Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
Surah An-Nur
Surah 24 · An-Nur · verse 41 of 64

Quran 24:41 · An-Nur

أَلَمۡ تَرَ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُسَبِّحُ لَهُۥ مَن فِي ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِ وَٱلطَّيۡرُ صَـٰٓفَّـٰتٖۖ كُلّٞ قَدۡ عَلِمَ صَلَاتَهُۥ وَتَسۡبِيحَهُۥۗ وَٱللَّهُ عَلِيمُۢ بِمَا يَفۡعَلُونَ

Do you not see that Allah is exalted by whomever is within the heavens and the earth and [by] the birds with wings spread [in flight]? Each [of them] has known his [means of] prayer and exalting [Him], and Allah is Knowing of what they do

Translation: Sahih International
Maulana’s commentary · Tazkirul Quran

What God requires of man, is that he should always remain in the state of submission as demanded by acknowledgement of the Truth. This is the true religion. Viewed from this point, the whole Universe follows the religion of Truth, because everything in the Universe behaves in fact exactly as it should. Take the example of a bird. When a bird spreads its wings and flies in the air, it presents the ultimate example of being in perfect harmony with the eternal world of reality. There is a specific mode of prayer and a way of glorifying God prescribed for every single creature of God, which it is expected to adhere to. Similarly, there is a specific method of glorifying God as prescribed for a human being and he is expected to follow it. If a man indulges in heedless or rebellious behaviour on this score, he shall have to pay a heavy price for it.

Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, Tazkirul Quran

In the lectures

Maulana does not cite this verse in the lectures indexed so far. The verses of this surah Maulana does cite →