(No partner for Him)
That is, in my worship, or in worship, giving life, and causing death. Nafi‘ read *maḥyāya* with a quiescent *yā’*, treating the connection as a pause. In one narration, he vocalized the *yā’* with a kasrah. Regarding the first narration, the meeting of two quiescent letters is permitted because of the intention to pause, and in such a state, it is permissible. Some have criticized this by claiming that it involves the meeting of two quiescent letters, which is not permitted; this criticism is misplaced. A group has narrated this recitation from Nafi‘, and what has been said—that he retracted it or that it is not lawful for anyone to transmit it from him—is of no substance.
(And with that I have been commanded)
That is, with that statement or with this sincerity, I have been commanded, and not with anything else.
(And I am the first of the Muslims)
That is, the first of those who submit to the fulfillment of what Allah the Exalted has commanded. It is also said: the first of those who surrender to the decree of Allah and His predestination. The intended meaning is the first of the Muslims of his nation, as has been said; this is the status of every prophet with respect to his own nation. It is also said: this is an allusion to his statement, peace and blessings be upon him: "The first thing Allah created was my light."
