Jewels of Qur'an Series: Surah Al A'la

Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri

Continuing the series of key Qur’anic disclosures Shaykh Fadhlalla presents this short discourse on one of the Early Meccan Surah’s - Surah Al A’la ‘The Most High’. This Surah is the eighth surah revealed chronologically and therefore is immensely rich in that it presents the map of existence and the purpose of human life. In the usual approach to these Qur’anic discourses Shaykh Fadhlalla emphasizes Classical Arabic key words as windows into the meanings of the chapter. This is an immensely important surah, like most of the early unveilings It emphasizes the power and Immensity of the Cosmic Reality and the essential purpose and duty in human life. This surah begins by emphasizing the expansive nature of glorification, and then presents various samples and reflections as to what that is. Everything in existence has its pattern and the measures and controls that bring it to its fruition. Al A’la indicates a map presenting the explosive multiplicity of existence, as a mirror of the divine names and meanings – held in the arc of emanation and return. The patterns are set and apply at numerous levels – from the macro to micro, in his Discourse Shaykh Fadhlalla highlight key aspects of the direction of life and the orientation human beings need to refer. There is a way to conduct ourselves at numerous levels of activity we are here’s part of our upbringing as preparation for return to the zone of permanency. Like all the early Meccan revelations the focus is on truth and its nature with special emphasis on the immensity, power and control of that Mysterious Reality in every aspect of existence. Important are the fundamental maps for transformation built into this rich disclosure - every heart has the imprint of the divine presence in it. Human purpose, our practice is to by will enter that zone permanent joy – ‘sa’adul abadiyyah’.