The Quran

الَّذينَ يَحمِلونَ العَرشَ وَمَن حَولَهُ يُسَبِّحونَ بِحَمدِ رَبِّهِم وَيُؤمِنونَ بِهِ وَيَستَغفِرونَ لِلَّذينَ آمَنوا رَبَّنا وَسِعتَ كُلَّ شَيءٍ رَحمَةً وَعِلمًا فَاغفِر لِلَّذينَ تابوا وَاتَّبَعوا سَبيلَكَ وَقِهِم عَذابَ الجَحيمِ

Muhammad Asad

THEY WHO BEAR [within themselves the knowledge of] the throne of [God's] almightiness, as well as all who are near it,¹ extol their Sustainer's limitless glory and praise, and have faith in Him, and ask forgiveness for all [others] who have attained to faith: "O our Sustainer! Thou embracest all things within [Thy] grace and knowledge: forgive, then, their sins unto those who repent and follow Thy path, and preserve them from suffering through the blazing fire!

Lit, "around it": cf. Zamakhshari's explanation of the expression hawlaha occurring in 27:8 in the sense of "near it". In his commentary on the verse which we are now considering, Baydawi states explicitly that the "bearing" of God's throne of almightiness (al-'arsh - see note 43 on 7:54) must be understood in a metaphorical sense: "Their carrying it and surrounding it [or "being near it] is a metaphor of their being mindful of it and acting in accordance therewith (majaz 'an hifzihim wa tadbirihim lahu), or a metonym (kinayah) for their closeness to the Lord of the Throne, their dignity in His sight, and their being instrumental in the realization of His will." My rendering of the above verse reflects Baydawi's interpretation. - As regards the beings which are said to be close to the throne of God's almightiness, most of the classical commentators - obviously basing their view on the symbolic image of "the angels surrounding the throne of [God's] almightiness" on the Day of Judgment (39: 75) - think in this instance, too, exclusively of angels. But whereas it cannot be denied that the present verse refers also to angels, it does not follow that it refers exclusively to them. In its abstract connotation, the verb hamala frequently signifies "he bore [or "took upon himself"] the responsibility [for something]": and so it is evident that it applies here not only to angels but also to all human beings who are conscious of the tremendous implications of the concept of God's almightiness, and hence feel morally responsible for translating this consciousness into the reality of their own and their fellow~beings' lives.