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سُورَةُ ٱلْفَاتِحَةِ · 1:4
MeccanRevelation order ٥Juzʾ ١Page ١

مَٰلِكِ يَوْمِ ٱلدِّينِ

٤
Saheeh International · EN

Sovereign of the Day of Recompense.

Bio

Introduction

This is āyah 4 of Sūrat Al-Faatiha (The Opener), the 5th sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Meccan period and sits within Juzʾ 1. Meccan verses tend to address faith, the oneness of God, and the hereafter.

This introduction is a starting point — the community and Bilal will enrich it over time.

Bio

Revelation & occasion

Asbāb al-Nuzūl
Period
Meccan
Order revealed
5 of 114
Surah
Al-Faatiha (1)
Occasion of revelation · Al-Wahidi

The owner of the Day of Doom. This alludes to the permanence of the kingship of unity and the subsistence of the all-compel- lingness of the divinity. In other words, the day of every king's empire ends and disappears, his kingship finishes, and his state changes. But God's kingship is permanent, today and tomorrow, for it never comes to an end or disappears. In the two worlds nothing and no one is outside of His kingship and ruling power. No one has a kingship like His kingship. Today He is the Lord of the Worlds and tomorrow the Owner of the Day of Doom, and none of the creatures is like this. How wonderful! How can the servant do anything? For in the two worlds, ownership and kingship are God's, without associate, partner, requirement, or need. So where is the servant's choice? He who has no ownership has no ruling power. And thy Lord creates what He wants and chooses. They have no choice [28:68]. It has been said that doom here is reckoning and reward. He is saying, “The owner and care- taker of calling the servants to account am I.” Thus no one else will become aware of the servants' defects, lest they be shamed. Even though calling to account is itself to drive home severity, not lifting the veil during the accounting is nothing but generosity. He wants to show generosity after He drives home severity. This is the custom of God: Whenever he strikes a blow of severity, He places on it the balm of generosity. The Pir of the Tariqah said, “Tomorrow at the standing place of calling to account, if I have anything and there is place to speak, I will say, 'Lord God, of the three things that I have, look at one of them: First, a prostration that has never wanted anything but a heart for You; second, an assent such that whatever You said, I said was true; third, a spirit and heart that have never wanted anything but You ever since the wind of generosity rose up.'” I have no wish but serving Your face- I want no breath without You.

Commentary

Tafsir

4 works

Hafiz Ibn Kathir

The Owner of the Day of Recompense (4) Allah says, 'My servant has glorified Me,' or 'My servant has related all matters to Me.' When he says,
Provenance

Chains of transmission

Oral — isnād

  1. ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation

    Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.

  2. 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation

    Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.

  3. TodayLiving chainsawaiting curation

    Continuous ijāzah chains link reciters today back to the Prophet ﷺ.

Verified isnād chains for this āyah will be added by curators.

Written — the manuscript record

  1. ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation

    The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).

  2. 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation

    Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.

  3. Modern printModern printawaiting curation

    The 1924 Cairo edition → today: the standard printed muṣḥaf used worldwide.

A curated chain of manuscript images for this exact āyah — roughly one per century — is coming. Help us source and verify them.

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And now — what do you think?

The text, its history and the classical commentary are laid out above. Share your own understanding, ask a question, or reason with others.

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Provenance

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