Quranic Passage 4

Surah 42.4-5 (Ash-Shura)

لَهُۥ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَمَا فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ ۖ وَهُوَ ٱلْعَلِىُّ ٱلْعَظِيمُ

تَكَادُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتُ يَتَفَطَّرْنَ مِن فَوْقِهِنَّ ۚ وَٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةُ يُسَبِّحُونَ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّهِمْ وَيَسْتَغْفِرُونَ لِمَن فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ ۗ أَلَآ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ هُوَ ٱلْغَفُورُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ

Translation

4. To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth: and He is most high, most great. 5. The heavens are almost rent asunder from above them, and the angels celebrate the praises of their Lord, and pray for forgiveness for beings on earth: Behold! Verily Allah is He, the oft-forgiving, the most merciful.

Main Theme(s)

The main theme are: His ownership of the world; His greatness and His mercy and forgiveness.

This passage is from the theme of God in Himself. The heavens are almost torn apart due to His greatness above them. He is the owner of everything because He created it, so humans should be careful of His power or anger over the danger of committing shirk. The Holy Qur’an states:

“…It is man that wrongs his own soul.” (10:44, Yunus)

Everything in nature praises God including His angels. The angels pray for the guidance of humans on earth, as it is God who is the forgiving, the merciful.

Importance of these Themes in a Muslim’s life today

The importance here is that God tells humankind of his power and control over all things so they should remember that they do not have any power in comparison. God is Merciful, even when Muslims have committed wrong actions, so Muslims have someone to turn to in times of need. As God is merciful to humankind, they in turn should be grateful and also try to be forgiving of others, even if they have been hurt or injured. Humans should not despair of Him or give up on His mercy, i.e. even if they have sinned, they should turn back to Him and He will forgive. The Holy Qur’an claims:

“The Night of Power is better than a thousand months. Therein come down the angels and the Spirit by Allah's permission…” (97:3-4, Al-Qadr)