وَرَفَعنا لَكَ ذِكرَكَ

Did We not exalt your name?

EXEGESIS

Rafaʿnā (we exalted) is derived from the root r-f-ʿ which means to lift, to elevate, and to raise. It can refer to both physical and non-physical elevation.^{‎[su_tooltip content=”Qamus, 3/110.”][1][/su_tooltip]} Both these meanings have been used in the Quran; with regards to the physical elevation it says, He raised (rafaʿa) the sky and set down (waḍaʿa) the balance (55:7), and with regards to the non-physical meaning the Quran states, It is He who has made you successors on the earth, and raised (rafaʿa) some of you in rank above others (6:165).

EXPOSITION

The third blessing God bestowed the Prophet was that He raised his name in honour. The very obvious manifestation of that is that every time someone testifies to the oneness of God, it must be followed by the testimony to the prophethood of Muhammad (s). This is done several times a day in prayers and in the call to prayer.^{‎[su_tooltip content=”Mizan, 20/315.”][2][/su_tooltip]}

Additionally, in the Quran, God places the name of the Prophet next to His name, Whoever obeys the Apostle certainly obeys Allah (4:80). This means that the obedience of Prophet Muhammad (s) is the same as obeying God, which is another instance of the elevation of his name.^{‎[su_tooltip content=”Kashif, 7/851.”][3][/su_tooltip]}

Some exegetes^{‎[su_tooltip content=”Ahsan al-Hadith, 12/273.”][4][/su_tooltip]} maintain that this verse refers to the end of the Prophet’s life when his fame spread and his authority was recognised throughout Arabia and all the way through Persia, Egypt, and Ethiopia. Additionally, Makārim Shīrāzī mentions that laka in this verse is an emphasis – that despite all the enmity towards the Prophet, he was singled out by Allah and his name was raised in honour.^{‎[su_tooltip content=”Nemuneh, 27/125.”][5][/su_tooltip]}

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī narrates from the Messenger of God about this verse that Gabriel told him that God said: ‘Whenever I [God] am remembered, you [the Messenger] are also remembered along with Me.’^{‎[su_tooltip content=”Tabrisi, 10/771.”][6][/su_tooltip]}

[1] Qamus, 3/110.
[2] Mizan, 20/315.
[3] Kashif, 7/851.
[4] Ahsan al-Hadith, 12/273.
[5] Nemuneh, 27/125.
[6] Tabrisi, 10/771.