those guided to the Straight Path, and a threat to those who stray from it, the nature of which is not hidden. The verb is in the imperfect tense (mudari'), which, according to our established view, remains upon its literal meaning of the future. Al-Bahr states: "The intended meaning here is continuity, as in 'Zayd gives,' meaning this is his habit." The first [view] is more manifest, and Allah the Exalted knows best.

His saying, the Almighty: (That you may warn the Mother of Cities and those around it). It is said that this points to the warning of his own noble self, for it is the mother of the cities of the souls of Adam and his children, because he, peace and blessings be upon him, was the first of the worlds in creation. From him, peace and blessings be upon him, the spirits and souls originated. It is for this reason that Adam and those below him were under his banner, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him. The Sultan of Lovers, Umar ibn al-Farid, hinted at this in the voice of the Muhammadan Reality: Though I am the son of Adam in form, I possess a meaning that bears witness to my fatherhood.

His saying, the Almighty: (And those around it), points to the souls of the people of the world, and he, peace and blessings be upon him, warned everyone according to their capacity.

It is said regarding His saying: (There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing), that it points to [both] transcendence (tanzih) and likeness (tashbih), and the Greatest Master (Sheikh al-Akbar), may his secret be sanctified, established this in a lengthy discussion.

(To Him belong the keys of the heavens and the earth), i.e., the keys to the heavens of the hearts, which contain the treasuries of His gentleness and mercy, and the earth of the souls, which contains the treasuries of His overpowering majesty and dignity. Every heart is [a vessel] for a type of His gentleness—such as gnosis, love, longing, monotheism, awe, intimacy, and contentment—and these treasures may be gathered together in a heart. Every soul is a treasury for a type of the effects of His overpowering majesty—such as ignorance, denial, rejection, polytheism, hypocrisy, greed, pride, stinginess, and gluttony—and these treasures may be gathered together in a soul. The benefit of informing us that He, the Almighty, possesses these keys is to sever the thoughts of the servants from anyone other than Him regarding the acquisition of what they desire or the averting of what they dislike.

(Allah chooses for Himself whom He wills and guides to Himself whoever turns back) points to the stations of the Majdhub (the Divinely Attracted) and the Salik (the Traveler). The Majdhub is among the elite; his Lord, the Almighty, chose him in pre-eternity and drew him into a path of "He loves them," crafting him for His own Self, the Almighty. He drew him away from both abodes (this world and the hereafter) with an attraction that equals the deeds of both the jinn and mankind. He is in a seat of truth in the presence of an All-Powerful King. The Salik is among the commonality; He guided him into the string of those who love Him through the success of guidance and the maintenance of the two feet of exertion and repentance toward the path of righteousness through the way of struggle.

(And those who argue concerning Allah after He has been responded to) points to those who argue regarding the gnosis of Allah the Exalted using the doubts of the intellect, after [the heart] had already responded to Him when He called it, and it had reached the Presence and attained unveiling and vision. Those [arguers] are behind what they claim to be proof.

(Or have they partners who have legislated for them of religion that which Allah has not permitted?) points to the disbelievers of the soul (kuffar al-nufus), for they, upon their domination of the spirits and hearts, legislated things that Allah the Exalted did not approve of, out of opposition to the Sharia and compliance with nature.

(Allah is Subtle with His servants) points to the universality of His gentleness, which is of innumerable types and unfathomable ranks. Al-Sulami narrated from the Master of the Community (al-Junayd), may his secret be sanctified: "He makes your heart subtle with light through guidance, nourishes your body with food, brings you out of the world through faith, guards you from the fire of Laza, and enables you until you look and see. This is the gentleness of the Subtle One to the weak servant."

(And those who believed and did righteous deeds)—they utilized the obligations of the Sharia to suppress nature, break the ego, purify the soul, refine the heart, and polish the spirit—[shall be] in the gardens of Paradise. In this world, they are in the gardens of connection (wasla), gnosis, and the sweetness of intimacy in seclusion. In the hereafter, they are in the gardens of Paradise, where they have whatever they wish in the presence of their Lord, according to their ranks in proximities, connections, unveilings, and the attainment of degrees, and according to the measure of their spiritual aspirations.

(Say: I do not ask you for this any payment except the love of the near of kin)—these are his relatives, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him, who were created from his noble essence and adorned with his sublime traits, such as the Imams of the Household (Ahl al-Bayt). The benefit of loving them returns to the one who loves them, for it is a cause for divine effusion (fayd), and they are the gates to Him. In the saying of the Prophet, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him, "I am the city of knowledge and its gate," there is a symbol for this, so understand the allusion.

(And it is He who accepts repentance from His servants) due to the increase of His generosity, the Almighty. Whenever He grants a servant success in repentance, He accepts it out of munificence and grace. It is said that someone asked a Sheikh: "If I repent, will Allah the Exalted accept it?" He replied: "If Allah the Exalted accepts you, you will repent to Him." Thus, the acceptance of Allah the Exalted precedes the repentance.

(And He increases them from His bounty) refers to the Vision (Ru'yah), for Paradise and its delights are created [things] that exist in the correspondence to a created thing—which is the action of the workers—while the Vision is something that relates to the Pre-eternal (al-Qadim); thus, it does not occur except through Divine bounty. In some reports, it is stated that this increase is that He allows them to intercede for their brethren.

(Respond to your Lord). The response for the commonality is fulfilling His covenant and upholding His right; for the elite, it is surrender to the pre-eternal decrees and turning away from the world, its adornments, and its desires; and for the elite of the elite among the people of love, it is the sincerity of the quest through turning away from both abodes and orienting oneself to the Presence of Majesty, by spending one’s existence in the attainment of arrival and union.

(He gives to whom He wills female [children], and He gives to whom He wills male [children] / Or He marries them [both] males and females, and He renders whom He wills barren). It is said there is a sign here regarding the conditions of the Sheikhs regarding their disciples (muridin). Among them are those to whom Allah the Exalted grants [no disciples], and among them are those who have no power of disposal over others through training and leading; this is most similar to a female, in terms of lack of disposal. Among them are those to whom He, the Almighty, grants someone who has the capacity for disposal through training and leading; this is most similar to a male. Among them are those to whom He, the Almighty, grants both, and among them are those whom He, the Almighty, renders barren, having no disciple at all.

(And it is not for any human that Allah should speak to him except by revelation or from behind a veil or that He sends a messenger to reveal by His permission what He wills; indeed, He is Exalted, Wise). My master, the Sheikh Abd al-Wahhab al-Sha'rani, said in his interpretation of the mentioned verse: Know that what prevents the hearing of the speech of the Truth is humanity (bashariyyah). If the servant rises above it, Allah the Exalted speaks to him as He speaks to the spirits detached from matter. Man is only called "human" (bashar) because of his involvement in matters that hinder him from attaining the rank of the spirit. Since he [the common man] does not reach it, Allah speaks to him in things and manifests Himself to him through them, unlike the Prophets, peace be upon them. The Truth, the Almighty, does not manifest to others except behind a veil of images. Were it not for His guidance of the servant, he would not know that He is his Lord. Know that the Truth refuses to speak to anyone other than His Self, or to be heard by anyone other than His Self. Therefore, when He addresses a servant with the intention of making him hear, He must strengthen all his faculties, for it is impossible for the originated (al-hadith) to bear the hearing of the speech of the Pre-eternal. When He did not strengthen the faculties of Moses, peace be upon him, at the time of the private discourse, he fell down senseless, for he had no capacity at that moment to accept the manifestation befitting his station. Our Prophet, however, remained firm. As for the mountain, since it did not have the rank of love through which the Truth becomes the hearing and seeing of His servant, it could not bear the hearing of the address, and it crumbled.

Know that the address of the Truth, the Almighty, to the creation is ongoing forever; however, some people understand it as an address—like Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, and those among the saints who inherited from him—and some do not know that, saying: "Such and such appeared to me," without knowing that it is the speech of the Truth with him. Our Sheikh used to say: "Umar was among the people of absolute hearing, whom Allah addresses in everything, but it has titles: if they respond to Him with Him, it is an 'address' (hadith); if they respond to Him with themselves, it is a 'conversation' (muhadatha); and if they hear His speech, the Almighty, it is not an 'address' in their regard, but rather a 'discourse' (khitab) or 'speech' (kalam)." It has been reported regarding the Mujtahids that they are the people of intimate nightly discourse (musamara).

You have learned that revelation (wahy) is what Allah the Exalted casts into the hearts of His elite servants by way of "addressing," so they obtain from it knowledge of a certain matter. If it is not like that, then it is not revelation nor discourse. For some people find in their hearts knowledge of a matter, like the necessary sciences, and it is correct knowledge, but it does not emanate from a discourse. Our speech is specifically about the Divine Discourse, which is named revelation, for Allah the Exalted made this type of revelation a means by which the one to whom it comes may benefit from the knowledge.

Know that nothing descends upon the hearts of the saints from the Divine Decree except the subtleties extending from the angelic spirits to the souls of the angels, for an angel does not descend with revelation upon anyone other than a prophet at all, nor does he command an enacted Divine matter, for the Sharia has been established. There remains only the revelation of "glad tidings" (mubasharat), which is the broader revelation; it is from the Truth to the servant without an intermediary, and it is also through an intermediary. Prophethood is defined by the intermediary, so the angel must be present in it, but the angel is not visible while delivering the message, unlike the Prophets, peace be upon them, who see the angel while he is speaking. The saint does not witness the angel except when he is not in the state of delivery; if he hears his speech, he does not see him, and if he sees him, he does not speak to him. The Gnostics do not attain what they missed of prophethood while the glad tidings remain with them, except that people vary in degrees. Among them are those who do not cease being in the glad tidings of the intermediary, and among them are those who rise above it, such as the Afrad (the Unique Ones), for they have the glad tidings with the removal of intermediaries, but they do not have the prophethoods. For this reason, the rulings are denied to them because they resemble the prophets in that they know through what is revealed to them by the Truth, as if it were an independent Sharia in appearance, yet it is not a Sharia; it is merely an exposition of it. Thus, what is terminated is the revelation of legislation, and nothing else. As for the clarification of matters summarized in the Sunnah, this is for the people of this nation so they may have insight into what they call the people to, because it is a Divine report—a report from Allah the Exalted to the servant at the hand of a hidden angel upon this inspired person. Inspiration (ilham) only occurs in goodness.

(And He inspired it [with] its wickedness and its righteousness)—He allowed it [wickedness] in the sense of inspiring it for him so he may avoid it, just as He inspired it with its piety. The most complete inspiration is to be inspired to follow the Sharia, to look into the Divine books, and to stop at their limits and commands until the rust of his nature disappears and the images of the world are impressed upon it.

As for His saying: (Or from behind a veil)—it is a Divine [address] He casts upon the hearing, not the heart, so the one upon whom it is cast perceives it and understands what He intended, [the one] who hears that. This may occur to him in the image of a manifestation, and that image addresses him—which is the very essence of the veil—and he understands from that address the knowledge it indicates, and he knows that this is a veil and that the Speaker is from behind that veil. Everyone who perceives the image of the Divine manifestation knows that this is Allah the Exalted, so the possessor of this state does not excel over others except by his knowledge that the one addressing him is from behind a veil.

As for His saying: (Or He sends a messenger)—this is what the angel descends with, or what the human messenger brings to us, if they transmit the speech of Allah specifically, such as the reciters. If they transmit knowledge they found within themselves and expressed clearly, that is not Divine speech. Some saints are given the translation from Allah the Almighty in the state of delivery and the specific revelation to every human, so the translator is present for the images of the verbal or conceptual letters, and the spirit of those images is the speech of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, and nothing else. A saint might say: "My heart related to me from my Lord," meaning from the specific aspect. Know this and reflect upon what I have established for you, for it is precious, and Allah the Exalted takes charge of your guidance. He, may his secret be sanctified, has much to say in this station, which we have omitted for fear of prolongation. Perhaps what we have mentioned is sufficient for those of understanding.

(And thus We have revealed to you a spirit of Our command)—it is that by which the eternal, good life is attained. (You did not know what the Book was or [what] faith [was] before the revelation).

It is said this refers to this revelation in this existence. He, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him, had in every state of his condition a type of revelation and the denied knowledge, for he, upon him be peace and blessings, in his being—[even before] his emergence from it—the existence of the Almighty was manifest. Otherwise, he, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him, is a Prophet, and there is no Adam, nor water, nor clay, and no prophet is conceivable without revelation.

(And indeed, you guide to a straight path), which is the monotheism purified from the angles of "others." His saying points to this: (Unquestionably, to Allah do all matters return). The Surah is completed by the success of Allah the Mighty and Majestic, and blessings and peace be upon the first light that shone from the sun of the beginning and through which [it was completed]. And praise be to Allah the Exalted.