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سُورَةُ الشُّعَرَاءِ · 26:78
MeccanRevelation order ٤٧Juzʾ ١٩Page ٣٧٠

ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَنِى فَهُوَ يَهْدِينِ

٧٨
Saheeh International · EN

Who created me, and He [it is who] guides me.

Bio

Introduction

This is āyah 78 of Sūrat Ash-Shu'araa (The Poets), the 47th sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Meccan period and sits within Juzʾ 19. 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
47 of 114
Surah
Ash-Shu'araa (26)
Occasion of revelation · Al-Wahidi

Surely they are an enemy to me, save the Lord of the Worlds, who created me, so He is guiding me. The mark of love is that, when the lover comes to the description of the Beloved, he turns his heart away from others. He remembers only the Beloved and speaks only in laudation of the Beloved. He does not become sated by remembering Him, lauding Him, and thanking Him, nor can he re- main silent. This was the case when Abraham began to remember and praise God. Look how he clung to plentiful remembrance and laudation and much supplication and pleading! What a difference between these two groups-the owners of requests and the companions of the realities! The owners of requests strive, bring forth obedience, and count out litanies, and then, after that, they present their requests. Their hearts are attached to the reward, and they implore by supplicating and requesting what they want. A report has come: “Surely God loves those who implore in their supplications.” This is the station of the lords of the Shariah. Moses was in this station when he said, “My Lord, open my breast and ease my task!” [20:26] and so on. Above this is the station of the companions of the realities. In remembering and lauding the Beloved they never turn to requesting what they want. Sometimes their tongues cling to lauda- tion and sometimes their hearts are mixed with contemplation, their secret cores having reached union. Annihilated from themselves, they subsist through the Real. This was the state of Abraham when he said, “who created me, so He is guiding me.” In other words: “He is guiding me from me to Him, for my existence has been effaced, and none but the Object of my worship guides me in myself.” This is why the Pir of the Tariqah said, “O God, show me the road to Yourself and release me from the bonds of myself. O He who makes arrive, make me arrive at Yourself, for no one arrives by himself! “O God, remembering You is delight, loving You celebration, recognizing You the kingdom, finding You joy, companionship with You the spirit's repose, proximity to You light. Your seeker is slain though alive, and finding You is the resurrection without Trumpet.”

Commentary

Tafsir

4 works

Hafiz Ibn Kathir

Who has created me, and it is He Who guides me (78)And it is He Who feeds me and gives me to drink (79)And when I am ill, it is He Who cures me (80)And Who will cause me to die, and then will bring me to life (81)And Who, I hope, will forgive me my faults on the Day of Recompense (82) Ibrahim Mentions Allah's Kindness Towards Him Ibrahim said, "I will not worship any but the One Who does these things: الَّذِي خَلَقَنِي فَهُوَ يَهْدِينِ (Who has created me, and it is He Who guides me.) He is the Creator Who has decreed certain things to which He guides His creation, so each person follows the path which is decreed for him. Allah is the One Who guides whomsoever He wills and leaves astray whomsoever He wills. وَالَّذِي هُوَ يُطْعِمُنِي وَيَسْقِينِ (And it is He Who feeds me and gives me to drink.) He is my Creator Who provides for me from that which He has made available in the heave…
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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