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سُورَةُ مَرۡيَمَ · 19:64
MeccanRevelation order ٤٤Juzʾ ١٦Page ٣٠٩

وَمَا نَتَنَزَّلُ إِلَّا بِأَمْرِ رَبِّكَ ۖ لَهُۥ مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِينَا وَمَا خَلْفَنَا وَمَا بَيْنَ ذَٰلِكَ ۚ وَمَا كَانَ رَبُّكَ نَسِيًّۭا

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Saheeh International · EN

[Gabriel said], "And we [angels] descend not except by the order of your Lord. To Him belongs that before us and that behind us and what is in between. And never is your Lord forgetful -

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Introduction

This is āyah 64 of Sūrat Maryam (Mary), the 44th sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Meccan period and sits within Juzʾ 16. Meccan verses tend to address faith, the oneness of God, and the hereafter.

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Revelation & occasion

Asbāb al-Nuzūl
Period
Meccan
Order revealed
44 of 114
Surah
Maryam (19)
Occasion of revelation · Al-Wahidi

(We (angels) come not down save by commandment of thy Lord�) [19:64]. Isma'il ibn Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Hamawayh informed us> Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ma'mar al-Shami> Ishaq ibn Muhammad ibn Ishaq al-Rus'ani> his grandfather> al-Mughirah> 'Umar ibn Dharr> his father> Sa'id ibn Jubayr> Ibn 'Abbas who said: �The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, said [to Gabriel, peace be upon him]: 'O Gabriel, what prevents you from visiting us more often than you do?' And so this verse was revealed (We (angels) come not down save by commandment of thy Lord. Unto Him belongeth all that is before us and all that is behind us and all that is between those two, and thy Lord was never forgetful). This was a response to Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace�. This was narrated by Bukhari from Abi Nu'aym from 'Umar ibn Dharr. Mujahid said: �The angel [Gabriel] took quite a while to come to the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace. When he finally came to him he said: 'Did I take too long to come to you?' The Prophet said he did, upon which the angel said: 'Why should I not delay my coming when you [the community of the believers] do not polish your teeth by using small sticks (siwak), do not cut your nails and do not clean the joints of your fingers'. And then he added (We (angels) come not down save by commandment of thy Lord�)�. 'Ikrimah, al-Dahhak, Qatadah, Muqatil and al-Kalbi said: �Gabriel, peace be upon him, failed to come to the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, when his people asked him about the people of the Cave, Dhu'l-Qarnayn and the Spirit. He did not know what to answer them and was hoping that Gabriel, peace be upon him, would come to him with an answer. When his coming was delayed, the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, was very aggrieved. When Gabriel, peace be upon him, finally came, the Prophet said to him: 'You delayed your coming so much that I had some misgivings, and I have missed you'. Gabriel, peace be upon him, said: 'I have missed you more but I am only a slave who obeys orders. When I am sent, I come; and when I am kept back, I remain where I am kept'. Allah, exalted is He, then revealed (We (angels) come not down save by commandment of thy Lord�)�.

Commentary

Tafsir

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Hafiz Ibn Kathir

And we descend not except by the command of your Lord. To Him belongs what is before us and what is behind us, and what is between those two; and your Lord is never forgetful (64)Lord of the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them, so worship Him and abide patiently in His worship. Do you know of any who is similar to Him (65) The Angels do not descend, except by Allah's Command Imam Ahmad recorded that Ibn 'Abbas said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to Jibril, مَا يَمْنَعُكَ أَنْ تَزُورَنَا أَكْثَرَ مِمَّا تَزُورُنَا؟ (What prevents you from visiting us more than you do?) Then this Ayah was revealed, وَمَا نَتَنَزَّلُ إِلَّا بِأَمْرِ رَبِّكَ (And we descend not except by the command of your Lord.) Al-Bukhari was alone in recording it and he related it with the Tafsir of this Ayah. Al-'Awfi reported from Ibn 'Abbas that he said, "Jibril was kept from visiting the Mes…
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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Provenance

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