Surah Naml ayat 25 Tafsir Quran 27:25

﴿أَلَّا يَسْجُدُوا لِلَّهِ الَّذِي يُخْرِجُ الْخَبْءَ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا تُخْفُونَ وَمَا تُعْلِنُونَ﴾
[ النمل: 25]

27:25 [And] so they do not prostrate to Allah, who brings forth what is hidden within the heavens and the earth and knows what you conceal and what you declare -

to prostrate themselves to God allā yasjudū should be read as an yasjudū the lā is extra and with it has been assimilated the nūn of an similar to the construction where God says li-allā ya‘lama ahlu’l-kitābi so that the People of the Scripture may know Q. 5729; the sentence functions as the direct object of yahtadūna ‘guided’ whose ilā ‘to’ has been omitted; He Who brings forth the hidden al-khab’ is a verbal noun with the same meaning as al-makhbū’ ‘that which is hidden’ of rain and plants in the heavens and the earth and He knows what they conceal within their hearts and what they proclaim with their tongues.

They do not worship Allah Who brings to light what is hidden in the heavens and the earth and knows all that people conceal and all that they reveal

How the Hoopoe came before Sulayman and told Him about Saba' Allah says: فَمَكَثَ غَيْرَ بَعِيدٍ ( But (the hoopoe ) stayed not long,) meaning, he was absent for only a short time.
Then he came and said to Sulayman: أَحَطتُ بِمَا لَمْ تُحِطْ بِهِ ( I have grasped which you have not grasped ) meaning, `I have come to know something that you and your troops do not know.' وَجِئْتُكَ مِن سَبَإٍ بِنَبَإٍ يَقِينٍ ( and I have come to you from Saba' with true news. ) meaning, with true and certain news.
Saba' ( Sheba ) refers to Himyar, they were a dynasty in Yemen.
Then the hoopoe said: إِنِّى وَجَدتُّ امْرَأَةً تَمْلِكُهُمْ ( I found a woman ruling over them, ) Al-Hasan Al-Basri said, "This is Bilqis bint Sharahil, the queen of Saba'." Allah's saying: وَأُوتِيَتْ مِن كُلِّ شَىْءٍ ( she has been given all things, ) means, all the conveniences of this world that a powerful monarch could need. وَلَهَا عَرْشٌ عَظِيمٌ ( and she has a great throne. ) meaning, a tremendous chair adorned with gold and different kinds of jewels and pearls.
The historians said, "This throne was in a great, strong palace which was high and firmly constructed.
In it there were three hundred and sixty windows on the east side, and a similar number on the west, and it was constructed in such a way that each day when the sun rose it would shine through one window, and when it set it would shine through the opposite window.
And the people used to prostrate to the sun morning and evening.
This is why the hoopoe said: وَجَدتُّهَا وَقَوْمَهَا يَسْجُدُونَ لِلشَّمْسِ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ وَزَيَّنَ لَهُمُ الشَّيْطَـنُ أَعْمَـلَهُمْ فَصَدَّهُمْ عَنِ السَّبِيلِ ( I found her and her people worshipping the sun instead of Allah, and Shaytan has made their deeds fair seeming to them, and has prevented them from the way, ) meaning, from the way of truth, فَهُمْ لاَ يَهْتَدُونَ ( so they have no guidance. ) Allah's saying: وَزَيَّنَ لَهُمُ الشَّيْطَـنُ أَعْمَـلَهُمْ فَصَدَّهُمْ عَنِ السَّبِيلِ فَهُمْ لاَ يَهْتَدُونَأَلاَّ يَسْجُدُواْ للَّهِ ( and Shaytan has made their deeds fair seeming to them, and has prevented them from the way, so they have no guidance, so they do not prostrate themselves before Allah. ) They do not know the way of truth, prostrating only before Allah alone and not before anything that He has created, whether heavenly bodies or anything else.
This is like the Ayah: وَمِنْ ءَايَـتِهِ الَّيْلُ وَالنَّهَارُ وَالشَّمْسُ وَالْقَمَرُ لاَ تَسْجُدُواْ لِلشَّمْسِ وَلاَ لِلْقَمَرِ وَاسْجُدُواْ لِلَّهِ الَّذِى خَلَقَهُنَّ إِن كُنتُمْ إِيَّاهُ تَعْبُدُونَ ( And from among His signs are the night and the day, and the sun and the moon.
Prostrate yourselves not to the sun nor to the moon, but prostrate yourselves to Allah Who created them, if you indeed worship Him. ) ( 41:37 ) الَّذِى يُخْرِجُ الْخَبْءَ فِى السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ ( Who brings to light what is hidden in the heavens and the earth, ) `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn `Abbas said: "He knows everything that is hidden in the heavens and on earth." This was also the view of `Ikrimah, Mujahid, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Qatadah and others.
His saying: وَيَعْلَمُ مَا تُخْفُونَ وَمَا تُعْلِنُونَ ( and knows what you conceal and what you reveal. ) means, He knows what His servants say and do in secret, and what they say and do openly.
This is like the Ayah: سَوَآءٌ مِّنْكُمْ مَّنْ أَسَرَّ الْقَوْلَ وَمَنْ جَهَرَ بِهِ وَمَنْ هُوَ مُسْتَخْفٍ بِالَّيْلِ وَسَارِبٌ بِالنَّهَارِ ( It is the same whether any of you conceals his speech or declares it openly, whether he be hid by night or goes forth freely by day ) ( 13:10 ).
His saying: اللَّهُ لاَ إِلَـهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ ( Allah, La ilaha illa Huwa, the Lord of the Supreme Throne! ) means, He is the One to be called upon, Allah, He is the One other than Whom there is no god, the Lord of the Supreme Throne, and there is none greater than Him in all of creation.
Since the hoopoe was calling to what is good, and for people to worship and prostrate to Allah alone, it would have been forbidden to kill him.
Imam Ahmad, Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah recorded that Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, said that the Prophet forbade killing four kinds of animals: ants, bees, hoopoes and the sparrow hawks.
Its chain of narration is Sahih.

(27:25) that they may prostrate themselves before that God Who brings to light the hidden things of the heavens and the earth *33 and knows all that you conceal and reveal. *34

[And] so they do not prostrate to meaning

*33) That is, He is bringing continuously into existence those things which before their ' birth were hidden here and there: He is bringing out continuously countless kinds of vegetation and minerals from the bowels of the earth: He is manifesting from upper space such things as could not even be conceived by Ruman mind before their manifestation.

*34) That is, His knowledge embraces everything; the open and hidden are alike for Him; He is aware of everything.
By citing these two attributes of AIIah the object is to impress that if they had not been deluded by Satan, they could have seen the right way clearly: they could have perceived that the hot burning sphere of the sun which has no sense of its own existence, did not deserve to be worshipped but worship was due to Him alone Who is the All-Knowing and the AlI-Wise Being, and Whose power is bringing into existence new and ever stew phenomena every moment.

 

How the Hoopoe came before Sulayman and told Him about Saba' Allah says: فَمَكَثَ غَيْرَ بَعِيدٍ ( But (the hoopoe ) stayed not long,) meaning, he was absent for only a short time.
Then he came and said to Sulayman: أَحَطتُ بِمَا لَمْ تُحِطْ بِهِ ( I have grasped which you have not grasped ) meaning, `I have come to know something that you and your troops do not know.' وَجِئْتُكَ مِن سَبَإٍ بِنَبَإٍ يَقِينٍ ( and I have come to you from Saba' with true news. ) meaning, with true and certain news.
Saba' ( Sheba ) refers to Himyar, they were a dynasty in Yemen.
Then the hoopoe said: إِنِّى وَجَدتُّ امْرَأَةً تَمْلِكُهُمْ ( I found a woman ruling over them, ) Al-Hasan Al-Basri said, "This is Bilqis bint Sharahil, the queen of Saba'." Allah's saying: وَأُوتِيَتْ مِن كُلِّ شَىْءٍ ( she has been given all things, ) means, all the conveniences of this world that a powerful monarch could need. وَلَهَا عَرْشٌ عَظِيمٌ ( and she has a great throne. ) meaning, a tremendous chair adorned with gold and different kinds of jewels and pearls.
The historians said, "This throne was in a great, strong palace which was high and firmly constructed.
In it there were three hundred and sixty windows on the east side, and a similar number on the west, and it was constructed in such a way that each day when the sun rose it would shine through one window, and when it set it would shine through the opposite window.
And the people used to prostrate to the sun morning and evening.
This is why the hoopoe said: وَجَدتُّهَا وَقَوْمَهَا يَسْجُدُونَ لِلشَّمْسِ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ وَزَيَّنَ لَهُمُ الشَّيْطَـنُ أَعْمَـلَهُمْ فَصَدَّهُمْ عَنِ السَّبِيلِ ( I found her and her people worshipping the sun instead of Allah, and Shaytan has made their deeds fair seeming to them, and has prevented them from the way, ) meaning, from the way of truth, فَهُمْ لاَ يَهْتَدُونَ ( so they have no guidance. ) Allah's saying: وَزَيَّنَ لَهُمُ الشَّيْطَـنُ أَعْمَـلَهُمْ فَصَدَّهُمْ عَنِ السَّبِيلِ فَهُمْ لاَ يَهْتَدُونَأَلاَّ يَسْجُدُواْ للَّهِ ( and Shaytan has made their deeds fair seeming to them, and has prevented them from the way, so they have no guidance, so they do not prostrate themselves before Allah. ) They do not know the way of truth, prostrating only before Allah alone and not before anything that He has created, whether heavenly bodies or anything else.
This is like the Ayah: وَمِنْ ءَايَـتِهِ الَّيْلُ وَالنَّهَارُ وَالشَّمْسُ وَالْقَمَرُ لاَ تَسْجُدُواْ لِلشَّمْسِ وَلاَ لِلْقَمَرِ وَاسْجُدُواْ لِلَّهِ الَّذِى خَلَقَهُنَّ إِن كُنتُمْ إِيَّاهُ تَعْبُدُونَ ( And from among His signs are the night and the day, and the sun and the moon.
Prostrate yourselves not to the sun nor to the moon, but prostrate yourselves to Allah Who created them, if you indeed worship Him. ) ( 41:37 ) الَّذِى يُخْرِجُ الْخَبْءَ فِى السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ ( Who brings to light what is hidden in the heavens and the earth, ) `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn `Abbas said: "He knows everything that is hidden in the heavens and on earth." This was also the view of `Ikrimah, Mujahid, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Qatadah and others.
His saying: وَيَعْلَمُ مَا تُخْفُونَ وَمَا تُعْلِنُونَ ( and knows what you conceal and what you reveal. ) means, He knows what His servants say and do in secret, and what they say and do openly.
This is like the Ayah: سَوَآءٌ مِّنْكُمْ مَّنْ أَسَرَّ الْقَوْلَ وَمَنْ جَهَرَ بِهِ وَمَنْ هُوَ مُسْتَخْفٍ بِالَّيْلِ وَسَارِبٌ بِالنَّهَارِ ( It is the same whether any of you conceals his speech or declares it openly, whether he be hid by night or goes forth freely by day ) ( 13:10 ).
His saying: اللَّهُ لاَ إِلَـهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ ( Allah, La ilaha illa Huwa, the Lord of the Supreme Throne! ) means, He is the One to be called upon, Allah, He is the One other than Whom there is no god, the Lord of the Supreme Throne, and there is none greater than Him in all of creation.
Since the hoopoe was calling to what is good, and for people to worship and prostrate to Allah alone, it would have been forbidden to kill him.
Imam Ahmad, Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah recorded that Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, said that the Prophet forbade killing four kinds of animals: ants, bees, hoopoes and the sparrow hawks.
Its chain of narration is Sahih.

( So that they worship not Allah ) and I said to them: O you, prostrate to Allah it is also said that it is Solomon who said: why do they not prostrate to Allah? ( Who bringeth forth the hidden in the heavens ) the rain ( and the earth ) vegetation, ( and knoweth what ye hide ) of good and evil ( and what ye proclaim ) of good and evil,

Al-La (this word has two interpretations) (A) [As Shaitan (Satan) has barred them from Allah's Way] so that they do not worship (prostrate before) Allah, or (B) So that they may worship (prostrate before) Allah, Who brings to light what is hidden in the heavens and the earth, and knows what you conceal and what you reveal. [Tafsir At-Tabari, Vol. 19, Page 149]