Tafsir of Ar-Rahman 55:77-78

His saying, "Blessed is the name of your Lord" (Tabaraka ismu Rabbika), is an expression of glorification and sanctification for Him, the Exalted. Contained within it is a confirmation of what was mentioned in this noble surah regarding His bounties, glory be to His majesty, which overflow upon the created beings. Tabaraka means He is exalted; this is because it carries the meaning of greatness, which is more appropriate for the description that follows. It has been stated in traditions: "Exalted is His name," meaning, exalted is His majestic name—from which is the name (Ar-Rahman) with which this surah begins, which signifies the overflowing of the detailed bounties. He is exalted above what does not befit His status, including the denial and rejection of His blessings. If such is the state of His name, by virtue of its indication of Him, Glory be to Him, then what is your estimation of His most holy and highest Essence?

It is said: "Name" means attribute, because it is a sign of what it describes. It is also said: It is an expletive, as in the statement of one who said, "Then the name of peace be upon you." It is also said: It means the Named One. Some have claimed that what is most appropriate for the intent of this noble surah—which is the multiplicity of bounties and blessings—is to interpret "Tabaraka" as "the abundance of His goodness." There is no harm in attributing this meaning to His name, the Exalted, for by it one seeks rain and is granted it, and one seeks victory and is aided.

This is an attribute of the "Lord." Describing Him, the Exalted and Majestic, with this is a completion of the aforementioned glorification and confirmation. Ibn Amir and the people of the Levant read Dhu (in the nominative case) as an attribute of the "name." Describing Him as Possessor of Majesty and Honor, in the sense of bestowing honor, is clear.

In some of the verses, "(Ar-Rahman) taught the Quran" is an allusion to what He has deposited in the pure, holy spirits, of the essential truths in summary form when He, the Exalted, established Himself upon the Throne of Mercifulness. "Created man"—the complete and comprehensive one—"taught him eloquence," which is the detailing of those summary truths. "So when We have recited it, then follow its recitation. Then upon Us is its clarification."

"The sun and the moon are in calculation" refers to the sun of Prophethood and the moon of Sainthood, both orbiting in the firmament of human existence according to the calculation of manifestations and degrees of readiness. "The stars" are the lower faculties; "the trees" are the higher preparations; "prostrating," they humble themselves before Him when returning to Him, the Exalted.

"The heaven"—the heaven of divine holy powers—"He raised it" above the earth of humanity, "and set the Balance," the discerning faculty, "that you may not transgress within the Balance," meaning, do not exceed limits when taking the lower shares and giving the higher rights. It is also permissible that "the Balance" be the purified Sharia, for it is a scale by which the complete is known from the deficient.

"And the earth"—the earth of humanity—"He spread it" for "the creatures," for the human faculties. "In it is fruit," from the fruits of the knowledge of the active attributes, "and palm trees having sheaths"—the human tree which is the greatest manifestation, possessing various stages, each stage veiled by another. "And grain," the seed sown in the fields of the peaceful, lush hearts, "having husks," the leaves of unveilings, "and aromatic plants," the aroma of witnessing.

"Lord of the two easts and Lord of the two wests": the Lord of the sunrise of the sun of Prophethood and the sunrise of the moon of Sainthood in the physical world, and the Lord of their sunsets in the spiritual world.

"He released the two seas": the sea of the heaven of higher powers and the sea of the earth of lower powers; "they meet," between them is a barrier—the heart. "From both of them emerge pearl and coral": types of lights of secrets and fires of yearning.

"And to Him belong the ships constructed" (sailing in the sea of man), the ships of thoughts subjugated in the ocean of the human being. "Everyone upon it is perishing"—whoever has smelled the scent of existence—"and there will remain the Face of your Lord," the direction that faces Him, the Exalted, which are His affairs, Glory be to Him. "Possessor of Majesty," meaning complete independence from all manifestations, "and Honor," the general bounty which He pours upon the receptacles according to what they are prepared for and what they ask for with the tongue of their state.

The Great Master, Muhyiddin—may his secret be sanctified—cited as evidence the saying of the Exalted: "Every day He is in an affair," regarding the nobility of transformation; and he likewise used it as evidence for the non-permanence of substances for two consecutive moments. Along these lines is what was said about the verses that follow.

Some scholars mentioned that the saying of the Exalted, "Which, then, of the bounties of your Lord will you both deny?", is mentioned thirty-one times. Eight occur after the mention of the wonders of His creation, the beginning, and the return. Seven occur after the mention of that which evokes Hell and its inhabitants, corresponding to the number of the gates of Hell. Eight occur in the description of the first two gardens, and the same in the description of the two gardens below them, corresponding to the number of the gates of Paradise. It is as if this indicates that whoever believes in the first eight and acts according to them deserves both gardens of God, and He protects them from the Hell that has seven gates. God, the Exalted, knows best the allusions of His Book, the realities of His discourse, and the subtleties of His speech, which intellects cannot encompass.

Blessed is the name of your Lord, Possessor of Majesty and Honor.