إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ وَمَلَٰٓئِكَتَهُۥ يُصَلُّونَ عَلَى ٱلنَّبِىِّ يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ صَلُّوا۟ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلِّمُوا۟ تَسْلِيمًا
Inna'llāha wa malāʾikatahu yuṣallūna ʿala'l-nabiyy, yā ayyuha'lladhīna āmanū ṣallū ʿalayhi wa sallimū taslīmā
"Indeed God and His angels send ṣalāt upon the Prophet. O you who believe! Send ṣalāt upon him too, and greet him with a full greeting of peace."
This root was treated at al-Fātiḥa and in many other places; here I focus on the word's sense in this verse.
| Explanation | What it says |
|---|---|
| صَلَوَان (ṣalawān) | The two movable bones on either side of the waist; a link is made with the bending in prayer |
| صَلَّى (ṣallā) | In horse racing the horse that comes second — the one following the ṣalā of the first. From this "coming behind, following" |
| اِصْطَلَى | To come near a fire, to warm oneself (the root ص-ل-ي — counted as separate) |
These derivations are not certain and I build no meaning upon them. What must be recorded is that the word carries in Arabic a sense of turning towards and attaching oneself.
The most striking side of the verse is that the same verb is ascribed to three different subjects. And though the verb is the same, its counterpart is not.
| Subject | What the ṣalāt corresponds to | Its ground |
|---|---|---|
| God | Mercy, praise, exaltation; mention in the presence of the angels | The state of the verb's agent; the use of the same verb of the believers at al-Aḥzāb 33/43 with the ground given as li-yukhrijakum mina'l-ẓulumāti ila'l-nūr |
| The angels | Supplication, seeking forgiveness | The statement in the Qurʾān that the angels seek forgiveness for the believers (al-Muʾmin 40/7; al-Shūrā 42/5) |
| People | Supplication, the sending of blessings and peace | The command of the verse: ṣallū ʿalayhi wa sallimū |
This distinction is widely recorded in classical exegesis. And it has a counterpart in the language: the same verb takes a different content according to the state of the agent.
Its parallel in Arabic is common: the same verb says one thing when done from above downwards and another when done from below upwards.
The sentence begins with a statement: inna'llāha wa malāʾikatahu yuṣallūna ʿala'l-nabiyy. Then a command comes: ṣallū ʿalayhi.
That is, the command comes after a statement — and the ground of the command becomes the statement itself. The verse does not say "do this because it is beneficial"; it says "this is already happening, join in."
And the tense of the verb: yuṣallūna — imperfect, conveying continuity. That is, what is described is not a single occurrence but something ongoing.
And the link with the twenty-second verse is worth recording: there too the word taslīm was not in the same cognate-accusative pattern, but it came from the same root and named the believers' response in the face of the siege (mā zādahum illā īmānan wa taslīmā).
I recorded at the forty-third verse that the same structure is used twice in the sūra; here I complete it.
| 33/43 | 33/56 | |
|---|---|---|
| Subject | huwa… wa malāʾikatuhu | inna'llāha wa malāʾikatahu |
| Recipient | ʿalaykum — the believers | ʿala'l-nabiyy — the Prophet |
| The ground | li-yukhrijakum mina'l-ẓulumāti ila'l-nūr | — |
| A command | None (a statement) | Yes: ṣallū ʿalayhi |
And the difference is worth recording: in the forty-third verse there is a ground, in the fifty-sixth there is a command. The first says what it is for, the second what is to be done.
The command arises not from an obligation but from an invitation to join something already going on. The sentence first states what is, then asks for participation.
And this changes the weight of the command: the person is not beginning something; he is being added to something that is already happening.