Tafseer of The Beneficent · Ar-Rahmaan · 55:4
[And] taught him eloquence.
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: He taught him the clear exposition (55:4). The Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: He taught man the clear exposition (al-bayān).
Then the exegetes differed concerning what is meant by "al-bayān" in this place. Some of them said: by this is meant the exposition of the permitted (ḥalāl) and the forbidden (ḥarām).
* Mention of those who said that:
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His statement: He taught him the clear exposition: Allah taught him the exposition of the worldly life and the Hereafter, the distinction between the permitted and the forbidden therein, so that He might thereby establish proof against His creation.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Saʿīd, on the authority of Qatāda: He taught him the clear exposition: of the worldly life and the Hereafter, so that He might thereby establish proof against him.
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Marwān related to us, saying: Abū al-ʿAwwām related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His statement: He taught him the clear exposition. He said: the good and the evil became clear to him, and what he must do and what he must abstain from.
And others said: by this is meant speech, that is to say that Allah, mighty and exalted is He, taught man speech.
* Mention of those who said that:
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His statement: He taught him the clear exposition. He said: al-bayān is speech.
And the correct position concerning this is to say: its meaning is that Allah taught man what he needs concerning the affairs of his religion and his worldly affairs — of the permitted and the forbidden, the means of livelihood and speech, and everything else that he needs. For Allah, exalted is His praise, did not restrict His report concerning that by saying that He taught him a part of the exposition and not another part; rather, He spoke in general terms and said: He taught him the clear exposition. So it is general, just as He, exalted is His praise, stated it generally.
