Surah 69

Surah 69:43

"(It is) a sending down from the Lord of the worlds."
The Qur'an is the Speech of Allah Verses 69:38-43
Show Full Scripture Context (69:38-43) — 6 Verses
Verse 38

فَلَآ أُقۡسِمُ بِمَا تُبۡصِرُونَ

I swear by what you see

Verse 39

وَمَا لَا تُبۡصِرُونَ

and what you do not see!

Verse 40

إِنَّهُۥ لَقَوۡلُ رَسُولٖ كَرِيمٖ

Surely it is indeed the word of an honorable messenger.

Verse 41

وَمَا هُوَ بِقَوۡلِ شَاعِرٖۚ قَلِيلٗا مَّا تُؤۡمِنُونَ

It is not the word of a poet – little do you believe!

Verse 42

وَلَا بِقَوۡلِ كَاهِنٖۚ قَلِيلٗا مَّا تَذَكَّرُونَ

Nor (is it) the word of an oracle-giver – little do you take heed!

Verse 43

تَنزِيلٞ مِّن رَّبِّ ٱلۡعَٰلَمِينَ

(It is) a sending down from the Lord of the worlds.

Allah swears by His creation, in which some of His signs can be seen in His creatures. These also indicate the perfection of His Names and Attributes. He then swears by the hidden things that they cannot see. This is an oath swearing that the Qur'an is His Speech, His inspiration and His revelation to His servant and Messenger, whom He chose to convey His Message, and the Messenger carried out this trust faithfully. So Allah says, (So I swear by whatsoever you see, and by whatsoever you see not, that this is verily the word of an honored Messenger.) meaning, Muhammad. Allah gave this description to him, a description which carries the meaning of conveying, because the duty of a messenger is to convey from the sender. Therefore, Allah gave this description to the angelic Messenger in Surat At-Takwir, where he said, Verily, this is the Word of (this Qur'an brought by) a most honorable messenger. Owner of power (and high rank) with Allah, the Lord of the Throne. Obeyed and trustworthy. (81:19-21) And here, it refers to Jibril. Then Allah says, (and your companion is not a madman. (81:22)) meaning, Muhammad. (And indeed he saw him in the clear horizon. (81:23)) meaning, Muhammad saw Jibril in his true form in which Allah created him.

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.