Blessed is he whosoever is in the fire

[Irfan]

Salamun alaikum all,

Lately I have been thinking about the explanation of the verse  27:8.

فَلَمَّا جَاءهَا نُودِيَ أَن بُورِكَ مَن فِي النَّارِ وَمَنْ حَوْلَهَا وَسُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ (27:

•  27:8 (Picktall) But when he reached it, he was called, saying: Blessed is whosoever is in the fire and whosoever is round about it! And glorified be Allah, the Lord of the Worlds!

I wonder if we all can give our perspective on the "whosoever is the fire and whosoever is round about it".  I have a hunch about this verse but I like to pick your brain about this.  It would be interesting to know how other people of knowledge understand this verse.  Thanks in advance for your participation. 

[Duster]

Shalom / peace ....I quite like Muhammad Asa'd interpretation on this.

>>>>>Thus Zamakhshari explains the expression hawlaha (lit., "around it"). According to some of the earliest commentators, quoted by Tabari, the "fire" (nar) is in this context synonymous with "light" (nur), namely, the illumination which God bestows on His prophets, who - one may presume - are a priori "near it" by virtue of their inborn spiritual sensitivity. Alternatively, the phrase man fi 'n-nar wa-man hawlaha may be 'inderstood as referring to God's Own light, which encompasses, and is the core of, all spiritual illumination.<<<<<

 

[optimist]

Wassalam,

The fire in that context symbolizes the light of God  and the right path which is mentioned at several places (as Noorullah).   For instance, 9:32 states “They want to extinguish God's [guiding] light with their utterances: but God will not allow [this to pass], for He has willed to spread His light in all its fullness, however hateful this may be to all who deny the truth.”    This is further evident from  the comment of Moses himself when he sees the fire, he says "Behold, I perceive a fire [far away]; I may bring you from there some tiding [as to which way we are to pursue], or bring you [at least] a burning brand so that you might warm yourselves.".   In Quran it has been used in the context  of opposite meaning, for instance, in 5:64 “whenever they fan the flames of war, God douses them”. 

In the above verse Allah in a way telling Moses that His strength and wisdom will become obvious during the struggle that will confront you shortly.

Regards,
Optimist

Edited: Thanks Duster for the post...I was posting some comments without knowing you posted a reply.  I liked the interpreation you quoted. Thanks

[Irfan]

Thanks you Duster and Optimist for your responses.  This verse, according to my limited knowledge, is the only verse in the Qur’an that uses “Naar = fire” in a ‘good’ sense.  Everywhere else, it seems, this word has been used in the sense of heat, or torture, or some form of unwarranted escalation of hostilities. So here’s the ‘hunch’ I referred to in my question:  I am currently thinking of two ways by which the word ‘naar = fire’ can be understood in this ayah.  One, the use of the word ‘naar’, in 27:8, is a nuance of the Arabic linguistic subtlety that exists in perhaps all languages.  Even in English, sometimes we can use the word fire in a ‘good’ sense—such as “the fire of love” or “fire of passion for invention, science, music” etc.  In this sense, God may be telling Prophet Musa (as) that he should now consider himself in a ‘fire of trials, or fre of passion for a Higher purpose/mission’, which may be sweltering hot but will ultimately serve as a blessing for him and the Children of Israel. So Prophet Musa is in the ‘fire’ and whosoever else (man haulaha) happens to be involved or affected by this ‘fire’ will also be part of that blessing (alternatively, God is “man haulaha =whosoever is around it”). This meaning of the word “naar” is similar to Asad’s understanding bro Duster referred to. Two, I have been thinking about the fact that even though God describes man being fashioned (originally) from dust/clay, and the Jinn were fashioned from the ‘fire’, I do not see any verse of the Qur’an informing us about the nature of the material angels were created from. I like to submit that the angels and the Jinn—both—were created from fire.  However, the fire, as we all know is the energy.  It can take many forms, two of the well-known ones being “Heat” and “Light”.  Since different forms of energy are interconvertible, Light can be converted to Heat and Heat can be converted to Light when the circumstances call for the interchange. In that vein, God can be considered “Naar” (even though He has described Himself as “Noor = Light-24:35”, and not naar). Thus, while most of the time God’s “Light” aspect of the Naar is dominant (mercy/compassion), His “Heat” aspect is also sometimes apparent when He is in the ‘punishing mode’ (shaded-ul-Iqaab = quick to requite-2:211, 3:11, dhoo al-intiqaam = revengeful-3:4, 5:95).  In this sense, then, God can be considered “Naar”---which would mean that the word “naar” as used in the ayah 27:8 is for God, not for Prophet Moses.  This connotation will put Prophet Moses and the Children of Israel as part of the enviroment “man haulaha =whosoever is around it”.
Maybe there are other explanations as well. I am all ears and eyes.
Irfan 

[HOPE]

God's Peace be upon you,

To explain that the Quran was conveyed by the  al-Aazeez alhakeem God  27:9  O Moses, I am God, the Powerful, the Wise,
a qassas is presented

27:6  Prophet receives the Quran from the One all -Wise, all-knowing.  Even though the Angel Gabriel was the one who was instrumental in conveying the Message, it was conveyed from the Presence of God.
Wa-innaka latulaqqa alqur-ana min ladun hakeemin AAaleemin

The hikmah comes from the God directly just like Moses received it directly as in the incident when he was travelling in the desert, he saw a fire.  In the physical sense, fire can point to the presence of men which can be beneficial for asking directions when lost or sharing the fire for warmth and cooking.  In the spiritual sense it can mean receiving revelation/inspiration/divine guidance to find the way they should take .

See 28:29-30  and 26:21

Also Nar may mean “growing pains” in our ascent to our primordial state as Rumi says that he was immature, suffered, matured and became enlightened by Real Truth.

[Joseph Islam]

Peace all,


I do wholly concur that there exists a spiritual, metaphorical understanding of verse 27:8 that readers have already respectfully alluded to in this thread.

Moreover, I find further support for a metaphorical rendition by appealing to another verse (2:17) which uses the word 'nar' (fire) in a neutral sense and not with its oft negative connotation.

An example is given of a person that kindles a fire (nar) with the intention to illuminate what is around him (hawlahu). The example seems to suggest both a literal and metaphorical interpretation as God is seen to take away such a light intimating not only visible darkness but a spiritual one too. (Both a literal and metaphorical interpretation implied).

002:017
"Their example is like the example of the one who kindled a fire (nar), but when it had illuminated what was around him (ma hawlahu), God took away their light (nur) and left them in darkness so that they could not see"

This I feel has a direct parallel with the interpretation of verse 27:8 shared by brother Irfan, which not only makes use of the word 'nar' without its usual negative connotation, but also recognises its ability to illuminate what is around it both spiritually and physically (waman hawlaha).

From a Quran's perspective, there is also no warrant to assume 'fire' as inherently negative as a consequence of 'hell'. The latter is also described by the Quran as bitterly or paralysingly cold (78.25) or as a place of two extremes (38:58).

Therefore, it seems plausible to me, not only for the very good reasons that brother Irfan mentions, but contextually to interpret the ‘fire’ (of which there are different types in the Quran) as a mere representation of God's 'manifestation' for spiritual enlightenment.

Not only does fire have the ability to illuminate, it also generates heat which was one of the primary reasons Prophet Moses made his way to the fire in the first place i.e. warmth (tastalun - 27:7).

In contrast, with a view to provide a parallel 'literal' interpretation of verse 27:8, it is worth considering that whatever was involved in making God's manifestation (nar - fire) possible that night, would have also been implicitly blessed.

For example, in one of the most beautiful and striking verses in the Quran (24:35), God's light (nur) is described in terms of its components.

The tree (shajaratan) from which the lamp is lit is also described as blessed (mubarakatin). The oil of the olive is also mentioned.

In a similar manner, numerous components would arguably have been necessary to make the fire near Prophet Moses possible. Carbon dioxide, water vapor, oxygen and nitrogen, the chemical reaction of combustion as part of God's commanded laws are all aspects of the fire that would need to have been present before the fire's manifestation was possible and during its burning.

Therefore, all the components would be blessed implicitly and inferred to as ‘whatsoever is in the fire’. (Blessed is who is in the fire).

'Waman hawlaha' would then be a reference to all those that were around God's manifestation (fire / light) whether it was Prophet Moses or other unseen creations of God that bore testimony such as the angels. I personally would find it difficult to support a wider context than the immediate vicinity of the location of the fire.

In this way, both a literal and metaphorical interpretation would find equal support from the narrative.

Regards,
Joseph.

[optimist]

In this sense, God may be telling Prophet Musa (as) that he should now consider himself in a ‘fire of trials, or fre of passion for a Higher purpose/mission’, which may be sweltering hot but will ultimately serve as a blessing for him and the Children of Israel.

It is interesting to note that it was the custom with the Arabs to light a fire atop a mountain when a battle was announced. This was called naarul herb or the fire of war in 5:64.  May be, the fire and the announcement here is a symbolic demostration of beginning of a great struggle against mighty Pharoah and his army and an announcement in the context referring to the victory of those who are associated with the struggle.

[Irfan]

Big thank you to all who reflected upon and shared their thoughts about this topic. I must say that I learnt some new perspectives on the word "naar"- the fact that the thing that scares most of us is actually a blessing, too. Come to think of the sun that God has made source of the presence of all life on the planet Earth. Plants capture sun's energy that converts CO2 and water to food we all consume for survival. The verse 27:8 provides an excellent pointer to God's immense blessings and favors.