Tafsir of Ar-Rahman 55:1-2

Because it is the greatest of blessings in status and the highest in position. How could it not be, when it is the axis of religious and worldly happiness, and the standard by which heavenly scriptures are measured? There is no vantage point toward which the eyes of aspirations gaze but that He is its creator and foundation, and there is no goal toward which the necks of ambitions stretch but that it is its path and straight road.

The word "taught" (‘allama) has the Quran as its second object, while its first object is omitted due to the indication of the meaning toward it—that is, "He taught man the Quran." This object [man] is the one that was the subject before the verb was shifted to the doubled form (taf‘īl). The Imam [Fakhr al-Din al-Razi] was inattentive and assumed the omitted part was the second object, saying: "The verb 'taught' must have a second object." He abandoned this to indicate that the blessing lies in the act of teaching itself, not in teaching one person over another. It is possible to say: He [the Imam] intended that it must have another object along with this one, so one should not be certain of his inattentiveness.

It is said: The implied [first] object is Gabriel (peace be upon him) or the angels who are brought near (peace be upon them). It is also said: Muhammad (may God bless him and grant him peace). According to both these opinions, it implies that the Quran is the speech of God, Exalted is He. The first opinion [that it refers to mankind] is more evident and appropriate for the context.

I have some hesitation regarding the teaching of others than Gabriel (peace be upon him) among the noble angels, based on what is in al-Itqan, quoting Ibn al-Salah, that the recitation of the Quran is an honor with which God, the Exalted, favored human beings. It has been reported that the angels were not given this, and that they are therefore eager to listen to it from humans. I did not consider it to be general [for all angels] because of the texts indicating that Gabriel (peace be upon him) used to recite the Quran. It is as if I see you not accepting the validity of what has been mentioned, even if Gabriel (peace be upon him) is exempted from it.

It is also said: ‘allama is derived from ‘alamah (a mark/sign), and there is no omission; meaning: He made the Quran a sign and a proof for those who take heed, or a mark of Prophethood and a miracle. This, according to what has been said, aligns with what was mentioned at the beginning of the preceding surah, in the words of the Exalted: "And the moon split" (Qamar 54:1). The two surahs correspond in their openings, as the first was opened with a miracle from the category of Awe (haybah), and this one with a miracle from the category of Mercy (rahmah).

The one who said this has veered far from the truth, even if he presents a thousand justifications. What ought to be known is that it is from ta‘līm (teaching). By "teaching the Quran," it is said: granting knowledge of it, not in the sense of granting knowledge of its words only, but in the sense of granting that along with knowledge of its meanings in a way that is worthy of consideration. This varies, and it may reach the point of knowledge of cosmic events through its signs and symbols, and other things, for God, the Exalted, did not overlook anything in it.

Abu al-Shaykh extracted in Kitab al-‘Azamah from Abu Hurayrah in a marfu‘ (elevated) report: "If God had overlooked anything, He would have overlooked the atom, the mustard seed, and the gnat." Ibn Jarir and Ibn Abi Hatim extracted from Ibn Mas‘ud: "The knowledge of everything has been sent down in this Quran, and He has clarified everything to us in it; however, our knowledge falls short of what He has clarified for us in the Quran." Ibn ‘Abbas said: "If I lost the camel strap, I would find it in the Book of God, the Exalted." Al-Mursi said: "The Quran gathered the sciences of the first and the last, such that no one encompasses its truth except the One who spoke it, then Muhammad (may God bless him and grant him peace), except for what He, the Glorified, reserved for Himself. Then, the masters of the Companions and their leading figures, such as the Four Caliphs, inherited most of it from him. Then those who followed them in righteousness inherited it from them. Then aspirations weakened, resolves slackened, and the people of knowledge diminished and grew too weak to carry what the Companions and the Followers carried of its sciences and all its disciplines."

Some interpreted the "teaching" as the soul’s preparation for conceptualizing meanings. The Imam allowed for the possibility that it refers here to making a person such that they are able to learn the Quran, as in His, the Exalted, saying: "And We have certainly made the Quran easy for remembrance" (Qamar 54:17). In this sense, it is metaphorical, as is not hidden.

"The Most Compassionate" (al-Rahman) is a nominative subject (mubtada’), and the sentence following it is its predicate (khabar), as is apparent. Attributing its teaching to the Name "The Most Compassionate" is to signal that it is from the effects of the vast Mercy and its rulings. Placing the subject first is either for emphasis or for restriction, and it contains such glorification of the status of the Quran as it does.

It is also said: "The Most Compassionate" is the predicate of an omitted subject, or a subject whose predicate is omitted—that is, "God is the Most Compassionate" or "The Most Compassionate is our Lord"—and what follows is an initiating sentence for enumerating His blessings, the Exalted is He; but this is contrary to what is apparent.