Tafseer of The Groups · Az-Zumar · 39:1
The revelation of the Qur'an is from Allah, the Exalted in Might, the Wise.
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 explanation of the saying of the Exalted: تَنْزِيلُ الْكِتَابِ مِنَ اللَّهِ الْعَزِيزِ الْحَكِيمِ (1) (The sending down of the Book is from Allah, the Almighty, the All-Wise. (39:1))
The Exalted, whose praise is sublime, says: ( تَنْزِيلُ الْكِتَابِ ) (the sending down of the Book), which We have sent down to you, O Muḥammad, ( مِنَ اللَّهِ الْعَزِيزِ ) (is from Allah, the Almighty), the Almighty in His retribution against His enemies, ( الْحَكِيمِ ) (the All-Wise), the All-Wise in the governance of His creatures — from Him, not from another; so do not be in doubt concerning that. He has put the word ( تَنْزِيلُ ) in the nominative by means of His saying ( مِنَ اللَّهِ ); and the import of the saying is: from Allah, the Almighty, the All-Wise, is the sending down of the Book. It is also permissible to put it in the nominative by presupposing this (subject), as has been said سُورَةٌ أَنْزَلْنَاهَا (A sūra which We have sent down (24:1)). However, the nominative in ( تَنْزِيلُ الْكِتَابِ ) by means of what follows it is more elegant than the nominative of 'sūra' by means of what follows it, because 'tanzīl' lies — even though it is a verbal noun (derived from a verb) — closer to definiteness, since it stands in a genitive construction (iḍāfa) with a definite word; therefore its nominative by means of what follows it is elegant. That, however, is not elegant with 'sūra', because it is indefinite.
