huwa l-awalu wal-ākhiru wal-ẓāhiru wal-bāṭinu wahuwa bikulli shayin ʿalīmun
Translation
He is the First1623 and the Last,1624 the Ascendant1625 and the Intimate,1626 and He is, of all things, Knowing.
Notes
[1623] Before whom nothing existed. Also, He who is supreme, foremost or uppermost.
[1624] Enduring eternally when nothing else remains.
[1625] Nothing being above Him. Another meaning is "the Apparent," i.e., evident through His creation and revelation.
[1626] Nothing being nearer than Him by way of His knowledge. Another meaning is "the Unapparent," i.e., concealed from man's physical senses.
Verse 3 of Surah Al-Hadid (57:3), a Medinan surah, is in juz 27, on page 537 of the mushaf. Read it in Arabic with its transliteration, translations and tafsir, and listen to it recited by 73 reciters.
Listen to verse 3 of Surah Al-Hadid
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Tafsir of verse 3
Al-Mukhtasar
He is the First; nothing existed before Him. He is the Last; nothing will exist after Him. He is the Apparent; there is nothing above Him. He is the Intimate; there is nothing without Him, and He knows everything, He does not miss anything.
He is the First2 and the Last3, the Manifest4 and the Hidden5, and He is All-Knowing of everything.
Notes
[2] Before Whom nothing existed; the foremost; the uppermost. [3] Eternal after Whom nothing remains. [4] High, nothing is above Him. [5] Nothing is nearer than Him by way of His knowledge; concealed from our physical senses.
He is the First (nothing is before Him) and the Last (nothing is after Him), the Most High (nothing is above Him) and the Most Near (nothing is nearer than Him). And He is the All-Knower of every thing.
He is the First and the Last, and the Outward and the Inward; and He is Knower of all things.
He is the First and the Last, the Evident and the Immanent: and He has full knowledge of all things.
He is the First and the Last and the Ascendant (over all) and the Knower of hidden things, and He is Cognizant of all things.
He is The First and The Last, and The Outward and The Inward; (Or: The Topmost and The Innermost) and He is Ever-Knowing of everything.
So if you are in doubt, [O Muḥammad], about that which We have revealed to you, then ask those who have been reading the Scripture before you. The truth has certainly come to you from your Lord, so never be among the doubters.
Verses with similar wording
They share a sequence of words with this verse: useful for telling them apart when memorising.
It is He who created for you all of that which is on the earth. Then He directed Himself to the heaven, [His being above all creation], and made them seven heavens, and He is Knowing of all things.
[He is] Originator of the heavens and the earth. How could He have a son when He does not have a companion [i.e., wife] and He created all things? And He is, of all things, Knowing.
