The Message of Patience and Guidance |

1. Juzz 19 026-Surah AshShu’raa Verses 1-13 Class notes

2. The background of the Surah is that the disbelievers of Makkah were persistently refusing, on one pretext or the other, to accept the message of Islam given by the Holy Prophet. Sometimes they would say that he did not show them any sign to convince them of his Prophethood; sometimes they would brand him as a poet or a sorcerer and mock his message; and sometimes they would ridicule his Mission, saying that his followers were either a few foolish youth, or the poor people and slaves -- whereas, they argued, if his Mission had really some value for the people, the nobles and the elders would have accepted it first. Thus, while on the one hand, the Holy Prophet was becoming wearied by his efforts to show them rationally the errors of their creeds and prove the truth of the Doctrines of Tauhid and the Hereafter, the disbelievers, on the other, were never tired of adopting one kind of obduracy after the other. This state of affairs was causing great anguish and grief to the Holy Prophet.

3. Such were the conditions when this Surah was revealed. It begins with words of consolation to the Holy Prophet, implying, "Why do you fret for their sake? If these people have not believed in you, it is not because they have not seen any Sign, but because they are obdurate. They will not listen to reason they want to see a Sign which makes them bow their heads in humility. When this Sign is shown in due course of time, they will themselves realize that what was being presented to them was the Truth."

4. After this introduction, till verse 191, one and the same theme has been presented continuously, and it is said: "The whole earth abounds in such Signs as can guide a seeker after truth to Reality, but the stubborn and misguided people have never believed even after seeing the Signs, whether these were the Signs of the natural phenomena or the miracles of the Prophets. These wretched people have stubbornly adhered to their erroneous creeds till the Divine scourge actually overtook them." It is to illustrate this that the history of seven of the ancient tribes has been told, who persisted in disbelief just like the disbelievers of Makkah. In this connection, the following points have been stressed: The Signs are of two kinds:(a) Those which are scattered all over the earth, and by seeing which an intelligent person can judge for himself whether what the Prophet is presenting is the Truth or not and (b) those which were seen by Pharaoh and his people, Noah's people, the Ad and the Thamud, Lot's people and the people of Aiykah. Now it is for the disbelievers to decide which kind of the Signs they are eager to see.

5. The mentality of the disbeliever has been the same throughout the ages; their arguments and their objections, and their excuses and subterfuges for not believing have been similar and ultimately the fates that they met have also been the same. Likewise, the Prophets in every age presented the same teachings, their personal character and their reasoning and arguments against their opponents were the same, and they were all similarly blessed with mercy by Allah Almighty. Both these patterns of behavior and conduct are found in history, and the disbelievers could themselves see as to which respective patterns they and the Holy Prophet belonged. Allah is All Mighty, All Powerful and All Merciful at the same time. History contains instances of His Wrath as well as of His Mercy. Now, therefore, it is for the people to decide whether they would like to deserve Allah's Mercy or His Wrath.

6. Lastly, the discussion has been summed up, saying "O disbelievers, if at all you want to see the Signs, why should you insist on seeing those horrible Signs that visited the doomed communities of the past?Why don't you see the Qur'an which is being presented in your own language?Why don't you see Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace and mercy) and his Companions?Can the revelations of the Qur'an be the work of a satan or a jinn?Does the recipient of the Qur'an appear to be a sorcerer?Are Muhammad and his Companions no different from a poet and his admirers?Why don't you give up disbelief and search your hearts for their judgment?When in the heart of your hearts you yourselves believe that the Revelations of the Qur'an have nothing in common with sorcery and poetry, then you should know that you are being cruel and unjust, and will certainly meet the doom meant for the cruel and unjust."

7. The subject matter and the style shows, and the traditions confirm, that it was revealed during the middle Makkan period. According to IbnAbbas, Surah Ta Ha was revealed first, then Surah Al Waqiah, and then Surah Ash-Shu'araa.(Ruh-ul-Ma'ani, Vol. xx, p. 64). About Surah Ta Ha it is well known that it had been revealed before HadratUmar embraced Islam. • Taa seen meem. Haruf e Muqataat. These are read as individual letters of the alphabets. There are different opinions about the meanings of these alphabets. • According to one group these are only letters and have no meanings. • Another group is of the opinion that they do have meanings but ony Allah (swt) knows the meanings. • Some say that these words have meanings and some have even tried to interpret the meanings and said that some are Allah’s names and some are the names of the Prophet (pbuh), such as Ya Seen, Ta Ha. • One group says that we should not try to give meanings to these letters but we should also not say that they have any meanings. Only Allah (swt) knows what they mean. • Tilka is ism isharaaba’eed. Why is it used here for verses of Qur’an which are in front of us? Tilka is used here to show respect. This is a style of Qur’an.

8. Mubeen in verse 2 is a word that is lazim and mu’taadi. We have two kinds of verbs (fa’il) in Arabic grammar, lazim and mu’taadi. • If we take it as lazim, it means to be clear, easy to understand. And • if the meaning is taken as mu’taadi it means it clarifies many things. • “Ullaa” here is actually “un + laa”. • The Prophet (pbuh) would become very sad when Quraish refused to obey Qur’an which was so simple to understand. He (pbuh) knew that if they did not listen they would have a painful end. Surah Al Kahf and SurahFatir, verse 8 also mention the same subject. From these verses we learn how Prophet (pbuh) cared for the well being of others. Mostly people grief for themselves or those very close to them. But the Prophet’s (pbuh)’s heart grieved for humanity. A person cannot do da’wah unless he has a similar kind of love as the Prophet (pbuh) had for everyone. The motivation behind working for Allah (swt) comes from the intense desire to work for the hereafter. Intelligent people are those who worry for the success in hereafter for themselves, their families, friends and others. Analyze what kinds of worries we have!

9. In verse 4, the word ayatun means a miracle. • The disbelievers would ask the Prophet to show them a miracle. • Zulla-yazullu. (Shadow). Something that happens in the day. • Anaaq is the plural for unuq. Here it is the necks of Quraish of Makkah. • Khaad’ina is the plural of Khadi’atun. It means to be humble. We often use two words khushu’ and khud’u together. Both have the meaning of humility in them that is why they are used together. Khushu’ means to be humbled because of fear, whereas khudu’ means humility. Note how neck has a role in both these acts as one bows the neck when one is humbled. • Allah (swt) had all the power to show them a miracle which would have forced them to obey Him. But Allah (swt) does not want people to win people with might. Allah (swt) has put His signs all around us. He wants us to think, use our intellect, recgnize Allah and then submit. • “La ikraahafiddeen….. • Allah (swt) has put Furqaan in the hearts of the people and also revealed it as Qur’an. • The real test is of our intellects.

10. Dhikr in verse 5 means Qur’an. As mentioned in SurahAnbiya, • “Hadhadhikrunmubarakun……” Here again dhikr stands for Qur’an. • The word “ ha datha” means a new thing. The word hadith is also from this word. • Allah (swt) kept sending new verses, advices, examples to the people of Makkah. Allah (swt) speaks about the same subject many times in Qur’an using different words and examples. This is an excellent way of teaching. To explain the same thing using new ways. A good example of this in Qur’an is the story of Musa (pbuh). • No matter how many times the Quraish were warned they turned away from Allah’s commands.

11. They denied dhikr which means all advice and verses of Qur’an. • Naba’a is the singular of anbaau. It means a kind of news that strengthens one’s belief. Also it’s a kind of news that is for the person one is speaking to. • What is the kind of news we give importance to? News that is relevant to us. Naba’a is the kind of news that concerns us. • In this verse anbaau are the kind of news and examples that were revealed to warn about life in the hereafter. Also there were verses about Badr, Conquest of Makkah, events that were to take place in the future. • Verse 6. People who mock Qur’an will see everything that is being mentioned in the verses of Qur’an with their own eyes. Some examples are the Conquest of Makkah, Badr, etc. • Making fun of something or someone is an indication of Jahaala. Istih’zaa is a kind of fun that someone makes when he thinks that the other person is inferior to him. • Why do people make fun of God, Messengers and those who follow Deen? • This is because they look at them from what they believe in. For them what they say is not important as they judge them according to what they think—form worldly standards.

12. “Yaraw” means to ponder. • “Kam” here means plenty. • “Zawj” literally means different kinds of things, variety. • When one looks at the vegetation around him one sees there are so many kinds of plants, trees etc. • There are great signs of Allah (swt) in the colors, shapes, nature, of these produce. • “Dhalika” here means the plants, there colors, shapes, flowers, leaves, variety etc. • Note from verse 7 till the end of the Surah “innafidhalika….” comes many times. The name of this Surah is Ash Shu’raa. And we notice that the verses rhyme beautifully in this Surah. Qu’ran is not poetry. Qur’an is more eloquent than any poetry. • In those days poets in Arabia had great status. They would speak in highly poetical style and were very proud of their poetry and expertise in language. In their times a skillful person was one who could do poetry. • Allah (swt) tells them that there are signs everywhere. • Most of them are not believers and this is because they do not recognize Allah’s signs. (marifutt).

14. Al Aziz means one who can do anything, one who is all powerful and capable of taking revenge • Verse 1 to verse 9 are the intro to this Surah. From verse 10 onwards we learn about the lives of some Prophets. • Allah (swt) called Musa. This was when Musa was coming back to Egypt form Madyan and on his way he was looking for some fire for his family. Allah (swt) commanded Musa to go to the Nation of Firwan in Egypt. He was already going there so what does this verse mean? • It means that he has been chosen as a prophet by Allah (swt) at that point of time and is being sent to Firawn as a messenger. . • Nation of Firawn has been called Zalim here as not only were they indulged in all kinds of • wrongdoings but they were also torturing Bani Israel. • Verse 12, (Daaqa-yadeequ), means to constrict. Normally it is used for constriction of heart. • What made Prophet Musa’s (pbuh) feel that way? • The denial of the Nation of Firawn.

15. (Talaqa-Yuntaliqu), means to set someone free. When this word is used for the tongue, it means to speak after a pause. • Musa (pbuh) speech was not very clear. He prayed to Allah (swt) to give Harun prophet hood so that he could help him in this mission. This is also mentioned in Surah Al Qasas, verse 34. Also in SurahTaha, verse 29 to 32. • .

18. Juzz 19 UmmMomina Class notes