Surah Hadid ayat 3 Tafsir Quran 57:3

﴿هُوَ الْأَوَّلُ وَالْآخِرُ وَالظَّاهِرُ وَالْبَاطِنُ ۖ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ﴾
[ الحديد: 3]

57:3 He is the First and the Last, the Ascendant and the Intimate, and He is, of all things, Knowing.

He is the First preceding everything but without His having any beginning and the Last succeeding everything but without His having any end and the Manifest through the proofs for Him and the Hidden from the perception of the senses and He has knowledge of all things.

He is the First and the Foremost, He is the Last and the Utmost, He is infinite, He is beyond and above all, yet exposed to the mental view and accessible to appeals, and He is beyond and below all to give support to all in all; His marvels are inherent in the whole and He is the Omnipresent Who holds prescience of all events, He is the ultimate goal and He is AL-Alim (the Omniscient) who knows all

Which was revealed in Madina The Virtues of Surat Al-Hadid Imam Ahmad recorded that `Irbad bin Sariyah said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to recite Al-Musabbihat before he went to sleep, saying,
«إِنَّ فِيهِنَّ آيَةً أَفْضَلُ مِنْ أَلْفِ آيَة»
( In them there is an Ayah that is better than a thousand Ayat. ) Abu Dawud, At-Tirmidhi and An-Nasa'i collected this Hadith; At-Tirmidhi said, "Hasan Gharib." The Ayah referred to in this Hadith is -- and Allah knows best -- هُوَ الاٌّوَّلُ وَالاٌّخِرُ وَالظَّـهِرُ وَالْبَـطِنُ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عَلِيمٌ ( He is Al-Awwal and Al-Akhir, Az-Zahir and Al-Batin.
And He is the All-Knower of everything. )( 57:3 ) Allah willing, we will again mention this subject.
Upon Allah we trust and our total reliance and dependence are on Him, and sufficient He is to us as Supporter and Helper. بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Everything that exists glorifies Allah and mentioning some of His Attributes In this Ayah, Allah states that everything that exists in the heavens and earth praises and glorifies Him, including creatures and plants.
Allah said in another Ayah, تُسَبِّحُ لَهُ السَّمَـوَتُ السَّبْعُ وَالاٌّرْضُ وَمَن فِيهِنَّ وَإِن مِّن شَىْءٍ إِلاَّ يُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدَهِ وَلَـكِن لاَّ تَفْقَهُونَ تَسْبِيحَهُمْ إِنَّهُ كَانَ حَلِيمًا غَفُورًا ( The seven heavens and the earth and all that is therein, glorify Him and there is not a thing but glorifies His praise.
But you understand not their glorification.
Truly, He is Ever Forbearing, Oft-Forgiving. )( 17:44 ) And His saying: وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ ( and He is the Almighty, ) meaning the One to Whom all things submit humility, الْحَكِيمُ ( All-Wise. ) in His creating, commanding and legislating, لَهُ مُلْكُ السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ يُحْىِ وَيُمِيتُ ( His is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth.
It is He Who gives life and causes death; ) He is the absolute Owner of His creation, bringing life and death and granting what He wills to whom He wills, وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ ( and He is Able to do all things. ) whatever He wills, is, and whatever He does not will, will never be.
He said, هُوَ الاٌّوَّلُ وَالاٌّخِرُ وَالظَّـهِرُ وَالْبَـطِنُ ( He is Al-Awwal and Al-Akhir, Az-Zahir and Al-Batin. ) This is the Ayah indicated in the Hadith of `Irbad bin Sariyah that is better than a thousand Ayat.
Abu Dawud recorded that Abu Zamil said, "I mentioned to Ibn `Abbas that I felt something in my heart.
He said, `Doubts' and then laughed.
Next, he said, `No one can escape this.
Allah the Exalted stated, فَإِن كُنتَ فِي شَكٍّ مِّمَّآ أَنزَلْنَآ إِلَيْكَ فَاسْأَلِ الَّذِينَ يَقْرَءُونَ الْكِتَـبَ مِن قَبْلِكَ لَقَدْ جَآءَكَ الْحَقُّ مِن رَّبِّكَ ( So if you are in doubt concerning that which We have revealed to you, then ask those who are reading the Book before you.
Verily, the truth has come to you from your Lord. )( 10:94 )' He then said to me, `When you feel any of this in your heart, recite, هُوَ الاٌّوَّلُ وَالاٌّخِرُ وَالظَّـهِرُ وَالْبَـطِنُ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عَلِيمٌ ( He is Al-Awwal and Al-Akhir, Az-Zahir and Al-Batin.
And He is the All-Knower of everything. )"' There are about ten and some odd number of different sayings collected from the scholars of Tafsir regarding the explanation of this Ayah.
Al-Bukhari said, "Yahya said, `Az-Zahir: knowing all things, Al-Batin: knowing all things."' Our Shaykh Al-Hafiz Al-Mizzi said, "Yahya is Ibn Ziyad Al-Farra', who authored a book entitled Ma`ani Al-Qur'an." There are Hadiths mentioned about this.
Among them, Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would recite this supplication while going to bed,
«اللْهُمَّ رَبَّ السَّموَاتِ السَّبْعِ، وَرَبَّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ، رَبَّنَا وَرَبَّ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ، مُنْزِلَ التَّوْرَاةِ وَالْإِنْجِيلِ وَالْفُرْقَانِ، فَالِقَ الْحَبِّ وَالنَّوَى، لَا إِلهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ، أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ أَنْتَ آخِذٌ بِنَاصِيَتِهِ، أَنْتَ الْأَوَّلُ لَيْسَ قَبْلَكَ شَيْءٌ، وَأَنْتَ الْاخِرُ لَيْسَ بَعْدَكَ شَيْءٌ، وَأَنْتَ الظَّاهِرُ لَيْسَ فَوْقَكَ شَيْءٌ، وَأَنْتَ الْبَاطِنُ لَيْسَ دُونَكَ شَيْءٌ.
اقْضِ عَنَّا الدَّيْنَ، وَأَغْنِنَا مِنَ الْفَقْر»
( O Allah, Lord of the seven heavens and Lord of the Magnificent Throne! Our Lord, and the Lord of everything, Revealer of the Tawrah, the Injil and the Furqan, the Splitter of the grain of corn and the date stone! I seek refuge with You from the evil of everything whose forhead You have control over.
O Allah! You are Al-Awwal, nothing is before You; Al-Akhir, nothing is after You; Az-Zahir, nothing is above You; and Al-Batin, nothing is below You.
Remove the burden of debt from us and free us from poverty. ) Muslim recorded this Hadith via Sahl, who said, "Abu Salih used to order us to lay on our right side when we were about to sleep, and then say,
«اللْهُمَّ رَبَّ السَّموَاتِ وَرَبَّ الْأَرْضِ وَرَبَّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ، رَبَّنَا وَرَبَّ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ، فَالِقَ الْحَبِّ وَالنَّوَى، وَمُنْزِلَ التَّوْرَاةِ وَالْإِنْجِيلِ وَالْفُرْقَانِ، أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ كُلِّ ذِي شَرَ أَنْتَ آخِذٌ بِنَاصِيَتِهِ، اللْهُمَّ أَنْتَ الْأَوَّلُ فَلَيْسَ قَبْلَكَ شَيْءٌ، وَأَنْتَ الْاخِرُ فَلَيْسَ بَعْدَكَ شَيْءٌ، وَأَنْتَ الظَّاهِرُ فَلَيْسَ فَوْقَكَ شَيْءٌ، وَأَنْتَ الْبَاطِنُ فَلَيْسَ دُونَكَ شَيْءٌ، اقْضِ عَنَّا الدَّيْنَ، وَأَغْنِنَا مِنَ الْفَقْر»
( O Allah, Lord of the seven heavens and Lord of the Magnificent Throne! Our Lord, and the Lord of everything, Revealer of the Tawrah, the Injil and the Furqan, the Splitter of the grain of corn and the date stone! I seek refuge with You from the evil of everything whose forhead You have control over.
O Allah! You are Al-Awwal, nothing is before You; Al-Akhir, nothing is after You; Az-Zahir, nothing is above You; and Al-Batin, nothing is below You.
Remove the burden of debt from us and free us from poverty. ) And he used to narrate that from Abu Hurayrah from the Prophet ."

(57:3) He is the First and the Last, and the Manifest and the Hidden, *3 and He has knowledge of everything.

He is the First and the Last, meaning

*3) That is, " When there was nothing, He was, and when there will be nothing, He will be.
He is the most Manifest of all the manifest, for whatever manifests itself in the world, does 50 only by His attributes and His works and His light.
And He is the Most Hidden of all the hidden, for not only do the senses fail to percieve Him but the intellect and thought and imagination also cannot attain to His essence and reality.
The best commentary in this regard are the words of a supplication of the Holy Prophet ( upon whom be Allah's peace and blessings ).
which Imam Ahmad, Muslim, Tirmidhi, and Baihaqi have related on the authority of Hadrat Abu Hurairah, and Hafiz Abu Ya'la Mosuli in his Musnad on the authority of Hadrat 'A'ishah:
"Antal Awwal, fa-laisa qablaka shai'in; wa Antal Akhir fa-laisa ba 'daka shai 'in; wa Antal Zahir, fa-laisa fauqaka shai in; wa Anfal Batin, fa laisa dunaka shai'in.
" "You alone are the First; none is before You; You alone are the Last: none is after You; You alone are the Exalted none is above You; You alone are the Hidden: none is more hidden than You.
"
Here, the question arises: How does this accord with the immortality and eternal life of the dwellrs of Paradise and Hell mentioned in the Qur'an when Allah alone is the Last and Eternal? Its answer has been provided by the Qur'an itself: "Everything is perishable except Allah Himself." ( AI-Qasas: 88 ).
In other words no creature is immortal in its personal capacity; if a thing exists or continuos to exist, it does so because Allah keeps it so, and can exist only by His letting it exist; otherwise in its own capacity everything is perishable except Allah, Immortality in Heaven and Hell will not be bestowed upon somebody because he is immortal by himself, but because AIIah will grant him eternal life.
The same is true of the angels: they are not immortal by themselves.
When Allah willed they came into existence, and will continue to exist only as long as Her wills.

 

Which was revealed in Madina The Virtues of Surat Al-Hadid Imam Ahmad recorded that `Irbad bin Sariyah said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to recite Al-Musabbihat before he went to sleep, saying, «إِنَّ فِيهِنَّ آيَةً أَفْضَلُ مِنْ أَلْفِ آيَة» ( In them there is an Ayah that is better than a thousand Ayat. ) Abu Dawud, At-Tirmidhi and An-Nasa'i collected this Hadith; At-Tirmidhi said, "Hasan Gharib." The Ayah referred to in this Hadith is -- and Allah knows best -- هُوَ الاٌّوَّلُ وَالاٌّخِرُ وَالظَّـهِرُ وَالْبَـطِنُ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عَلِيمٌ ( He is Al-Awwal and Al-Akhir, Az-Zahir and Al-Batin.
And He is the All-Knower of everything. )( 57:3 ) Allah willing, we will again mention this subject.
Upon Allah we trust and our total reliance and dependence are on Him, and sufficient He is to us as Supporter and Helper. بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Everything that exists glorifies Allah and mentioning some of His Attributes In this Ayah, Allah states that everything that exists in the heavens and earth praises and glorifies Him, including creatures and plants.
Allah said in another Ayah, تُسَبِّحُ لَهُ السَّمَـوَتُ السَّبْعُ وَالاٌّرْضُ وَمَن فِيهِنَّ وَإِن مِّن شَىْءٍ إِلاَّ يُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدَهِ وَلَـكِن لاَّ تَفْقَهُونَ تَسْبِيحَهُمْ إِنَّهُ كَانَ حَلِيمًا غَفُورًا ( The seven heavens and the earth and all that is therein, glorify Him and there is not a thing but glorifies His praise.
But you understand not their glorification.
Truly, He is Ever Forbearing, Oft-Forgiving. )( 17:44 ) And His saying: وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ ( and He is the Almighty, ) meaning the One to Whom all things submit humility, الْحَكِيمُ ( All-Wise. ) in His creating, commanding and legislating, لَهُ مُلْكُ السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ يُحْىِ وَيُمِيتُ ( His is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth.
It is He Who gives life and causes death; ) He is the absolute Owner of His creation, bringing life and death and granting what He wills to whom He wills, وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ ( and He is Able to do all things. ) whatever He wills, is, and whatever He does not will, will never be.
He said, هُوَ الاٌّوَّلُ وَالاٌّخِرُ وَالظَّـهِرُ وَالْبَـطِنُ ( He is Al-Awwal and Al-Akhir, Az-Zahir and Al-Batin. ) This is the Ayah indicated in the Hadith of `Irbad bin Sariyah that is better than a thousand Ayat.
Abu Dawud recorded that Abu Zamil said, "I mentioned to Ibn `Abbas that I felt something in my heart.
He said, `Doubts' and then laughed.
Next, he said, `No one can escape this.
Allah the Exalted stated, فَإِن كُنتَ فِي شَكٍّ مِّمَّآ أَنزَلْنَآ إِلَيْكَ فَاسْأَلِ الَّذِينَ يَقْرَءُونَ الْكِتَـبَ مِن قَبْلِكَ لَقَدْ جَآءَكَ الْحَقُّ مِن رَّبِّكَ ( So if you are in doubt concerning that which We have revealed to you, then ask those who are reading the Book before you.
Verily, the truth has come to you from your Lord. )( 10:94 )' He then said to me, `When you feel any of this in your heart, recite, هُوَ الاٌّوَّلُ وَالاٌّخِرُ وَالظَّـهِرُ وَالْبَـطِنُ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عَلِيمٌ ( He is Al-Awwal and Al-Akhir, Az-Zahir and Al-Batin.
And He is the All-Knower of everything. )"' There are about ten and some odd number of different sayings collected from the scholars of Tafsir regarding the explanation of this Ayah.
Al-Bukhari said, "Yahya said, `Az-Zahir: knowing all things, Al-Batin: knowing all things."' Our Shaykh Al-Hafiz Al-Mizzi said, "Yahya is Ibn Ziyad Al-Farra', who authored a book entitled Ma`ani Al-Qur'an." There are Hadiths mentioned about this.
Among them, Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would recite this supplication while going to bed, «اللْهُمَّ رَبَّ السَّموَاتِ السَّبْعِ، وَرَبَّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ، رَبَّنَا وَرَبَّ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ، مُنْزِلَ التَّوْرَاةِ وَالْإِنْجِيلِ وَالْفُرْقَانِ، فَالِقَ الْحَبِّ وَالنَّوَى، لَا إِلهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ، أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ أَنْتَ آخِذٌ بِنَاصِيَتِهِ، أَنْتَ الْأَوَّلُ لَيْسَ قَبْلَكَ شَيْءٌ، وَأَنْتَ الْاخِرُ لَيْسَ بَعْدَكَ شَيْءٌ، وَأَنْتَ الظَّاهِرُ لَيْسَ فَوْقَكَ شَيْءٌ، وَأَنْتَ الْبَاطِنُ لَيْسَ دُونَكَ شَيْءٌ.
اقْضِ عَنَّا الدَّيْنَ، وَأَغْنِنَا مِنَ الْفَقْر» ( O Allah, Lord of the seven heavens and Lord of the Magnificent Throne! Our Lord, and the Lord of everything, Revealer of the Tawrah, the Injil and the Furqan, the Splitter of the grain of corn and the date stone! I seek refuge with You from the evil of everything whose forhead You have control over.
O Allah! You are Al-Awwal, nothing is before You; Al-Akhir, nothing is after You; Az-Zahir, nothing is above You; and Al-Batin, nothing is below You.
Remove the burden of debt from us and free us from poverty. ) Muslim recorded this Hadith via Sahl, who said, "Abu Salih used to order us to lay on our right side when we were about to sleep, and then say, «اللْهُمَّ رَبَّ السَّموَاتِ وَرَبَّ الْأَرْضِ وَرَبَّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ، رَبَّنَا وَرَبَّ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ، فَالِقَ الْحَبِّ وَالنَّوَى، وَمُنْزِلَ التَّوْرَاةِ وَالْإِنْجِيلِ وَالْفُرْقَانِ، أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ كُلِّ ذِي شَرَ أَنْتَ آخِذٌ بِنَاصِيَتِهِ، اللْهُمَّ أَنْتَ الْأَوَّلُ فَلَيْسَ قَبْلَكَ شَيْءٌ، وَأَنْتَ الْاخِرُ فَلَيْسَ بَعْدَكَ شَيْءٌ، وَأَنْتَ الظَّاهِرُ فَلَيْسَ فَوْقَكَ شَيْءٌ، وَأَنْتَ الْبَاطِنُ فَلَيْسَ دُونَكَ شَيْءٌ، اقْضِ عَنَّا الدَّيْنَ، وَأَغْنِنَا مِنَ الْفَقْر» ( O Allah, Lord of the seven heavens and Lord of the Magnificent Throne! Our Lord, and the Lord of everything, Revealer of the Tawrah, the Injil and the Furqan, the Splitter of the grain of corn and the date stone! I seek refuge with You from the evil of everything whose forhead You have control over.
O Allah! You are Al-Awwal, nothing is before You; Al-Akhir, nothing is after You; Az-Zahir, nothing is above You; and Al-Batin, nothing is below You.
Remove the burden of debt from us and free us from poverty. ) And he used to narrate that from Abu Hurayrah from the Prophet ."

( He is the First ) before the appearance of all things, ( and the Last ) after the disappearance of all things, ( and the Outward ) above all things ( and the Inward ) in all things; ( and He is Knower of all things ) that is to say, He is the First means: He is the Living, the preeternal; He was before all that which Allah gave life to; the Last means: He is the Living and Eternally subsistent and will remains after He takes life from all that which Allah has given life to; the Outward means: He is the Conqueror and there is none that can conquer Him; while the Inward means: He is the One Who has knowledge of the inward and outward without there being anyone to inform Him; and it is also said that this means: He is the One Who puts ahead any that is first and the One Who puts last any that is last, before He created any creation; and He will subsist after the annihilation of everything He created, and He is the Living, the Subsistent Who will never die or be annihilated, and He is Aware of all things from first to last, inward or outward.

He is the First (nothing is before Him) and the Last (nothing is after Him), the Most High (nothing is above Him) and the Most Near (nothing is nearer than Him). And He is the All-Knower of every thing.

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