فَسَبِّح بِاسمِ رَبِّكَ العَظيمِ
So celebrate the name of your Lord, the all-supreme.
EXPOSITION
The preceding verses provide four arguments for God’s mercy and power, based on four fundamental aspects of our life and existence (creation, cultivation, precipitation, and combustion). Now, what do they conclude? What is God’s message for us in all of this? The conclusion is: So celebrate the name of your Lord, the all-supreme. That is, praise your all-mighty Creator who creates you from a mere sperm cell; exalt your merciful sustainer who grows what you sow into full plants; give thanks to the one who sends down fresh potable water for you; and glorify your Lord, the all-supreme who has made fire a source of power and strength for you. This of course equally applies to the other signs and blessings of God and is not limited to the ones mentioned here. Indeed one should celebrate God for all of His signs and bounties.
This celebration and glorification might also be an answer to the blasphemous claims of the disbelievers that there is no afterlife, which entails that God has created the universe in vain. It could also be an answer to their ingratitude towards all of these bounties of God.
Celebration (tasbīḥ) of God can have one or more of three applications here: 1. Glorifying God from all that does not befit Him, such as creating the universe in vain. This glorification involves an affirmation of the hereafter. 2. A means of showing surprise with regard to His amazing creation, or with regard to the defiance and claims of the disbelievers. 3. A phrase of praise, intended to show gratitude to God for the aforementioned bounties.
There are two points to be clarified with regard to this verse: 1. What does it mean to celebrate (sabbiḥ)? 2. What is the significance of God’s name here?
- To celebrate or glorify God means to disassociate Him from any shortcoming, defect, or limitation, and from anything that does not befit the absolutely one and perfect being. In the Quran, tasbīḥ (celebration, glorification) is always used in its most general sense, which includes the notions of taḥmīd (praise), tahlīl (proclaiming God’s unity), and takbīr (proclaiming God’s greatness and magnificence). Even when tasbīḥ is used in juxtaposition with other phrases of praise it retains its general meaning – except for very few cases where tasbīḥ would have the specific meaning of glorification. These four (and perhaps other concepts such as taqdīs (sanctification)) later became specific terms in a variety of Islamic disciplines such as lexicology, theology, philosophy, and mysticism. Hence, the distinctions made in these disciplines between these concepts should not be set as a basis for the interpretation of the Quran, for the Quran has its own terminology and it takes precedence over all of them. In order to avoid a vicious circle, one should refer to the Quran itself for the meanings of these terms.
Further, what is meant by sabbiḥ does not mean a mere verbal declaration. Much like when the Quran commands the Prophet or its audience to ‘say’ something, what is really meant is to subscribe to a principle. That is, accept it, believe in it, hold on to it, defend it, practice it, and of course proclaim it. Likewise, So celebrate the name of your Lord, the all-supreme means: purge your heart from attachment to anyone or anything other than God, clear your mind from being preoccupied with any other thoughts, and do not be moved by any force that inspires threat or temptation in you other than your Lord. ‘Eliminate the creatures from your heart, and stop desiring that your Lord give you other than what He has already ordained for you.’ The essence of tasbīḥ is the feeling of fascination that one finds in his inner self when beholding an all-perfect and all-supreme reality.
In short, the verse is saying: dedicate every element of your life, every act of worship that you perform, and every aspect of your self to God; Say: ‘Indeed my prayer and my worship, my life and my death are for the sake of Allah, the Lord of all the worlds. He has no partner, and this [creed] I have been commanded [to follow], and I am the first of those who submit [to Allah]’ (6:162-163). Why should you do so? Because 1. He is your Lord, and 2. He is the all-supreme. You should take recourse to Him because He is your Lord, and you should disentangle yourself from everything other than Him because nothing can challenge Him in His supremacy.
Everything is subjugated before His magnificence. Hence, you too, O Muhammad (and every reader and audience of the Quran) should celebrate and glorify the all-supreme Lord that you have, and submit to Him with humbleness.
From everything other than Him
I repent to Him;
From the illusion of being
I repent to Him.
I’m a servant of the Truth; He is my craze;
From other than the Truth I’ve lowered my gaze.
Indeed I shall sing everywhere and always:
Thine is the kingdom and Thine is the Praise.
- The verse commands the celebration of God’s name in particular. There are many verses that talk about other similar acts, such as turning to God for help (7:128), seeking refuge from Him (7:200, 16:98, 40:56, 41:36), or making a vow and pledge (2:224, 5:106, 9:42, and many more), which could have equally talked about ‘God’s name’, but they only mention ‘God’. There are even verses that talk about celebrating the praise of God, much like this verse, but they do not make note of God’s ‘name’ (2:30, 17:44, 25:58). In fact, the phrase celebrate the praise of your Lord appears in six verses in the Quran (15:98, 20:130, 40:55, 50:39, 52:48, 110:3), where there is no mention of God’s name. So what is special about God’s name in this verse?
A name (ism) is what indicates something, represents it, and is used to refer to it, like a title or description. Much like other concepts, the name of anything should be appropriate to that thing. Therefore, the names of God, who is the absolute reality (22:6, 22:62, 24:25, 31:30), cannot be merely a matter of letters and phones that have no basis other than convention. As discussed in its own place, God’s names are existential realities and entities through which God manifests and acts in the various planes of existence. However, as noted with regard to tasbīḥ, one cannot apply the terminology of theology, philosophy, or mysticism on the Quran, but should rather refer to the Quran itself to find the meaning of its terms.
In the Quran, God’s name has been used in two general contexts: 1. The legislative context (tashrīʿ), and 2. The cosmic and existential context (takwīn). The legislative context is that of worship, sacrifice, and supplication, which involves verses that talk about invoking God’s name(s) as an act of worship. The most recurring example of such is found in verses that talk about invoking the name of God at the time of slaughtering an animal. The verse being discussed here also involves a legislative context. On the other hand, the cosmic and existential verses are about the most beautiful names and attributes of God, and they establish the fact that to Him belong the most excellent names (7:180, 17:110, 20:8, 59:24).
However, upon further reflection, this distinction fades away as the second context merges with the first (the unification of these two contexts is clearly seen in verses 7:180 and 17:110). Therefore, the names of God are His attributes of excellence and perfection through which one has to turn his attention to Him. God’s name is that which is to be invoked; God’s names are the means by which His servants connect to Him.
Now, when some verses say celebrate the name of your Lord and some verses say celebrate your Lord, we can consider the former group of verses as more specific than the latter. This specification could mean one of two things: 1. The specific verses serve as an explanation and further instruction for the general ones. In other words, they explain how to celebrate your Lord: celebrate Him by celebrating His name, which also clarifies why there is a letter bāʾ just before ism (name). This meaning is based on the idea that all we have access to are God’s names; His names are our only means of invoking Him, worshipping Him, and asking Him for help. The same idea is seen in verses that talk about supplication (duʿāʾ): there are some verses that command us to call God in supplication (7:55-56, 40:60, 40:65), and then there are other verses that tell us how to do so: To Allah belong the best names, so supplicate Him by them (7:180). The same can be said about God’s remembrance (dhikr), where some verses command the reader to remember God (2:152, 18:24), and other verses command how to do so: Remember the name of your Lord (73:8, 76:25 – there are many other verses about how to remember God such as 2:200, 7:205, 33:41, 73:8, 76:25).
2. Sometimes a particular name of God is intended based on the context, regardless of other similar verses. Based on this meaning, celebrate the name of your Lord, the all-supreme would mean that not only should you glorify God, but glorify Him with particular attention to these two facts: that He is your Lord, and that He is the all-supreme. Thus, celebrate the one who has these two attributes. This meaning would also clarify why the verse mentions al-ʿaẓīm (the all-supreme): your act of glorification should be with special attention to His superiority, and based on that.
This itself can be a justification for the use of the word name in this verse, because the verse concern’s God’s superiority, magnificence, and grandeur. In other words, it is a context of showing respect and high regard, and when someone is to be esteemed, even his name should be esteemed: So celebrate the name of your Lord, the all-supreme. According to this explanation, there is no mention of God’s name in verses that say celebrate the praise of your Lord because they involve a context of praise. That is, the verses of praise pertain to God’s beauty (jamāl) while this verse pertains to God’s majesty (jalāl), and the usage of name is more applicable to the latter than the former.
This implies that the all-supreme is an attribute of your Lord, meaning: celebrate the name of your Lord who is the all-supreme. Another possibility – though less likely – is that the all-supreme is an attribute of name, meaning: celebrate the name all-supreme, which is a name of your lord; or celebrate the all-supreme name (i.e. the greatest name) of your Lord.
Another explanation given for the usage of name in this verse is that it means: do not ascribe God’s name(s) to the idols – i.e. do not call the idols gods – for God’s name should be glorified of such usage and application. Likewise, just as you celebrate and glorify God’s essence (in terms of the beliefs that you hold within yourselves), you should also glorify His names, meaning: 1. Do not ascribe His names to others, and 2. Be careful about what names and descriptions you use for God, lest it should contravene His glory and purity.
Show me a roof other than Your roof,
Show me a name other than Your Name,
Give me a goblet other than Yours,
You are my Tapster; You are my love!
Those who are not conscious of You
They have the biggest trouble and pain,
Do not afflict anyone with that,
You are my King, You are my love!
INSIGHTS FROM HADITH
- There is a famous and widely-reported tradition that when this verse (So celebrate the name of your Lord, the all-supreme) was revealed, the Prophet said: ‘Set it in your rukūʿ (bowing),’ and when the verse Celebrate the name of your Lord, the most exalted (87:1) was revealed, he said: ‘Set it in your sujūd (prostration).’
Note: This tradition and the common formulae uttered in rukūʿ comply with both explanations concerning the usage of name in this verse, discussed under Exposition. Some exegetes have brought up the question of why this verse says celebrate by the name of your Lord (with the letter bāʾ) while verse 87:1 says Celebrate the name of your Lord (without the letter bāʾ), and have provided some explanations for this difference. The most plausible answer is to say that tasbīḥ can be used both with and without the letter bāʾ. The Quran has used it in both ways to show that they are both acceptable and meaningful. This is seen in many other terms and concepts such as hidāyah (guidance), which are used in different places of the Holy Quran with different particles (or no particle) in order to show their possible applications and usages. After all, the Quran was the most influential source in the development and systematisation of the rules of the Arabic language and grammar. Although it was revealed in Arabic, it was not delimited to the Arabic of the time; rather, it took lead of the language, made it evolve, and taught the people about their language (though that is by no means its primary purpose). At the same time, there might be other explanations for such subtle differences.
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
The following explanation has also been suggested concerning why there is a mention of God’s name in this verse: the name of something is a sign and indication of that thing. Therefore, God’s name is used in a social and interpersonal setting, when one wants to call the audience toward God. Hence, celebrate the name of your Lord essentially means invite to your Lord (22:67, 28:87). It means: propagate and announce the name of your Lord, and do so with glorification – meaning free from the blasphemous ascriptions and beliefs of the polytheists. Thus, the usage of name here implies an element of tablīgh (propagation). This is opposed to verses that say, celebrate the praise of your Lord, which concern an individual act of worship as opposed to a social endeavour against the blasphemies of the disbelievers.
Note that this explanation is negated by some verses that mention the name of God when talking about individual acts of worship in private such as daily prayers or even the night prayer (2:114, 22:40, 24:36, 73:8, 76:25, 87:15).
INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS
The celebration and glorification of God are also found in the Bible, such as the following passages from the Old Testament:
- And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.
- Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works. All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name. For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone. Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name. I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore.
- … Stand up and bless the LORD your God for ever and ever: and blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.
Many passages in the Bible talk about the glorification of God’s name, confirming the first meaning discussed in Exposition, that God’s names are the means by which one turns to Him, worships Him, and supplicates to Him.
[1] Murtaza Alidina, series of lectures on the exegesis of Sūrat al-Wāqiʿah, available at <http://www.dartabligh.org >.
[2] Zamakhshari, 4/468; Mizan, 19/136; Furqan, 28/98-99.
[3] Sadra, 7/97-98.
[4] A statement by Abū al-Hasan al-Shādhilī. See Ibn al-Ṣabbāgh, The mystical teachings of al-Shadhili, p. 138.
[5] Fayḍ Kāshānī, Dīwān, 2/1189.
[6] Fayḍ Kāshānī, Dīwān, 2/948.
[7] Tahqiq, under s-m-w.
[8] See Mizan, 1/17; Jawādī Āmulī, Tasnīm, 1/278-279.
[9] Razi, 29/424.
[10] Razi, 29/424.
[11] Alusi, 14/151.
[12] Rūmī, Dīwān-e Kabīr, ghazal 7, lines 7 and 12.
[13] Ahmad, 4/155; Ibn Majah, 1/287, h. 887; Faqih, 1/315, h. 932; Tahdhib, 2/313, h. 129.
[14] Razi, 29/424.
[15] Leviticus 19:12.
[16] Psalms 86:8-12.
[17] Nehemiah 9:5.