In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
"The Gentle Commentary
on the Book of Introductory Profiles
to the Surahs of the Noble Qur'an,"
by Dr. Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn 'Umar Nasif,
may Allah preserve him.
Surah Fatir.
In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all worlds,
and may peace and blessings be upon the Seal of the Prophets and Messengers,
and upon all his family and Companions.
We continue with the gentle commentary
on the introductory profiles,
specifically with Surah Fatir.
"His face only grows in beauty the more you gaze upon it."
This line of poetry was spoken about a created being,
yet the reality is that such words are truly deserved
by the magnificent Qur'an, the speech of Allah,
which is uncreated.
"His face only grows in beauty the more you gaze upon it."
Whenever you reflect deeply upon the Qur'an,
it offers you more of its beauty,
majesty, and perfection.
Regarding Surah Fatir, I have three points of reflection.
The first point
pertains to dating the revelation of the surah.
He noted that there is an indication suggesting a relatively late revelation.
This inference is not derived,
as is customary
when dating revelations,
from historical reports, hadiths, or transmitted narrations;
rather, it is deduced
from the very wording and thematic content of the verses.
Allah said: ﴾So do not let yourself perish over them in regret.﴿
It is most probable
that this was not among the very first passages revealed to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
or from the earliest stages of revelation;
rather, such comfort comes only after enduring rejection.
That is why I said it may suggest a later revelation—
not necessarily for the entire surah,
but certainly for some of its verses:
﴾So do not let yourself perish over them in regret.
Indeed, Allah is Knowing of what they do.﴿
The second point
concerns the complementarity
between Surah Saba' and Surah Fatir.
In discussing the correlation between the two,
I previously mentioned that both begin with praise (hamd).
In fact, there is a deep complementarity between them.
Observe:
Surah Saba' begins with praise,
yet it focuses on the disbelievers
who failed to praise Allah,
while also stating: ﴾Work, O family of David, in gratitude.﴿
The very name 'Saba'' serves as a thematic title for that ungratefulness.
Here, this surah speaks of praise
to draw out praise from the servants
and urge them toward gratitude
by coming to know Allah,
the Originator of the heavens and the earth,
Glorified and Exalted is He.
Thus, this surah introduces Allah's attributes,
while that surah refutes the doubts of the disbelievers.
Each leads to praising Allah,
but from a different approach.
Praise in Surah Saba' comes through
warning against the states of the disbelievers
and highlighting the stories of the grateful, such as David
and Solomon;
whereas here, in Surah Fatir,
there is a mention of Allah's bounties and blessings,
and His governance of the universe,
in a manner that directly inspires praise and gratitude.
Thus, the two surahs complement one another.
We also notice that both surahs
open with praise consecutively,
whereas the other surahs that begin with praise
are dispersed: first al-Fatihah;
then, after a number of surahs—
six surahs later—comes Surah al-An'am;
then Surah al-An'am,
which is roughly in the second quarter of the Qur'an;
then comes Surah al-Kahf
at the midpoint of the Qur'an;
and then, near the end of the third quarter,
right around there, come these two consecutive surahs of praise.
The surahs opening with praise are five in total;
two of them appear consecutively—namely, these two—
and there is a thematic harmony between them.
This brings me to the third point:
this consecutive occurrence of praise reminds me
of the pairing of two magnificent surahs,
the two radiant ones: al-Baqarah and Al 'Imran.
Both open with Alif-Lam-
-Mim. Then, other surahs
that begin with Alif-Lam-Mim appear
consecutively in another place: al-'Ankabut,
ar-Rum, Luqman, and as-Sajdah.
Here, I am reminded of the insightful remark of Imam Ibn Malik,
even though he was discussing a grammatical issue:
"A desire for good is good; and an act
of piety adorns; so analogize what has not been mentioned."
He was discussing rules regarding the subject and the predicate,
and when he finished giving his examples, he said:
"So analogize what has not been mentioned."
The Prophet, peace be upon him, nurtured his Companions and his Ummah,
teaching them that religion involves sound analogy.
When the Prophet, peace be upon him, mentioned—
as found at the beginning of Surah Yunus—
the surahs opening with similar introductory letters,
and encouraged learning them together,
or studying several of them in conjunction,
and then pointed out that al-Baqarah and Al 'Imran
share an intrinsic connection,
establishing a common bond between them,
as both are radiant, which is why they are called the two radiant ones—
we can draw an analogy from this:
just as the surahs opening with praise,
like those opening with Ha-Mim or the glorifying surahs (al-Musabbihat),
were specifically highlighted by the Prophet, peace be upon him,
we should likewise reflect upon the fact that two consecutive surahs
sharing the same opening must share a profound connection.
Just as there is a link between al-Baqarah and Al 'Imran,
so too is there an undeniable link
between these two surahs, Saba' and Fatir.
I will conclude with this
for this segment, and I ask Allah for His help and support.
May Allah send blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and all his Companions,
and all praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all worlds.