Tafseer of Those drawn up in Ranks · As-Saaffaat · 37:1
By those [angels] lined up in rows
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 statement concerning the explanation of His saying, the Exalted: وَالصَّافَّاتِ صَفًّا ("By those who range themselves in ranks") (37:1).
Abū Jaʿfar said: Allah — exalted be His mention — has sworn by al-ṣāffāt (those who range themselves in ranks), al-zājirāt (those who drive forth), and al-tāliyāt dhikran (those who recite a remembrance). As for al-ṣāffāt: these are the angels who range themselves in ranks before their Lord in heaven. It is the plural of ṣāffa, so that al-ṣāffāt is a plural of a plural. And in that sense came the explanation of the exegetes of the Qurʾān.
* Mention of who said that:
Salm ibn Junāda related to me, saying: Abū Muʿāwiya related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Muslim, who said: Masrūq used to say concerning al-ṣāffāt: these are the angels.
Isḥāq ibn Abī Isrāʾīl related to us, saying: al-Naḍr ibn Shumayl informed us, saying: Shuʿba informed us, on the authority of Sulaymān, who said: I heard Abū al-Ḍuḥā, on the authority of Masrūq, on the authority of ʿAbd Allah, something similar.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning وَالصَّافَّاتِ صَفًّا ("By those who range themselves in ranks"), he said: it is an oath; Allah swore by a creation, then a creation, then a creation. And al-ṣāffāt are the angels who range themselves in ranks in heaven.
Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to me, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, concerning His saying وَالصَّافَّاتِ ("By those who range themselves in ranks"), he said: these are the angels.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His saying وَالصَّافَّاتِ صَفًّا ("By those who range themselves in ranks"): this is an oath by which Allah has sworn.
