Surah Al-Hijr, Ayah 88

A Reminder of the Blessing of the Qur'an and the Command to focus on its Message

Allah is saying to His Prophet : Since We have given you the Grand Qur'an, then do not look at this world and its attractions, or the transient delights that we have given to its people in order to test them. Do not envy what they have in this world, and do not upset yourself with regret for their rejection of you and their opposition to your religion.

وَاخْفِضْ جَنَاحَكَ لِمَنِ اتَّبَعَكَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ

(And lower your wings to the believers who follow you) (26:215) meaning - be gentle with them, like the Ayah,

لَقَدْ جَآءَكُمْ رَسُولٌ مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ عَزِيزٌ عَلَيْهِ مَا عَنِتُّمْ حَرِيصٌ عَلَيْكُمْ بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ رَءُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ

Commentary

Surah Al-Fatihah is the Text and Summary of the Whole Qur'an

That Surah Al-Fatihah (The Opening) has been called the Glorious Qur’ an in this verse (87) indicates that Surah Al-Fatihah is, in a way, the whole Qur’ an - because the basic principles of Islam have been merged in it.l

1. In order to understand this, one must keep in mind that the words: اَلسَبعَ المثانِی واَلقُرآن (the seven oft repeated verses and the glorious Qur'an) in verse (87) are interpreted by the commentators in different ways. Most of them are of the view that 'seven oft-repeated verses' refer to Surah al-Fatihah which consists of seven verses. Since these seven verses are repeated in every Salah, they have been referred to in the verse 87 as 'oft-repeated verses'. Then, the words 'and the glorious Qur'an' occurring after it are of explanatory nature which refer to the same 'seven oft repeated verses'. Therefore, the name of the 'glorious Qur'an' has been given here to the Surah al-Fatihah itself. The comment of the author is based on this interpretation.

The study of heaven and earth reveals that the entire system is marked throughout by wisdom. Here everything is as it should be. In this entire system, only human beings set themselves up against reality. This contradiction between human beings and the universe implies that it must come to an end. From this point of view, belief in the Day of Judgement is absolutely rational and logical, because nothing other than the Day of Judgement can eliminate this contradiction. Graciously overlooking or turning away from others’ improper behaviour is an essential part of the preacher’s task in spreading the word of God. That is, when the addressee of his call starts some irrelevant discussion or picks a quarrel, politely ignoring him instead of answering him is the best policy. Without adopting this principle, the propagation of the word of God cannot be effectively performed.