Verses 1–19
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِي مِ
In the name of God, the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful.
This sūrah was revealed in Mecca and consists of 19 verses. It commands the audience to hold God’s unity as it befits His sacred precinct. One must glorify the sublime essence of the divine by not invoking the name of any other being beside His. One should also not ascribe to others what must be ascribed to God, such as the creation of beings, the direction of their affairs, and the provision of their sustenance. God promises the Prophet to support him with knowledge and a retention, and to pave the path for him where he can propagate and preach his message most conveniently and appropriately.
The context of the opening verses matches Meccan verses. However, according to narrations from the Imams of Ahl al-Bayt, as well as Sunni accounts, the verse Delivered is one who purifies oneself () pertains to the zakāt and prayer of Eid al-Fiṭr. Since fasting—and the zakāt and Eid Prayer which are a sequel to that—were legislated in Medina after the Prophet’s migration, it follows that the last part of the chapter [verses ] were revealed in Medina. Therefore, the beginning of the chapter is Meccan, while its end is Medinan. This does not contradict the narrations which include the chapter under the Meccan chapters, because those accounts can be interpreted as referring to the sūrah’s beginning.
Commentary
سَبِّحِ اسْمَ رَبِّكَ الْأَعْلَى ١
(87:1) Glorify the name of your Lord, the Most Sublime (al-Aʿlá),
This verse orders the audience to proclaim the sanctity, incomparability, and transcendence of God’s name. Name is a word that signifies an object (the named), and is specifically something that is expressed verbally. The verse’s command—Glorify the name of your Lord—can be elaborated as follows: (1) Along with God’s name, one should not invoke the name of any other being that is not befitting of the divine precinct, such as the gods, partners and intercessors that the polytheists believed in. (2) One should not ascribe lordship to them. (3) One should not ascribe to others the qualities that exclusively belong to God, such as creation, existentiation, provision, giving life and causing death. (4) One should not ascribe to God any imperfection or shortcoming in action or quality, such as weakness, ignorance, injustice and negligence. None of this suit His sanctity.
This is the meaning of tanzīh (glorification, proclaiming God’s transcendence, deeming God incomparable): To refine, filter and abstract one’s speech from anything not befitting the name and mention of God. That is a verbal glorification of God, which is consonant with practical glorification. It is also part and parcel of complete monotheism, which requires negating explicit polytheism, as reflected in these verses: When Allah is mentioned alone, [thereat] shrink away the hearts of those who do not believe in the hereafter, but when others are mentioned besides Him, behold, they rejoice (); When you mention your Lord alone in the Qur’an, they turn their backs in aversion ().
… of your Lord…: The words your and Lord confirm what we said above. The meaning is: “Glorify the name of that Being Whom you have adopted as your Lord, Whom you claim to be a Lord Who must be worshiped. Thus, when you mention the name of your Lord, you must not make mention of anything else that would contravene His quality of Lordship as He has made it known to you.”
Aʿlá means “the highest of the high who dominates everything.” It is an adjective for your Lord, not for name, and serves as a justification for the verse’s command. That is: “Glorify His name because He is the Most Sublime.”
Here are some views suggested by the exegetes:
- The verse means: “Say, subḥāna Rabbī al-Aʿlá (glory be to my Lord, the Most Sublime).” This is narrated from Ibn ʿAbbās.
- The verse means: “Pray!” This is also narrated from Ibn ʿAbbās.
- What is meant by ism (name) here is musammá (the named, the referent). The meaning is: “Hold God clear from any attribute or action that does not befit His sacred precinct.”
- Though the verse says name, what is meant is to glorify the named object. This can be confirmed by Labīd’s words: “Up to a year, then the name of farewell to you two.” The meaning is: “Glorify your Lord, the Most Sublime.”
- What is meant is glorifying the divine names, which could have different applications, such as: (i) Not to divert a name from its original meaning as long as it is not necessary [theologically]. (ii) Not to adhere to the original meaning of a name if it cannot be correctly applied to God. (iii) Not to apply a name to others if it exclusively belongs to God, such as the name Allah. (iv) Not to utter His names in an unsuitable setting such as the rest room.
Comment: Our interpretation above is more comprehensive than these suggested views, and is inclusive of them. It is also more concordant with the context of the verses below: We shall have you recite, then you will not forget [any of it]… And We shall ease you into the easier. So admonish… (). The theme of the chapter is arousing the Prophet to admonish and preach to the people. This theme is pursued in several stages: (1) First he must rectify his own speech and cleanse it from any expression of explicit or implicit polytheism. That is the meaning of glorifying the name of his Lord [in the current verse]. (2) Then he is promised that he will be made to recite what has been revealed to him without forgetting anything []. (3) Next, he is assured that the way of preaching will be smoothened for him []. (4) Finally, he is commanded to admonish and preach to the people []. The reader should reflect on this.
الَّذِي خَلَقَ فَسَوَّى ٢
(87:2) Who created (khalaqa, from khalq) and proportioned (fa-sawwá, from taswiyah),
These four verses [] describe your Lord () and prove His absolute Lordship. Khalq means “assembling the parts of something.” Taswiyah means “proportioning, balancing, normalizing.” That is, placing every constituent of something where it belongs, such as placing every human organ in its appropriate place in the body. Notwithstanding their unqualified usage in this verse, creation and proportioning are only applicable to those parts of God’s creation that are composite in one way or another.
وَ الَّذِي قَدَّرَ فَهَدى ٣
(87:3) Who measured and guided,
God has designed His creation according to specific measures and precise limits which pervade their entire beings, attributes and functions. Furthermore, He has equipped them with the necessary faculties that are harmonious with the functions and perfections that He has ordained for them. That is His guidance of them. Accordingly, every creature pursues what God has determined for it through its Lord’s guidance. For instance, an infant finds its way to its mother’s breast; a fledgling finds its way to its parents’ beaks; the male goes after the female; and any creature seeks its interest. God says: There is not a thing but that its sources are with Us, and We do not send it down except in a known measure (); Then He made the way easy for him (); Everyone has a cynosure to which he turns ().
وَ الَّذِي أَخْرَجَ الْمَرْعى ٤
(87:4) Who brought forth the pasture (al-marʿá),
Marʿá is that on which animals graze (tarʿá). It is brought forth by God, which means that He makes the plants grow.
فَجَعَلَهُ غُثاءً أَحْوى ٥
(87:5) then turned it into a black (aḥwá) scum (ghuthāʾan).
Ghuthāʾ is what flood deposits on the side of a valley, such as herbs and twigs. According to some exegetes, what is meant here is withered plants. Aḥwá means “black.” Bringing forth pastures to feed the animals [], and then turning that into black scum [] are instances of God’s direction of affairs as a Lord. In this sense, they are like His creation and proportioning [], and His measurement and guidance [].
سَنُقْرِئُكَ فَلا تَنْسى ٦
(87:6) We shall have you recite (sa-nuqriʾuka, from iqrāʾ), then you will not forget [any of it]
Al-Mufradāt says:
Qirāʾah means putting the letters together and combining the words in recitation. It is not applicable for uttering a single letter. Likewise, it is not used for any kind of gathering and combination. For instance, when one assembles a group of people one would not use the verb qaraʾtu.
Majmaʿ al-bayān says:
Iqrāʾ means picking the recitation of a reciter by listening to them in order to correct their slips. The word qāriʾ [or qārī] is synonymous with tālī (reciter, reader).
In this verse, God is the subject of iqrāʾ, and the Prophet is its object. What is meant here is not what we commonly do amongst ourselves, where someone listens to a reciter and point out where they make a mistake or do not pronounce well. There is no historical record saying that the Prophet ever recited anything of the Qur’an incorrectly or with a bad pronunciation, or that he forgot the revelation and then corrected it later. What is meant here is that God fortifies the Prophet to recite the Qur’an as it was revealed, without modifying it through addition, subtraction, or any distortion due to forgetting.
Hence, the verse is a promise from God to His Prophet, assuring him that God will enable him to learn the Qur’an and retain it as it is revealed without forgetting. This way, the Prophet would certainly recite the Qur’an [to the people] as it was revealed, which insures the delivery of the message as God revealed to him.
إِلاَّ ما شاءَ اللَّهُ إِنَّهُ يَعْلَمُ الْجَهْرَ وَ ما يَخْفى ٧
(87:7) except what Allah may will. Indeed He knows the overt and what is hidden.
This exception shows that God’s absolute power is not curtailed by anything. The last verse was a blessing upon the Prophet, assuring him that he shall be made to recite without forgetting. The current verse clarifies that this blessing is not cut off from God in a way. In other words, God remains omnipotent as before, and can make the Prophet forget whenever He wills, even though He does not will so. In this sense, the exception in this verse is similar to the exception in the verse: As for the felicitous, they will be in paradise. They will remain in it for as long as the heavens and the earth endure—except what your Lord may will—an endless bounty (). We explained the significance of this exception in our exposition of the verse.
The exception is not intended to exclude certain instances of forgetting from a general state of not forgetting. In that case, the meaning would have been: “We shall have you recite without forgetting anything except those things which God wants you to forget.” This is not a plausible interpretation because it is applicable to everyone in general: Every person remembers certain things and forgets others. There is nothing special with such a state to be given to the Prophet with a tone of favor, because he would already have that quality like everybody else. Hence, the purport of the verse is what we said initially.
There is another suggested view which can be confirmed with the theme of the verse: When the Prophet received revelation from Gabriel, he would start reciting the Qur’an, fearing that he may forget it. He would begin reciting before Gabriel finished imparting the entire message. But once these verses [] were revealed, there was no longer any fear of him forgetting anything.
It can be argued that the verses in this regard were revealed in the following order: First, We shall have you recite, then you will not forget [any of it] (). Second, Do not move your tongue with it to hasten it. Indeed its collection and its recitation are upon Us. And when We have recited it, follow its recitation. Then, its exposition is [also] upon Us (). Third, Do not hasten with the Qur’an before its revelation is completed for you, and say, “My Lord! Increase me in knowledge” ().
… Indeed He knows the overt (al-jahr) and what is hidden: This sentence is a justification for the last verse: We shall have you recite, then you will not forget [any of it] (). The meaning is: “We shall take care of what concerns you with regards to receiving and retaining the revelation because indeed We know the outside and inside of all things. Thus We know the manifest and hidden aspects of your state of being, including your concern about revelation and your commitment to obey your Lord.”
Jahr means “perfect perceptibility of something” through either sight or hearing, as reflected in these verses: Show us Allah visibly (jahrah) (); Indeed He knows whatever is spoken aloud (al-jahr) (). However, what is meant here is anything that is readily and evidently perceivable in general, though it may not be through either sight or hearing. This can be inferred from its contrast with what is hidden.
There is a transition from the first person plural in the last verse to the third person singular in this verse: except what Allah may will. The purpose of this transition is to substantiate the exception mentioned here. That is, giving knowledge and retention to the Prophet does not strip God off the power to do otherwise because He is Allah, meaning a being that encompasses all qualities of perfection, including omnipotence. The next part of the verse—Indeed He knows…—follows the same third person singular for the same reason.
وَ نُيَسِّرُكَ لِلْيُسْرى ٨
(87:8) And We shall ease you (niyassiruka, from taysīr) into the easier (lil-yusrá).
Taysīr is synonymous with tashīl (facilitating, making easy). The meaning is: “We will take care of you in such a way that you will always have the smoothest path in making your call and propagating your message, both verbally and practically. Thus, you will be able to guide some people, complete the argument against others, and withstand their harassments in the easiest way.”
The natural way of expression here would have been: “We shall make the easier easy for you” (wa nuyassiru laka al-yusrá), much like the verse [where Prophet Moses prays]: Make my affair easy for me (). However, the verse is phrased differently—as And We shall ease you into the easier—because the focus here is preparing and fortifying the Prophet’s soul in a way that he is capable of delivering his mission and propagating the message. Moreover, it would have been somewhat tautological to say, “We shall make the easier easy for you.”
This amounts to making the Prophet strongly rooted in his fiṭrah (primal nature, innate disposition, pristine conscience), because the easiest path is the path of fiṭrah. Hence, the verse is comparable to what is narrated elsewhere from Moses: It behooves me to not ascribe anything to Allah except the truth ().
فَذَكِّرْ إِنْ نَفَعَتِ الذِّكْرى ٩
(87:9) So admonish, if (in) there is benefit in admonition.
The previous verses guaranteed the necessary conditions for the success of the religious message, including: (1) commanding the Prophet to glorify God’s name []; (2) promising him that he will be made to recite the revelation without forgetting []; (3) assuring him that he will be smoothened into the easiest way []. Then this verse follows as a consequence and conclusion, which is indicated by the letter fāʾ (so, therefore, then) at the beginning of the verse. The meaning is: “Now that you have all of the required conditions—namely, you obeying Our command, We making you recite without forgetting, and We making things easy for you—So admonish, if there is benefit in admonition.”
The command to admonish is qualified by: if there is benefit in admonition. This should be understood in the most apparent sense of a conditional statement. It would be in vain to admonish when there is no benefit in doing so, and God is clear of commanding a vain act. Hence, the verse can be analyzed into three commands and one prohibition: (i) Give initial admonition to those who fear [their Lord], because their hearts would incline toward the truth, and that is beneficial to them. (ii) Give subsequent reminders to the same people because they will continue to benefit: He who fears [God] will take admonition (). (iii) Give initial admonition to the wretched who have no fear [of God] in their heart. The benefit of this first admonition is to complete God’s argument against them as they reject and turn away from the truth: And the most wretched will shun it (). (iv) Do not bother with subsequent reminders to them, because there is no benefit in that. Indeed God orders His Messenger to turn away from such people [after the initial admonition]: So avoid those who turn away from Our remembrance and desire nothing but the life of the world ().
Here are some other suggested views on the verse:
- While the verse is expressed as a conditional statement, it does not imply a condition. Rather, what is meant is to assert that admonition will certainly be beneficial in one way or another, because it will either induce the audience to be more obedient, or be less disobedient. This is similar to saying, “Ask him, for asking is beneficial.” Accordingly, some exegetes have interpreted the Arabic particle in (if) as qad (certainly, indeed, for). Others have interpreted it as idh (because, since).
Comment: The problem with these interpretations is that there are some cases when there is no more argument to be made. It is not true that admonition is always beneficial. God says: As for the faithless, it is the same to them whether you warn them or do not warn them, they will not have faith. Allah has set a seal on their hearts and their hearing, and there is a blindfold on their sight ().
- The verse involves an omission for brevity. The implied meaning is: “So admonish, whether there is benefit in admonition or not.” This is because the entire mission of the Prophet was to admonish the people and leave them with no excuse. Hence, it was incumbent on him to remind them, regardless of the reminder being beneficial or not. In this sense, the verse can be compared with the verse: and made for you garments that protect you from heat (), where “and cold” is also implied though not mentioned explicitly.
Comment: We do not agree that it was incumbent on the Prophet to admonish the people even in cases when it had no effect.
- The conditional clause is meant as an expression of regret, saying how unlikely it is that such an audience would benefit from the admonition. It is as though the verse is saying: Do what you are commanded for its reward, even though they may not benefit from it.”
Comment: This interpretation is rejected by the next verse: He who fears [God] will take admonition ().
سَيَذَّكَّرُ مَنْ يَخْشى ١٠
(87:10) He who fears [God] will take admonition.
Anyone in whose heart has any fear of God and His punishment will be awakened and admonished with the Qur’an.
وَ يَتَجَنَّبُهَا الْأَشْقَى ١١
(87:11) And the most wretched will shun it (yatajannabuhā, from tajannub)
The antecedent of the pronoun “it” is admonition (). Given the verse’s contrast with the last verse, the most wretched is someone who has no fear of God in their heart. Tajannub is synonymous with tabāʿud (to distance oneself from something). The meaning is: “Those who do not fear God will turn away from the admonition.”
الَّذِي يَصْلَى النَّارَ الْكُبْرى ١٢
(87:12) —he who will enter the greatest fire,
Apparently the greatest fire refers to hellfire, which is greater than any the fires of this world. Some have interpreted it as the lowest levels of hell, where the punishment is most intense.
ثُمَّ لا يَمُوتُ فِيها وَ لا يَحْيى ١٣
(87:13) then (thumma) he will neither live in it, nor die.
The word thumma (then) marks the different parts of speech [not a temporal gap]. Negating life and death means negating any deliverance forever. Deliverance—that is, termination of punishment—would occur through either of two ways: (1) through death, where one would no longer suffer as they no longer exist; (2) through a transformation of their mode of living from that of wretchedness to that of happiness, from torment to comfort. Accordingly, what is meant here by “life” is happy life, as they sometimes say concerning a patient: “He is neither alive to be hopeful about, nor dead to be forgotten.”
قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَنْ تَزَكَّى ١٤
(87:14) Delivered is one who purifies oneself (tazakká, from tazakkī),
Tazakkī means “self-purification.” This can have a number of applications: (1) Purifying oneself from defiling worldly attachments, which distract one from the hereafter. This can be inferred from what we read below: Yet you prefer the life of this world (). (2) Returning to God, which cleanses one from clinging to the earth. (3) Spending in God’s way, which purges one from the impurities of financial attachments. (4) Making ablution (wuḍūʾ) for the prayer, which is a symbolic way of purifying oneself from what one has acquired with one’s face, hands and feet.
وَ ذَكَرَ اسْمَ رَبِّهِ فَصَلَّى ١٥
(87:15) and remembers the name of his Lord, and prays.
Apparently what is meant by “remembering” here is verbal invocation, and what is meant by “prayer” is the specific daily Islamic ritual. These two verses [] have a general meaning in terms of their text. However, there are narrations from the Imams of Ahl al-Bayt, saying that they pertain to the zakāt and prayer on Eid al-Fiṭr. There are also Sunni narrations to this effect.
بَلْ تُؤْثِرُونَ الْحَياةَ الدُّنْيا ١٦
(87:16) Yet you prefer (tuʾthirūna, from īthār) the life of this world,
Īthār means “choosing, preferring.” This verse makes a transition to address all people in the light of the general human disposition to be attached to their life in this world and be occupied with its betterment. Some have said that the verse is addressed to the disbelievers in particular. Either way, the verse involves a tone of rebuke, and the shift to the second person is meant to underline this.
وَ الْآخِرَةُ خَيْرٌ وَ أَبْقى ١٧
(87:17) while the hereafter is better and more lasting.
The hereafter is not only more lasting, but it is everlasting. However, the context of these verses is a comparison between this world and the next. As such, it suffices to note that the hereafter is better and more lasting compared to this life, and should thus be preferred.
إِنَّ هذا لَفِي الصُّحُفِ الْأُولى ١٨ صُحُفِ إِبْراهِيمَ وَ مُوسى ١٩
(87:18-19) This is indeed in the former scriptures: the scriptures of Abraham and Moses.
The demonstrative pronoun “This” refers to what was mention in the last four verses []. Some have said that it specifically refers to the last verse: while the hereafter is better and more lasting (). The first verse makes a vague reference to the former scriptures, which is then interpreted in the second verse as the scriptures of Abraham and Moses. This way of expression, as some exegetes have noted, conveys a clear veneration and glorification of these scriptures.
Examining Narrations
- When the verse, So glorify the name of your Lord, the Ever-Magnificent (, , ) was revealed, the Messenger of God said, “Set it in your rukūʿ (bowing).” When the verse Glorify the name of your Lord, the Most Sublime () was revealed, he said, “Set it in your sujūd (prostration).”
- Tafsīr al-Qummī says concerning Glorify the name of your Lord, the Most Sublime (): [It means] say, “Glory be to my Lord, the Most Sublime” (subḥāna Rabbī al-Aʿlá).” Who created and proportioned, Who measured and guided (): He has measured things through an initial determination, then He guides to that whomever He wills. Who brought forth the pasture (): It means plants. Then turned it into a black scum (): Once it grows to maturity, it withers and blackens.
- The Prophet used to invoke the Qur’an [repeatedly, when it was being revealed], fearing that he may forget it. Then he was told, “We shall take care of that for you,” and it was revealed: We shall have you recite [the Qur’an], then you will not forget [any of it] ().
- Once Imam al-Ṣādiq was inquired about the verse: Delivered is one who purifies oneself (). He said, “That is one who sets aside zakāt al-Fiṭr.” He was asked about and remembers the name of his Lord, and prays (). He explained: “One who goes to the field for the prayer [of the Eid].”
- The Messenger of God used to recite: Delivered is one who purifies oneself, and remembers the name of his Lord, and prays (). Then he would distribute zakāt al-Fiṭr before going out in the morning of Eid al-Fiṭr to pray.
- Abū Dharr said: Once I asked, “O Messenger of God! Has God revealed anything to you about this world which was in the scriptures of Abraham and Moses?”
“O Abā Dharr,” he said, “recite: Delivered is one who purifies oneself, and remembers the name of his Lord, and prays. Yet you prefer the life of this world, while the hereafter is better and more lasting. This is indeed in the former scriptures: the scriptures of Abraham and Moses ().”
Author’s comment: This hadith confirms our view that the demonstrative pronoun “This” [in verse ] refers to all four verses preceding it [].
- Abū Baṣīr said: Imam al-Ṣādiq said, “The scriptures that God has mentioned—the scriptures of Abraham and Moses ()—are with us [Ahl al-Bayt].” I asked, “Are these scriptures in the form of tablets?” “Yes,” he replied.
Author’s comment: Apparently identifying the scriptures as tablets (alwāḥ) is a way of matching them with the Torah, which is described as tablets in a few places in the Qur’an: And We wrote for him in the Tablets from all things (); He threw down the Tablets (); he picked up the Tablets ().
- Abū Dharr said: Once I asked the Prophet, “O Messenger of God! How many prophets have there been?”
“124,000.”
“How many of them were messengers (sing. rasūl, mursal)]?”
“313. The rest of them were prophets (sing. nabī).”
“Was Adam a prophet?”
“Indeed. He was God’s word, whom He created with His own hand.” O Abā Dharr! Four of the prophets were Arabs: Hūd, Ṣāliḥ, Shuʿayb, and your prophet.”
“O Messenger of God! How many scriptures has God revealed?”
“114 scriptures. Of them, He revealed 10 scriptures to Adam; 50 to Seth (Shayth); 30 to Akhnūkh (Enoch), which is the same as Idrīs, who was the first person to write with a pen; and 10 to Abraham. Then He revealed the Torah, the Gospel, the Psalms (Zabūr) and the Furqān (Qur’an).
In this hemistich, the word “name” is semantically empty. It effectively means: “Up to a year, then farewell to you two.” This is part of a poem where Labīd (d. c. 561) asks his two daughters to mourn for him moderately up to a year after his death. See al-Zabīdī, Tāj al-ʿarūs, under ʿ-dh-r. (Ed.) ↩︎
This is a rare type of exception which serves to emphasize, not limit, the statement. It means: “No one in the world can effect change in this regard except God, and He has decreed that you shall not forget.” (Ed.) ↩︎
See volume 27, p. 302 of the English translation, under verse ; and volume 39, pp. 175-176, under verse . (Ed.) ↩︎
Yusrá is the feminine form of aysar (easier, easiest). What is meant here is “the easier way,” where the noun “way” is omitted and replaced by its adjective yusrá (easier, easiest). (Auth.) ↩︎
The meaning would be: “Admonish them; indeed admonition is beneficial.” (Ed.) ↩︎
The meaning would be: “Admonish them since admonition is beneficial.” (Ed.) ↩︎
The meaning would be: “Admonish them—only if they would benefit from admonition.” (Ed.) ↩︎
Thumma in such cases can be interpreted as “in addition, besides.” (Ed.) ↩︎
Tafsīr al-ʿAyyāshī, on the authority of ʿUqbat b. ʿĀmir al-Juhanī. This is also narrated from the Prophet in al-Durr al-manthūr, on the authority of Aḥmad, Abū Dāwūd, Ibn Mājah, Ibn al-Mundhir and Ibn Mardawayh, on the authority of ʿUqbah. ↩︎
Al-Durr al-manthūr, on the authority of Ibn Mardawayh, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās. ↩︎
Given the size of the crowd, it was common to hold the Eid prayers outdoors. (Ed.) ↩︎
Man lā yaḥḍuruhu al-faqīh. This idea is also narrated from the Imam in the same book, on the authority of Ḥammād, on the authority of Ḥarīz, on the authority of Abū Baṣīr and Zurārah. It is also mentioned in Tafsīr al-Qummī without naming the Imam (muḍmar) and without a chain of narration (mursal). ↩︎
Al-Durr al-manthūr, on the authority of Ibn Mardawayh, on the authority of Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī. Here is a list of further accounts [in al-Durr al-manthūr] which convey the same idea—that the verses were revealed with reference to the zakāt and prayer of Eid al-Fiṭr: (1) From Abū Saʿīd, through two chains of narration, without connecting to the Prophet (mawqūf). (2) From Ibn ʿUmar, through two chains of narration. (3) From Nāʾilat b. al-Aṣqaʿ, through one chain of narration. (4) From Abū al-ʿĀliyah, through two chains of narration. (5) From ʿAṭāʾ, through one chain of narration. (6) From Muḥammad b. Sīrīn, through one chain of narration. (7) From Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī, through one chain of narration. (8) From the Prophet, on the authority of ʿAmr b. ʿAwf. ↩︎
Al-Khiṣāl, on the authority of ʿUtbah b. ʿAmr al-Laythī, as a part of a longer hadith. ↩︎
Baṣāʾir al-darajāt, via two chains of narration. ↩︎
Majmaʿ al-bayān. The same account is narrated from Abū Dharr in al-Durr al-manthūr, on the authority of ʿAbd b. Ḥumayd, Ibn Mardawayh and Ibn ʿAsākir, with the difference that it does not mention Adam’s scriptures, but mentions 10 scriptures revealed to Moses before the Torah. ↩︎