Quran Universe
37:1

وَٱلصَّـٰٓفَّـٰتِ صَفّٗا

Waalssaffati saffan

By those [angels] lined up in rows

Word by word
  1. وَٱلصَّـٰٓفَّـٰتِBy those lined
  2. صَفّٗا(in) rows
As-Saffat · 37:1Makkah

By the angels standing in perfect rows.

Why ranks of angels are sworn by

The first oath
the angelsin the heavens
stand in
ranksfront rows completed first
witnessing
One Godwhat the oath leads to
What a row means
a line is just a linestand anywhere
a row is worshiplike the angels before their Lord

Ibn Masud and many others said these are the angels. Qatadah said they form ranks in the heavens. The Prophet ﷺ told his companions to form rows as the angels do before their Lord: complete the front rows and stand close.

You arrive at the mosque and stand at the back with gaps on either side, half thinking about your phone. The angels are standing in rows too, right now, in the heavens. Your row on earth echoes theirs.

Where I stand in prayer does not really matter.

When I straighten my row, I am standing the way the angels stand.

Try this

In your next congregational prayer, fill the gap beside you and straighten your line.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir

The Virtues of Surat As-Saffat

An-Nasa'i recorded that 'Abdullah bin 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to command us to make our prayers short and he used to recite As-Saffat when he lead us in prayer." This was recorded by An-Nasa'i only.

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

وَالصَّافَّاتِ صَفًّا - فَالزَّاجِرَاتِ زَجْرًا - فَالتَّالِيَاتِ ذِكْرًا - إِنَّ إِلَٰهَكُمْ لَوَاحِدٌ - رَبُّ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا وَرَبُّ الْمَشَارِقِ

(1. By those ranged in ranks.)(2. By those who drive the clouds in a good way.)(3. By those who bring the Dhikr.)(4. Verily, your God is indeed One;)(5. Lord of the heavens and of the earth, and all that is between them, and Lord of every point of the sun's risings.)

The angels witness to the Oneness of Allah.It was reported that 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said:

وَالصَّافَّاتِ صَفًّا 

"(By those ranged in ranks.) – they are the angels;

فَالزَّاجِرَاتِ زَجْرًا

(By those who drive the clouds in a good way.) they are the angels;

فَالتَّالِيَاتِ ذِكْرًا

(By those who bring the Dhikr.) they are the angels." This was also the view of Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, Masruq, Sa'id bin Jubayr, 'Ikrimah, Mujahid, As-Suddi, Qatadah and Ar-Rabi' bin Anas. Qatadah said, "The angels form ranks in the heavens." Muslim recorded that Hudhayfah, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

فُضِّلْنَا عَلَى النَّاسِ بِثَلَاثٍ: جُعِلَتْ صُفُوفُنَا كَصُفُوفِ الْمَلَائِكَةِ، وَجُعِلَتْ لَنَا الْأَرْضُ كُلُّهَا مَسْجِدًا، وَجُعِلَ لَنَا تُرَابُهَا طَهُورًا، إِذَا لَمْ نَجِدِ الْمَاءَ

(We have been favored over the rest of mankind in three ways: our ranks have been made like the ranks of the angels; the entire earth has been made a Masjid for us; and its soil has been made a means of purification for us if we cannot find water.)"

Muslim, Abu Dawud, An-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah recorded that Jabir bin Samurah, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

أَلَا تَصُفُّونَ كَمَا تَصُفُّ الْمَلَائِكَةُ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ؟

(Will you not form ranks as the angels form ranks in the presence of their Lord?)

We said, 'How do the angels form ranks in the presence of their Lord?' He ﷺ said:

يُتِمُّونَ الصُّفُوفَ الْمُتَقَدِّمَةَ، وَيَتَرَاصُّونَ فِي الصَّفِّ

(They complete the rows nearer the front and they consolidate the rows.)" As-Suddi and others said that the Ayah

فَالزَّاجِرَاتِ زَجْرًا

(By those who drive the clouds in a good way.) means that they drive the clouds.

فَالتَّالِيَاتِ ذِكْرًا

(By those who bring the Dhikr.) As-Suddi said, "The angels bring the Scriptures and the Qur'an from Allah to mankind."

The One True God is Allah

إِنَّ إِلَٰهَكُمْ لَوَاحِدٌ - رَبُّ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ

(Verily, your God is indeed One, Lord of the heavens and the earth,) This is the One by Whom the oath is sworn, stating that there is no God worthy of worship but He, Lord of the heavens and the earth,

وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا 

(and all that is between them,) means, of created beings.

وَرَبُّ الْمَشَارِقِ

(and Lord of every point of the sun's risings.) means, He is the Sovereign Who is controlling His creation by subjugating it and all that is in it of stars, planets and heavenly bodies which appear from the east and set in the west. Mentioning the east is sufficient and there is no need for the west to be mentioned too, because it is implied in what is said. This has also been stated clearly elsewhere, in the Ayat:

فَلَا أُقْسِمُ بِرَبِّ الْمَشَارِقِ وَالْمَغَارِبِ إِنَّا لَقَادِرُونَ 

(So I swear by the Lord of all the points of sunrise and sunset in the east and the west that surely We are able.)(70:40)

رَبُّ الْمَشْرِقَيْنِ وَرَبُّ الْمَغْرِبَيْنِ

((He is) the Lord of the two easts and the Lord of the two wests.)(55:17) which refers to the rising and setting points of the sun and the moon in both winter and summer.