Tafseer of The Prophets · Al-Anbiyaa · 21:20
They exalt [Him] night and day [and] do not slacken.
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.
Allah, exalted be His remembrance, says: Those who are with Him among the angels glorify their Lord day and night without ceasing in their glorification of Him.
As Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, saying: Ḥumayd informed us, on the authority of Isḥāq ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Ḥārith, on the authority of his father — that Ibn ʿAbbās asked Kaʿb about the saying يُسَبِّحُونَ اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ لا يَفْتُرُونَ (they glorify Him day and night without slackening) and يسبحون الليل والنهار لا يسأمون (they glorify Him day and night without growing weary): he said: Does your blinking cause you trouble? Does your breathing cause you trouble? He said: No. He said: Likewise glorification has been inspired in them, just as the blinking of the eyes and breathing have been inspired in you.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Abū Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq al-Shaybānī, on the authority of Ḥassān ibn Mukhāriq, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Ḥārith — he said: I asked Kaʿb al-Aḥbār: يُسَبِّحُونَ اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ لا يَفْتُرُونَ (they glorify Him day and night without slackening) — are they then not occupied by a message or a deed? He said: O son of my brother, glorification has been given to them just as breathing has been given to you. Do you not breathe while you eat and drink, stand and sit, come and go? I said: Yes indeed. He said: Likewise glorification has been given to them.
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān and Abū Dāwūd related to us, they said: ʿImrān al-Qaṭṭān related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of Sālim ibn Abī al-Jaʿd, on the authority of Maʿdān ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, on the authority of ʿAmr al-Bakālī, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar — he said: Allah created ten portions: nine portions He gave to the angels, and one portion to the rest of creation; the angels He divided into ten portions, of which nine portions glorify day and night without slackening, and one portion is for His messages; the rest of creation He divided into ten portions, of which nine portions He gave to the jinn, and one portion to the rest of the children of men; and the children of men He divided into ten portions, of which Yaʾjūj and Maʾjūj carry nine portions and one portion the rest of the children of men.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His saying يُسَبِّحُونَ اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ لا يَفْتُرُونَ (they glorify Him day and night without slackening): he said: the angels who are with the Most Merciful are not too proud for His worship, nor do they grow bored in it.
And it has been mentioned to us that the Prophet of Allah ﷺ, while he was sitting with his companions, said: "Do you hear what I hear?" They said: "We hear nothing, O Prophet of Allah." He said: "Verily, I hear the creaking of the heaven (aṭīṭ al-samāʾ), and it is not to be blamed that it creaks — there is not a handspan in it but there is an angel kneeling or standing."
