The Quran

تَكادُ السَّماواتُ يَتَفَطَّرنَ مِن فَوقِهِنَّ ۚ وَالمَلائِكَةُ يُسَبِّحونَ بِحَمدِ رَبِّهِم وَيَستَغفِرونَ لِمَن فِي الأَرضِ ۗ أَلا إِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الغَفورُ الرَّحيمُ

Ali Unal

The heavens are all but rent asunder from above them (because of the majesty of Revelation); and the angels glorify their Lord with His praise, and pray for (His establishing a way of guidance for) those on the earth, and for forgiveness (of those who follow it). Beware! Surely God is He Who is the All-Forgiving, the All-Compassionate.¹

These initial verses concern the Revelation. As a term, it means God’s communication of His Messages to His Prophets and Messengers in a special way, the exact nature of which we cannot know. As will be mentioned in verse 51 in this sūrah, and as was explained before in sūrah 20, note 5, Revelation takes place in three ways. God speaks or communicates a message to a Prophet from behind a veil; or by putting the meaning in the heart of the Prophet (as a special kind of Revelation); or by sending an angel. A Prophet is sure that the one who speaks to him from behind a veil or puts a meaning in his heart is God.
It is because of the weight and majesty of Revelation that the heavens are nearly rent asunder from above while it is being conveyed to the Prophet. Their being nearly rent asunder from above implies that Revelation issues from the “realm” that is more sublime, or higher; there are paths along which God’s Revelation is carried, along which the angels move; and the acts of conscious beings ascend to God (23: 17). The sublimity and height are, of course, not of a material or physical kind. And as explained in sūrah 37: 1-3, note 1, some other angels accompanied Archangel Gabriel, who brought the Qur’ān gradually to God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings. Those angels aligned themselves in ranks along the way of Gabriel, upon him be peace, and drove away the devils that tried to grasp something of the Revelation. Some from among them, as the aides of Gabriel, brought Revelations to the Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, that was not of the Qur’ān. Muslim scholars call the Revelations that constitute the Qur’ān “the Revelation recited.” The Revelations which they call “the Revelation not recited” and are not included in the Qur’ān, came either to explain the Qur’ān or to lay new commandments and guide the Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, and the believers in emerging matters. The Sunnah, as the verbal declarations, acts, and confirmations of God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, is based on these Revelations. The Messenger says: “Beware! I have been given the Book and its like together with it” (Abū Dāwūd, “Sunnah,” 5).