Tafseer of The Rock · Al-Hijr · 15:87
And We have certainly given you, [O Muhammad], seven of the often repeated [verses] and the great Qur'an.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The scholars of tafsīr differed concerning the meaning of the seven which Allah gave His Prophet ﷺ of the al-maṯānī. Some said that by the "seven" are meant the seven long sūras from the beginning of the Qurʾān, known as the "Ṭiwāl." Those who held this opinion in turn differed about the al-maṯānī. Some of them said: the al-maṯānī are those very seven, and they were so named because in them the parables, the reports, and the lessons are repeated (tuṯannā).
Mention of those who said that:
Abū Kurayb related to us, he said: Ibn Yamān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Yūnus, on the authority of Ibn Sīrīn, on the authority of Ibn Masʿūd, concerning His word وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَاكَ سَبْعًا مِنَ الْمَثَانِي — he said: the seven long ones (al-Ṭiwāl).
Abū Kurayb related to us, he said: Ibn Yamān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Saʿīd al-Jurayri, on the authority of a man, on the authority of Ibn ʿUmar — he said: the seven long ones.
Abū Kurayb related to us, he said: Ibn Yamān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Mujāhid, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَاكَ سَبْعًا مِنَ الْمَثَانِي — he said: the seven long ones.
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: his father related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Mujāhid, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās — likewise.
Al-Muṯannā related to me, he said: ʿAmr ibn ʿAwn related to us, he said: Hušaym informed us, on the authority of al-Ḥajjāj, on the authority of al-Walīd ibn al-ʿAyzār, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās — he said: they are the seven long ones, and to none but the Prophet ﷺ were they given, and to Mūsā two of them were given.
Ibn Wakīʿ and Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, they said: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmaš, on the authority of Muslim al-Baṭīn, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās — he said: the Prophet ﷺ received seven of the maṯānī al-ṭiwāl, and Mūsā received six; but when he cast down the Stone Tablets, two were taken away and four remained.
Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, he said: ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jaʿfar related to us, he said: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmaš, on the authority of Muslim al-Baṭīn, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās — likewise.
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: Yaḥyā ibn Ādam related to us, on the authority of Isrāʾīl, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, on the authority of Muslim al-Baṭīn, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word سَبْعًا مِنَ الْمَثَانِي — he said: al-Baqara, Āl ʿImrān, al-Nisāʾ, al-Māʾida, al-Anʿām, al-Aʿrāf. Isrāʾīl said: and he named the seventh, but I forgot it.
Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, he said: Hušaym related to us, on the authority of Abū Bišr, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, concerning His word وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَاكَ سَبْعًا مِنَ الْمَثَانِي — he said: they are the ṭiwāl: al-Baqara, Āl ʿImrān, al-Nisāʾ, al-Māʾida, al-Anʿām, al-Aʿrāf, and Yūnus.
Ibn Baššār related to us, he said: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, he said: Šuʿba related to us, on the authority of Abū Bišr, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, concerning this verse وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَاكَ سَبْعًا مِنَ الْمَثَانِي وَالْقُرْآنَ الْعَظِيمَ — he said: al-Baqara, Āl ʿImrān, al-Nisāʾ, al-Māʾida, al-Anʿām, al-Aʿrāf, and Yūnus; in them are the obligations and the prescribed punishments (ḥudūd).
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: his father related to us, on the authority of Šuʿba, on the authority of Abū Bišr, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr — likewise.
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: his father related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Ḫālid, on the authority of Ḫawwāt, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr — he said: the seven are the ṭiwāl.
Yaʿqūb related to me, he said: Hušaym related to us, Abū Bišr said: he informed us on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr — he said: they are the seven ṭiwāl. He said: and Mujāhid said: they are the seven ṭiwāl. He said: and it is said: they are the mighty Qurʾān.
Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, he said: Šabāba related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Jaʿfar, on the authority of Saʿīd, concerning His word سَبْعًا مِنَ الْمَثَانِي وَالْقُرْآنَ الْعَظِيمَ — he said: al-Baqara, Āl ʿImrān, al-Nisāʾ, al-Māʾida, al-Anʿām, al-Aʿrāf, and Yūnus; in them the judicial rulings and the obligations are repeated.
Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad ibn al-Ṣabbāḥ related to us, he said: Hušaym related to us, on the authority of Abū Bišr, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr — he said: they are the seven ṭiwāl.
Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, he said: Saʿīd ibn Manṣūr related to us, he said: Hušaym related to us, he said: Abū Bišr informed us, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, concerning His word سَبْعًا مِنَ الْمَثَانِي — he said: al-Baqara, Āl ʿImrān, al-Nisāʾ, al-Māʾida, al-Anʿām, al-Aʿrāf, and Yūnus. He said: I asked: "What are the al-maṯānī?" He said: in them the judicial decisions and the stories are repeated.
Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq related to us, he said: Abū Aḥmad related to us, he said: Isrāʾīl related to us, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, on the authority of Muslim al-Baṭīn, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr [concerning] وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَاكَ سَبْعًا مِنَ الْمَثَانِي — he said: al-Baqara, Āl ʿImrān, al-Nisāʾ, al-Māʾida, al-Anʿām, al-Aʿrāf, and Yūnus.
Aḥmad related to us, he said: Abū Aḥmad related to us, he said: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUṯmān ibn Ḫuṯaym, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās — he said: the seven ṭiwāl.
Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, he said: Abū Ḫālid al-Qurašī related to us, he said: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUṯmān ibn Ḫuṯaym, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās — likewise.
Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, he said: Abū Ḫālid related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās — likewise.
Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, he said: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmaš, on the authority of Muslim al-Baṭīn, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās — likewise.
Abū Kurayb related to us, he said: Ibn Idrīs related to us, he said: I heard Layṯ [on the authority] of Mujāhid — he said: they are the seven ṭiwāl.
Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿUbayd Allāh related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Malik related to us, on the authority of Qays, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His word وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَاكَ سَبْعًا مِنَ الْمَثَانِي — he said: they are the seven ṭiwāl.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, he said: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, he said: ʿĪsā related to us; and Al-Ḥāriṯ related to me, he said: Al-Ḥasan related to us, he said: Warqāʾ related to us — both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning the word of Allah the Exalted: وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَاكَ سَبْعًا مِنَ الْمَثَانِي وَالْقُرْآنَ الْعَظِيمَ — he said: of the Qurʾān, the seven ṭiwāl, the first seven.
Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, he said: Šabāba related to us, he said: Warqāʾ related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid — likewise.
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: Ibn Fuḍayl and Ibn Numayr related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Malik, on the authority of Qays, on the authority of Mujāhid — he said: they are the seven ṭiwāl.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, he said: Muḥammad ibn Ṯawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid — he said: the seven ṭiwāl.
Abū Kurayb related to us, he said: Ibn Numayr related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUṯmān ibn Ḫuṯaym, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās — he said: they are the parables, the reports, and the lessons.
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: Ibn Numayr related to us, on the authority of Ismāʿīl, on the authority of Ḫawwāt, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr — he said: they are the seven ṭiwāl; Mūsā received six of them and Muḥammad ﷺ received seven.
It was reported to me on the authority of Al-Ḥusayn, who said: I heard Abū Muʿāḏ say: ʿUbayd related to us, he said: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His word سَبْعًا مِنَ الْمَثَانِي — he means the seven ṭiwāl.
Others said: by this are meant seven verses — they are the verses of the fātiḥat al-kitāb (the opening sūra), for it consists of seven verses — and they too differed about the meaning of al-maṯānī. Some of them said: they were called al-maṯānī because they are repeated in every rakʿa of the prayer.
Mention of those who said that:
Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, he said: Ibn ʿUlayya informed us, on the authority of Saʿīd al-Jurayri, on the authority of Abū Naḍra — he said: a man from among us, named Jābir or Juwaybir, said: "I sought a favor from ʿUmar during his caliphate and traveled to Medina. At night I doubted whether to seek lodging or go to the mosque, and I chose the mosque for lodging. Having awoken in the last part of the night, I heard a man praying beside me who recited the Mother of the Book, then said the subḥān to the length of a sūra, then performed his bowing without reciting further. I did not recognize him until he raised his voice, and it was ʿUmar. That stayed with me. The next morning I visited him and said: 'O Commander of the Believers, I have a request plus a question.' He said: 'State your request.' I said: 'I traveled in by night and doubted whether to seek lodging or the mosque, and I chose the mosque. In the last part of the night there was a man beside me who recited the Mother of the Book, then said the subḥān to the length of a sūra, then performed his bowing without reciting further. I did not recognize him until he raised his voice, and it was you — but among us we do not do that.' He asked: 'What do you do then?' He said: 'One of us recites the Mother of the Book, then begins a sūra and recites it.' He said: 'What ails them, that they know but do not act? What ails them, that they know but do not act? What ails them, that they know but do not act? What do you desire beyond the seven al-maṯānī and the subḥān — the prayer of creation?'"
Ṭulayq ibn Muḥammad al-Wāsiṭī related to me, he said: Yazīd informed us, on the authority of al-Jurayri, on the authority of Abū Naḍra, on the authority of Jābir or Juwaybir, on the authority of ʿUmar — likewise, except that he said: "then he recites from the Qurʾān whatever is easy for him at times, and at times he says subḥān. What ails those who neglect the fātiḥat al-kitāb? And what does one desire beyond the al-maṯānī, and the prayer of creation is the subḥān?"
Ibn Baššār related to us, he said: Yaḥyā related to us, he said: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, on the authority of ʿAbd Ḫayr, on the authority of ʿAlī — he said: the seven al-maṯānī are the fātiḥat al-kitāb.
Naṣr ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, he said: Ḥafṣ ibn ʿUmar related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan ibn Ṣāliḥ and Sufyān, on the authority of al-Suddī, on the authority of ʿAbd Ḫayr, on the authority of ʿAlī — likewise.
Abū Kurayb related to us, he said: Ibn Yamān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of al-Suddī, on the authority of ʿAbd Ḫayr, on the authority of ʿAlī — likewise.
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: his father related to us; and Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq related to us, he said: Abū Aḥmad related to us — both on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of al-Suddī, on the authority of ʿAbd Ḫayr, on the authority of ʿAlī — likewise.
Abū Kurayb and Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, they said: Ibn Idrīs related to us, he said: Hišām related to us, on the authority of Ibn Sīrīn — he said: Ibn Masʿūd was asked about the "seven of the al-maṯānī," and he said: the fātiḥat al-kitāb.
Yaʿqūb related to me, he said: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, he said: Yūnus informed us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning His word وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَاكَ سَبْعًا مِنَ الْمَثَانِي — he said: the fātiḥat al-kitāb. He said: and Ibn Sīrīn said on the authority of Ibn Masʿūd: it is the fātiḥat al-kitāb.
Al-Muṯannā related to me, he said: ʿAmr ibn ʿAwn related to us, he said: Hušaym informed us, on the authority of Yūnus, on the authority of Ibn Sīrīn, on the authority of Ibn Masʿūd [concerning] سَبْعًا مِنَ الْمَثَانِي — he said: the fātiḥat al-kitāb.
Saʿīd ibn Yaḥyā al-Amawī related to me, he said: his father related to me, he said: Ibn Jurayj related to us, he said: my father informed us, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās — that he said concerning the word of Allah the Exalted وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَاكَ سَبْعًا مِنَ الْمَثَانِي : it is the fātiḥat al-kitāb. He recited it to me as six [verses], then said: بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ is the seventh verse. Saʿīd said: Ibn ʿAyyāš recited it to me as he had recited it to you, and said: the seventh verse is بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ . Ibn ʿAbbās said: "Allah revealed it for you — and revealed it for no one before you."
Yūnus related to me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Ibn Jurayj informed me, that his father had told him, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr — he said: Ibn ʿAbbās said to me: "Begin with بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ ," then he recited the fātiḥat al-kitāb, then said: "Do you know what this is? وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَاكَ سَبْعًا مِنَ الْمَثَانِي ."
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, he said: my father related to me, he said: my uncle related to me, he said: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَاكَ سَبْعًا مِنَ الْمَثَانِي — he says: the seven are "al-Ḥamdu li-llāhi rabb al-ʿālamīn" (the Opening sūra) and the mighty Qurʾān. It is also said: they are the seven ṭiwāl — and they are the "hundreds" (al-miʾūn).
Aḥmad related to us, he said: Abū Aḥmad related to us, he said: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās — he said: the fātiḥat al-kitāb.
ʿImrān ibn Mūsā al-Qazzāz related to me, he said: ʿAbd al-Wāriṯ related to us, he said: Isḥāq ibn Suwayd related to us, on the authority of Yaḥyā ibn Yaʿmar and on the authority of Abū Fāḫta, concerning this verse وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَاكَ سَبْعًا مِنَ الْمَثَانِي وَالْقُرْآنَ الْعَظِيمَ — they said: it is the Mother of the Book.
Al-Muṯannā related to me, he said: Wahb ibn Jarīr related to us, he said: Šuʿba related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, on the authority of someone who heard ʿAlī say: "al-Ḥamdu li-llāhi rabb al-ʿālamīn" — they are the seven al-maṯānī.
Abū al-Muṯannā related to us, he said: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, he said: Šuʿba related to us — he said: I heard al-ʿAlāʾ ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān narrate on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ubayy ibn Kaʿb, that he said: the seven al-maṯānī are "al-Ḥamdu li-llāhi rabb al-ʿālamīn."
Abū Kurayb related to us, he said: Ibn Yamān related to us, on the authority of Abū Jaʿfar al-Rāzī, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ, on the authority of Abū al-ʿĀliya, concerning the word of Allah the Exalted وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَاكَ سَبْعًا مِنَ الْمَثَانِي — he said: the fātiḥat al-kitāb consists of seven verses. I said to al-Rabīʿ: "They say: the seven ṭiwāl." But he said: "This sūra was sent down while none of the ṭiwāl had yet been sent down."
Al-Qāsim related to us, he said: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, he said: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Abū Jaʿfar al-Rāzī, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ ibn Anas, on the authority of Abū al-ʿĀliya — he said: the fātiḥat al-kitāb. He said: they were called al-maṯānī because they are repeated each time one reads the Qurʾān. It was said to Abū al-ʿĀliya: "Al-Ḍaḥḥāk ibn Muzāḥim says: they are the seven ṭiwāl." He said: "This sūra was sent down as the seven of the al-maṯānī, while none of the ṭiwāl had been sent down."
Abū Kurayb related to us, he said: Ibn Yamān related to us, he said: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr — he said: the fātiḥat al-kitāb.
Abū Kurayb related to us, he said: Ibn Yamān related to us; and Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: his father related to us — both on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of al-Ḥasan ibn ʿUbayd Allāh, on the authority of Ibrāhīm — he said: the fātiḥat al-kitāb.
Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq related to us, he said: Abū Aḥmad related to us, he said: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan ibn ʿUbayd Allāh, on the authority of Ibrāhīm — likewise.
Abū Kurayb related to us, he said: Ibn Yamān related to us; and Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: his father related to us; and Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq related to us, he said: Abū Aḥmad related to us — all on the authority of Hārūn ibn Abī Ibrāhīm al-Barbarī, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUbayd ibn ʿUmayr — he said: the seven of the al-maṯānī are the fātiḥat al-kitāb.
Abū Kurayb related to us, he said: Ibn Yamān related to us, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Abū Mulayda [concerning] وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَاكَ سَبْعًا مِنَ الْمَثَانِي — he said: the fātiḥat al-kitāb. He said: and that the fātiḥat al-kitāb was mentioned for your Prophet ﷺ was mentioned for no prophet before him.
Abū Kurayb related to us, he said: Ibn Idrīs related to us, on the authority of Layṯ, on the authority of Šahr ibn Ḥawšab, concerning His word وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَاكَ سَبْعًا مِنَ الْمَثَانِي — he said: the fātiḥat al-kitāb.
Muḥammad ibn Abī Ḫudāš related to me, he said: Muḥammad ibn ʿUbayd related to us, he said: Hārūn al-Barbarī related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUbayd ibn ʿUmayr al-Layṯī, concerning the word of Allah the Exalted وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَاكَ سَبْعًا مِنَ الْمَثَانِي — he said: it is "al-Ḥamdu li-llāhi rabb al-ʿālamīn."
Yaʿqūb related to me, he said: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of Abū Rajāʾ — he said: I asked al-Ḥasan about His word the Exalted وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَاكَ سَبْعًا مِنَ الْمَثَانِي وَالْقُرْآنَ الْعَظِيمَ — he said: it is the fātiḥat al-kitāb. Then he was asked about it while I was listening, and he recited it: "al-Ḥamdu li-llāhi rabb al-ʿālamīn" to the end, then said: "they are repeated at every recitation."
Aḥmad related to us, he said: Abū Aḥmad related to us, he said: Isrāʾīl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid — he said: the fātiḥat al-kitāb.
Aḥmad related to us, he said: Abū Aḥmad related to us, he said: Šarīk related to us, on the authority of Layṯ, on the authority of Mujāhid — he said: the fātiḥat al-kitāb.
Bišr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda [concerning] وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَاكَ سَبْعًا مِنَ الْمَثَانِي وَالْقُرْآنَ الْعَظِيمَ — it was reported to us that they are the fātiḥat al-kitāb, and they are repeated at every recitation.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, he said: Muḥammad ibn Ṯawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda [concerning] سَبْعًا مِنَ الْمَثَانِي — he said: the fātiḥat al-kitāb; they are repeated in every obligatory rakʿa of prayer and in the voluntary prayers.
Al-Qāsim related to us, he said: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, he said: Ḥammād ibn Zayd and Ḥajjāj related to us, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, who said: my father informed me, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, that he informed him that he asked Ibn ʿAbbās about the seven al-maṯānī, and he said: the Mother of the Qurʾān. Saʿīd said: then he recited it, and recited in it بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ . My father said: Saʿīd recited it as Ibn ʿAbbās had recited it, and recited in it بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ . Saʿīd said: I asked Ibn ʿAbbās: "What are the al-maṯānī?" He said: it is the Mother of the Qurʾān — Allah preserved it for Muḥammad ﷺ, raised it up in the Mother of the Book, and held it in safekeeping for them until He revealed it for them, and gave it to no one before him. I said to my father: "Did Saʿīd tell you that Ibn ʿAbbās said to him: بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ is a verse of the Qurʾān?" He said: "Yes." Ibn Jurayj said: ʿAṭāʾ said: the fātiḥat al-kitāb — it has seven [verses] including بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ — and the al-maṯānī are the Qurʾān.
Al-Muṯannā related to me, he said: Abū Ḥuḏayfa related to us, he said: Šibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ — that he said: the seven al-maṯānī are the Mother of the Qurʾān.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Yaḥyā ibn Wāḍiḥ related to us, he said: ʿAbd Allāh al-ʿAtkī related to us, on the authority of Ḫālid al-Ḥanafī, judge of Marw, concerning His word وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَاكَ سَبْعًا مِنَ الْمَثَانِي — he said: the fātiḥat al-kitāb.
Others said: by the seven al-maṯānī are meant the meanings of the Qurʾān.
Mention of those who said that:
Isḥāq ibn Ibrāhīm ibn Ḥabīb al-Šahīd al-Šahīdī related to me, he said: ʿAttāb ibn Bašīr related to us, on the authority of Ḫaṣīf, on the authority of Ziyād ibn Abī Maryam, concerning His word سَبْعًا مِنَ الْمَثَانِي — he said: I have given you seven parts: it commands, it forbids, it brings glad tidings, it warns, it strikes parables, it enumerates favors, and I have given you the tiding of the Qurʾān.
Others of those who said that by the seven al-maṯānī is meant the fātiḥat al-kitāb said that the al-maṯānī are the mighty Qurʾān.
Mention of those who said that:
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: ʿImrān ibn ʿUyayna related to us, on the authority of Ḥuṣayn, on the authority of Abū Mālik — he said: the entire Qurʾān is al-maṯānī.
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: his father related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Ḥuṣayn, on the authority of Abū Mālik — he said: the entire Qurʾān is al-maṯānī.
Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq related to us, he said: Abū Aḥmad related to us, he said: ʿUbayd Abū Zayd related to us, on the authority of Ḥuṣayn, on the authority of Abū Mālik — he said: the Qurʾān is al-maṯānī. And he named al-Baqara, Āl ʿImrān, al-Nisāʾ, al-Māʾida, al-Anʿām, al-Aʿrāf, and Barāʾa.
Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, he said: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid, and on the authority of Ibn Ṭāwūs, on the authority of his father — he said: the entire Qurʾān is repeated (yuṯnā).
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to us, he said: his father said, he said: my uncle related to me, he said: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās — he said: al-maṯānī is that of the Qurʾān which is repeated. Have you not heard the word of Allah the Exalted: اللَّهُ نَـزَّلَ أَحْسَنَ الْحَدِيثِ كِتَابًا مُتَشَابِهًا مَثَانِيَ ?
It was reported to me on the authority of Al-Ḥusayn, who said: I heard Abū Muʿāḏ say: ʿUbayd related to us, he said: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say: al-maṯānī is the Qurʾān — Allah mentions one story several times, and that is His word نَـزَّلَ أَحْسَنَ الْحَدِيثِ كِتَابًا مُتَشَابِهًا مَثَانِيَ .
The most correct opinion in this matter, in my judgment, is that of him who says: by the seven al-maṯānī are meant the seven verses which are the verses of the Mother of the Book — because of the soundness of the transmission to that effect from the Prophet ﷺ, as it was related to me by Yazīd ibn Maḫlad ibn Ḫidāš al-Wāsiṭī, who said: Ḫālid ibn ʿAbd Allāh related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Isḥāq, on the authority of al-ʿAlāʾ, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Abū Hurayra — he said: the Prophet of Allah ﷺ said: "The Mother of the Qurʾān is the seven al-maṯānī that were given to me."
Aḥmad ibn al-Miqdām al-ʿIjlī related to me, he said: Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ related to us, he said: Rawḥ ibn al-Qāsim related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Abū Hurayra — that the Prophet of Allah ﷺ said to Ubayy: "I wish to teach you a sūra the like of which has not been sent down in the Torah, nor in the Gospel, nor in the Psalms, nor in the Qurʾān." Ubayy said: "Yes, O Prophet of Allah." He said: "I hope you will not leave this door before you know it." Then the Prophet of Allah ﷺ took my hand and began to speak with me, and I slowed my pace for fear that he would reach the door before the conversation was finished. When we drew near I said: "O Prophet of Allah, what is the sūra you promised me?" He said: "What do you recite in the prayer?" I recited to him the Mother of the Qurʾān, and he said: "By Him in whose hand is my soul — there has not been sent down in the Torah, nor in the Gospel, nor in the Psalms, nor in the Qurʾān the like of it; they are the seven of the al-maṯānī and the mighty Qurʾān that were given to me."
Abū Kurayb related to us, he said: Zayd ibn Ḥubbāb al-ʿUklī related to us, he said: Mālik ibn Anas related to us, he said: al-ʿAlāʾ ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Yaʿqūb, freedman of ʿUrwa, informed us, on the authority of Abū Saʿīd, freedman of ʿĀmir ibn fulān, on the authority of Ubayy ibn Kaʿb — that the Prophet of Allah ﷺ asked him: "With what do you begin the prayer?" He said: "al-Ḥamdu li-llāhi rabb al-ʿālamīn" — until he completed it. The Prophet of Allah ﷺ then said: "They are the seven al-maṯānī and the mighty Qurʾān that were given to me."
Abū Kurayb related to us, he said: Abū Usāma related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd ibn Jaʿfar, on the authority of al-ʿAlāʾ ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Yaʿqūb, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Abū Hurayra, on the authority of Ubayy — he said: the Prophet of Allah ﷺ said: "Shall I teach you a sūra the like of which has not been sent down in the Torah, nor in the Gospel, nor in the Psalms, nor in the Qurʾān?" I said: "Yes." He said: "I hope you will not leave that door before you know it." The Prophet of Allah ﷺ rose and I rose with him, and he spoke with me while his hand was in mine, and I slowed my pace out of reluctance that he should depart before he had informed me of it. When he was near the door I said: "O Prophet of Allah, the sūra you promised me." He said: "How do you recite when you begin the prayer?" He said: then I recited the fātiḥat al-kitāb. He said: "It is the one, it is the one — and they are the seven al-maṯānī concerning which Allah the Exalted said وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَاكَ سَبْعًا مِنَ الْمَثَانِي وَالْقُرْآنَ الْعَظِيمَ — which were given to you."
Abū Kurayb related to us, he said: al-Muḥāribī related to us, on the authority of Ibrāhīm ibn al-Faḍl al-Madanī, on the authority of Saʿīd al-Maqburī, on the authority of Abū Hurayra — that the Prophet of Allah ﷺ said: "The two rakʿas in which nothing is recited are like the unperfected [those are not complete]." A man asked: "How is it if I have with me only the Mother of the Qurʾān?" He said: "It suffices — it is the Mother of the Qurʾān, they are the seven al-maṯānī."
Abū Kurayb related to us, he said: Ibn Numayr related to us, on the authority of Ibrāhīm ibn al-Faḍl, on the authority of al-Maqburī, on the authority of Abū Hurayra — he said: the Prophet of Allah ﷺ said: "The rakʿa in which nothing is recited is like the incomplete one." I said to Abū Hurayra: "How if I have with me only the Mother of the Qurʾān?" He said: "It suffices — it is the Mother of the Book and the Mother of the Qurʾān and the seven al-maṯānī."
Abū Kurayb related to me, he said: Ḫālid ibn Maḫlad related to us, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar, on the authority of al-ʿAlāʾ ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Abū Hurayra — he said: the Prophet of Allah ﷺ said: "By Him in whose hand is my soul — Allah has not sent down in the Torah, nor in the Gospel, nor in the Psalms, nor in the Qurʾān the like of it" — meaning the Mother of the Qurʾān — "and they are indeed the seven al-maṯānī that Allah the Exalted has given me."
Yūnus ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Ibn Abī Ḏiʾb informed me, on the authority of Saʿīd al-Maqburī, on the authority of Abū Hurayra, on the authority of the Prophet of Allah ﷺ — he said: "It is the Mother of the Qurʾān, it is the fātiḥat al-kitāb, they are the seven al-maṯānī."
Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, he said: Yazīd ibn Hārūn and Šabāba related to us — they said: Ibn Abī Ḏiʾb informed us, on the authority of al-Maqburī, on the authority of Abū Hurayra, on the authority of the Prophet ﷺ concerning the fātiḥat al-kitāb — he said: "It is the fātiḥat al-kitāb and they are the seven al-maṯānī and the mighty Qurʾān."
Al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad related to us, he said: ʿAffān related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Ibrāhīm related to us, he said: al-ʿAlāʾ related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Abū Hurayra — he said: the Prophet of Allah ﷺ passed by Ubayy ibn Kaʿb and said: "Would you like me to teach you a sūra the like of which has not been sent down in the Torah, nor in the Gospel, nor in the Psalms, nor in the Qurʾān?" I said: "Yes, O Prophet of Allah." He said: "How do you recite in the prayer?" I recited to him the Mother of the Book. The Prophet of Allah ﷺ said: "By Him in whose hand is my soul — there has not been sent down in the Torah, nor in the Gospel, nor in the Psalms, nor in the Qurʾān a sūra that is its like; they are the seven al-maṯānī and the mighty Qurʾān."
Ibn al-Muṯannā related to us, he said: Wahb ibn Jarīr related to us, he said: Saʿīd ibn Ḥabīb related to us, on the authority of Ḥafṣ ibn ʿĀṣim, on the authority of Abū Saʿīd ibn al-Muʿallā — that the Prophet ﷺ called him while he was praying, and he continued praying; then he came to him and said: "What kept you from answering me?" He said: "I was praying." He said: "Has Allah not said: يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اسْتَجِيبُوا لِلَّهِ وَلِلرَّسُولِ إِذَا دَعَاكُمْ لِمَا يُحْيِيكُمْ ?" Then the Prophet of Allah ﷺ said: "I shall teach you the greatest sūra of the Qurʾān." As if he was making it plain to him, or he forgot. I said: "O Prophet of Allah, that which you said?" He said: "al-Ḥamdu li-llāhi rabb al-ʿālamīn — they are the seven al-maṯānī and the mighty Qurʾān that were given to me."
Since the correct interpretation in this matter is what we have stated — on the basis of what we have adduced as proof — it follows necessarily that by al-maṯānī is meant the entire Qurʾān, so that the meaning of the word is: We have given you seven verses of that whose verses repeat one another. If that is so, then al-maṯānī is the plural of maṯnāt, and the verses of the Qurʾān are designated by it, because some of them repeat the others and the one follows the other, with dividing markers between them that make known the end of one verse and announce the beginning of the next — just as Allah the Exalted described it: اللَّهُ نَـزَّلَ أَحْسَنَ الْحَدِيثِ كِتَابًا مُتَشَابِهًا مَثَانِيَ تَقْشَعِرُّ مِنْهُ جُلُودُ الَّذِينَ يَخْشَوْنَ رَبَّهُمْ . It is also possible that its meaning is as Ibn ʿAbbās and al-Ḍaḥḥāk said and whoever said that: that the Qurʾān is called al-maṯānī because the stories and reports in it are repeated several times. And we have mentioned the word of al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī — that they were called al-maṯānī because they are repeated at every recitation — and the word of Ibn ʿAbbās: that they were called al-maṯānī because Allah the Exalted preserved it for Muḥammad ﷺ above all other prophets and held it in safekeeping for him.
One of the scholars of language held that they were called al-maṯānī because in them "al-raḥmān al-raḥīm" occurs twice, and because they are repeated in every sūra — meaning بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ .
The opinion we have chosen concerning the interpretation of this is one of the opinions of Ibn ʿAbbās, and it is the opinion of Ṭāwūs, Mujāhid, and Abū Mālik — and we have already mentioned that.
And His word وَالْقُرْآنَ الْعَظِيمَ — the Qurʾān is, in the construction, joined to the "seven," with the meaning: We have given you seven verses of the Qurʾān, and the rest of the Qurʾān.
As Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, he said: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, he said: ʿĪsā related to us; and Al-Ḥāriṯ related to me, he said: Al-Ḥasan related to us, he said: Warqāʾ related to us — both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His word وَالْقُرْآنَ الْعَظِيمَ — he said: the rest — that is to say: the rest of the Qurʾān besides the seven of the al-maṯānī.
It was reported to me on the authority of Al-Ḥusayn, who said: I heard Abū Muʿāḏ say: ʿUbayd related to us, he said: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His word وَالْقُرْآنَ الْعَظِيمَ — he means: the entire Book.
