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A marqūm book
Commentary covering verses 18–21
Now, the subject shifts to believers and the surah’s structure will change as well as will be pointed out below. We have already covered the meaning of Abrār. ʿIlliyyūn at its root means elevation and loftiness. Additionally, the word itself employs a very emphatic pattern, and on top of this emphatic pattern, it is plural, and the plural pattern employed is used for living beings like humans. This plural pattern is for the sake of emphasis as well, and to hyperbolize the purity, holiness and beauty of ʿilliyyūn. This is contrasted with Sijjīn that was described as being lowly and chained off.
ʿIlliyyūn is so named because it is the source or means by which one reaches loftiness or because it by itself is presented in an elevated and lofty place.71 Since the passage itself says that the angels closest to Allah stand as witness to it, and also because of the multiple devices of emphasis used to magnify its loftiness, ʿilliyyūn is in the highest heaven, or in the highest level of paradise itself, below the throne of Allah. 72. It can also mean that the closest, and the greatest angels will bear witness to its contents on judgment day. Scholars delved into different opinions on ʿilliyyūn in addition to these but since the surah itself describes it as a marqūm book, we need not delve into them.
The question - what can make you know what is ʿilliyyūn - is to magnify its grand nature. What can make you understand the true reality and grand nature of this book? This also serves to honor those whose names and deeds are recorded inside it.
كِتَٰبٌۭ مَّرْقُومٌۭ A marqūm book We covered the meaning of marqūm earlier. Sijjīn stood out from its surroundings, down below, in a deep pit, in a closed and confined space. Whereas, ʿilliyyūn stands out even in the seventh heaven, the most lofty heaven. Even among the presence of the greatest and most noble angels of God, ʿilliyyūn stands out, due to its purity, nobility, greatness and honor. It is the most prominent object in the highest heaven.
Secondly, since marqūm also means being especially marked, such that it stands out, ʿilliyyūn could be a book that is distinctly marked by a mark or symbol of nobility and good fortune on the day of resurrection.
يَشْهَدُهُ ٱلْمُقَرَّبُونَ
Those brought near witness it This indicates that it is in the highest heaven as mentioned earlier. But there is a verse in surah al - Baqarah that needs to be brought up;
When your Lord said to the angels, “Indeed, I will make upon the earth a caliph.” They said, “Will You place upon it one who causes corruption therein and sheds blood, while we declare Your praise and sanctify You?” Allah said, “Indeed, I know that which you do not know.” (2:30) The angels who bear witness to the ʿilliyyūn are the same angels who objected to man’s creation. They bear witness to it because the Abrār and their righteous actions serve as a testification against their objection to man’s creation.
A marqūm book
Commentary covering verses 18–21
Now, the subject shifts to believers and the surah’s structure will change as well as will be pointed out below. We have already covered the meaning of Abrār. ʿIlliyyūn at its root means elevation and loftiness. Additionally, the word itself employs a very emphatic pattern, and on top of this emphatic pattern, it is plural, and the plural pattern employed is used for living beings like humans. This plural pattern is for the sake of emphasis as well, and to hyperbolize the purity, holiness and beauty of ʿilliyyūn. This is contrasted with Sijjīn that was described as being lowly and chained off.
ʿIlliyyūn is so named because it is the source or means by which one reaches loftiness or because it by itself is presented in an elevated and lofty place.71 Since the passage itself says that the angels closest to Allah stand as witness to it, and also because of the multiple devices of emphasis used to magnify its loftiness, ʿilliyyūn is in the highest heaven, or in the highest level of paradise itself, below the throne of Allah. 72. It can also mean that the closest, and the greatest angels will bear witness to its contents on judgment day. Scholars delved into different opinions on ʿilliyyūn in addition to these but since the surah itself describes it as a marqūm book, we need not delve into them.
The question - what can make you know what is ʿilliyyūn - is to magnify its grand nature. What can make you understand the true reality and grand nature of this book? This also serves to honor those whose names and deeds are recorded inside it.
كِتَٰبٌۭ مَّرْقُومٌۭ A marqūm book We covered the meaning of marqūm earlier. Sijjīn stood out from its surroundings, down below, in a deep pit, in a closed and confined space. Whereas, ʿilliyyūn stands out even in the seventh heaven, the most lofty heaven. Even among the presence of the greatest and most noble angels of God, ʿilliyyūn stands out, due to its purity, nobility, greatness and honor. It is the most prominent object in the highest heaven.
Secondly, since marqūm also means being especially marked, such that it stands out, ʿilliyyūn could be a book that is distinctly marked by a mark or symbol of nobility and good fortune on the day of resurrection.
يَشْهَدُهُ ٱلْمُقَرَّبُونَ
Those brought near witness it This indicates that it is in the highest heaven as mentioned earlier. But there is a verse in surah al - Baqarah that needs to be brought up;
وَإِذْ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلْمَلَٰٓئِكَةِ إِنِّى جَاعِلٌۭ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ خَلِيفَةًۭ ۖ قَالُوٓا۟ أَتَجْعَلُ فِيهَا مَن يُفْسِدُ فِيهَا وَيَسْفِكُ ٱلدِّمَآءَ وَنَحْنُ نُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِكَ وَنُقَدِّسُ لَكَ ۖ قَالَ إِنِّىٓ أَعْلَمُ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
When your Lord said to the angels, “Indeed, I will make upon the earth a caliph.” They said, “Will You place upon it one who causes corruption therein and sheds blood, while we declare Your praise and sanctify You?” Allah said, “Indeed, I know that which you do not know.” (2:30) The angels who bear witness to the ʿilliyyūn are the same angels who objected to man’s creation. They bear witness to it because the Abrār and their righteous actions serve as a testification against their objection to man’s creation.
71 al-Ālūsī, Rūḥ al-Maʿānī, vol. 28, p. 383