An-Naml · Makki · ayah 8 of 93

An-Naml 27:8

فَلَمَّا جَآءَهَا نُودِىَ أَنۢ بُورِكَ مَن فِى ٱلنَّارِ وَمَنْ حَوْلَهَا وَسُبْحَـٰنَ ٱللَّهِ رَبِّ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ

“But when he came to it, he was called, "Blessed is whoever is at the fire and whoever is around it. And exalted is Allāh, Lord of the worlds.”

Saheeh International

Essence

At the fire Musa met blessing for all who stood there, and a reminder that its Lord rules every world.

A reflection

Lord of all the worlds, not of this valley

A man comes home from ʿumra and is invited to speak at a family gathering. He talks for an hour. He describes the crowds, his own tears at the Kaʿba, how deeply he felt everything. By the end, the room knows a great deal about him. It has heard very little about his Lord.

The ego does this with sacred moments. It takes the nearness and makes it a possession. My experience. My breakthrough. My spiritual high.

Now watch what happens at the fire. Musa has arrived at the most intimate moment any human being has known. His Lord is about to speak to him directly. And the first words close that door to ego at once: wa-subḥāna Allāhi rabbi al-ʿālamīn. Glorified is Allah, Lord of all the worlds.

Not Lord of this valley. Not Lord of this night. Lord of every world there is.

One commentator explains it plainly. Allah resembles nothing He has made, and nothing He has made can enclose Him. Heaven and earth do not contain Him. Another adds that the glorification guards against any thought that hearing His speech makes Him like a speaking human. A third says it signals that the one who willed this event is the Lord of the worlds. What is about to happen is of the greatest weight.

Does Allah need this praise, the way the man at the gathering needed his audience? No. The praise is for Musa's sake, and ours. It keeps the greatest moment from shrinking into one man's story.

When something wonderful happens to you, in prayer or in life, try this. Say subḥāna Allāh before you say anything about yourself. Let the first word belong to Him.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.