Surah As-Sajdah (The Prostration)

It is also named Surah Al-Madāji' (The Beds/Places of Rest).

According to most scholars, it is a Meccan Surah.

It has twenty-nine verses, and some say thirty verses.

In the Name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.

Alif. Lām. Mīm.

Tanzīl al-kitābi lā rayba fīhi min rabbil-ʿālamīn.

(Alif. Lām. Mīm. The revelation of the Book, wherein there is no doubt, is from the Lord of the worlds.)

Tafsir Notes (Al-Razi's Perspective):

• The opening letters (Alif. Lām. Mīm.) are among the Muqaṭṭaʿāt (disjointed letters).
• The statement "The revelation of the Book" (Tanzīl al-kitāb) refers to the Qur'an.
• The phrase "wherein there is no doubt" (lā rayba fīhi) affirms its absolute truthfulness and certainty.
• The source is specified as "from the Lord of the worlds" (min rabbil-ʿālamīn), emphasizing that this divine source guarantees its truth, as the Lord of all creation would not issue falsehood.

Surah As-Sajdah: (1-2) Alif Lam Mim

When Allah, the Exalted, mentioned the proof of Oneness and the origin—which is the Resurrection—in the preceding Surah, concluding it with those two points, He began this Surah by clarifying the Prophethood, saying:

{Alif. Lam. Mim. (1) Tanzil al-Kitab la rayba fih...} (The revelation of the Book, whereof there is no doubt...)

What is meant by {Alif. Lam. Mim.} and by {la rayba fih} (there is no doubt in it) is already known from Surah Al-Baqarah and elsewhere.

However, here He said: {min Rabbil-'Alamin} (from the Lord of the Worlds).

Previously, He said: {hudan wa rahmatan lil-muhsinin} (a guidance and a mercy for the good-doers) [Luqman: 3], and in Al-Baqarah: {hudal lil-muttaqin} (a guidance for the pious) [Al-Baqarah: 2].

This is because when a person sees a book in someone else's possession, the soul's first inclination is to seek what is in the book, asking, "What is this book?" If told, "This is Fiqh or Tafsir," only then would one ask, "Whose composition is it?" One does not first ask, "Whose composition is this book?"

Once that is known, one might first say, "This book is guidance and mercy." But here, He stated that it is the Book of Allah, the Exalted, and mentioned it with the phrase {Rabbil-'Alamin} (Lord of the Worlds) because the book belonging to the Lord of the Worlds must contain the wonders of all worlds, which compels the soul to obey it.

{Am yaquluna iftarah? Bal huwa al-haqqu mir rabbika li tunzira qawman ma atahum min nazirin min qablik la'allahum yahtadun.} (2)

(Or do they say, "He has invented it"? Nay, it is the Truth from your Lord, that you may warn a people to whom no warner has come before you, so that they may be guided.)