In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

1- The Compassionate one.

2- He taught reading [the Qur’an].

3- He created a human.

4- He taught him speech.

5- The Sun and the Moon follow their calculated courses.

6- And the herbs and the trees do submit to Him.

7- He has raised the sky and set up the balance (mizan),

8- That you transgress not the balance,

9- So maintain the weight (wazn) with justice and fall not short in the balance.

10- And the Earth He set out for (His) creatures,

11- In which are fruits and sheathed palm trees,

12- Husked grain, and fragrant herbs.

13- So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

14- He made a human (insan) from dried clay, like earthen vessels,

15- And the jinn (jann) he created of smokeless fire.

16- So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

17- Lord of the two easts, and Lord of the two wests.

18- So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

19- He merged the two seas.

20- There is a barrier (barzakh) between them. Which they do not overstep.

21- So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

22- There comes forth from both of them the pearl and coral-stone.

23- So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

24- His are the ships (jawar) displayed.

25- So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

26- All who are upon it [Earth] will perish,

27- Yet the Face of your Lord of majesty and honor, will remain.

28- So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

The title of this chapter, ar-Rahmān (The Compassionate) is the only one that takes on one of the beautiful names of God (asmā al-husnā) and is popularly known as “the bride of the Qur’an.” Why is it that people commonly read such a chapter on sad occasions? Perhaps the reason is that verse 26 reads: “All who are upon it [Earth] will perish” – meaning that everything will eventually fade away and everyone will die. While this may seem like bad news, verse 27 goes on to say: “Yet the Face of your Lord of majesty and honor, will remain.” This, in itself, is a tremendous blessing. Now, if “the Face of your Lord” meant God Himself, we might well ask: “If we die but God continues to exist, how exactly does this count as a blessing?” But in fact “the Face of your Lord” means that thing which is directedtowardsGod. We may not be able to know God’s essence (dhāt), but we can know His Face (wajh). God’s Face refers to His names (asmā): God is All-Knowing (al-‘Alīm) and we understand what knowledge (‘ilm) is; God is MostMerciful (ar-Rahīm) and we understand what mercy (rahmah) is; God forgives sins (al-Ghafūr); God is Ever-Clement (al-‘Afūww); God is All-Strong (al-‘Azīz); God is All-Powerful (al-Jabbār); God is the Bestower of blessings (al-Mannān); God is MostGentle (al-Latīf); and, besides these, God has many other names.
Therefore, even though everything else will fade away, God’s Face will remain and this comes from the fact that He is All-Merciful. To give an example, schools are closed during the new year period, and teachers and students are on holidays. However, just because everything is closed, does this mean that everythingthe students have learnt during the school year is squandered? Certainly,something remains, and we could call this thing,figuratively, the “face” of the school. Whatever subjects we studied as students will remain with us even when we have stopped studying. In fact, even if the school closes for good and never opens again, the things that we learnt there will continue to exist in the core of our being and we will continue to make use of them during our lives.
And not only is it the case that we will all die one day, but even the Earth itself willdisappear one day; “All who are upon it [Earth] will perish” means that everything that exists on the surface of the Earth will one day be gone. However, there will nevertheless remain something at the core of our being that will last beyond our mortal lives. So, what a great blessing it is that God’s countenance will subsist. If everything were destined to be futile – if we came into this world, ate and drank for a few days, only to lay our heads down on the earth and decompose into dust – what an empty and pointless existence this would have been. But the story of our life never finishes. It continues even when we die. And the things we achieved during our life in this world, whether good or bad, are the provisions for our journey beyond the grave and our capital for eternity. Therefore, the fact that God’s Face will endure is truly a great blessing. People also recite this chapter in gatherings for the deceased to soothe their hearts. Not only does reading this chapter remind a person of all the blessings he enjoys in this world, but also that their loved one who has left this world has actually gone to a place where he can make use of his deeds in this world, and where his life and the school of his existence will continue. You might say that he has finished one phase of his education and moved on to the next level.
But what does ar-Rahmān mean? We often say Bismi-l-Lāhi-r-Rahmāni-r-Rahīmand translate this into English as “In the Name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful.” However, this is not a precise translation. Both of these divine names,ar-Rahmān and ar-Rahīm, are cognates of a single etymological root:rahmah (mercy). Therefore, God has two kinds of mercy:a universal mercy and a particular mercy. His name, ar-Rahmān, reflects the first kind of mercy, while ar-Rahīm, reflects the second. To give an example, the light and warmth of the Sun reaches everyone on the Earth in the same way without exception, whether they are good or bad, whether they are in the sea, desert,or jungle. This is the meaning of ar-Rahmān. However, we know that different colors absorb this light differently; light colors do not absorb as much light as dark colors. That is why in the summer people tend to wear white or light colors to reflect the Sun’s rays and stay cool, while if they were to wear darker colors these would absorb more rays. A polished stone will reflect light well, while many other objects will absorb the light and heat of the Sun. Therefore, while standing before the light of God’s mercy that reaches all places in the same way, we, too, have a role to play as we can choose to absorb more or less of this mercy. It is in this context that we can describe God by His other name of mercy, ar-Rahīm. God’s mercynot only equallytouches everything (which is the attribute of ar-Rahmān), but whoever chooses to absorb more of His mercyis given more (ar-Rahīm). Another example we can reference is of a teacher in a class of students. Although he teaches all the students equally, when he sees that some of the students are more serious and diligent that others, he pays more attention to them. He may give them additional instructions after regular classes, or challenge them further. In any case, he will transmit more of his knowledge to those students who are thirsty for it by virtue of the fact that they are more attentive than their classmates. This reflects the attribute of ar-Rahīm.
In the same vein, God has guided all of us. This is because He is ar-Rahmān. However, he also gives the believers a special kind of mercy, which emanates from his attribute ofar-Rahīm. God is ar-Rahmān in this world and ar-Rahīm in the Hereafter. The faithful will enjoy God’s special mercy in the Hereafter, while those people who did not absorb God’s mercy in this world will be deprived of it in the Hereafter. In this chapter, named ar-Rahmān, God cites the general kind of mercy, which He bestows on all His creatures rather than a particular one.

[55:1] The Compassionate one.
[55:2] He taught reading [the Qur’an].
[55:3] He created a human.
[55:4] He taught him speech.

This chapter begins with a verse containing only one Arabic word: ar-Rahmān. Following it are verses containing two words: ‘allam-al-Qur’ān (“He taught the Qur’an”), khalaq-al-insān (“He created a human”), ‘allama-hu-l-bayān (“He taught him speech”). Then come verses made up of three words: ash-shams wa-l-qamar bihusbān (“The Sun and the Moon follow calculated courses”), an-najm wa-sh-shajar yasjudān (“The herbs and the tree prostrate”). Then come verses with four words, and gradually the number of words in each verse increases.
Why is God introduced as ar-Rahmān here? Why does this name appear throughout this chapter of the Qur’an? It is because this chapter mentions God’s blessings that emanate from His all-encompassing mercy. The first example of God’s mercy is “He taught the Qur’an” then “He created a human.” And what is this Qur’an that He taught?
There are many people who suppose that “qur’ān” here means the holy book which God taught to His Prophet. But this understanding alone does not captureGod’s universal mercy, because the former is only for the Muslims who have embraced Islam, while this chapter is talking about human beings in general. Equally, the Qur’an is the final divinely revealed scripture that God sent to humankind. But if this is what is meant by “qur’ān” here, then how do followers of other religions or people of no religion whatsoever benefit from God’s universal mercy? Thus, the Qur’an as a sacred text is not a manifestation of God’s all-encompassing mercy. It is true that this revealed scripture is called “the Qur’an” butthe same word that appears in this verse does not refer to the scripture, but rather to the act of reading. In other words, from a grammatical perspective, it is not a noun but an infinitive. There are other examples of this in the Qur’an. For instance, God calls our prayers “a reading” (qur’ān). He says, “Indeed the dawn reading (qur’ān al-fajr) is ever witnessed”(17:78), where “the dawn reading” refers to the prayers which we offer at daybreak. In many parts of the Qur’an, God tells His Prophet not to read: “Do not hasten [O Muhammad] with the readingbefore its revelation is completed for you” (20:114). Elsewhere he says: “Indeed it is up to Us to put it together and to read it”(75:17) where the act of “to read” is an action contained within “qur’ānu-hu.” What does this mean? God says that He will “read” and that whenever He “reads” the Prophet should follow Him in “reading” it.
Take the following example as an illustration of this point: the first ever soft drink to be imported to Iran was Pepsi Cola. Later, several other soft drinks, like Coca-Cola and Canada Dry, entered the market. However, many people called any kind of soft drink “Pepsi” and asked shopkeepers for a soft drink by that name even when they wanted another brand or flavor. In other words, “Pepsi” became a name for any kind of soft drink. We could look at the word “qur’ān” here in the same light wherein it means something that is read, not necessarily the particular sacred text that is called “the Qur’an.”
So, did God teach reading? What percentage of people were literate in the past? If by “reading” we mean reading the letters of the alphabet,and if mass literacy is a new phenomenon, how can this be considered one of God’s universal blessings? He says, “He taught reading,”but1,400 years ago, in the Arabian Peninsula, only the tiniest minority of people were able to read and write. So what exactly has God taught people? In what sense did He teach them reading? This shows that in this verse God cannot simply have meant general “reading” practice either.
The word “qur’ān” is derived from the etymological root Q-R-A, and“qara” is used for the drops of rainwater which gather intoand filla tank. Alternatively, “qara” is also used when people who dwell in tents scattered across plains and deserts gather in a town (in Arabic,qaryah) and live together. There are many other examples of this meaning.
With this in mind, how did the word “qirā’ah” come to signify reading? It is such because when we read, we put together a series of symbols, in the form of letters and words, and thereby create sentences, which we read and whose meaning we understand. Therefore, we have a gathering (qirā’ah) in the sense that we have assembled a collection of arbitrary symbols that allow us to convey messages to one another. When someone writes something in any language, whether Chinese, Japanese, English, or Turkish, this means that he wants to use symbols to express his thoughts in a manner that other people can read in order to grasp their meaning. It is this joining together of symbols that we call qirā’ah. It is this act that God taught, rather than reading or literacy in the modern sense. God taught human beings “to read” in the sense that a human being, unlike any other creature, can use a series of symbols to express thoughts and ideas about the world.
In the Cave of Hira, God said to the Prophet: “Read” (iqra) (96:1). But the Prophet was not a man of letters, and hadnever studied to become one. Did God present the Prophet with a written text that he was telling him to read? Which text did He expect him to read? The Prophet was an unlettered man who never read anything until the end of his life. The Qur’an calls attention to this fact on numerous occasions, saying he neither wrote nor read books, yet you might say he was still the most “well-read” of people. The Qur’an tells the Prophet: “We shall soon have you read, then you will not forget” (87:6). Yes, the Prophet certainly became a reader, but not in the sense of putting together legible symbols or knowing the alphabet – so what did the Prophet read? In short, the symbols of the cosmos: Words which, like all the signs (ayāt) of God are written in the language of existence and also in symbols, which point to an underlying unity. From each one of these signs, the Prophet understood that there was a reality,that there was a Creator and a Lord. From the Qur’an we know that God said: “Read” (96:1).From narrations, we know that the Prophet replied: “What should I read?”
“Read in the Name” (96:1)
“Read in what name?”
“In the Name of your Lord”(96:1)
“Name” (in Arabic, ism) means “an attribute,” so this can be said to refer to the attributes of lordship.
“Which lordship?”
“The lordship of He who created” (96:1)
“Read the creation.”
“Which creation?”
“He created a human from a clot” (96:2).
Read that the human being was created from a single drop of semen. God did not mean that the Prophet should become literate to be able to read a sentence. Rather, God meant that the Prophet should read the world. How should he read the world? In such a way that he sees all the parts of the world joined together. In such a way that he perceives the system of the cosmos. God told him to read the cosmos and its parts. This is what the Prophet read. This is the real meaning of qirā’ah.
Another point worthy of consideration is this:if God used “reading” here in the everyday sense of the word, why would He mention it before mentioning the creation of the human being? The human being must first be created and then taught to read. However, God says: “The Compassionate. He taught the Qur’an. He created a human.”(55:1–3). In other words, first He taught reading and then created the human being. So, what could qirā’ah mean here? As outlined above, qirā’ah means to put together different pieces in order to produce a single meaning. In the beginning, a single cell came into being on the surface of the Earth. It multiplied into two, then four, then eight, and then more cells came into being. These formed colonies. Then the cells took shape and gradually produced the first complex organisms until this process of joining together (i.e. qirā’ah) finally produced human beings. God taught the Prophet all the elements of life that came into being on the surface of the Earth. Is it not God who said He created everything and then guided it? The Qur’an says it is God “Who created, then fashioned it well in due proportion, who determined [according to measure] and then guided.” (87:2–3). In other words, everything that God created, He also taught. Those primordial elements of life constitute the stage at which God created life, and He taught them how to combine together and guided their development until, finally, “He created a human.”
Therefore, the word “qur’ān” (as derived from “qirā’ah”) here has three possible meanings. The first is the most obvious one; “He taught the Qur’an,” i.e. the revealed scripture called the Qur’an. The second meaning is a step deeper, where the Arabic word qur’ān is understood in the sense of qirā’ah(“reading”) rather than as a proper name. However, this does not mean “reading the Qur’an,” nor does it mean “reading” in the everyday sense of extracting meaning from letters and words. On the contrary, it means to read the book of the cosmos and understand the message of this text. The third meaning is that the word “qirā’ah”actually refers to the evolution of life: cells multiplying and gradually joining together to form complex organisms until, finally, the human being was produced.
I have provided this brief overview of the meanings of “He taught the qur’ān” to show what an expansive meaning lies behind this one verse. I do not mean to say that this verse is not referring to the holy book called the Qur’an. Rather, I merely aimto show that if we reflect on the verse, we will gradually gain access to its deeper meanings and, as a result, the nuances of the word “qur’ān” will become clearer to us.
When God says, “He taught Him speech (al-bayān),” what does bayān mean here? To all appearances, the act of speaking is a simple process. However, this is not the case in reality. In fact, it is complex and multi-faceted: first, air must be compressed into our lungs. Then, we push this air out of our lungs over our vocal chords and cause these chords to move in specific ways. As we do this, we also contort our lips and different parts of our mouth into various shapes around this air. This is how we produce the sounds of speech. Almost everyone can do this in some form or another, but how finely-tuned these vocal chords must be in order for each and every one of us to have his or her own voice, different to other voices. Isn’t this strange? Through speech, we can express our deepest thoughts and give voice to our hearts’ most hidden secrets. Which other animal has this power of expression (bayān)? A dog? A cat? Some other animal? What animal can make more than four or five sounds to express hunger, thirst, or when courting a mate. They have no other means of communication. Animals do not have elaborate and well-formed languages of their own, but human beings speak in more than 3,000 languages in this world today. We are so gifted in expression that we can communicate our thoughts to others using signs and symbols of our own devising. With the power of bayān,a poet like Hafez can express his ecstasy in the rapture of poetry, while a poet like Rumi can fill a dīwān with the deepest profundities.
Through our writings, we have the power to stir up feelings of pleasure or anger, to move people to laughter, and also to move them to tears. Truly, what an ability the human being has to express whatever his heart desires. There is no other creature in this world with such an ability. So who was it that taught it to us? Who was it that placed this ability in the nuclei of the cells of our brain, so that whatever we feel, imagine, or think, we can share it with others? The Arabic word bayān literally means to make something clear. Therefore, surely one of the signs of God’s mercy is that we can read and another is that we can speak.
The text of the Qur’an was revealed fourteen centuries ago, at a time when society was tribal and largely illiterate. When God wanted to make Himself known, He chose to do so to the uneducated society of pre-Islamic Arabia, not the Academy of Athens. And what did He use to introduce Himself? Reading and speech. How could this book be the product of a human mind? How could any human utter these words unless they were revealed to him by God? Stranger still is that the first word of revelation given to the Prophet was “Read”(iqra). The Qur’an began with the injunction to read: “Read in the Name of your Lord who created. Created a human from a clinging mass. Read, and your Lord is the most Generous” (98:1–3). Why is God generous? Because it was He “who taught by the pen” (98:4). In a society where there were no pens, the first verses that were revealed to the Prophet mention the pen. Do you not think this is a strange thing? In an illiterate society where almost no one could read and write, there is a scripture that speaks of expression (bayān) of reading. When it wants to describe God as generous, it says that He taught “by the pen” (bi-l-qalam); He is Generous because He taught you by the pen. He “taught the human being what he did not know” (96:5). After all, it was through the pen that humans uncovered a great ocean of knowledge. More interesting still is that God did not only mention the pen. A year later, in His revelation to the Prophet, He swore an oath by the ink: “Nūn.By the pen and what they write” (68:1). Some commentators have said that nūn means the ink – God swears by ink. God swears by the pen. God swears by whatever it is they write. Books, newspapers, magazines, “and what they write” (mā yasturūn) – God swears by whatever they put into lines (satr). Just imagine: in an illiterate society, what sort of things do people swear by? Do you see what weapons God has given humans? He instructs them to “read” and to “speak”

[55:5]The Sun and the Moon follow their calculated courses.
Now, where are we to go? What are we to look upon and reflect? God tells us to look at how the Sun and Moon follow precise calculations. So, you see that God does not swear by the pen for us to compose poetry or to write couplets and stanzas. Instead he tells us to look at the cosmos and see the Sun and Moon and see the order that lies behind them.

[55:6]And the stars (al-najm) and the trees do submit to Him.
Most commentators have explained that “the star” (al-najm) refers to plants and shrubs, as najm signifies something that emerges from the ground and shows itself. Therefore, the word “najm” is not only used for stars. “The tree” (ash-shajar), of course, refers to trees. However, the fact of the matter is that the Qur’an does not use the word “najm” for plants, herbs, or shrubs anywhere else. There is not a single instance of it. So, I do not know where they found this meaning. If we look at the way the Qur’an uses language, this meaning does not seem very plausible. Moreover, since the Sun and Moon have just been mentioned, it seems that the remainder of the verse should be related to the same topic. Therefore, the most plausible meaning for “najm” here is “star.” So why did these commentators say it meant herbage? Perhaps they wanted it to be in harmony with the word “tree” that also appears in the same verse? But then, what does shajar mean? Do Sun, Moon, star and tree follow in logical progression from one another? So, it makes more sense that shajar should refer to the galaxy or the cosmos as a whole. The Qur’an actually uses the expressions “the accursed tree” (shajar mal‘ūnah) (17:60) and “a bad tree” (shajar khabīthah) (14:26) in this sense. Here, “tree” means those parts which are joined together like the parts of a tree:the roots, the shoots, the trunk, the branches, and the leaves.
The Qur’an speaks about the Umayyads as “the accursed tree” because they are rooted and centered in evil; like a single organization, they have branches and leaves, elements and effects. Stars are no different as they belong to a system of stars. There are thousands of such systems. These stars together form the arm of a single galaxy. There are thousands of galaxies and they belong to clusters, and the latter belong to even greater systems. And, in this way, they resemble a tree; seven or eight leaves become a small branch, which becomes a bough, which becomes the trunk. This tree is just one tree in an orchard. This orchard is just one orchard of a city. This city is just one city of a nation. This nation is just one of many. This example and others like it speak of the existence of a tree, a web, or a network. In fact, the cosmic network is made up of the Sun, the Moon, the stars, and the galaxy. And what do all of these things do? They are all in a state of prostration. What does prostration mean? It means they are all in the service of this system. Elsewhere I have said, look at a factory which has thousands of employees, workers, and engineers. What do these people all do? Obviously they each have their roles in the factory but all of them are working towards a goal. None of them are working aimlessly.
All the different pieces of the cosmos strive towards the purpose for which God created them. This is the meaning of prostration (sajdah). They are like a single orchestra, with each member playing the instrument they were given. If just one member does not play, the whole orchestra falls into disarray. All of them are in harmony, and when they play together they produce a single melodious symphony. So, the entirety of the cosmos – including the Sun, the Moon, and the stars – are in a state of prostration. The Qur’an also tells us to prostrate, but our prostration is conscious. The Qur’an says that all of God’s creations are in a state of prostration, except for the human being who can choose whether or not to prostrate. The body of the human being certainly prostrates, but his heart and soul can choose whether or not to prostrate. When God tells us to bend down and touch our heads to the ground, we consider the wider context, and may think: “God, I do not want to just play my instrument. I want to join the orchestra of being and become part of the greater symphony.” When a drop of water joins the ocean, it grasps the meaning of the ocean. When a drop of water is by itself, it is just a drop.

[55:7]He has raised the sky and set up the balance (mīzān),
He raised the heavens so high that if we want to travel from our solar system to another solar system, it will take us thousands of years at the speed of light (which takes seven minutes to reach us from the Sun). This universe has spread like the shrapnel of a bomb in a single explosion.
Because He did not bring the cosmos into being in vain or without purpose; He did not produce it and then leave it to its own devices. On the contrary, he set up a “balance”(mīzān) for it. But what does this mean? It means that the cosmos follows an order – an incredible order. Not a single piece of the cosmos, not one part in one million, is so much as a millionth out of its proper place. God created this vast and awe-inspiring cosmos with the utmost order. There is no disorder in it whatsoever. The question here is what does this balance have to do with us? What is the reason that God invokes this balance?

[55:8]That you transgress not the balance,
He mentions the cosmic balance so that wedo not stray from the balance. See how all the parts of this world are in balance and order? Why do you do whatever you please? Why are you unbalanced? Do you think that this world was created without purpose? Do you think God has left the cosmos with no accounting, no order,and no guidance? Did He not send scriptures to guide us? So, do not transgress the balance.“Transgress”means to go beyond the bounds of something. When a river overflows its bounds, it creates a flood. O human being. Do not cause a flood. Stay on the course that has been charted for you and stay in your orbit. What else could you possibly want to do?

[55:9]So maintain the weight (wazn) with justice and fall not short in the balance.
What does “weight” (wazn) mean? Grammatically speaking, here it is employed as an infinitive, meaning “to measure” and “to treat fairly.” In other words, it means to be fair in your dealings with others. Justice (qist) also means fairness, such as fairness in economic relations. Do not dupe and swindle people. See how well-ordered the universe is. Why do you defraud people? If you are a doctor, why do you rush when attending to your patients after they have paid for the visit with the aim of gathering as much money as possible?If you are an engineer, why do you rush your work? If you are a shopkeeper, why do you short-change people? When some people hear the word “mīzān” they think of scales, but this is only one kind of mīzān. In other words, God tells His listeners not to shorten the measure in all of their daily affairs.
There is a chapter of the Qur’an entitled al-Mutaffifīn (The Defrauders, chapter 83). It begins with the words: “Woe unto the defrauders [who cheat others]” (83:1). And who are the defrauders? It continues, “Who demand full measure for themselves when receiving (items) from people”(83:2). In other words, when they are buying something they make sure they take their dues in full. They do not accept being short-changed. Even the banknotes you give them should be crisp and clean. However, when people are buying from them who also desire their full measure, what do they do? They “diminish when they measure or weigh for them” (83:3). By contrast, God points to the system that He instituted to govern the cosmos and tells humankind to study its balance, in order that they observe the same balance in their economic relations with others.
Why does God say that reading and speech are the most important blessings He has bestowed upon humanity? Because first we must read the realities of the cosmos, and then express them in words. The difference between humans and animals is that humans can grasp all of these blessings. By comparison, to what extent are animals capable of understanding the order behind the cosmos? How can they express the amazing qualities of God’s creation? When our gaze falls upon the Sun, the Moon and the stars, and we perceive the vastness of the cosmos, it is to make us realize our own limitations as human beings.
From these verses onwards, the Qur’an expounds God’s blessings. The above nine verses are like a prolegomena to the chapter of ar-Rahmān. The blessings that God mentions in the remainder of this chapter are of two kinds: 1) blessings that will be seen by us in the Hereafter, and 2) blessings that will be seen by us in this world.
The blessings that we see in this world are also of two kinds: one is immediate, namely those that we see right now as we live; the other is future blessings, which will come to be at a later time and are for the benefit of future generations. Immediate blessings then fall into three categories:the blessings of the Earth, the blessings of the heavens, and the blessings of the sea. The blessings of the Earth, for example, cover different kinds of fruit and agricultural produce; the blessings of the heavens, for example, cover how the human being is affected by heavenly bodies and their movements, such as that of the Moon and Sun; the blessings of the sea, for example, include the existence of two different kinds of water – salt water and fresh water – the harvesting of pearls from the ocean, and the movement of ships. The Qur’an expounds all three categories of blessings that we receive in the here-and-now. We will explain these worldly blessings that will be received in the future in more detail when we come to the relevant verses. However, an example would be the possibility of leaving this world behind and travelling to the stars. This is something alluded to in the present chapter.
Meanwhile, the Qur’an explains that there are two kinds of blessings that we will receive in the Hereafter: the first is paradise, which is also divided into two parts (the paradise of those broughtnear, muqarrabūn, and the Paradise of the fearful and awe-inspired, khā’ifūn), and we will outline this in more detail as we go through the verses of this chapter.

[55:10]And the Earth He set out for (His) creatures,
God says that He laid out the Earth for the sake of humankind. What blessing does this hold for us?

[55:11]In which are fruits and sheathed palm trees,
Here there are all kinds of fruit, including date-palms with sheaths that contain their hanging fruit. Then there are pulpy fruits, fruits with medicinal benefits and fruits that are sweet, all of which God has placed on these trees. In other words, He mentions a single specific example of the fruit he has given us in this verse. But what about other plants that we obtain produce from?

[55:12]Husked grain, and fragrant herbs.
This demonstrates thatit is not only fruit trees (as typified by the date palm) that are blessings, but smaller plants too; for example, wheat, barley, peas, and beans all belong to this category. More than this, even herbs are a blessing because of their good taste, pleasant smell, and medicinal properties.

[55:13]So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?
In other words, how can you not see these blessings? This phrase is repeated thirty-one times throughout this chapter of the Qur’an and, in each instance, God emphasizes his blessings and reminds us of them. The word “bounties” (ālā) is similar to “blessing” (ni‘mah) but carries a deeper, broader, and more intense meaning.

[55:14]He made a human(insān)from dried clay, like earthen vessels,
Someone who makes bricks or ceramic wares is called a fakhkhār (potter). So in the same way that a potter works with clay, God also took the primary material of the human being from the Earth.

[55:15]And the jinn(jānn) he created of smokeless fire.
In other words, He made thejānn out of pure energy. In fact, the forces which are hidden from us are called jānn, whereas insis that which is familiar (ma’nūs), and something we can sense, see, touch, and embrace. Jānn refers to things that are hidden, unseen, and invisible which we cannot directly apprehend. Therefore, God made us from matter and dust, but He made unseen things (like angels) from pure energy, or “smokeless fire.” So, the angels are included in the category of “hidden things” (jānn).

[55:16]So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

[55:17]Lord of the two easts, and Lord of the two wests.
God is motion itself. The west of this world signifies the rising and the setting of the Sun, which refers to movement. The Earth itself moves, both objectively and in relation to other things. Meanwhile, the Sun moves both in this galaxy and in the universe as a whole. What is more, even the galaxies move. And all of them move by God’s command. All the pieces of the cosmos are in motion.

[55:18]So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

[55:19]He merged the two seas
In this world there are two water systems functioning. One is the oceanic system, whose water is always salty and from which you cannot drink so much as a single glass; the other is fresh water, which is always drinkable. For millions of years, rivers have emptied their waters into the seas – so why do the seas not become freshwater? But where does the water of rivers come from? From the sea. So why is rain not salty? On numerous occasions, the Qur’an highlights this phenomenon where two water systems are forever merging: rivers are made byrain; rain is made by clouds; clouds are made from the ocean. So why is one always sweet and the other always salty and bitter? What wisdom there is to be found here that God forever keeps merging the two together without them ever mixing together fully?

[55:20]There is a barrier(barzakh)between them. Which they do not overstep.
This is not a barrier in the sense of a wall. Some say that this refers to the waters of the Gulf Stream, or the fresh and salty water in the ocean. The water of the rivers, which flows into the ocean, does not immediately become mixed with the sea water. In fact, it is only fifty miles after leaving the river that it begins to mix with the sea water, and even then only gradually. There are ships in the middle of the ocean that can extract fresh water from the ocean’s salt waterbecause the density of the fresh water prevents it from mixing with the water of the ocean. Or the verse may refer to the types of water that exist in the oceans themselves:there is water at one hundred degrees centigrade flowing beneath the oceans, so there are rivers of hot water that do not mix with the water of the ocean; there arerivers containing all kinds of different substances beneath the oceans; and there are currents deep beneath the seas.Moreover, there are particular species of sea creatures that are not found more than one hundred meters away from one spot on the ocean floor. But God has not placed any visible physical wall in front of any of these things.

[55:21]So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

[55:22]There comes forth from both of them the pearl and coral-stone.
In both the water of the rivers and the oceans, you can find pearls and corals. One result from two different sets of circumstances. Do you see what a magnificent order God has created?

[55:23]So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

[55:24]His are the ships (jawār) displayed(munsha’āt)upon the sea, like mountains (or banners;a‘lām).
This means they are His and He created them.“Jawār” are either currents or the ships that find these currents. “Munsha’āt” means to raise one’s flag or hoist one’s sail, and the a‘lām are mountains. The Qur’an compares these ships upon the ocean to mountains because of their sails raised above the waves. When we see ships from afar, they look like mountains gliding across the ocean. You might ask: so what? Well, this is drawing our attentionto the power of the winds. What power God has given to the winds. You can see ships in motion, sailing from this end of the world to the other, using the power of the winds to go where they want. Do you see what kind of system God has created in this world?

[55:25]So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?
Do you not believe that these are blessings?

[55:26]All who are upon it [Earth] will perish,

[55:27]Yet the Face of your Lord of majesty and honor, will remain.
Only one thing will remain. What is it that will remain? The Face (wajh) of God. Here, “face” means “countenance” and this includes whatever has a divine hue rather than a physical face. God is not a corporeal being to have a physical face, andno limitation of any kindcan be placed on Him, and, as such, we are able to say: “behind God” or “beside God.”It is this that will endure. Like the example we mentioned above, a school may be closed for the holidays when the year ends, but everything that carries the hue of the school is its “countenance” and will remain. So, the“face of the school,” means the knowledge gained by its students in their studies, that is its countenance.Is this a trivial blessing?

[55:28]So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?
Normally, when we read this chapter of the Qur’an in khatm gatherings, we get to about this point before the preacher begins his sermon and, having read this much of the chapter, we might imagine that we have understood its message. This is because, in khatm gatherings, we want to console those who have lost someone dear to them and remind them that this person is not lost, but merely on a journey to receive the record of his deeds. We also understand this journey, as phrased by the Commander of the Faithful in Nahj-ul-Balāghah, as: “When a person dies, the people ask: ‘What did he leave behind?’ While the angels ask: ‘What did he send ahead?’”
Nothing remains of anyone save theirdeeds. When we attend the burials of our loved ones, in reality, we are burying them with their deeds. Imam Ali has said: “Everyone will be buried with their deeds.” A wife, a husband, a child, a mother, and a father – all of them will bid the deceased farewell, and then he is utterly alone with his or her deeds. If our deeds are godly, they will certainly remain after everything else has passed away. In other words, the Qur’an is saying: whatever deeds you do will be carried away like ash on the winds, except that which has a hue of godliness. This is what will remain after the end of everything else. After the school year is over, all the jokes, games, and amusements will vanish. Nothing of these will be left. So what use are these school years? Those efforts that a person makes, those lessons he studies towards – these are the things that will remain for them. God gives us every opportunity to study in the school of existence for the few short days that we are here. As Imam Ali says: “It is a cup whose water we drank and all that is left is a few drops.”We should return to God as smoothly as possible, and by doing weightier deeds we can increase the provisions we take to his court.
The verses that we have just read deal with the two needs of the present time. Meanwhile, the next section of verses expounds the blessings of this world for future generations.This will be followed by the section that deals with the topic of the Hereafter.
The above verses said that, “All who are upon it [Earth] will perish, Yet the Face of your Lord of majesty and honor, will remain” (55:26–27). In other words, everything that lives on the face of the Earth will pass away and leave this world, but the countenance of God will endure. This world will come to an end, but those things that carry a godly hue (i.e. godly deeds) will remain; these are deeds which are directed towards God and towards divine goals. Meanwhile “satanic” deeds are those done for evil purposes or those which have no inherent value, such as eating, sleeping, or wasting your time. The Qur’an says that these distractions will one day vanish without a trace and the only thing that will remain are your good deeds.

Translator: Alexander Hainy (Khaleeli)
Editor: Hamid Mavani