The following excerpt is taken from “The Holy Quran: Text, Translation, and Commentary” by Abdullah Yusuf Ali pg. 1432-1433:
Quran 52:1-6:
By the Mount (of Revelation); By a Decree inscribed, In a Scroll unfolded; And the House (Kaaba) that is visited, By the Canopy Raised High; And by the Ocean filled with Swell;-
- By the Mount (of Revelation);
The adjuration is by five things which we shall
presently explain. An appeal is made to these five Signs
in verses 1 to 6, and the certainty of future events is
asserted in the most emphatic terms in verses 7 to 28,
in three parts, viz.,the coming of judgment and the passing away of this
phenomenal world (verses 7-10);the future ill consequences of ill-deeds done (verses
11-16);and future attainment of bliss and complete
realisation of Allah’s love and mercy (verses 17-28). - By a Decree Inscribed,
See last note.
The five Signs to which appeal is made are:
- the Mount (of Revelation), verse 1;
- the Book Inscribed, verses 2-3;
- The Much-frequented House, verse 4;
- the Canopy Raised High, verse 5; and
- the Ocean filled with Swell, verse 6.
Let us examine these in detail. Each of them has a
figurative meaning.
• The Mount is the sublime world of Revelation.
In the case of Moses it is typified by Mount Sinai:
Cf. 95:2, where it is mentioned in juxtaposition to
the sacred territory of Makkah, 95:3. 4
In the case of Jesus it is the Mount of Olives: Cf.
95:1, and also Matt. 24:3-51, where Jesus made
his striking pronouncement about the Judgment to
come.
In the case of Muhammad it is the Mountain of
Light, where he first received the revelation: Cf. n.
11
• The Book Inscribed is Allah’s Eternal word.
When it becomes Revelation to man, it is figured
forth as something “inscribed”, reduced to
writing; and as it is made clear to the intelligence
of man,
3. In a Scroll unfolded;
it is further described as “in a parchment
unfolded”, that is, spread out so that everyone
who has the will can seek its guidance.
4. By the much-frequented Fane;
C5039. See the last two notes.
• “The much-frequented Fane” (or House) is
usually understood to mean the Ka’bah, which the
holy Prophet purified and re-dedicated to true
worship.
5. By the Canopy Raised High;
• “The Canopy Raised High” is the canopy of
heaven, to whose height or sublimity no limit can
be assigned by the mind of man. It is Nature’s
Temple in which all Creation worships Allah – the
Symbol in which the material and the visible
merges into the the spiritual and the intuitional.
6. And by the Ocean…
• The Ocean-the vast, limitless, all encircling
Ocean. It is expressed to be masjur, full of a
mighty swell, boiling over, poured forth all over
the earth, as if overwhelming all landmarks; Cf.
81:6:-
a fitting description of the final disappearance of
our temporal world in the supreme establishment
of the Reality behind it.
… filled with Swell —
This completes the five Signs by which man may
know for certain of the Judgment to come.
Note that they are in a descending order; –
- the highest, or most remote from man’s
consciousness, being mentioned first, - and that nearest to man’s consciousness being
mentioned last. - The truth of Revelation; its embodiment in a
Prophet’s Message given in human language; - the universal appeal of divine worship;
- the starry world above; and the encircling Ocean, full
of life and motion below,-
all are evidences that the Day of Allah will finally come,
and nothing can avert it. (R).
In Sufi interpretation each of these Symbols further typifies an aspect of the final Preacher of Unity: the Mount signifying his tremendous Personality; the Decree inscribed in a Scroll Unfolded, the perspicuous Quran: the much frequented Fane, his heart open to every living creature; the Canopy Raised on High, his spiritual eminence; and the Swelling Ocean, the vast sea of his living knowledge.
References:
Yusuf Ali, Abdullah. Translation and Commentary of the Quran. (Surah 52 verses 1-6). Microsoft Word – 052 Tur.doc (quran4u.com)
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