Al-Qur'an Surah Al-Hadid Verse 3

Mufti Taqi Usmani

He is the First and the Last, and the Manifest and the Hidden, and He is All-Knowing about every thing.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

He is the First and the Last, the Most High and Most Near,[[ Another possible translation: “the Manifest ˹through His signs˺ and the Hidden ˹from His creation˺.”]] and He has ˹perfect˺ knowledge of all things.

Ruwwad Translation Center

He is the First and the Last, the Manifest and the Hidden, and He is All-Knowing of everything.

A. J. Arberry

He is the First and the Last, the Outward and the Inward; He has knowledge of everything.

Abdul Haleem

He is the First and the Last; the Outer and the Inner; He has knowledge of all things.

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

He is the First and the Last, and the OutWard and the inward, and He is of everything the Knower.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

He is the First and the Last, the Evident and the Immanent; and He has full knowledge of all things.

Abul Ala Maududi

He is the First and the Last, and the Manifest and the Hidden, and He has knowledge of everything.

Ahmed Ali

He is the first and He the last, the transcendent and the immanent; and He has knowledge of everything.

Ahmed Raza Khan

He only is the First and He only the Last, and He only is the Evident and He only the Concealed; and it is He Who knows all things.

Ali Quli Qarai

He is the First and the Last, the Manifest and the Hidden, and He has knowledge of all things.

Ali Ünal

He is the First, the Last, the All-Outward, and the All-Inward. He has full knowledge of everything.

Amatul Rahman Omar

He is (from) the very First (there was nothing before Him), and (He will exist to) the Last (there will be nothing after Him), and when nothing remains He will remain (He being an eternal Being). He is the Supreme Being (subordinate to no one). And (whereas He comprehends everything) He is Incomprehensible. He has full knowledge of every thing.

English Literal

He is the first/beginning and the last/end, and the apparent/visible, and the hidden/inside, and He is with every thing knowledgeable.

Faridul Haque

He only is the First and He only the Last, and He only is the Evident and He only the Concealed; and it is He Who knows all things.

Hamid S. Aziz

He is the First and the Last and the Evident (or Outer) and the Imminent (or Hidden or Inner), and He is Aware of all things.

Hilali & Khan

He is the First (nothing is before Him) and the Last (nothing is after Him), the Most High (nothing is above Him) and the Most Near (nothing is nearer than Him). And He is the All-Knower of every thing.

Maulana Mohammad Ali

His is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth. He gives life and causes death; and He is Possessor of power over all things.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

He is the First and the Last and the Ascendant (over all) and the Knower of hidden things, and He is Cognizant of all things.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

He is the First and the Last, and the Outward and the Inward; and He is Knower of all things.

Muhammad Sarwar

He is the First, the Last, the Manifest, and the Unseen and He knows all things.

Qaribullah & Darwish

He is the First and the Last, the Clear and the Hidden. He has knowledge of all things.

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

He is Al-Awwal and Al-Akhir, Az-Zahir and Al-Batin. And He is the All-Knower of everything.

Wahiduddin Khan

He is the First and the Last, the Outward and the Inward. He has knowledge of all things.

Talal Itani

He is the First and the Last, and the Outer and the Inner, and He has knowledge of all things.

Tafsir jalalayn

He is the First, preceding everything [but] without [His] having any beginning, and the Last, succeeding everything [but] without [His] having any end, and the Manifest, through the proofs for Him, and the Hidden, from the perception of the senses, and He has knowledge of all things.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

هُوَ الاَْوَّلُ وَالاْخِرُ وَالظَّاهِرُ وَالْبَاطِنُ

He is Al-Awwal and Al-Akhir, Az-Zahir and Al-Batin.

This is the Ayah indicated in the Hadith of Irbad bin Sariyah that is better than a thousand Ayat.

Abu Dawud recorded that Abu Zamil said,

"I mentioned to Ibn Abbas that I felt something in my heart.

He said, `Doubts' and then laughed.

Next, he said, `No one can escape this.

Allah the Exalted stated,

فَإِن كُنتَ فِي شَكٍّ مِّمَّأ أَنزَلْنَأ إِلَيْكَ فَاسْأَلِ الَّذِينَ يَقْرَءُونَ الْكِتَـبَ مِن قَبْلِكَ لَقَدْ جَأءَكَ الْحَقُّ مِن رَّبِّكَ

So if you are in doubt concerning that which We have revealed to you, then ask those who are reading the Book before you. Verily, the truth has come to you from your Lord. (10;94)'

He then said to me, `When you feel any of this in your heart, recite,

هُوَ الاَْوَّلُ وَالاْخِرُ وَالظَّاهِرُ وَالْبَاطِنُ

وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ

He is Al-Awwaland Al-Akhir, Az-Zahir and Al-Batin. And He is the All-Knower of everything."'

There are about ten and some odd number of different sayings collected from the scholars of Tafsir regarding the explanation of this Ayah.

Al-Bukhari said,

"Yahya said,
`Az-Zahir;knowing all things,
Al-Batin;knowing all things."'

Our Shaykh Al-Hafiz Al-Mizzi said, "Yahya is Ibn Ziyad Al-Farra', who authored a book entitled Ma`ani Al-Qur'an."

There are Hadiths mentioned about this. Among them, Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that

the Messenger of Allah would recite this supplication while going to bed,

اللْهُمَّ رَبَّ السَّموَاتِ السَّبْعِ وَرَبَّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ

رَبَّنَا وَرَبَّ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ مُنْزِلَ التَّوْرَاةِ وَالاِْنْجِيلِ وَالْفُرْقَانِ فَالِقَ الْحَبِّ وَالنَّوَى لَا إِلهَ إِلاَّ أَنْتَ أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ أَنْتَ اخِذٌ بِنَاصِيَتِهِ

أَنْتَ الاَْوَّلُ لَيْسَ قَبْلَكَ شَيْءٌ وَأَنْتَ الاْخِرُ لَيْسَ بَعْدَكَ شَيْءٌ وَأَنْتَ الظَّاهِرُ لَيْسَ فَوْقَكَ شَيْءٌ وَأَنْتَ الْبَاطِنُ لَيْسَ دُونَكَ شَيْءٌ اقْضِ عَنَّا الدَّيْنَ وَأَغْنِنَا مِنَ الْفَقْر

O Allah, Lord of the seven heavens and Lord of the Magnificent Throne!

Our Lord, and the Lord of everything, Revealer of the Tawrah, the Injil and the Furqan, the Splitter of the grain of corn and the date stone! I seek refuge with You from the evil of everything whose forehead You have control over.

O Allah! You are

- Al-Awwal, nothing is before You;

- Al-Akhir, nothing is after You;

- Az-Zahir, nothing is above You; and

- Al-Batin, nothing is below You.

Remove the burden of debt from us and free us from poverty.

Muslim recorded this Hadith via Sahl, who said,

"Abu Salih used to order us to lay on our right side when we were about to sleep, and then say,

اللْهُمَّ رَبَّ السَّموَاتِ وَرَبَّ الاَْرْضِ وَرَبَّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ

رَبَّنَا وَرَبَّ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ فَالِقَ الْحَبِّ وَالنَّوَى وَمُنْزِلَ التَّوْرَاةِ وَالاِْنْجِيلِ وَالْفُرْقَانِ أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ كُلِّ ذِي شَرَ أَنْتَ اخِذٌ بِنَاصِيَتِهِ

اللْهُمَّ أَنْتَ الاَْوَّلُ فَلَيْسَ قَبْلَكَ شَيْءٌ وَأَنْتَ الاْخِرُ فَلَيْسَ بَعْدَكَ شَيْءٌ وَأَنْتَ الظَّاهِرُ فَلَيْسَ فَوْقَكَ شَيْءٌ وَأَنْتَ الْبَاطِنُ فَلَيْسَ دُونَكَ شَيْءٌ اقْضِ عَنَّا الدَّيْنَ وَأَغْنِنَا مِنَ الْفَقْر

O Allah, Lord of the seven heavens and Lord of the Magnificent Throne!

Our Lord, and the Lord of everything, Revealer of the Tawrah, the Injil and the Furqan, the Splitter of the grain of corn and the date stone! I seek refuge with You from the evil of everything whose forehead You have control over.

O Allah! You are Al-Awwal, nothing is before You; Al-Akhir, nothing is after You; Az-Zahir, nothing is above You; and Al-Batin, nothing is below You.

Remove the burden of debt from us and free us from poverty.

And he used to narrate that from Abu Hurayrah from the Prophet.