Al-Sajda (or Fuṣṣilat)^{1The MSS have the title al-Sajda. The published edition gives two titles for the sūra.}

His saying:

Ḥā Mīm

That is, He decreed [everything] upon the Preserved Tablet (lawḥ maḥfūẓ), in which was inscribed all that exists [and will come into existence] (kāʾin).

His words:

[bearing] good tidings and a warning…^{1Verses 3 and 4 describe attributes of the Revelation from the Merciful, the Compassionate mentioned in v. 2.}

He said:

Giving the good news of Paradise to those who obey Him and follow what is within it [the Book], and a warning of the Fire for those who disobey Him, turn away from what God intends within it, and oppose it.

His words, Exalted is He:

And they say, ‘Our hearts are veiled against that to which you call us…’

He said:

That is, [veiled] with coverings of neglect (ihmāl), such that they inclined towards lust (shahwa) and desire (hawā), and could not comprehend the summoning (daʿwa) of God; ‘and in our ears, [the ears] which are in our hearts, there is a deafness’, that is, deafness to the good, so they do not hear the calls (hawātif) of God; ‘And between us and you is a partition’, that is, ‘a veil of desire and of [our] natural disposition (jibillat al-ṭabʿ), so we do not see you as others see you.’

His words:

So if they endure, the Fire will [still] be their abode…^{1This verse is part of the description (vv. 19–24) of what happens to God’s enemies when they are gathered up and sent to the Fire, and their unremitting punishment therein.}

That is, if they seek release they will not be released, and if they apologise they will not be pardoned.

His words:

Truly, those who say, ‘Our Lord is God.’ And then remain on the straight path...

He said:

That is, they do not associate partners along with Him. This is as in the saying narrated from the Prophet ﷺ, ‘They are my nation and, by the Lord of the Kaʿba, they remained on the straight path and did not commit association (shirk) like the Jews and the Christians.’^{1This tradition is cited in Muḥammad b. Aḥmad al-Qurṭubī, al-Jāmiʿ li-aḥkām al-Qurʾān, known as Tafsīr al-Qurṭubī (Beirut, 1985), vol. 15, p. 358.}

ʿUmar رضي الله عنه said, ‘They did not evade [the truth] with the evasiveness of foxes’.^{2This saying, presumably of ʿUmar b. al-Khaṭṭāb, is cited in the Kitāb al-Zuhd wa’l-raqāʾiq of ʿAbd Allāh Ibn Mubārak (Beirut, 1971), p. 110.}

His words:

…the angels descend to them and say, ‘Do not fear nor grieve...’

That is, at the time of death. Indeed, the Prophet ﷺ said, ‘God, Exalted is He, says: “I have never hesitated over anything as much as I have hesitated over snatching (qabḍ) the soul (rūḥ) of the believer”’,^{3Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ, ‘Kitāb al-Riqāq’; Tirmidhī, Nawādir al-uṣūl, vol. 2, p. 232.} by which He means, ‘The angels never hesitate over anything as much as they hesitate over snatching the soul of My believing servant, which they do while giving him good tidings (bashāra) and treating him with honour (karāma) saying, “Do not fear for your souls and do not grieve about the Day of Gathering”’, just as He has said, The Supreme Terror shall not grieve them [21:103].

He said:

[He is] the One who takes you all into His care (al-mutawallī li-jumlatikum)^{4The second person plural pronoun in the expression jumlatikum here may be referring back to 21:92, where ummatukum is mentioned, i.e. Truly this nation (or religion) of yours (pl.) is one nation, and in his translation of the Qurʾān Muhammad Abdel Haleem has understood this as being addressed to the messengers altogether. Or maybe the expression simply means all of you. M. Abdel Haleem, trans. Qur’an (New York, 2008).} with [His] good pleasure (riḍā), protecting your hearts, and delighting your eyes with the [divine] manifestation (tajallī), in reward for your profession of His oneness and as a favour (tafaḍḍul) from your Lord.

His words:

Who is better in speech than one who summons [others] to God…

That is, than one who guides [people] to God, His worship and the Sunna of His Messenger ﷺ, and to the avoidance of all that is forbidden; [and who guides] to perseverance (idāma) in rectitude (istiqāma) with God, steadfastness in this for fear of one’s end (khātima); and to the middle way (ṭarīqa wusṭā),^{1The Muslims are described as a midmost nation (umma wasaṭa) in 2:143. According to Ṭabarī, being the ‘middle’ or ‘midmost’ means their being on the one hand free of extremism (ghuluww), and on the other, just (ʿudūl).} and the straight path (jādda mustaqīma), upon which whoever travels will be safe, but away from which whoever deviates (taʿaddā) will be filled with regret (nadam).

His words:

Man never wearies of supplicating for good…

He said:

He does not weary of remembering His Lord, nor of thanking Him, praising Him, or extolling Him.

His words:

And when We bestow graces upon man he shows disregard and turns away…

He said:

That is, [he turns away] from supplication, and from showing gratitude for what God has bestowed upon him. He becomes preoccupied with the bounties [themselves] and takes pride in that which is not worthy of any pride.

His words:

We shall show them Our signs on the horizons and in themselves...

That is, death.

He said:

Death has a specific (khāṣṣ) and a general (ʿāmm) meaning.^{1i.e. a meaning that is understood by the elect (khāṣṣ), that is, an inner meaning, and a meaning more widely understood by the generality (ʿāmm), namely its literal meaning, as is clear by the interpretation that Tustarī presents. Note that in the Introduction to the Commentary, p. 2, he stated that the understanding of the inner meanings of the Qurʾān are for a select few.} The general [meaning of] death is the death of the physical body (khilqa) and [its] natural form (jibilla). The specific [meaning] is the death of the lusts of the lower self (shahawāt al-nafs).^{2That is, according to MS F638, f. 44b and the published edition. MS Z515, f. 96a and F3488, f. 272b, have shahawāt al-nufūs.} But God, Glorified and Exalted is He, knows best.