Surah Al-Hashr, Ayah 24

Asserting the Greatness of the Qur'an

Allah the Exalted emphasizes the greatness of the Qur'an, its high status and of being worthy of making hearts humble and rent asunder upon hearing it, because of the true promises and sure threats that it contains,

لَوْ أَنزَلْنَا هَـذَا الْقُرْءَانَ عَلَى جَبَلٍ لَّرَأَيْتَهُ خَـشِعاً مُّتَصَدِّعاً مِّنْ خَشْيَةِ اللَّهِ

(Had We sent down this Qur'an on a mountain, you would surely have seen it humbling itself and rent asunder by the fear of Allah.) If this is the case with a mountain which is hard and huge, that if it was made able to comprehend and understand this Qur'an, will feel humble and crumble from fear of Allah the Exalted, then what about you -- O mankind Why do your hearts not feel softness and humbleness from the fear of Allah, even though you understand Allah's command and comprehend His Book This is why Allah said,

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 وَلَـٰكِن 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 اللَّـهُ الَّذِي لَا إِلَـٰهَ 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

The Quran is a declaration of the vital fact that man is not free, but is answerable for all his deeds to God who is all-powerful and who keeps a close watch on the actions of all mankind. This fact is of such grave import that it is enough to make even mountains tremble. But man is so negligent, forgetful and insensitive that, even after knowing this awesome fact, he is not perturbed. The names of God mentioned here are, on the one hand, an introduction to God’s Being. On the other hand, they show how Great is that Being who is the Creator of human beings and who keeps a constant watch over them. If an individual actually realises this, he will be completely engrossed in the remembrance and praises of God. The universe, by virtue of its creative meaningfulness, mirrors the attributes of God. It is itself wholly taken up with singing the praises of God and urges human beings to follow suit.