111

And say: 'Praise be to Allahu ta’ālā, Who has neither taken a son, nor has He any partner in sovereignty, in divineness, nor has He [taken] any ally, to assist Him, out of, because of [any], weakness', that is to say, He would never become weak and thus need an assistant. And magnify Him with magnifications [worthy of Him], extol Him with a perfect extolling above that He should have taken a son or a partner, and [above] any weakness and [above] all that does not befit Him.

 The arrangement whereby 'praise' is [invoked] together with this [statement] is meant to indicate that He is the One worthy of all praise, because of the perfection of His Essence and the fact that He alones possesses those attributes of His.

Imām Ahmad [b. Hanbal] relates in his Musnad [by way of a report] from Mu'ādh al-Juhanī [who heard it] from the Messenger (rasūl) of Allahu ta’ālā, who used to say, 'The “glory” verse [in the Qur'ān] is: Praise be to Allahu ta’ālā, Who has neither taken a son, nor has He any partner in sovereignty … to the end [of the above-mentioned sūra, 17:111]', and Allahu ta’ālā, exalted be He, knows best.

The author of this [commentary] says, 'This [last commentary] constitutes the end of my complement to the commentary on the Noble Qur'ān composed by the inquisitive scholar, the Shaykh, Imām Jalāl al-Dīn al-Mahallī Al-Shāfi’ī, may Allahu ta’ālā be pleased with him. I have expended every effort in it and reflected throughout it exhaustively, [especially] in those precious things that I have deemed, Allahu ta’ālā willing, to be profitable.

I composed it [this commentary] in the same length of time appointed for the one spoken to by Allahu ta’ālā [sc. Moses] and I have made it a means to attaining the Gardens of Bliss. It [this commentary] actually draws on the work which it complements, relying and depending on it for [an understanding of] those allegorical verses. May Allahu ta’ālā have mercy on one who examines it with impartiality, chances upon an error and informs me of it. As I have said:

“I praise Allahu ta’ālā, my Rabb, for He guided me in what I have expressed despite my incapacity and weakness; for who [other than Allahu ta’ālā] is there to avert me from error and who is there to accept from me even a single letter”.