Tafseer of Those drawn up in Ranks · As-Saaffaat · 37:126
Allah, your Lord and the Lord of your first forefathers?"
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 reciters differed over the reading of His word: اللَّهَ رَبَّكُمْ وَرَبَّ آبَائِكُمُ الأوَّلِينَ ("Allah, your Lord and the Lord of your forefathers"). Most of the reciters of Mecca, Medina, and Basra, as well as a portion of the reciters of Kufa, read it as: الله رَبُّكُمْ وَرَبُّ آبَائِكُمُ الأوَّلِينَ in the nominative (rafʿ), as a fresh beginning of the sentence (istiʾnāf), the utterance having already come to an end at His word أَحْسَنَ الْخَالِقِينَ ("the Best of creators"). Most of the reciters of Kufa, however, read it as: اللَّهَ رَبَّكُمْ وَرَبَّ آبَائِكُمُ الأوَّلِينَ in the accusative (naṣb), as a referring back (radd) to His word وَتَذَرُونَ أَحْسَنَ الْخَالِقِينَ ("and you forsake the Best of creators"), this all being one and the same utterance.
The correct position on this, according to us, is that they are two readings close to each other in meaning, while both are widely current among the reciters. With whichever of the two the reciter recites, he is correct. The explanation of the utterance is: That is your object of worship, O people, the One who deserves to be worshipped by you: your Lord who created you, and the Lord of your forefathers who have passed away before you — not the idol that creates nothing, and that neither harms nor benefits.
