Page 293
qayyiman li-yundhira baʾsan shadīdan min ladunhu wa-yubashshira l-muʾminīna lladhīna yaʿmalūna ṣ-ṣāliḥāti ʾanna lahum ʾajran ḥasanan
[a Book] upright, to warn of a severe punishment from Him, and to give good news to the faithful who do righteous deeds, that there shall be for them a good reward,
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah Al-Kahf – Verses 1 - 3
1. “(All) praise is (only) Allah’s, Who sent down upon His servant the Book (the Qur’an) and did not make in it any crookedness.”
2. “(A Book which is, over other heavenly Books,) guardian, to give warning of a severe punishment from Him, and to give good tidings unto the believers who do righteous deeds, that there will be for them a goodly reward.”
3. “Where in they will abide forever.”
At the beginning of this Surah, Allah, the Pure, has taught His servants how to praise Him for His greatest bounty. He has pointed out that His most important bounty is the very Qur’an which He has revealed to His Messenger, and it is the only cause of their salvation. As well as some other Suras of the Qur’an, Surah Al-Kahf has begun with Allah’s praise; and since praise and thanksgiving is usually for an important quality and a praiseworthy thing, here, the holy verse has stated it for the revelation of the Qur’an which is far from any crookedness and obliquity.
The verse says:
Then, the next verse adds, implying that it is fixed, straight, and guardian over other heavenly Books:
This word, /qayyiman/, which has been applied as an epithet for the Qur’an, is both an emphasis on the straightness and temperance of the Qur’an which is free from any contradiction, and a hint to the eternity of this great Book. It is also an example for: the protection of authenticities, the improvement of obliquities, guarding the Divine ordinances and human beings’ justice and excellence. This epithet, /qayyim/(guardian), is, in fact, a derivation of the guardianship of Allah by which He is the protector and guardian of all existing things of the world.
Then, the verse continues saying:
Immediately after that meaning, the verse indicates that this Book gives glad tidings unto those true believers who always do praiseworthy and righteous deeds for which they will be recompensed a good reward. It says:
This reward will be the eternal Paradise, wherein they will dwell forever. Here is the statement of the verse:
Explanations
1. Among all the suras of the Qur’an only the following suras begin with the holy phrase:
in three of which the speech is upon the creation of the world of existence: Al-Hamd, Al-’An‘am, Saba, Fatir, and Al-Kahf. In Surah Al-Hamd, training is spoken of, while here, in this verse, the words are upon the heavenly Book. As if, existence and creation accompanied with ‘the Book of Law’ are two wings for training the human beings.
2. The Arabic word /’i‘wijaj/ in context means: ‘deviation, and crookedness’. In Arabic, the term /‘awaja/ is used for physical phenomena while the term /‘iwaja/ is applied for non-physical phenomena. The author of Tibyan, a book of , has applied the term /‘awaja/ for human beings and the term /‘iwaja/ for other than human beings.
In this course, the Qur’anic term /qayyim/has been used in the sense of: ‘an erector, and arranger’.
3. The previous Surah has begun with the holy phrase:
and this Surah with the holy phrase:
Glorification and praise are usually mentioned beside each other.
4. Wherever the word /‘abdahu/ is mentioned absolutely in the Qur’an, it means the holy Prophet (S).
Its example are such as: Surah Al-Furqan, No.25, verse one, where it says:
Surah An-Najm, No. 53, verse 10, where it says:
Surah Al-Hadid, No.57, verse 9, which says:
and Surah Az- Zumar, No.39, verse 36 says:
5. The bounty of ‘the Book and Law’ is so important that Allah has praised Himself for it.
6. The Qur’an is the guardian of other heavenly Books and it contains all the necessary expedients of the servants. There is no contradiction, excess and defect, and deviation in it. It invites both to raising and has raised to invite, (qayyiman).