Surah At-Takweer 81:21
ﲝ ﲞ ﲟ
Obeyed there [in the heavens] and trustworthy.
Tafsir of At-Takweer 81:21
Tafsir
Ruh al-Ma'ani
Verse range: 81:21
( مطاع ) Obeyed among the favored angels, peace be upon them, who carry out his command and defer to his opinion.
( ثم ) This is an adverb of place denoting distance. It is possible that it is an adverbial modifier for what precedes it, pointing to the location "in the presence of the Lord of the Throne." The intent behind him being "obeyed there" is that he is obeyed among the favored angels of the Exalted, as you have heard.
It is also possible that it is an adverbial modifier for what follows it—namely, the statement of the Glorified, "trustworthy"—while maintaining the same referent. His trustworthiness concerns the revelation. In a narration from him, peace be upon him, he said: "My trustworthiness is that I have not been commanded with a thing and then transgressed it to something else." Another aspect of his trustworthiness is that he, peace be upon him, enters the veils—as is mentioned in some traditions—without permission.
Abu Ja’far, Abu Haywah, Abu al-Barhasam, and Ibn Miqsam read "thumma" (ثم) with a damma on the tha’, making it a conjunction particle, to glorify the trustworthiness and clarify that it is the best of his enumerated attributes. The author of al-Lawamih said it has the meaning of "and" (wa), because Gabriel, peace be upon him, possessed both attributes simultaneously at one time. If one were to argue for sequence and delay in this conjunction—meaning he is "obeyed" in the Highest Assembly, then "trustworthy" when he departs from them during the state of his revelation to the prophets, peace be upon them—this would be permissible if a narration supported it.
The matter relied upon is what you have heard. The context requires the glorification of trustworthiness, for the refutation of the claim that the Quran is a fabrication is contingent upon the trustworthiness of the messenger.