بِسۡمِ ٱللّٰهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

Surah Ar-Raḥmān

سُورَةُ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ

رَبُّ ٱلْمَشْرِقَيْنِ وَرَبُّ ٱلْمَغْرِبَيْنِ (١٧)

This was one of the first ayahs I revisited after starting my Arabic studies journey. Its translations had always bothered me, mainly because they did not make much sense to me. That discomfort, along with the grammatical knowledge of the Arabic language I have acquired so far, eventually led me to the realization that some ayahs in the Qur’an—even when translated in a grammatically correct way, still require deeper thought and reflection to be properly understood - This ayah is one such example.

Before trying to understand this ayah in meaning, it helps to look at it grammatically. Broadly speaking, the ayah consists of three main words: رَبّ, ٱلْمَشْرِق, and ٱلْمَغْرِب. The word وَ (wāw) can serve several grammatical functions in Arabic; here, it simply means “and.” The word Rabb functions less as a descriptive attribute and more as a relational name, describing Allah in His active and ongoing relationship with creation. The وَ also serves to link ٱلْمَشْرِق and ٱلْمَغْرِب, effectively chaining them together. In combination with the word Rabb, this construction indicates lordship over both. The forms ٱلْمَشْرِقَيْنِ and ٱلْمَغْرِبَيْنِ end with ـيْنِ, which grammatically signifies a dual form—here indicating two mashriqs and two maghribs.

The words “Mashriq” and “Maghrib,” depending on context, can carry more than one meaning. Two common contexts are direction and time. In terms of direction, “Mashriq” refers to the direction of sunrise (east), while “Maghrib” refers to the direction of sunset (west). In terms of time, “Mashriq” can refer to sunrise itself, and “Maghrib” to sunset—these being the more commonly understood meanings of the words. With these contexts in mind, the ayah can be translated in two ways:

1. Direction: “Rabb of the two easts and the two wests.”
2. Time: “Rabb of the two sunrises and the two sunsets.”

Grammatically speaking, both translations are correct, and the chosen context determines which translation is preferred. Neither is wrong, though one may be closer to the intended meaning than the other. Grammar, at least in my opinion, can take us only this far. For a more precise understanding, one has to turn to the tafsīr literature. Engaging with those works reveals a remarkable depth and subtlety captured within this short and seemingly simple ayah.

Classical tafsīr works consistently treat this ayah as emphasizing Allah’s absolute lordship over the full range of the cosmic order, rather than pointing to a single, fixed geographical reference. Scholars such as al-Ṭabarī and Ibn Kathīr explain the dual form—two mashriqs and two maghribs—as referring to the extreme points of sunrise and sunset over the course of the year. As the sun’s rising and setting positions shift daily, they ultimately reach two limits: the furthest north and the furthest south. These limits mark the two “easts” and two “wests,” encompassing all points in between. Other exegetes approach the verse through the lens of time, understanding the two mashriqs and maghribs as the two daily transitions that define the cycle of day and night: sunrise and sunset. This reading is mentioned by commentators such as al-Qurṭubī, who notes that the language allows for both spatial and temporal interpretation, depending on context. In this view, the ayah highlights Allah’s control over the rhythmic movement of time itself, not merely over physical direction.

Some tafsīr works also draw attention to how this dual formulation sits between other Qur’anic expressions that speak of a single mashriq and maghrib and others that speak of multiple mashriqs and maghribs. This observation is discussed by scholars like al-Rāzī, who emphasize that these formulations are not contradictory but complementary: the singular points to unity of control, the dual to seasonal limits, and the plural to daily variation. Through these shifts in number, the Qur’an captures different layers of the same physical reality using different grammatical forms.

Across these interpretations, commentators agree on a central point: the ayah is not concerned with astronomical detail for its own sake, but with affirming that every movement of light, time, and direction falls under divine lordship. Whether read spatially or temporally, the phrase reinforces the idea that nothing in the created order operates independently of Allah.

Within the broader context of this sūrah, where Allah repeatedly draws attention to the blessings He has bestowed, I am inclined to understand this ayah as referring to the two mashriqs and two maghribs as the extreme points of sunrise and sunset over the course of the year, namely the summer and winter solstices, while also recognizing that any translation of the Qur’an is necessarily limited and cannot fully convey the depth of the original Arabic. With that in mind, I would translate this ayah as: “Rabb of two sunrises and two sunsets.”