بِسمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحمٰنِ الرَّحيمِ
الحَمدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذي أَنزَلَ عَلىٰ عَبدِهِ الكِتابَ وَلَم يَجعَل لَهُ عِوَجًا
All praise belongs to Allah, who has sent down the book to His servant and did not let any crookedness be in it.
EXEGESIS
Al-ḥamd (all praise): the definitive al at the beginning of ḥamd indicates that the term is being used in a complete and unqualified way, meaning that all praise belongs to God.
ʿIwaj (crookedness) means to be crooked or twisted. It could be pronounced variably as ʿiwaj and ʿawaj. However, it is said ʿawaj is used for things which are physically perceptible, like a crooked branch on a tree, whilst ʿiwaj is used for abstract concepts, like crookedness in religion, belief, or speech. It seems that ʿiwaj is used for both though, as per the verse, You will not see any crookedness (ʿiwaj) or unevenness in it (20:107), which describes the earth, and the verse, Those who bar [others] from the way of Allah, and seek to make it crooked (ʿiwaj) (7:45), which describes attitude towards religion.
It has been said here to mean that the Quran does not have any contradictions, i.e. Had it been from [someone] other than Allah, they would have surely found much discrepancy in it (4:82); or that it is not obscure.
EXPOSITION
Like a few other surahs, this surah begins with the praise of God. Praise belongs to God because of the great blessing and kindness that He has shown by sending down the Quran, with which mankind can order their life and find their path. As talk is of God praising Himself, it is appropriate that the third person is being used.
It has been pointed out that the previous surah began with the glorification of God, Immaculate (subḥān) is He who carried His servant on a journey by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque (17:1), and this one begins with praise (ḥamd). Glorification (tasbīḥ) is for the one who is complete and is the act of negating flaws from the one being glorified. Praise is used when the one who is complete gifts of that to others. The Holy Prophet’s night journey and his being raised to the higher realms during the Night of Ascension is an act of spiritual completion for him. Delivering the message of God to others – All praise belongs to Allah, who has sent down the book to His servant – is an act of bestowing from the completion to others.
We should also note that the book is complete in itself, as He did not let any crookedness be in it. The Quran then bestows that completion to others as it is upright (verse 2). This is comparable to the beginning of Sūrat al-Baqarah which describes the Quran as This is the book, there is no doubt in it, a guidance to the God-wary (2:2), in which the Quran is first described as having completion (there is no doubt in it) and then as gifting from that to others (a guidance to the God-wary).
Who has sent down the book: as mentioned, the Quran is the completion and perfection of the word of God, and as such may be simply referred to as the book without needing any specification as to which book is meant. Here, like in many other verses, God affirms His authorship of the Quran.
The primary objective of the Quran is guidance. Indeed, the blessing of guidance is truly deserving of praise, as it is the greatest blessing. While one may thank God for things like health, family, wealth, and suchlike, none of these hold any true value unless one also treads the path of guidance. If for example one is told that there is food nearby, but one does not possess a mouth with which to eat it, can one enjoy and benefit from that food? Similarly, faith is what allows man to make true use of God’s blessings.
This verse could also be considered evidence in support of the principle of nuzūl dafʿī, that the Quran was revealed at once to the heart of the Prophet on the Night of Ordainment (laylat al-qadr), as it mentions the Quran being sent down to Prophet Muhammad (s) as a book.
To His servant: servant may not be an accurate translation for the Arabic term ʿabd. A closer translation would be ‘bound’ or ‘dependent’. Of course. everyone is an ʿabd of God, but only the believers accept this fact wilfully. His servant here refers to Prophet Muhammad (s), and the usage of the term is a great merit and distinction, as for God to name someone His servant is the highest honour.
The surah begins thus by confirming that Muhammad (s) was a messenger sent by God, in answer to the questions posed by the idolaters doubting his prophethood. The statement also links this verse to the last verse of the previous surah, which mentioned all praise belongs to Allah, who has neither taken any son, nor has He any partner (17:111), by denying any divine status to Prophet Muhammad (s) and emphasising that he was indeed a servant of God.
And did not let any crookedness be in it: the Quran is clear and eloquent in its language and expressions, powerful in its examples, effective in its advice, truthful in what it relates, and without blemish in other ways too. It could also mean that the Quranic guidance represents the straightest path to God, the most direct route to success, as it has no crookedness or deviations.
This is an introduction to the main theme of the surah, that the Quran gives the true account of everything and does not distort it in anyway. See the Introduction for more on this.
Finally, we could make brief note of some of the imagery used in these verses. If we compare the beginning of this surah to the previous one, we notice how that begins with describing the lifting up of the Holy Prophet for the ascension, whilst this one begins with the portrayal of the revelation coming down to the Holy Prophet. Interestingly, the Holy Prophet is here not described as going up, but rather as lowering himself through the act of worship. By lowering himself he is uplifted through the guidance of revelation (and this ties in nicely with the word qayyim in the next verse). As if to say the one who seeks God cannot reach Him by rising up, but rather by lowering themselves, and God will come to him, That is Allah’s guidance: with it He guides whomever He wishes of His servants (6:88). See also the commentary on verse 102 of this surah for a comparison of this imagery.
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
Makārim Shīrāzī points out that there are five surahs that begin with ḥamd, but all the others follow it up by describing God’s creation (with Sūrat al-Fātiḥah describing God’s lordship over creation). Only this one follows it by describing the revelation of the Quran. Makārim Shīrāzī says that both are actually describing a book of God, the book of creation versus the book of revelation, both being blessings of God.
Rāzī outlines a few points; that extolment (madḥ) is more general than praise (ḥamd), and praise is more general than thanksgiving (shukr). This is because extolment can be said of something even if it is not a rational actor, like extolling the beauty of an object, whereas ḥamd is reserved for a rational actor whose merits one mentions. Thanksgiving is more specific than ḥamd, because ḥamd can be mentioned of someone who does good, even if oneself is not the recipient of that good, whilst thanksgiving is done only when one is the recipient. Based on this he points out that the ḥamd with which the surah begins is most appropriate, as the blessing of Quranic guidance is one that reaches all of mankind.
Some have claimed that the preposition in lahu (translated here as in it) is actually referring to Prophet Muhammad (s) and not the Quran, meaning that it is the Prophet who has no crookedness.
[1] Tabrisi, 6/693.
[2] Tabrisi, 6/692; Raghib, p. 592.
[3] Tibyan, 7/4; Tabari, 15/127; Razi, 21/422.
[4] Tibyan, 7/5; Tabari, 15/127.
[5] Mizan, 13/237.
[6] Razi, 21/421.
[7] Razi, 21/422.
[8] Alusi, 8/191.
[9] Mudarrisi, 6/353.
[10] Tibyan, 7/5; Tabari, 15/127.
[11] Alusi, 8/192.
[12] Mizan, 13/237-238.
[13] Mudarrisi, 6/354.
[14] Razi, 21/422.
[15] The other four being al-Fātiḥah, al-Anʿām, Sabaʾ, and Fāṭir.
[16] Nemuneh, 12/342.
[17] Razi, 12/472.
[18] Muhit, 7/136.