Tafseer of The Light · An-Noor · 24:41
Do you not see that Allah is exalted by whomever is within the heavens and the earth and [by] the birds with wings spread [in flight]? Each [of them] has known his [means of] prayer and exalting [Him], and Allah is Knowing of what they do.
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 to His Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ: Do you not see, O Muḥammad, with the eye of your heart, and thereby know that Allah causes to pray for Him—that is to say: glorifies—all who are in the heavens and on the earth, angels, humans, and jinn? وَالطَّيْرُ صَافَّاتٍ (the birds with outspread wings) in the air—they too glorify Him. كُلٌّ قَدْ عَلِمَ صَلَاتَهُ وَتَسْبِيحَهُ (each one knows its prayer and its glorification). Now glorification, with you, is the same as prayer. And it is said: it was stated that the prayer (ṣalāh) is for the children of men, and the glorification (tasbīḥ) is for all other creatures; therefore Allah mentioned both separately.
In accordance with what we have said in this regard, the exegetes of the Scripture likewise spoke.
* Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to me; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us—all of them jointly from Ibn Abī Najīḥ, from Mujāhid, concerning the word of Allah: يُسَبِّحُ لَهُ مَن فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَالطَّيْرُ صَافَّاتٍ كُلٌّ قَدْ عَلِمَ صَلَاتَهُ وَتَسْبِيحَهُ (All who are in the heavens and on the earth, and the birds with outspread wings, glorify Him—each one knows its prayer and its glorification). He said: the prayer is for man, and the glorification is for all the remaining creatures.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, from Ibn Jurayj, from Mujāhid, concerning the word of Allah: أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ يُسَبِّحُ لَهُ مَن فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَالطَّيْرُ صَافَّاتٍ كُلٌّ قَدْ عَلِمَ صَلَاتَهُ وَتَسْبِيحَهُ (Do you not see that Allah is glorified by all who are in the heavens and on the earth, and by the birds with outspread wings—each one knows its prayer and its glorification?). He said: the prayer (ṣalāh) is for mankind, and the glorification (tasbīḥ) is general for all things.
The word: كُلٌّ قَدْ عَلِمَ صَلَاتَهُ وَتَسْبِيحَهُ admits of several interpretive possibilities:
The first is that the pronoun in صَلَاتَهُ وَتَسْبِيحَهُ refers back to "each" (kull), so that the sentence is interpreted thus: Allah knows the prayer and the glorification of every one praying and glorifying among them. In that case, "each" is grammatically governed by the referring pronoun in كُلٌّ قَدْ عَلِمَ صَلَاتَهُ وَتَسْبِيحَهُ —namely, the pronoun in "its prayer."
The second possibility is that the pronoun in "its prayer and its glorification" likewise refers to "each," but that "each" this time is grammatically governed by the referring pronoun in the verb "he knows" (ʿalima)—so that "he knows" is the predicate of "each." In that case the interpretation reads: every one praying and glorifying among them knows the prayer and the glorification of himself, to which he has been obligated and to which he has been compelled.
The third possibility is that the pronoun in "its prayer and its glorification" refers to Allah, and that the knowing is attributed to "each." The interpretation then reads: every one glorifying and praying knows the prayer that Allah has imposed upon him, and its glorification. The most evident of these three meanings for this word is the first, namely that the meaning reads: every one praying and glorifying among them—Allah knows his prayer and his glorification.
And His word: وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ بِمَا يَفْعَلُونَ —Allah, exalted be His remembrance, says: Allah is knowing of what every one praying and glorifying among them performs; nothing of their deeds is hidden from Him—neither the obedient nor the disobedient—; He encompasses all of that, and He will requite them for it, all without exception.
