Al-Hashr 59:19–24

فَأَنسَاهُمْ أَنفُسَهُمْ He made them forget their own selves....59:19) It means they did not forget Allah but themselves, because they are unaware of their own loss and gain.

لَوْ أَنزَلْنَا هَٰذَا الْقُرْ‌آنَ عَلَىٰ جَبَلٍ (Had We sent down this Qur'an to a mountain, ....59:21) This is a parable that Allah is using to illustrate the fact that if the Holy Qur'an were to be revealed on such strong, firm and unmovable mountain and endowed with intelligence like man, it would have submitted to the greatness of the Qur'an, nay, it would have crushed to pieces. But man is too selfish and proud. As a result, he has lost his natural intelligence and remains unaffected by the powerful message of the Qur'an. This, it would appear, is a hypothetical example, that is 'if mountains had sense or intelligence. Some scholars have stated that reason and revelation both bear testimony to the fact that everything in nature has sense, perception and intelligence, be it a mountain or a tree. Therefore, this is not a hypothetical example. It is a stark reality. [ Mazhari ]. And Allah knows best!

A Few of Allah's Attributes of Perfection

Having urged the people to be concerned about the Hereafter and having asserted the greatness of the Qur'an, this Surah is concluded with a few of Allah's attributes of perfection, as follows:

الِمُ الْغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ (...the Knower of the unseen and the seen - 22). The attribute 'the Knower of the Unseen and the seen' means that Allah knows all things, visible or invisible.

الْقُدُّوسُ The attribute Al-Quddus means 'the Most Pure from all defects', that is, Allah is the Being Who is free from all kinds of defect, deficiency and imperfection which are not in conformity to His Supreme status.

الْمُؤْمِنُ The word mu'min, when applied to a human being, means a believer, but when this attribute is applied to Allah, it means the one who provides peace and safety, as explained by Ibn ` Abbas ؓ . It means that He provides safety and perfect peace to those who believe in Allah and His Messengers.

الْمُهَيْمِنُ The attribute Al-Muhaimin, according to Ibn ` Abbas ؓ ، Mujhid and Qatadah means 'Guardian'. The Arabic lexicon Al-Qamus has explained that its route is 'hamn' which means to look after or take care of or watch over'. [ Mazhari ].

الْعَزِيزُ The attribute Al-` Aziz means 'the Almighty'.

الْجَبَّارُ‌ The attribute Al-Jabbar means the One who is dominant. It could also be derived from the word jabr, meaning to 'join broken bones' and thus we have the word jabirah, which refers to the bandage or plaster that is used in binding the broken bones. From this point of view, the attribute would mean that Allah is the Being Who sets aright every broken and useless things, matters or restores all losses and rectifies situations or mends every breakage.

الْمُتَكَبِّرُ‌ The attribute Al-Mutakabbir [ the Lord of Greatness ] is derived from takabbur and that from kibriya' meaning 'greatness' which is one of the peculiar characteristics of Allah. It implies that every greatness is attributable only to Allah who is not in need of anyone. Whoever is in need cannot be great. Therefore, if this word is used for a person other than Allah, it is a defect and sin, because the claim of greatness by a person who is not actually great is false and tantamount to a claim of being a partner of Allah, the Besought of all, in one of His exclusive attributes. That is why the word Al-Mutakabbir, when attributed to Allah is an attribute of perfection, but in respect of others it is no more than a false claim.

الْمُصَوِّرُ‌ (...the Originator of all Shapes....59:24) In other words, He gives shape to everything He creates. He has given particular shapes to all creatures whereby they are distinguished from one another. Every species has a shape distinguishable from all other species. Within one species too, there are differences in shape between males and females. Then there are uncountable differences between the shapes of the individuals of even one sex. The excellence of shaping or fashioning is of such high degree that the shapes of zillions of men and women are different from one another in a way that no face is an absolute copy of some other face. Had it not been so, no one could be distinguished from the other. This excellence and perfection of creative power belongs to none but Allah. Just as takabbur (show of greatness) is not permissible for anyone other than Allah [ as kibriya' is His exclusive attribute'], likewise no one, besides Allah, is permitted to do picture-making, because that too is the exclusive characteristic of Allah, and picture-making is an implied claim of being associate with Allah in this attribute.

لَهُ الْأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَىٰ (... His are the Most Beautiful Names ....59:24). The Holy Qur'an has not given the exact number of these Most Beautiful Names of Allah. Authentic Prophetic ahadith have counted them ninety-nine. Tirmidhi has collected all the ninety-nine names in one Tradition. Many scholars have written full books on the subject of Asma ul-Husna or 'Most Beautiful Names of Allah'. The present writer has also compiled a concise monograph on the subject of 'Most Beautiful Names of Allah' published as an annexure to Munajat-i-Maqbul (by Maulana Ashraf Thanawi (رح)).

يُسَبِّحُ لَهُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْ‌ضِ (...His purity is proclaimed by all that is in the heavens and the earth ....59:24). That all creatures in the heavens and the earth declare the purity of Allah in unuttered language is self-evident: The wonderful, marvelous and amazing things created by Allah, and the awe-inspiring and staggering shapes fashioned by Him proclaim the praises of their Creator in unuttered language. However, it is possible too that the word 'tasbih' is used here in its real and literal sense, because according to the authentic view everything in this universe has some kind of sense that accords to its ability. Now, the foremost and primary requirement of this sense is to recognize one's Creator and paying gratitude to Him. Based on this premise, it is not far-fetched to conceive that everything in nature really declares the purity of Allah in articulate language, though human ears might not be able to hear it. Thus the Qur'an on one occasion says وَلَٰكِن لَّا تَفْقَهُونَ تَسْبِيحَهُمْ (...but you do not understand their extolling.) (17:44)

Benefits and Blessings of the Concluding Verses of Surah Al-Hashr

It is recorded in Tirmidhi on the authority of Sayyidna Ma'qil Ibn Yasar ؓ that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ has stated that Allah appoints 70, 000 angels who pray for Divine mercy for anyone who recites the following three times: اَعُوذُ بِاللہِ اَلسَّمِیعِ اَلعَلِیمِ مِنَ اَلشَّیطَانِ الرَّجِیمِ and the last three verses of Surah Al-Hashr هُوَ اللَّهُ الَّذِي لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ. If he dies the same day, he will attain the status of a martyr. If a person recites the same solemn words in the evening, he will attain the same status. [ Mazhari ].

Al-Hamdulillah

The Commentary on

Surah Al-Hashr

Ends here