Tafseer of Explained in detail · Fussilat · 41:42
Falsehood cannot approach it from before it or from behind it; [it is] a revelation from a [Lord who is] Wise and Praiseworthy.
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 statement: ( NO FALSEHOOD APPROACHES IT, NEITHER FROM BEFORE IT NOR FROM BEHIND IT ). The people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) differ concerning its interpretation. Some of them said: the meaning is: no rejection approaches it, neither from before it nor from behind it.
* Mention of who said that:
Abū Kurayb related to us, he said: Ibn Yamān related to us, on the authority of Ashʿath, on the authority of Jaʿfar, on the authority of Saʿīd: ( NO FALSEHOOD APPROACHES IT, NEITHER FROM BEFORE IT NOR FROM BEHIND IT ), he said: no rejection, neither from before it nor from behind it.
And others said: the meaning of that is: the satan is not able to take anything true away from it, nor to add anything false to it. They said: and the falsehood, that is the satan.
And His statement: ( FROM BEFORE IT ): from the side of the true, ( NOR FROM BEHIND IT ): from the side of the false.
* Mention of who said that:
Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: ( NO FALSEHOOD APPROACHES IT, NEITHER FROM BEFORE IT NOR FROM BEHIND IT ): the falsehood is Iblīs; he is not able to take anything true away from it, nor to add anything false to it.
And others said: the meaning of it is: the falsehood is not able to add anything in the way of letters to it, nor to take anything away from it.
* Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, he said: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, he said: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: ( NO FALSEHOOD APPROACHES IT, NEITHER FROM BEFORE IT NOR FROM BEHIND IT ), he said: the falsehood is the satan; he is not able to add a single letter to it, nor to take anything away from it.
And the correct of these statements according to us is that one says: its meaning is: no possessor of falsehood is able to alter it with his cunning and to distort any of its meanings into something other than what it is — and that is the approaching from before it — nor to add to it what does not belong to it — and that is the approaching from behind it.
And His statement: ( A SENDING DOWN FROM AN ALL-WISE, PRAISEWORTHY ONE ). The Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, says: it is a sending down from One who is a Possessor of wisdom in the governance of His servants and in guiding them toward what is in their interest, ( PRAISEWORTHY ). He says: praised for His favors to them through His benevolence toward them.
