Tafseer of Those drawn up in Ranks · As-Saaffaat · 37:164
[The angels say], "There is not among us any except that he has a known position.
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.
And His word وَمَا مِنَّا إِلا لَهُ مَقَامٌ مَعْلُومٌ ("And there is none among us but he has a known place"). This is a report from Allah about the saying of the angels, namely that they said: and there is none among us, the company of the angels, but he has a known place in heaven.
And in accordance with what we have said about this, the exegetes (ahl al-taʾwīl) have expressed themselves.
* Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, concerning His word وَمَا مِنَّا إِلا لَهُ مَقَامٌ مَعْلُومٌ , he said: the angels.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, concerning His word وَمَا مِنَّا إِلا لَهُ مَقَامٌ مَعْلُومٌ , he said: the angels.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said, concerning His word وَمَا مِنَّا إِلا لَهُ مَقَامٌ مَعْلُومٌ : these are the angels.
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, he said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd informed us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His word وَإِنَّا لَنَحْنُ الصَّافُّونَ * وَإِنَّا لَنَحْنُ الْمُسَبِّحُونَ ("And we are indeed those who stand arrayed in rows * And we are indeed those who proclaim the glory"): Masrūq ibn al-Ajdaʿ used to relate on the authority of ʿĀʾisha that she said: the Prophet of Allah ﷺ said: "There is in the lowest heaven no place the size of a foot but upon it there is an angel who is prostrating or who is standing." That is the saying of the angels: وَمَا مِنَّا إِلا لَهُ مَقَامٌ مَعْلُومٌ * وَإِنَّا لَنَحْنُ الصَّافُّونَ * وَإِنَّا لَنَحْنُ الْمُسَبِّحُونَ .
Mūsā ibn Isḥāq al-Ḥabaʾī, known as Ibn al-Qawwās, related to me, saying: Yaḥyā ibn ʿĪsā al-Ramlī related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Abū Yaḥyā, on the authority of Mujāhid, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: if one drop of the zaqqūm of jahannam (the Hellfire) were sent down to the world, it would corrupt the sustenance of mankind; and indeed, this fire of yours seeks refuge against the Fire of jahannam.
Mūsā ibn Isḥāq related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Zayd ibn Wahb, he said: ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd said: this fire of yours, when it was sent down, was immersed twice in the sea whereby it cooled down; had that not been so, you would have derived no benefit from it.
