Whatever is in the heavens and earth exalts Allah

This Surah belongs to the Musabbihat, the collection of surahs that begin with glorifying Allah. Understanding this opening requires us to grasp a profound mode of argument that runs through these surahs.

Allah tells us that all of creation declares His perfection, and then He addresses believers about their shortcomings.

This creates a powerful comparison: if the entire universe fulfills its purpose of glorifying Allah, what about us?

Allah already told us in the Makkan Quran that the best of all creation is the human being: ‎وَلَقَدۡ كَرَّمۡنَا بَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ‎ “And We have certainly honored the children of Adam” (Al-Isra 70).

We enjoy a special status among all creation. Yet when it comes to declaring tasbih, declaring Allah’s perfection, Allah says that all other creation declares His perfection.

If we are the best of all creation, then who should be doing the best tasbih? We should be.

You are a human being, so you already owe more tasbih than all other creation. But on top of that, you are also a believer, so the burden is even heavier on you.

This is how the argument works throughout these surahs: first, Allah says the entire universe is doing what it is supposed to do. Then He asks, what happened to you? You are a believer.

There is this constant comparison between the universe fulfilling its role with Allah, and us as believers and our community fulfilling our role with Him.

Some surahs begin with sabbaha lillah (in the past tense, indicating continuous action): everything has been declaring the perfection of Allah. Let’s explore this concept of tasbih and how it differs between human beings and the rest of creation.

You can tell the talent of a painter by looking at the painting without ever meeting the painter. Similarly, you can observe what Allah created, just the sky, the mountains, the earth, and the creation itself becomes a praise of Allah.

It declares His perfection. Simply observing it makes you think: if this is so beautiful, how incredible must be the One Who made it?

This is tasbih by existence, the glorification that happens through the grandeur and diversity of Allah’s creation.

On another level, every creation, inanimate objects, animals, insects, cells, atoms, subatomic particles, all have been given a language by which they communicate the perfection of Allah.

As Allah says, ‎وَإِن مِّن شَىۡءٍ إِلَّا يُسَبِّحُ بِحَمۡدِهِۦ وَلَٰكِن لَّا تَفۡقَهُونَ تَسۡبِيحَهُمۡ‎ “And there is not a thing except that it exalts [Allah] by His praise, but you do not understand their [way of] exalting” (Al-Isra 44).

Notice that Allah used the word yusabbihu bihamdihi, “they glorify Him with His praise,” and then said “lā tafqahūna tasbīḥahum” (you do not understand their tasbih).

He did not say lā tafqahūna tasbīḥahā (using the feminine pronoun for “thing”). He used the masculine plural hum, which is used for creatures with intellect.

He essentially made them animate, because hum is what you use for beings with will. They are doing something that beings with intellect and will do: they are doing His hamd.

This is where the Surah begins: everything has been declaring the perfection of Allah in the skies and on the earth.

The first six ayahs of this Surah reintroduce Muslims to who God is: pure praise of Allah, His grandeur, His greatness.

Before we address the subject matter of weak imaan, we need to understand why. Perhaps the weakness of our imaan is directly related to the fact that we are not appreciating the greatness of Allah enough.

Before we address that problem, we should go straight to the solution. The first solution offered in this Surah for weakness of imaan is declaring Allah’s perfection and observing the rest of the universe around us.