Tafseer of The Mount · At-Tur · 52:4
And [by] the frequented House
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 words وَالْبَيْتِ الْمَعْمُورِ (By the inhabited House) — he says: by the House that is populated by the multitude of its visitors. And it is, as reported, a house in heaven directly above the Kaʿba of the earth, which seventy thousand angels enter every day, never to return to it thereafter.
And in accordance with what we have said about this, the interpreters of the text have spoken.
* Mention of those who said that:
Ibn al-Muthannā related to us; he said: Ibn Abī ʿAdī related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of Anas ibn Mālik, on the authority of Mālik ibn Ṣaʿṣaʿa, a man from his people, who said: The Prophet of Allah ﷺ said: "The inhabited House was raised up for me, and I said: 'O Jibrīl, what is this?' He said: 'The inhabited House; every day seventy thousand angels enter it; when they have departed from it, they never return to it again, as the last of what is allotted to them.'"
Ibn al-Muthannā related to us; he said: Khālid ibn al-Ḥārith related to us; he said: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of Anas ibn Mālik, on the authority of Mālik ibn Ṣaʿṣaʿa, a man from his people, on the authority of the Prophet ﷺ, in a similar manner.
Hannād ibn al-Sarī related to us; he said: Abū al-Aḥwaṣ related to us, on the authority of Simāk ibn Ḥarb, on the authority of Khālid ibn ʿUrʿura, that a man said to ʿAlī, may Allah be pleased with him: What is the inhabited House? He said: A house in heaven called al-Ḍurāḥ; it is directly above the Kaʿba; its sanctity in heaven is like the sanctity of the House on earth; every day seventy thousand angels pray in it, never to return to it again thereafter.
Ibn al-Muthannā related to us; he said: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us; he said: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Simāk ibn Ḥarb; he said: I heard Khālid ibn ʿUrʿura say: I heard ʿAlī, may Allah be pleased with him, when he went out to al-Raḥba, and Ibn al-Kawwāʾ or another said to him: What is the inhabited House? He said: A house in the sixth heaven called al-Ḍurāḥ; every day seventy thousand angels enter it, never to return to it again.
Abū Kurayb related to us; he said: Ṭalq ibn Ghannām related to us, on the authority of Zāʾida, on the authority of ʿĀṣim, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Rabīʿa; he said: Ibn al-Kawwāʾ asked ʿAlī, may Allah be pleased with him, about the inhabited House; he said: A mosque in heaven called al-Ḍurāḥ; every day seventy thousand angels enter it, never to return to it again.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us; he said: Ḥakkām related to us, on the authority of ʿAnbasa, on the authority of ʿUbayd al-Maktib, on the authority of Abū al-Ṭufayl; he said: Ibn al-Kawwāʾ asked ʿAlī about the inhabited House; he said: A house directly above the Ancient House in heaven; every day seventy thousand angels enter it, in the order of their banners; it is called al-Ḍurāḥ; every day seventy thousand angels enter it, and thereafter they never return to it again.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us; he said: Bahrām related to us; he said: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Simāk ibn Ḥarb, on the authority of Khālid ibn ʿUrʿura, on the authority of ʿAlī, may Allah be pleased with him; he said: A man asked him about the inhabited House; he said: A house in heaven called al-Ḍarīḥ, directly opposite the House; every day seventy thousand angels enter it, never to return to it again thereafter.
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me; he said: my father related to me; he said: my uncle related to me; he said: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His words وَالْبَيْتِ الْمَعْمُورِ : he said: it is a house opposite the Throne, which the angels populate; every day seventy thousand angels pray in it, never to return to it again thereafter.
ʿAbdallāh ibn Aḥmad ibn Shabbūya related to us; he said: ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥasan related to us; he said: Ḥusayn related to us; he said: ʿIkrima, while I was sitting with him, was asked about the inhabited House; he said: A house in heaven directly above the Kaʿba.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me; he said: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us; he said: ʿĪsā related to us; al-Ḥārith related to me; he said: al-Ḥasan related to us; he said: Warqāʾ related to us — both — on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His words وَالْبَيْتِ الْمَعْمُورِ : he said: a house in heaven called al-Ḍurāḥ.
Bishr related to us; he said: Yazīd related to us; he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda وَالْبَيْتِ الْمَعْمُورِ : it has been mentioned that the Prophet of Allah ﷺ one day said to his companions: "Do you know what the inhabited House is?" They said: Allah and His Messenger know best. He said: "It is a mosque in heaven; beneath it is the Kaʿba; if it were to fall down, it would fall upon it. Every day seventy thousand angels pray in it; when they have departed from it, they never return to it again, as the last of what is allotted to them."
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn; he said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd informed us; he said: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His words وَالْبَيْتِ الْمَعْمُورِ : they claim that every day seventy thousand angels go to it from the tribe of Iblīs, who are called the jinn.
Yūnus related to me; he said: Ibn Wahb informed us; he said: Ibn Zayd said concerning His words وَالْبَيْتِ الْمَعْمُورِ : he said: the House of Allah that is in heaven. And he said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Verily, the House of Allah in heaven is entered every day that its sun rises by seventy thousand angels, never to return to it again thereafter."
Muḥammad ibn Marzūq related to us; he said: Ḥajjāj related to us; he said: Ḥammād related to us, on the authority of Thābit, on the authority of Anas, on the authority of the Prophet ﷺ; he said: "The inhabited House is in the seventh heaven; every day seventy thousand angels enter it, never to return to it again until the Hour comes."
Muḥammad ibn Sinān al-Qazzāz related to us; he said: Mūsā ibn Ismāʿīl related to us; he said: Sulaymān related to us, on the authority of Thābit, on the authority of Anas; he said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "When the angel raised me up to the seventh heaven, I came upon a structure and said to the angel: 'What is this?' He said: 'This is a structure that Allah has built for the angels; every day seventy thousand angels enter it, sanctifying and glorifying Allah, and they never return to it again.'"
