55. Ar-Rah Man (The Most Gracious)

Period Uncertain

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:

كُلُّ مَنْ عَلَيْهَا فَانٍ ﴿٢٦﴾

55; 26.  All that is on earth will perish;

وَيَبْقَى وَجْهُ رَبِّكَ ...

55: 27.  But will abide (forever) the Face of thy Lord,

C5189. The most magnificent works of man-such as they are-are but fleeting. Ships, Empires, the Wonders of Science and Art, the splendours of human glory or intellect, will all pass away.

The most magnificent objects in outer Nature-the mountains and valleys, the sun and moon, the Constellation Orion and the star Sirius-will also pass away in their appointed time.

But the only One that will endure for ever is the "Face" of Allah.

"Face" expresses Personality, Glory, Majesty, Inner Being, Essence, Self - all he noble qualities which we associate with the Beautiful Names of Allah.

See n. 114 t0 2:112; also n. 1154 t0 7:180, and n. 2322 t0 17:110.

... ذُو الْجَلَالِ وَالْإِكْرَامِ ﴿٢٧﴾

full of Majesty, Bounty and Honor.

C5190. Ikram; two ideas are prominent in the word,

1.      the idea of generosity, as proceeding from the person whose attribute it is, and

2.      the idea of honour, as given by others to the person whose attribute it is.

Both these ideas are summed up in "nobility". To make the meaning quite clear, I have employed in the translation the two words "Bounty and Honour" for the single word Ikram.

The same attributes recur in the last verse of this Surah.

In the Fact of Allah's Eternity is the Hope of our Future.

فَبِأَيِّ آلَاء رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ ﴿٢٨﴾

55: 28. Then which of the favors of your Lord will ye deny?

Asad’s Version:

(55:26) All that lives on earth or in the heavens 10 is bound to pass away:

(55:27) but forever will abide thy Sustainer's Self," full of majesty and glory.

(55:28) Which, then, of your Sustainer's powers can you disavow?

[[Asad’s note - 10 Lit., "Everyone who is upon it", i.e., on earth and/or, according to Ibn Kathir, in the heavens - since the pronoun in 'alayhd apparently relates to the whole universe. ]]