Al-Isra · Makki · ayah 44 of 111

Al-Isra 17:44

تُسَبِّحُ لَهُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتُ ٱلسَّبْعُ وَٱلْأَرْضُ وَمَن فِيهِنَّ ۚ وَإِن مِّن شَىْءٍ إِلَّا يُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِهِۦ وَلَـٰكِن لَّا تَفْقَهُونَ تَسْبِيحَهُمْ ۗ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ حَلِيمًا غَفُورًا

“The seven heavens and the earth and whatever is in them exalt Him. And there is not a thing except that it exalts [Allāh] by His praise, but you do not understand their [way of] exalting. Indeed, He is ever Forbearing[748] and Forgiving.”

Saheeh International

Essence

The heavens, the earth and all within them glorify Him with praise you cannot grasp, while He bears with you and forgives.

A reflection

The prayer that goes on without you

After a row with the mosque committee, a man announces he will stop coming to Friday prayer. 'They'll notice when I'm gone,' he tells his wife. The next Friday the hall fills as usual. The imam stands, the rows straighten, and the prayer begins. He sits at home, waiting to be missed.

Tusabbiḥu lahu l-samāwātu l-sabʿu wa-l-arḍu wa-man fīhinna: the seven heavens, the earth and whoever is in them glorify Him. One scholar lingers on the details. The heavens are named in the plural, then numbered: seven. That tells us they glorify Him with their very selves, each one of them, however many there are. Then the circle widens beyond any list. There is not a thing but glorifies Him with His praise.

Set beside that, our refusals look very small. A person can withhold his own praise from Allah. He cannot withhold the praise of the universe. The prayer goes on without him. The only one who loses anything is the one sitting at home.

That is the ego's lesson here. We are tempted to treat our worship as a favour to Allah, as if heaven would go quiet without us. The ayah says the opposite. Everything is already glorifying Him, and always has been. Our pride is the only thing in the room out of step.

Does God need this endless praise, as a vain ruler needs applause? The Prophet ﷺ reported Allah's own answer, recorded in Sahih Muslim. My servants, suppose the first of you and the last, humans and jinn, all had the heart of the most God-fearing man among you. It would add nothing to My dominion. If all had the heart of the most wicked, it would take nothing from it. The praise of the heavens is not His need. It is creation telling the truth. The invitation to join it is our good fortune, not His.

The full entry has 6 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.