Surah 35

Surah 35:1

"Praise (be) to God, Creator of the heavens and the earth, (who) makes the angels messengers having two, and three, and four wings. He adds to the creation whatever He pleases. Surely God is powerful over everything."
The Power of Allah Verses 35:1
Show Full Scripture Context (35:1) — 1 Verse
Verse 1

ٱلۡحَمۡدُ لِلَّهِ فَاطِرِ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِ جَاعِلِ ٱلۡمَلَـٰٓئِكَةِ رُسُلًا أُوْلِيٓ أَجۡنِحَةٖ مَّثۡنَىٰ وَثُلَٰثَ وَرُبَٰعَۚ يَزِيدُ فِي ٱلۡخَلۡقِ مَا يَشَآءُۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيۡءٖ قَدِيرٞ

Praise (be) to God, Creator of the heavens and the earth, (who) makes the angels messengers having two, and three, and four wings. He adds to the creation whatever He pleases. Surely God is powerful over everything.

Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “I did not know what Fatir As-Samawati wal-Ard meant until two bedouins came to me disputing over a well. One of them said to his companion, ‘Ana Fatartuha ,’ meaning, 1 started it.’” Ibn ‘AbbSs, may Allah be pleased with him, also said,

Quoted Scripture
"Fatir of the heavens and the earth,"

means, “The Originator of the heavens and the earth.” Ad-Dahhak said, “Every time the phrase Fatir As-Samaw&ti wal-Ard. is used in the Qur’an, it means the Creator of the heavens and the earth.”

{Who made the angels messengers) means, between Him and His Prophets.

{with wings} means, with which they fly to convey quickly that which they have been commanded to convey.

{two or three or four.} means, among them are some who have two wings, some have three and some who have four. Some have more than that, as stated in the Hadith mentioning that the Messenger of Allah saw Jibril, peace be upon him, on the Night of the Isra’ with six hundred wings. Between each pair of wings was a distance like that between the east and the west. Allah says:

Quoted Scripture
"He increases in creation what He wills. Verily, Allah is Able to do all things."

As-Suddi said, “He increases their wings and creates them as He wills .”

About this Source & Scholarly Authority (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

Universal Sunni Consensus: Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim by Hafiz Ibn Kathir (701–774 AH / 1301–1373 AD) is universally regarded across all major schools of Sunni Islam (traditional, Salafi, Ash'ari) as the most authoritative classical exegesis. It is prized because it relies on Tafsir bil-Ma'thur—interpreting the Quran using the Quran itself, authentic Hadiths of Prophet Muhammad, and recorded statements of the early Companions (Sahabah).

Standard English Edition: This text is from the standard 10-volume English abridgment published by Dar-us-Salam Publications (supervised by Shaykh Safiur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri), which is the official, most widely distributed English Quranic commentary in mosques and Islamic libraries worldwide today.