Surah Al-Qiyaama (75) — Ayah 16

(Ayah 16 to 19) ➊ {لَا تُحَرِّكْ بِهٖ لِسَانَكَ …:} Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to feel great difficulty when the Qur’an was being revealed. The reason for this was that he would move his lips along with it, so Allah Almighty revealed this verse: « لَا تُحَرِّكْ بِهٖ لِسَانَكَ لِتَعْجَلَ بِهٖ (16) اِنَّ عَلَيْنَا جَمْعَهٗ وَ قُرْاٰنَهٗ » “So do not move your tongue with it to hasten it. Indeed, upon Us is its collection and your recitation of it.” Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said, its meaning is that collecting it in your chest and your reciting it is Our responsibility. {’’ فَاِذَا قَرَاْنٰهُ فَاتَّبِعْ قُرْاٰنَهٗ ‘‘} So when We have recited it, then listen attentively and remain silent. {’’ ثُمَّ اِنَّ عَلَيْنَا بَيَانَهٗ ‘‘} Then it is Our responsibility that you will recite it.. After this, when Jibreel (peace be upon him) would come to you, you would listen attentively, and when he would leave, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would recite it just as Jibreel (peace be upon him) had recited it. [ بخاری، بدء الوحي، باب کیف کان بدء الوحي : ۵ ] {’’ جَمْعَهٗ وَ قُرْاٰنَهٗ ‘‘} The primary meaning is what Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) has stated, but due to the generality of the wording, all forms of collecting and reciting the Qur’an are included in it, and Allah Almighty Himself has taken the responsibility for its collection and dissemination. Thus, the collection of the Qur’an by the Caliphs, having it written, the memorization by the memorizers, and the collection and dissemination of the Qur’an through radio, television, press, and computer are also included in this.

➋ {’’ ثُمَّ اِنَّ عَلَيْنَا بَيَانَهٗ ‘‘} It is understood from this that the responsibility of explaining the Qur’an has also been taken by Allah Almighty Himself, and this explanation has been given through the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), which is preserved with us in the form of hadith and sunnah. For example, in the Qur’an, Allah Almighty has commanded the establishment of prayer, so its explanation was given through the action and statement of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): what are the times of the prayers, how many prayers are there, the number of rak‘ahs, standing, bowing, prostration, etc., their order, and the supplications recited in them—all of this is the explanation of the Qur’an which was given through the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Allah Almighty said: «وَ اَنْزَلْنَاۤ اِلَيْكَ الذِّكْرَ لِتُبَيِّنَ لِلنَّاسِ مَا نُزِّلَ اِلَيْهِمْ وَ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُوْنَ » [ النحل : ۴۴ ] “And (O Messenger!) We have sent down to you the Reminder so that you may explain to the people what has been sent down to them, and so that they may reflect.” It is understood from this that hadith is the explanation of the Qur’an itself, so acting upon it is just as obligatory as acting upon the Qur’an.

➌ {’’ فَاِذَا قَرَاْنٰهُ ‘‘} (When We have recited it) means when Jibreel (peace be upon him) is reciting it, because his recitation is by the command of Allah Almighty, so its attribution has been made to Allah Almighty Himself.

➍ At the beginning of the surah, the deniers of resurrection and the deniers of the Day of Judgment are mentioned, and at the end of the surah, the same is mentioned. In between are these verses, which apparently have no connection with what comes before or after. Therefore, some Shia commentators have even written that some verses are missing from this surah, but this is incorrect, because the refutation of this is present in these very verses: that the collection of the Qur’an is the responsibility of Allah, so how could any verses be missing from it? And it is also established by authentic chains that the order of the verses of the Qur’an is itself as told by the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), as Uthman bin Affan (may Allah be pleased with him) said that several surahs would be revealed to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) at one time, and when something was revealed, he would call a scribe of revelation and say, “Write these verses in the surah in which such-and-such is mentioned,” and when a verse was revealed to him, he would say, “Write it in the surah in which such-and-such is mentioned.” [ترمذي، التفسیر، باب سورۃ التوبۃ : ۳۰۸۶] This hadith is also found in Abu Dawood, Nasa’i, Musnad Ahmad, Mustadrak Hakim, and Sahih Ibn Hibban. Although some commentators have tried to connect these verses with what comes before and after, after the tafsir of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), which Imam Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) has narrated with the best chains, making a forced connection is mere affectation. The correct view is that at the time of the revelation of this surah and at the time of the revelation of Surah Ta-Ha, ayah (114): « وَ لَا تَعْجَلْ بِالْقُرْاٰنِ مِنْ قَبْلِ اَنْ يُّقْضٰۤى اِلَيْكَ وَحْيُهٗ » the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had the opportunity to recite along with Jibreel (peace be upon him), and at that time this prohibition was revealed and was written in the Qur’an at this place. Understand its example as if a teacher is teaching something to a student and in between, to correct some action of his, says, “Do not do this,” and then resumes the original discourse, so this statement will also be recorded in the tape recorder and will be transcribed word for word in the written record. To try to connect the intervening statement with what comes before and after in meaning is affectation, but it cannot be called out of place; certainly, at that moment, this statement was necessary, and this too is a form of connection, that due to the requirements of the occasion and context, these words came in between.

16. 1. When Jibreel ؑ would bring revelation, the Prophet ﷺ would also recite along with him quickly, fearing that he might forget any word. Allah forbade reciting in this manner along with His angel. Sahih Bukhari

The tafsir of this ayah is included with the following verse(s).