Al-AʿlāThe Most High

'Sabbiḥ' means to declare Allah utterly free of any deficiency, and al-Aʿlā, 'the Most High,' describes Him in His essence, His attributes and His power — above all creation.

— Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm

It is reported that when the Prophet ﷺ recited this āyah he would say, 'Subḥāna Rabbiya al-Aʿlā' (Glory be to my Lord, the Most High) — the origin of that phrase said in the prostration of prayer.

— Al-Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān

'Who created and proportioned' — He made every creature in the most fitting shape for its purpose; 'who decreed and guided' — He guided every creature to what suits it, even the guidance of instinct given to animals.

— Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm

The guidance in āyah 3 is general: guidance for every creature toward what benefits it, and specifically the guidance of humankind through the messengers and revealed law.

— Al-Saʿdī, Taysīr al-Karīm al-Raḥmān

Al-marʿā (the pasture) refers to fresh, green vegetation that Allah then turns into ghuthāʾan aḥwā — blackened, dried-up refuse — an image of how swiftly worldly flourishing fades.

— Al-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-Bayān

'We shall make you recite, so you will not forget' was revealed to reassure the Prophet ﷺ, who used to hasten his tongue in fear of forgetting revelation as it came — as also addressed in Sūrat al-Qiyāmah (75:16–19).

— Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm

'Illā mā shāʾa Allāh' (except what Allah wills) preserves Allah's absolute power over even this promise — some scholars relate it to particular rulings later abrogated in recitation, without any loss to the integrity of the Qurʾān.

— Al-Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān

'And We will ease you toward the easiest way' means Allah facilitated for him ﷺ the path of the sharīʿah that is most beneficial and most befitting, in word and deed.

— Al-Saʿdī, Taysīr al-Karīm al-Raḥmān

'Fa-dhakkir in nafaʿat al-dhikrā' — remind, for reminding always benefits the believers even if the obstinate reject it; 'sa-yadhdhakkaru man yakhshā' — the one whose heart contains fear of Allah will take heed.

— Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm

Al-ashqā (the most wretched) refers to the disbeliever who persists in rejection; 'lā yamūtu fīhā wa-lā yaḥyā' describes a punishment so severe that death, which would end suffering, is denied to him, yet he has no true life either.

— Al-Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān

'Qad aflaḥa man tazakkā' — he has truly succeeded who purifies his soul from disbelief and sin; 'wa-dhakara isma Rabbihi fa-ṣallā' is understood by many commentators to include remembrance leading to ṣalāh, including the ʿĪd prayer specifically in some reports.

— Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm

'Bal tuʾthirūna al-ḥayāt al-dunyā' — rather you prefer the worldly life, despite the Hereafter being khayrun wa-abqā, better in quality and everlasting in duration, unlike the world which ends.

— Al-Saʿdī, Taysīr al-Karīm al-Raḥmān

'Inna hādhā la-fī al-ṣuḥuf al-ūlā, ṣuḥufi Ibrāhīma wa-Mūsā' shows that the truths of this surah — the priority of the Hereafter, purification and remembrance — are not new but confirmed across the earlier revealed scrolls.

— Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿAẓīm

Mention of Ibrāhīm before Mūsā, despite Mūsā's scrolls (the Tawrāh's earlier form) being referenced by name, follows the order of virtue and honour, as Ibrāhīm is the father of prophets and imām of the ḥunafāʾ.

— Al-Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-Aḥkām al-Qurʾān