An-Naml (The Ants): Verses 25–28

Issues Concerning the Verse: {أَلَّا يَسْجُدُوا لِلَّهِ} (That they should not prostrate to Allah)

There are several recitations for this phrase:

1. With Alif softened (تخفيف): {أَلَا يَسْجُدُوا}: This is interpreted as a call/exhortation (أَلَا as a vocative particle, يَا being omitted, similar to poetry like: "O, salute, O dwelling place of Mayy, despite the decay...").
2. With Alif doubled (تشديد): {أَلَّا يَسْجُدُوا}: This implies: "He prevented them from the path so that they should not prostrate." The preposition (لِـ) is omitted before أَن (that). Alternatively, لَا could be considered extra, meaning: "They are not guided except that they prostrate."
3. Recitation of 'Abdullah (Ibn Mas'ud): {هَلَّا تَسْجُدُونَ}: Al-A'mash recited it with the initial hamza changed to a hā' (هَلَّا), meaning: "Why do you not prostrate?" (addressing them directly).
4. Recitation of Ubayy: {إِلَّا يَسْجُدُونَ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي يُخْرِجُ الْخَبْءَ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَيَعْلَمُ سِرَّكُمْ وَمَا تُعْلِنُونَ}.

The people of deep insight hold that the phrase {أَلَّا يَسْجُدُوا} must carry the meaning of a command (imperative). If it meant prohibition (preventing them from prostrating), then describing Allah with attributes that necessitate prostration to Him—such as His power to bring forth the hidden and His knowledge of secrets—would be meaningless.

This verse demonstrates Allah's attributes of Power and Knowledge.

• Power: Stated in {يُخْرِجُ الْخَبْءَ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ}. The hidden thing (الْخَبْء) is taken as a verbal noun, encompassing all types of sustenance and wealth, brought forth from the sky by rain and from the earth by vegetation.
• Knowledge: Stated in {وَيَعْلَمُ سِرَّكُمْ وَمَا تُعْلِنُونَ}.

The main purpose of this statement is to refute those who worship the sun. The argument is structured as follows:

1. The true God must be capable of bringing forth the hidden and possess knowledge of the unseen.
2. The Sun does not possess these qualities; therefore, it is not a god, and prostration to it is invalid.

Why must Allah possess these attributes in the manner described? Because His power and knowledge are inherent to His essence (لِذَاتِهِ), meaning they are not restricted to some created things or known facts while excluding others.

Why does the Sun lack these qualities? Because it is a finite body (جِسْمٌ مُتَنَاهٍ). Anything finite in essence must also be finite in its attributes. If this is the case, we cannot know that it possesses the power to bring forth the hidden or knowledge of secrets. If we do not know this about the Sun, we cannot know that it has the power to bring benefits or repel harms.

This returns to the argument made by Abraham (peace be upon him): {تَعْبُدُ مَا لَا يَسْمَعُ وَلَا يُبْصِرُ وَلَا يُغْنِي عَنكَ شَيْئًا} (Mary: 42).

There is another interpretation for {الَّذِي يُخْرِجُ الْخَبْءَ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ}: This refers to what Abraham (peace be upon him) used as proof when he said: {رَبِّيَ الَّذِي يُحْيِي وَيُمِيتُ} (Al-Baqarah: 258) and {إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْتِي بِالشَّمْسِ مِنَ الْمَشْرِقِ فَأْتِ بِهَا مِنَ الْمَغْرِبِ} (Al-Baqarah: 258).

This is because Allah brings the sun forth from the East after it sets in the West—this is the "bringing forth of the hidden in the heavens." This is what is meant by Abraham's statement: {لَا أُحِبُّ الْآفِلِينَ} (Al-An'am: 76), and Moses' statement: {رَبِّ الْمَشْرِقِ وَالْمَغْرِبِ} (Ash-Shu'ara: 28).

The essence of the argument is that the setting and rising of the sun indicate that it is under the management of an Overpowering Controller. Therefore, worship is more fittingly directed to its Controller and Disposer.

As for bringing forth the hidden from the earth, this includes bringing forth the semen from the loins and the vertebrae, and forming the fetus from it.

A Question Raised: Abraham and Moses (peace be upon them) presented proofs concerning the self (creation/life/death) before proofs concerning the horizons (sun/east/west). Why is the order reversed here, presenting the hidden of the heavens before the hidden of the earth?

Answer: Abraham and Moses were debating those who claimed divinity for humans, so they began by refuting human divinity before moving to refute the divinity of the heavens. Here, the debate is with those who claimed the Sun was divine (as the Queen found her people worshipping the Sun), so the argument rightly begins with the celestial matters (the Sun's rising/setting) before moving to the terrestrial matters (earthly growth).

As for the statement: {اللَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ}, this means that after Allah demonstrated the need of the heavens, the earth, and everything between them for a Manager, He then mentioned that even the greatest of bodies (the Throne) is His creation and subject to His Lordship. This indicates that Allah is the ultimate limit of Power and Lordship, beyond which nothing exceeds.

It is said that the words from {أَحَطْتُ} (I have comprehended) up to {الْعَظِيمِ} are the words of the Hoopoe, while others say they are the words of the Lord of Might.

The correct view is that the prostration of recitation is obligatory regardless of which of the two main recitations is followed. This is the view of Ash-Shafi'i and Abu Hanifa (may Allah have mercy on them), as they agreed that the Quran contains fourteen prostrations, and this is one of them. Furthermore, the positions of prostration are either commanded, praised for performance, or condemned for abandonment. One recitation commands the prostration, and the other condemns its abandonment. Therefore, the view of Al-Zajjaj—that prostration is only obligatory with the softened Alif and not the doubled Alif—is not to be heeded.

Can a person pausing (stopping) differentiate between the two recitations? Yes.

• If reciting with the softened Alif (أَلَا), one can pause after {فَهُمْ لَا يَهْتَدُونَ} (v. 24) and then begin with {أَلَّا يَسْجُدُوا}. Alternatively, one can pause after {أَلَا يَا} and then begin with {اسْجُدُوا}.
• If reciting with the doubled Alif (أَلَّا), one should only pause at {الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ}.

Regarding the statement: {سَنَنظُرُ} (We shall look), this refers to contemplation, meaning: "We shall see if you are truthful or lying." However, {أَمْ كُنتَ مِنَ الْكَاذِبِينَ} (or were you among the liars) is more emphatic, because if someone is known for lying, their report is suspected, and they are not trusted.

The command {فَأَلْقِهِ إِلَيْهِمْ} (Then cast it to them) is in the plural because the Queen had said: {وَجَدَتْهَا وَقَوْمَهَا يَسْجُدُونَ لِلشَّمْسِ} (v. 24). Thus, "cast it to them," meaning to those whose religion is this (sun worship).

As for {ثُمَّ تَوَلَّ عَنْهُمْ} (Then turn away from them), it means withdraw to a nearby place where you can conceal yourself so that what they say is within your hearing. {يَرْجِعُونَ} refers to the statement: {يَرْجِعُ بَعْضُهُمْ إِلَى بَعْضٍ الْقَوْلَ} (Saba: 30). It is also said that she entered through a small opening, cast the letter to them, and hid in that opening.

Translation: She said, "O eminent ones, indeed, a noble letter has been delivered to me. Indeed, it is from Solomon, and indeed, it reads: 'In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. That you do not exalt yourselves against me and come to me in submission.' O eminent ones, advise me concerning my affair. I would not decide any matter until you are present with me." They said, "We are people of strength and people of severe might, but the command is yours. So observe what you will command."