Tasbih Allah Dhatihi al-Aliyya fi Ayat Kitabihi al-Sunniya
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- Editions
- Islamic University of Madinah
Tasbih Allah Dhatihi al-Aliyya fi Ayat Kitabihi al-Sunniya (God's Glorification of His Exalted Self in the Sublime Verses of His Book) is a thematic Quranic study by the Saudi scholar Imad bin Zuhayr Hafiz that examines every instance in the Quran where God directly glorifies and declares the transcendence of His own divine Self (tasbih).
Purpose and Scope
The work investigates the textual instances where God proclaims His own tasbih, identifying twenty-five such occurrences across the Quran. The author undertook the study on the premise that God's direct glorification of Himself signifies the gravity of what He is being exalted above, underscoring an emphatic, superlative form of transcendence befitting His majesty and greatness.
Structure
The treatise is organized into an introduction, a preliminary conceptual overview (tamhid), three main chapters divided into twenty-five dedicated sections, and a conclusion:
- Preliminary Overview (al-Tamhid): Analyzes the lexical origin of tasbih from the root s-b-h (signifying swift movement or distancing), its morphological derivations, and its theological definition as speech or combined speech and action affirming God's absolute freedom from deficiency. It also examines the grammatical properties of the noun subhan and references al-Fayruzabadi's observation that each of its twenty-five occurrences in the Quran affirms an attribute of praise and negates an attribute of blame.
- Chapter One: Explores God's glorification of Himself above having partners or being associated with polytheism (tasbih Allah dhatihi 'an al-ishrak bih), comprising ten individual sections.
- Chapter Two: Treats God's glorification of Himself above taking offspring or children (tasbih Allah dhatihi 'an ittikhadihi al-walad), comprising eleven sections.
- Chapter Three: Addresses God's glorification of Himself in other contexts across four sections: (1) the narration of the miracle of the Night Journey (al-Isra'), (2) following passages of divine promise and warning (al-wa'd wa-l-wa'id), (3) in the context of enumerating His favors and signs, and (4) in the demonstration of His supreme majesty and power.
- Conclusion (al-Khatima): Summarizes the theological implications of self-glorification in affirming divine oneness and perfect attributes, while proposing further complementary studies.
Method and Sources
In each section, the author outlines the theological wisdom (hikma) and communicative purpose behind the placement of tasbih within the passage. He establishes textual cohesion by analyzing the preceding and succeeding verses, adhering to evident interpretations over strained or far-fetched explanations. The study draws on classical and modern Quranic exegetes—including al-Baghawi, Ibn Kathir, Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, Abu al-Su'ud, al-Shawkani, al-Biqa'i, al-Qasimi, and Ibn 'Ashur—while highlighting rhetorical subtleties (lata'if) and documenting canonical variant readings (qira'at) in the footnotes when they provide additional interpretive nuances.
Publication and Related Works
The work was published in the Journal of the Islamic University of Medina (Issue 119, 1423 AH / 2002 CE). In the conclusion, Hafiz recommended following this research with a study on God's self-praise (hamd), which he subsequently realized in his companion work, Hamd Allah Dhatihi al-Karima fi Ayat Kitabihi al-Hakima.
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