رَّبُّ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا فَٱعْبُدْهُ وَٱصْطَبِرْ لِعِبَٰدَتِهِۦ ۚ هَلْ تَعْلَمُ لَهُۥ سَمِيًّۭا
Lord of the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them - so worship Him and have patience for His worship. Do you know of any similarity to Him?"
Introduction
This is āyah 65 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.
This introduction is a starting point — the community and Bilal will enrich it over time.
Revelation & occasion
- Period
- Meccan
- Order revealed
- 44 of 114
- Surah
- Maryam (19)
The Lord of the heavens and the earth and what is between the two. So worship Him, and be patient in His worship. The keeper of heaven and earth, of Throne and Carpet, of land and sea, is He. His command dominates over all, His will penetrates all. The world and the world's folk are all His servants and servitors. The seven heavens and the seven earths and everything within them are all His posses- sion and kingdom. This is a king whose kingship has no removal, whose exaltedness has no abasement, whose seriousness has no levity, whose decree has no rejection, and from whom there is no escape. He revealed to Moses, “'I am the remedy that clings to you, so cling to the remedy.' O Moses, I am unavoidable to you. Everything can be avoided, but there is no avoiding Me. Everything can be escaped, but there is no escaping Me. Be a servant, for a servant has no artifice better than servanthood.” This is why the Lord of the Worlds says in this verse, “So worship Him, and be patient in His worship.” The burden of servanthood is a heavy burden, and the road of the Law's prescription is difficult. Since you know who placed this burden and how to take care of the burden in this road, be patient and do not complain. Whenever someone recognizes the Real's majesty and knows the destination of this road, the hands of his self-determination will fall short of the two realms of be- ing and the feet of his passion will always be in the road. For him the bottom of a well will be like chieftainship and status. The Pir of the Tariqah said, “O God, sometimes I say I'm in the devil's grasp, so much cover- ing do I see. Then at times a light shines next to which all mortal nature disappears. “O God, since the eyes are still waiting for face-to-face vision, what is this trial of the heart? Since this path is all trial, why is there so much pleasure? “O God, sometimes I spoke to You and sometimes I listened. In the midst of my offenses I thought of Your gentleness. I suffered what I suffered. All became sweet when I heard the voice of acceptance.”
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
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