Interpretation of Fortress 87 (The Most High, Glory to Your Lord in the Highest)
I seek refuge in God from the cursed Satan
In the Name of God, the All-Compassionate, the All-Merciful
1. “Make (people’s spirits) glorify the Name of your Provider, the Most High”
2. “Who has created (everything) and proportioned (it) well”
3. “Who has estimated (a livelihood) and guided them (to it),
4. “Who brings forth the pasture,
5. “Then turns it to precious desiccated containers (dry yellow plants which still keep the vital benefits to be eaten in summer).”
6. “We shall let you read so that you will not forget:”
7. “Except what Allah wills. He knows what is open and what is hidden.”
8. “We shall ease for you the smoothest path,”
9. “Therefore give admonition if (or if not) admonition avails.”
10. “He who stands in awe (of Allah) will remember,”
11. “But it will be ignored by the most miserable one,”
12. “Who will suffer the Greatest Fire,”
13. “In which they will then neither die nor live.”
14. “Indeed, successful shall be those who purify themselves,”
15. “Who remember the Name of their Lord and so communicate with Him,”
16. “Yet you (oblivious people) prefer the worldly life,”
17. “Even though the life to come is better and more lasting.”
18. “All of this is in the earlier scriptures:”
19. “The scriptures of Abraham and Moses.”
§§§§§
In this noble Fortress, the Almighty God wants to clarify to us that if we do not feel awe for Him, we will not recollect Him, nor will the admonition of His Envoys profit us. Consequently our spirit will not be qualified to enjoy the favor which Allah has prepared for us.
Moreover, in this case, such a person will prefer the present transient life to the life to come, and will pay no heed to their fate after death.
Therefore, due to the Clemency that this Merciful and Sympathetic God has for us, He sent us some Verses at the beginning of this Fortress which will implant this awe in our spirits. If we consider them carefully we shall fear to disobey our Provider, and then we shall remember God and His Graces, and we will succeed.
Firstly, to explain the first Verse, we say:
Verse no. 1
1. “Make (people’s spirits) glorify the Name of your Provider, the Most High”
The word glorify in Arabic which means “Sabeh” is derived from the word “Sabh” which generally means swimming or floating, we say the stars swim in the space, the fish swim in the sea, and swimming can be physical or spiritual and immaterial. For example, if a person looks at the glowing globe of the sun, and knows that it has been flaming and radiating for thousands of years and continues to do so up to this moment, then their spirit will glorify it and swim in its greatness, thinking and wondering. Similarly, if a person looks at the refulgent stars in space and knows that there are millions of millions of light-years between one star and the next, and that they are in attraction and connection with one another despite their tremendous dimensions and the measureless distance between them, this person will also swim in their greatness and soar in their thoughts of that great power.
If they knew that the human race would need more than five million years to walk across the surface of the star, if this was even possible, although it occupies only a spot in the heavens, then their spirit would swim in the largeness of this illimitable heaven.
Thus spiritual swimming is accomplished through profound meditation on things.
In this noble Fortress, the Almighty orders His noble Prophet (cpth) to help people swim in the Name of their Provider – that is, to acquaint them with the Might of this Creator and His high Prestige – in order that their spirits will swim and soar through this endless Greatness, and become immersed in this Potency, whose borders or limits cannot be apprehended by humanity.
The word “Name” refers to all of the supreme Names of God, which indicate His Majesty, Potency, Compassion, Clemency, Wisdom, Omniscience and other Name Attributes.
“…your provider” is your creator Who supports you with life, existence and power.
“…the Most High” is the Highest One who is greater in all of His Names than any human conception.
Whatever you know of His Grandeur, He is even Grander and Grander. Whatever of His Compassion or Might you may perceive, He is in fact even higher than your perception.
In all of His supreme Attributes that you may recognize, He is greater and higher, for there is no end to His Perfection.
Accordingly, the Verse “Make (people’s spirits) glorify the Name of your Provider, the Most High” tells us: “show and tell people what you have been shown and have learnt of the Perfection of your Provider, so that they may draw near to that High Provider and their spirits may swim in His boundless Perfection.”
The way that leads to the recognition of the Perfection of God is revealed in God’s Words:
Verse no. 2
2. “Who has created (everything) and proportioned (it) well,”
This Verse means that if you, human, notice the perfection in creation, you will know the Perfection of God.
As you think about creation and reflect on it, and feel that it is great, you thereby glorify the Creator and appreciate His Magnificence and Perfection. This is because creation leads one to its Maker.
To “create” is to bring something into being.
To “proportion” is to make creation balanced and without fault.
Thus this universe and everything in it has been created perfectly, lacking nothing, and free of any deficiency.
If you ponder this universe with its earth and heaven, its sun and moon, its mountains and rivers, its seas and lakes, its animals and plants, and its beasts and insects, you will see that everything that it contains is absolutely perfect.
No matter what you look at or scrutinize, trying to find a demerit, your sight will fail to find any imperfection, and will be humbled at its inability to find any fault in creation.
For further illustration, we say:
Suppose that the sun changed its orbit and approached the earth, so that it was closer to it by a single mile. The sun would certainly burn up the plants and animals and even all humanity, leaving no living being on the surface of our world. However, this is not possible, as all is in the Hands of the Omnipotent Creator.
This means that the One Who placed the sun in space proportioned its situation and its relationship to the earth, so that it would occupy a suitable location and its orbit would be appropriate.
This refers to the Perfection of God.
This also applies to the moon and the stars. They have all been put in the most perfect situation in splendid discipline in terms of their location and the distances between them, and their lights and rays. The Omnipotent rotates them according to a strict discipline. He is the One from Whom everything that issues includes perfection in all its aspects.
Another example about day and night:
Suppose that the earth circulation’s was too fast, so that the night and day each only lasted for one hour. We would definitely not be satisfied with one hour’s sleep, any more than we would with a single hour of work.
On the contrary, if its rotation was too slow, so that the day and the night each lasted for five days, we would be sure to feel bored with sleep and rest during this long night, and would be tired of working during such a long day.
Thus, the circulation of the earth has been regulated. The One that created the night and the day has proportioned this regulation so that it is perfect and expedient.
If a person considers everything carefully, they will find that all of the plants and animals have been created appropriately. It is just the same with the human body. If a person thinks of it, they will find that every organ has been put in a suitable place and is proportional in its dimensions.
If the thumb was longer than its current, normal length, you would be unable to perform the deeds you routinely perform. You would find difficulty in your actions if it was shorter than usual, or if it was mutilated.
Also, if you did not possess your fingers you would have never achieved the deeds you have up to now.
Thus, everything has been done perfectly, and the One that created everything and brought it into being is the One Who has made them well. This is why they have appeared in such perfection, which indicates the Existence of Him, the Almighty.
People! Ponder and meditate time after time on whatever your eye catches, and you will be led to your Creator. You will recognize the supreme Perfection of your Provider.
Verse no. 3
3. “Who has estimated (a livelihood) and guided them (to it),”
To ‘estimate’ is to make a judgement about the size or amount of something. For example, you may say: “the merchant estimated the price of the goods,” or “the man estimated the amount of wheat he needed to put into storage.”
As we see, in these examples, estimation is made by people of experience and knowledge. God the Almighty, Who created all the different kinds of creatures, estimated the proper provisions for each to fulfill their individual requirements.
In fact, no rain falls, no plant grows and no boon is granted without being measured beforehand. God says: “There is not a thing whose stores are not with Us, and We do not send it down except in its due, determined measure.”
The Holy Qur’an,
Fortress 15, Al-Hijr (Stone Buildings), Verse 21
The Almighty did not only create the creatures and found the agreeable provision for each, but also acquainted every creature with its own food and guided them to its location.
The bee, for example, rushes to the flowers and sucks their nectar soon after emerging from its hive.
Equally, as soon as it hatches from its egg, the chick immediately begins to search in the soil for food. When the foal comes out of the mare’s belly, you will also see it hasten to its teats to suck their sustaining milk, even though it could not have seen or known about them before.
I wonder: who guides the bee, the chick and the foal to their own appropriate sources of nourishment?
Who has taught the little baby how to suckle the milk from its mother’s breast?
It is He, the Almighty, Who has estimated the provision that every creature needs, and then created it and led them to its location.
Verse no. 4
4. “Who brings forth the pasture,”
The word “pasture” indicates the herbage and plants which the animals graze upon and live on.
The Almighty – Who has estimated your sustenance needs and employed the animals for your service and to provide you with the necessary nutrition– not only secures your living, but also takes responsibility for feeding these animals. He does so due to His Care for you, and to complete His Favor towards you.
This Verse draws our attention to the benevolence of God towards us and, at the same time, to the arrangement through which God creates this pasture.
Observe, human, the winds and how they blow and run, and the clouds and how they swim and stick together! Look at the rains and how they fall, and the sun with its rays and heat! All these agents – and others – are factors which help to revive the land and bring forth from it the pasture.
That is but one aspect of what is signified by the previous Verse.
Verse no. 5
5. “Then turns it to precious desiccated containers (dry yellow plants which still keep the vital benefits to be eaten in summer).”
What is “desiccated” is what is dry, and has lost greenness and freshness.
The word “containers” here refers to grass, which contains the substances necessary for the nourishment of animals.
This pasture, produced for animals by God, ripens and creates what is necessary for the animal’s nourishment, and then stores it inside. You can then see that it becomes desiccated and stiff. This helps the animal to graze during the summer.
Verse no. 6
6. “We shall let you read so that you will not forget:”
To read a book is to look in it and to know its content.
To let somebody read something is to make them see and witness what facts that thing or that book contains.
This Verse tells us: if you, human, look into this universe with an attitude of thought and meditation until you appreciate your Creator, then your spirit will draw near to Him, feeling deep reverence for Him. Through such reverence and closeness, your Provider will let you read. That is, by His Light He will show you those things which bespeak His Magnificence. You will then witness their realities, and will never forget them.
Verse no. 7
7. “Except what Allah wills. He knows what is open and what is hidden.”
You do not forget what you have seen, and it will remain apparent to your spirit as long as it keeps close to its Provider. However, when you turn away from Him your spirit will become blind and will witness nothing. You cannot dispense with your Lord, so do not turn away from Him for even a twinkle of an eye.
As for the Verse “…He knows what is open and what is hidden”, it means that the Almighty knows well everything that you hide as well as everything that you reveal, so let your secret thoughts be in agreement with your open actions. Be truthful in your demands in order that your Provider shows you what you want to know.
Verse no. 8
8. “We shall ease for you the smoothest path.”
This means that your nearness to your Provider makes you aware of the good deeds which will entail you ease and benefit, so you seek them out and you are required to perform them. Allah will guide you to them and facilitate their practice for you.
Exactly as it was going with the great humane scholar M. Amin Shikho whose heart is full of sympathy and mercy upon the creations, the Almighty God always draws the facilities for him according to his benefit before even asking for it.