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huwa l-ʾawwalu wa-l-ʾākhiru wa-ẓ-ẓāhiru wa-l-bāṭinu wa-huwa bi-kulli shayʾin ʿalīmun
He is the First and the Last, the Manifest and the Hidden, and He has knowledge of all things.
— Ali Quli Qarai
57Al-ḤadīdالحديدVerse 3 of 29
The Iron57. Al-Ḥadīdالحديد
al-Ḥadīd
The Iron
MedinanVerse 3 of 29
Surah al-Hadid - Verses 1-3
1. Whatsoever is in the heavens and the earth glorifies Allah and He is the Glorious, All-Wise.
2. His is the sovereignty of the heavens and the earth. It is He Who gives life and causes death and He is Able to do all things.
3. He is the First and the Last, the Manifest, and the Unmanifest. And He is the Omniscient.
In Divine world view, all the world of existence glorifies God Almighty, even if we do not perceive it. God Almighty is glorified of any defect and weakness all the world of creation bears witness to it. It is worthy of note that the Chapter opens with an enumeration of approximately twenty Divine Attributes that increase human knowledge and reflect His Majesty and Beauty. The more thinkers reflect upon these Attributes, the more they perceive novel truths. In this vein, it is narrated from Imam ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn (as) that being asked about Divine Unity, he replied:
"God Almighty know that certain peoples would come in the last days of the world who reflect profoundly upon issues; as a consequence of which He sent down Chapter 112 (Ikhlas) and Verses one to six of Surah al-Hadid. Whoever seeks beyond that shall perish." 4
The tradition reflects that these blessed Verses lead seekers to the attainment of utmost possible knowledge. The first blessed Verse of the Chapter in question opens with glorification of God Almighty;
"Whatsoever is in the heavens and the earth glorifies Allah and He is the Glorious, All-Wise."
The preceding Chapter came to its end with glorification of God Almighty and this Chapter opens with the same. The three instances of glorification are expressed through the Arabic past verbal form sabbaha (in Chapters 57, 59, 61 and in two instances in Chapters 62 and 64, the present verbal form yusabbih is employed). The different forms of expression may reflect that the creatures of this world have always glorified His Most Sacred Essence.
True glorification designates negation of any defect and deficiency and bearing witness by all the creatures of the world reflects that the Purity of His Most Sacred Essence is free from any defect and deficiency since the world of creation follows such order and wisdom and it abounds in such wonders that they all glorify God Almighty and praise their Lord Whose Omnipotence and Wisdom are boundless. Thus, the blessed Verse ends with:
"He is the Glorious, All-Wise."
The blessed Verse may also reflect that all the atoms of the world of creation possess some kind of perception such that they praise and glorify God Almighty in their own spheres despite that fact that owing to our limited knowledge, we are unaware of their states. It is also worthy of note that
"whatsoever"
(ma) in
"Whatsoever is in the heavens"
(sabbaha li-lah ma fi ’l-samawat) covers a broad semantic range including all the creatures of the world inclusive of those having intellect, animate, and inanimate beings. Following an enumeration of two Divine Attributes, All-Glorious and All-Wise, in the first blessed Verse, the second blessed Verse treats of His Possession and Sovereignty in the world of existence as the pre-requisites of Omnipotence and Wisdom, saying: "His is the sovereignty of the heavens and the earth. It is He Who gives life and causes death and He is Able to do all things. Divine Possession of the world of existence is true and formative rather than statutory or hypostasized.”
In other words, His Omnipotence and Wisdom encompasses everything and all the world of existence is dependent upon His Might, Will, and Command. It is in this vein that the blessed Verse treats of giving life and causing death and Divine Omnipotence. Thus, so far mention is made of six Divine Attributes in these two blessed Verses. Giving life and causing death is reflected in numerous Qur’anic Verses. These two issues are secrets, namely no one but God Almighty is truly aware of life and death, but we are solely aware of the tokens. It is however a source of surprise life and death are nearest to us but the truth and secrets of the same of the most unraveled issues.
It is worthy of note that the Arabic present verbal forms yuhyi wa yumit
("gives life and causes death")
reflect continuity of life and death at all times and the twain encompass all forms of life and death ranging from the world of angels to other animate beings like animals and plants not only in this mundane life but also the forms of life in purgatory and the Day of Resurrection. Life and death in all forms are dependent upon Divine Omnipotence. The blessed Verse three deals with five more Attributes saying:
"He is the First and the Last, the Manifest, and the Unmanifest. And He is the Omniscient."
The Divine Attributes
"the First"
and
"the Last"
are delicate expressions reflecting His Pre-Eternality and Everlastingness, since we know that His Being is Infinite and He is the Necessary Being, namely His Existence lies within His Essence rather than without as a consequence of which He has neither origin nor end but He is Pre-Eternal and Everlasting. God Almighty is the Origin of the world of existence and He shall exist following the annihilation of the world. Thus, the expressions do not reflect the beginning and the end of some specific time span.
The expressions
"the Manifest"
and the
"Unmanifest"
also reflect His existential encompassing of all things. He is more Manifest than anything, since His tokens have encompassed everywhere. At the same time, He is more Unmanifest than anything, since profundity of His Essence is unknown to others. It is noteworthy that one of the consequences of the aforesaid Attributes is that "He is Omniscient," since the Pre-Eternal and Everlasting Being, Manifest and Unmanifest in the world, is undoubtedly All-Aware of all things.
The traditions narrated from the Noble Prophet (S) and the Pure Imams (as) in this vein reflect interesting points elucidating these meaningful Verses. According to a tradition narrated from the Noble Prophet (S) included in Muslim's Sahih:
"O Lord! You are the First unpreceded by anything and the Last followed by nothing. You are so Manifest and All-Conquering that no one is superior to you. You are so Unmanifest that nothing is imaginable beyond you." 5
It is narrated from the Commander of the Faithful, Imam ‘Ali (as):
"There is no beginning for His Pre-Eternality and there is no end to His Everlastingness. He is the First Who has always been. He is Everlasting superseded by no being. He is so Manifest that His Origin is unknown and He is so Unmanifest that His location is unbeknownst." 6
Imam Hasan Mujtaba (as) said in a sermon:
"Praise be to God Almighty Who is Pre-Eternal and Everlasting. His Attributes defy intellect, thought, and wisdom. No one may ever say anything about His Pre-Eternality, Manifestation, and Unmanifestation." 7
Footnotes