Surah An-Nur, Ayah 41

Everything glorifies Allah, may He be exalted, and to Him belongs the Sovereignty

Allah tells us that whosoever is in the heavens and on the earth, i.e., the angels, mankind, Jinn, animals and even inanimate objects, all glorify Him. This is like the Ayah:

تُسَبِّحُ لَهُ السَّمَـوَتُ السَّبْعُ وَالاٌّرْضُ وَمَن فِيهِنَّ

(The seven heavens and the earth and all that is therein, glorify Him) 17:44,

وَالطَّيْرُ صَآفَّـتٍ

(and the birds with wings outspread) means, while they are flying they glorify their Lord and worship Him with the glorification with which they are inspired and to which they are guided. Allah knows what they are doing, and so He says:

كُلٌّ قَدْ عَلِمَ صَلاَتَهُ وَتَسْبِيحَهُ

(Of each one He knows indeed his Salah and his glorification;) meaning, He has guided every creature to its own way of worshipping Allah, may He be glorified. Then Allah tells us that He knows all of that and nothing at all is hidden from Him. He says:

وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ بِمَا يَفْعَلُونَ

(and Allah is All-Aware of what they do.) Then Allah tells us that to Him belongs the sovereignty of heaven and earth, and that He is the Ruler and Controller, the God Who is worshipped and besides Whom none other is to be worshipped, and there is none to put back His judgement.

وَإِلَى اللَّهِ الْمَصِيرُ

(and to Allah is the return) means, on the Day of Resurrection, when He will judge as He wills,

لِيَجْزِىَ الَّذِينَ أَسَاءُواْ بِمَا عَمِلُواْ

(that He may requite those who do evil with that which they have done...) 53:31 He is the Creator and Sovereign, and His is indeed the Authority in this world and the next. To Him be praise at the beginning and in the end.

Commentary

كُلٌّ قَدْ عَلِمَ صَلَاتَهُ وَتَسْبِيحَهُ (Everyone knows one's own (way of) praying - 41). In the beginning of the verse it is said that every creature on earth and heavens and in between them is busy in the glorification and sanctification of Allah Ta’ ala. The meaning of Tasbih is explained by Sufyan (رح) that Allah Ta’ ala has created everything in this universe like earth, heavens, sun, moon, stars, water, fire, air or sand with purpose, and they are all performing all the time the task they are assigned. They cannot refuse to perform their assigned job. This obedience and submission to carry out the assigned job is referred here as Tasbih. Hence, their Tasbih is by action and not by words. By their actions they are confirming that they are performing this worship because they believe Allah Ta’ ala to be Pure and Almighty.

Zamakhshari and some other commentators have, on the other hand, elaborated that it is not improbable that Allah Ta’ ala has placed so much sense and understanding in everything that they do recognize their Creator and Master. And it is also not improbable that He has taught them some sort of speech, and some special Tasbih and worship in which they keep themselves busy. There is an allusion towards this point in the last sentence كُلٌّ قَدْ عَلِمَ صَلَاتَهُ وَتَسْبِيحَهُ (Every one knows one's own { way of} praying and proclaiming Allah's purity - 41). It indicates that all creatures are busy in Tasbih and worship of Allah Ta’ ala, but the manner of worship of each creature is different. Angels worship in a different manner, humans worship differently, trees and vegetation also worship differently, and the rocks and minerals yet in another manner. Another verse of the Holy Qur’ an also confirms this view when it says أَعْطَىٰ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ خَلْقَهُ ثُمَّ هَدَىٰ (He who gave everything its shape, then guidance - 20:50) that is ` Allah Ta’ ala created everything and then given guidance to them'. The guidance is that everything is obeying Allah and performing its assigned duty diligently. Apart from this, everything has been guided how to fulfill the need of its existence with such perfection that even the best of minds get boggled. How creative and complicated nests and holes they make for their living, and how they strive and work hard to find and collect their food is in itself a great wonder.

In stark contrast to the person who revives his inner natural urge and consequently is blessed with the wealth of faith, there exists the other type whose ‘oil’ does not become ignited by the fire of Truth. Of the second type, are those who follow a concocted religion. They build a palace of false hopes and are happy in it. Thus they live with their misconceptions till they are overtaken by death, which suddenly dispels the magical spell of their misconceptions. They then realise that what they thought of as their goal until now, was nothing but a pit of destruction. Another category consists of open rebels and rejecters of Truth. Disregarding God’s guidance, they become utter failures and grope in the dark forever.