Tafsir of Al-Hashr 59:23

Al-Hashr (The Banishment): Verse 23

{He is Allah, besides Whom there is no god...}

And then He said: {He is Allah, besides Whom there is no god, the King}—all of which has been previously explained.

Then He said: {The Holy (Al-Quddus)}. It has been recited with both a dammah (Al-Quddūs) and a fatḥah (Al-Quddūs). It signifies the one who is supremely pure in essence, attributes, actions, judgments, and names. We have explained this at the beginning of Surah Al-Hadid, and some of it passed in the explanation of His saying: {and We sanctify for You} (Al-Baqarah: 30). Al-Hasan said: It means He whose blessings are abundant.

And His saying: {The Source of Peace (As-Salām)}. There are two interpretations for this:

1. It means Safety (Salāmah), from which comes Dār As-Salām (the Abode of Peace). Salāmun ‘alaykum (Peace be upon you) is a description of Him as an exaggeration of His being free from all defects, just as one says Rajā’ (Hope) or Ghiyāth (Succor) or ‘Adl (Justice). If one asks: Under this interpretation, there remains no difference between Al-Quddūs and As-Salām, and repetition goes against the principle. We reply: His being Quddūs points to His absolute innocence from all defects in the past and present. His being Salīm (Safe) points to the fact that no defect will ever affect Him in the future, because if any defect were to affect Him, His safety would cease, and He would no longer be safe.
2. It means He is the one who causes safety (mūjib as-salāmah).

And His saying: {The Believer (Al-Mu’min)}. There are two interpretations for this:

1. It means He who grants security from His punishment to His allies. It is said: Āmana-hu yu’minuhu (He granted him security, so he is Mu’min [one who grants security]).
2. It means the Verifier (Al-Muṣaddiq). This is either in the sense that He verifies His prophets by showing them miracles, or because the Ummah of Muhammad (peace be upon him) testifies for all the previous prophets, as He said: {so that you may be witnesses over mankind} (Al-Baqarah: 143). Then Allah confirms them in that testimony. It has also been recited with a fatḥah on the mīm (Al-Mu’ammun), meaning the one believed in, by omitting the preposition (as in the verse: {And Moses chose from his people seventy men} [Al-A’rāf: 155], where the preposition is omitted).

And His saying: {The Guardian (Al-Muhaymin)}. They said its meaning is the Witness, from Whom nothing is hidden. There are two views regarding its origin:

• Al-Khalil and Abu ‘Ubaydah said: Haymana yuhayminu (He watched over), so he is Muhaymin if he is a guardian/overseer of something.
• Others said: Muhaymin is originally Mu’aymin, derived from Āmana yu’minu (to believe/grant security), so it means Al-Mu’min (The Believer). This has been fully discussed near His saying: {and a guardian over it} (Al-Mā’idah: 48).
• Ibn Al-Anbārī said: Al-Muhaymin is the one who sustains His creation by providing for them. He cited poetry:

  Behold, the best of people after their Prophet, Is his guardian/sustainer, following him in custom and in strangeness. He meant: the one who stands over the people after him.

And {The Mighty (Al-‘Azīz)}—either He for whom there is no equal, or the Overpowering, the Dominant.

As for {The Compeller (Al-Jabbār)}, there are several interpretations:

1. It is derived from Jabara when it means enriching the poor and mending the broken. Al-Azhari said: By my life, He is the Mender of every broken person and every poor person, and He is the Mender of the religion that He chose. Al-‘Ujjāj said:

   Indeed, the Divine Religion has been mended, so He mended [the broken].

2. It is derived from Jabara-hu ‘alā kadhā (He compelled him to do such-and-such), meaning He forces people to do what He wills. As-Suddi said: He is the one who overwhelms people and compels them to His will. Al-Azhari said: This is a dialect of Tamim, and many people of Hijaz use it. Ash-Shāfi‘ī used to say: Jabara-hu as-sulṭān ‘alā kadhā (The ruler compelled him to do so) without an alif. Al-Farrā’ considered Al-Jabbār in this sense to be derived from Ajbara (to compel), which is the known form for coercion. He said: I have not heard the fa‘‘āl form derived from af‘al except in two words: Jabbār from Ajbara, and Darrāk from Adraka. Under this view, Al-Jabbār is the Compeller/Subduer.
3. Ibn Al-Anbārī said: Al-Jabbār in the attribute of Allah means the Unattainable. From this, a palm tree that is out of reach of the hand is called Jabbārah.
4. Ibn ‘Abbās said: Al-Jabbār is the Great King. Al-Wāḥidī said: These meanings we mentioned are for Al-Jabbār as an attribute of Allah. Al-Jabbār has meanings when applied to creation:
   • The Dominant, like His saying: {And you are not a tyrant over them} (Qāf: 45).
   • The Gigantic in body, like His saying: {Indeed, therein are giants} (Al-Mā’idah: 22).
   • The one rebellious against the worship of Allah, like His saying: {and He has not made me a tyrant} (Maryam: 32).
   • The Fighter, like His saying: {when you strike, you strike as tyrants} (Ash-Shu‘arā’: 130), and {You only wish to be a tyrant in the land} (Al-Qaṣaṣ: 19).

As for His saying: {The Most Proud/Sublime (Al-Mutakabbir)}, there are several interpretations:

1. Ibn ‘Abbās said: He who is proud by virtue of His Lordship, nothing is like Him.
2. Qatādah said: He who is too exalted for any evil.
3. Al-Zajjāj said: He who is too exalted to wrong His servants.
4. Ibn Al-Anbārī said: Al-Mutakabbir is the possessor of Al-Kibriyā’ (Majesty/Grandeur). Al-Kibriyā’ among the Arabs means Kingship, as in His saying: {and you two shall have the supremacy on earth} (Yūnus: 78).

Know that Al-Mutakabbir is a blameworthy name when applied to creation, because the one who shows arrogance (kibr) in himself is exhibiting something that is a defect for him, as he possesses no true loftiness or greatness, but rather only baseness, humiliation, and neediness. If he claims loftiness, he is a liar, so this is blameworthy for him.

However, for the Truth, may He be glorified, He possesses all types of loftiness and majesty. When He manifests this, He is guiding the servants to recognize His Glory and Exaltation, so this is the utmost praise for Him, may He be glorified. For this reason, when He mentioned this Name, He said:

{Exalted is Allah above what they associate with Him} (Al-Hashr: 23).

It is as if He is saying: Created beings may exhibit arrogance and claim partnership with Allah in this attribute, but He, may He be glorified, is pure from the arrogance that belongs to creation, because they are inherently deficient. Their claim of arrogance is adding falsehood to inherent deficiency. As for the Truth, may He be glorified, He possesses loftiness and might, so when He manifests it, it is adding perfection to perfection. Therefore, {Exalted is Allah above what they associate with Him} in attributing the quality of Mutakabbir to creation.

{7. He is Allah, the Creator, the Originator, the Fashioner; to Him belong the best names. Whatever is in the heavens and the earth glorifies Him, and He is the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.}