سَنُرِيهِمْ ءَايَٰتِنَا فِى ٱلْءَافَاقِ وَفِىٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ حَتَّىٰ يَتَبَيَّنَ لَهُمْ أَنَّهُ ٱلْحَقُّ ۗ أَوَلَمْ يَكْفِ بِرَبِّكَ أَنَّهُۥ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍۢ شَهِيدٌ
We will show them Our signs in the horizons and within themselves until it becomes clear to them that it is the truth. But is it not sufficient concerning your Lord that He is, over all things, a Witness?
Introduction
This is āyah 53 of Sūrat Fussilat (Explained in Detail), the 61st sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Meccan period and sits within Juzʾ 25. 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.
Revelation & occasion
- Period
- Meccan
- Order revealed
- 61 of 114
- Surah
- Fussilat (41)
We shall show them Our signs on the horizons and in their souls until it is clear to them that He is the Real. It is said that the Lord's religion, which is the cause of the deliverance of the servants and the foundation of their familiarity with Him, is built on two things: One is showing on the part of the Real, and the other traveling on the part of the servant. Showing is what He says: “We shall show them Our signs on the horizons.” Traveling is what He says: “Whoso does a wholesome deed, it is for himself” [41:46]. As long as there is no showing on the Real's part, there will be no traveling on the servant's part. Showing takes place in both the signs of the horizons and the signs of the souls. In the signs of the horizons, it is what He says: “Have they not gazed upon the dominion of the heavens and the earth?” [7:185]. In the signs of the souls, it is what He says: “And in your souls; what, do you not see?” [51:21]. He is saying, “Do you not look at yourself and do you not think about your own makeup?” This is because the Lord of the Worlds has written out many fine points of wisdom and many realities of artisanry with the pen of eternal gentleness on the tablet of this makeup. He has in- scribed on it the lights of fabrication and the traces of honoring. He made the round head-the pavilion of intellect and the gathering place of knowledge-a monastery for the senses. Whatever worth has been acquired by this hollow makeup and composite person has been acquired from intellect and knowledge. The worth of the Adamite lies in intellect and his respectability in knowl- edge, his perfection in intellect and his beauty in knowledge. God created his forehead like a bar of silver. He strung the two bows of his eyebrows with pure musk. He deposited the two dots of his eyes' light into two figures of darkness. He made a hundred thousand red roses grow up in the garden of his two cheeks. He concealed thirty-two teeth like pearls in the oyster shell of his mouth. He sealed his mouth with glistening agate. From the beginning of his lips to the end of his throat He created twenty-nine way stations, making them the places of articulation for the twenty-nine letters.
Tafsir
Hafiz Ibn Kathir
Chains of transmission
Oral — isnād
- ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation
Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.
- 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation
Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.
- 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
- ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation
The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).
- 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation
Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.
- 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.
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.
Community resources
No community resources for this verse yet.