Surah Al-Fil
1. The purpose of the Surah
2. The Rhetorical Perceptions in the surah
  1. What is the significance of the phrase (أَلَمْ تَرَ) “Have you not seen”?
  2. Why did He say (أَرْسَلَ عَلَيْهِمْ) “He sent against them” instead of (أَرْسَلَ إِلَيهِم) “He sent to them” i.e. using the preposition (عَلَى) instead of (إِلَى)?
Surah Quraysh
1. The purpose of the Surah
2. The Rhetorical Perceptions in the surah
  1. What is the significance of presenting winter before summer and hunger before fear?
  2. Compare fear and hunger mentioned in Surah Al-Baqarah with Surah Quraish
Surah Al-Ma’un
1. The purpose of the Surah
2. The Rhetorical Perceptions in the surah
  1. What is the difference between (رَأَى) “seen” in this Surah and in Surah Luqman?
Surah Al-Kawthar
1. The purpose of the Surah
2. The Rhetorical Perceptions in the surah
Surah Al-Kafirun
1. The purpose of the Surah
2. The Rhetorical Perceptions in the surah
Surah An-Nasr
1. The purpose of the Surah
2. The Rhetorical Perceptions in the surah
  1. What is the significance of using the verb (جاءَ) “came”?
Surah Al-Masad
1. The purpose of the Surah
2. The Rhetorical Perceptions in the surah
  1. What is the grammatical analysis (إِعْراب) of the word (حمّالةَ) “carrier”?
Surah Al-Ikhlas
1. The purpose of the Surah
2. The Rhetorical Perceptions in the surah
Surah Al-Falaq
1. The purpose of the Surah
2. The Rhetorical Perceptions in the surah
Surah An-Nas
1. The purpose of the Surah
2. The Rhetorical Perceptions in the surah
Notes

This is a translation from Dr Fadhel Saleh Al-Samarra’i’s لَمَسات بَيانِيَّة لِسُوَر القُرْآن الكَرِيم ‘Rhetorical Perceptions in the Surahs of the Holy Qur’an.’ Dr Fadhel (b.1933) is a former Professor of Literature at the College of Arabic Language at the University of Sharjah. His full biography can be read here.

Dr Fadhel is a well-known Arabic linguist whose works give an insight in to the miraculous nature of Qur’anic Arabic, the only conclusion being that this Qur’an must have come from an unlimited, all-powerful creator, Allah (Most High).

Some basic Arabic grammar is required to understand the concepts explained in Dr Fadhel’s book. There are many institutes, websites and YouTube channels which can assist in this. Roots of Knowledge and Al-Qalam Institute are two such resources I recommend.

Surah Al-Fil

أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ فَعَلَ رَبُّكَ بِأَصْحَـٰبِ ٱلْفِيلِ

Have you not seen ˹O Prophet˺ how your Lord dealt with the Army of the Elephant?

أَلَمْ يَجْعَلْ كَيْدَهُمْ فِى تَضْلِيلٍۢ

Did He not frustrate their scheme?

وَأَرْسَلَ عَلَيْهِمْ طَيْرًا أَبَابِيلَ

For He sent against them flocks of birds,

تَرْمِيهِم بِحِجَارَةٍۢ مِّن سِجِّيلٍۢ

that pelted them with stones of baked clay,

فَجَعَلَهُمْ كَعَصْفٍۢ مَّأْكُولٍۭ

leaving them like chewed up straw.

The purpose of the Surah

A Meccan Surah that talks about the story of the People of the Elephant (الفِيل) who intended to demolish the Kaaba. This story happened in the year in which the best of creation, our Master Muhammad ﷺ was born. This Surah contains a lesson for every arrogant and tyrannical tyrant in all times and ages. That is why the verb (تَرَ) in the phrase (أَلَمْ تَرَ) is in the present tense to indicate continuity and renewal. So whoever is arrogant and tyrannical towards Allah, his punishment and fate will be like the fate of Abraha and his army when they tried to demolish the Kaaba. Their plot will be in vain “Did He not frustrate their scheme? For He sent against them flocks of birds, that pelted them with stones of baked clay, leaving them like chewed up straw.”

The Rhetorical Perceptions in the surah

What is the significance of the phrase (أَلَمْ تَرَ) “Have you not seen”?

“Have you not seen” (أَلَمْ تَرَ) has two linguistic meanings: It could be an interrogative (اِسْتِفْهام) about seeing with the heart or seeing with the eyes, meaning, “Did you not see so-and-so?” Seeing with sight or the heart. But when we say, ألم تر إلى أو ألم تر كيف تكون “Did you not see… or Did you not see how…” it has the meaning of amazement, as stated in the Almighty’s saying in Surat Al-Furqan:

أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى رَبِّكَ كَيْفَ مَدَّ الظِّلَّ وَلَوْ شَاء لَجَعَلَهُ سَاكِناً ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَا الشَّمْسَ عَلَيْهِ دَلِيلاً

“Have you not seen how your Lord extends the shade—He could have simply made it ˹remain˺ still if He so willed—then We make the sun its guide.”[1]

Meaning, did not your knowledge end with that? Did you not know? So, “did you not see how” and “did you not see…” have another meaning other than the meaning [of physically seeing] in which we ask, “Did you not see so-and-so?”

Why did He say (أَرْسَلَ عَلَيْهِمْ) “He sent against them” instead of (أَرْسَلَ إِلَيهِم) “He sent to them” i.e. using the preposition (عَلَى) instead of (إِلَى)?

(عَلَى) denotes superiority, and the use of (عَلَى) in the Qur’an is amazing. It expresses superiority and domination, and therefore the punishment comes with (عَلَى). For example,

حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا فَتَحْنَا عَلَيْهِم بَابًۭا ذَا عَذَابٍۢ شَدِيدٍ

“But as soon as We open for them a gate of severe punishment.”[2]

وَأَرْسَلَ عَلَيْهِمْ طَيْرًا أَبَابِيلَ “For He sent against them flocks of birds”. He did not say (أَرْسَلَ إِلَيهِم) ‘He sent to them’.

فَأَرْسَلْنَا عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلطُّوفَانَ وَٱلْجَرَادَ وَٱلْقُمَّلَ وَٱلضَّفَادِعَ وَٱلدَّمَ ءَايَـٰتٍۢ

“So We plagued them with floods, locusts, lice, frogs, and blood—all as clear signs.”[3]

Mostly (عَلَى) comes in relation to punishments.

Surah Quraysh

لِإِيلَـٰفِ قُرَيْشٍ

˹At least˺ for ˹the favour of˺ making Quraysh habitually secure—

إِۦلَـٰفِهِمْ رِحْلَةَ ٱلشِّتَآءِ وَٱلصَّيْفِ

secure in their trading caravan ˹to Yemen˺ in the winter and ˹Syria˺ in the summer—

فَلْيَعْبُدُوا۟ رَبَّ هَـٰذَا ٱلْبَيْتِ

let them worship the Lord of this ˹Sacred˺ House,

ٱلَّذِىٓ أَطْعَمَهُم مِّن جُوعٍۢ وَءَامَنَهُم مِّنْ خَوْفٍۭ

Who has fed them against hunger and made them secure against fear.

The purpose of the Surah

A Meccan surah that talks about a serious disease that afflicts people in general and religious people in particular: familiarity (يَأْلَف) with blessings. A person may become so acquainted with a blessing bestowed by Allah that he no longer feels its greatness or performs its right, which is to thank and praise Allah for His blessings. This is what occurred with the disbelievers of Quraysh who became accustomed to winter and summer journeys, forgetting that Allah is the One Who facilitated these two journeys for them, paved the way, provided trade for them, and bestowed upon them the blessing of security and freedom from hunger and poverty. “let them worship the Lord of this ˹Sacred˺ House, Who has fed them against hunger and made them secure against fear.” All people should thank Allah for His blessings and be constant in their servitude to Allah, Who bestows various blessings upon His servants.

Imam Al-Fakhr said: “Know that blessings are of two types: One of them is the removal of harm, which is what he mentioned in Surat Al-Fil, and the second is bringing benefit, which is what he mentioned in this surah. When Allah removed harm from them and brought them benefit, which are two great blessings, He commanded them to worship and give thanks ‘let them worship the Lord of this ˹Sacred˺ House, Who has fed them against hunger and made them secure against fear.’”

The Rhetorical Perceptions in the surah

What is the significance of presenting winter before summer and hunger before fear?

Allah the Almighty said in Surah Quraysh, “˹At least˺ for ˹the favour of˺ making Quraysh habitually secure—secure in their trading caravan ˹to Yemen˺ in the winter and ˹Syria˺ in the summer—let them worship the Lord of this ˹Sacred˺ House, Who has fed them against hunger and made them secure against fear.” It is well known that people’s need for food is greater in the winter than in the summer, and fear is greater in the summer because bandits and reptiles abound. Therefore, Allah the Almighty mentioned winter and fear before summer and hunger. He also said, (أَطْعَمَهُم) “He fed them,” and did not say, (أَشْبَعَهُم) “He satiated them,” because feeding is better than satiating. Surah Quraysh came after Surah Al-Fil to focus on security in the Sacred House after the Year of the Elephant.

Compare fear and hunger mentioned in Surah Al-Baqarah with Surah Quraish

Q. Allah ta’ala said in Surat Al-Baqarah:

وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُم بِشَىْءٍۢ مِّنَ ٱلْخَوْفِ وَٱلْجُوعِ وَنَقْصٍۢ مِّنَ ٱلْأَمْوَٰلِ وَٱلْأَنفُسِ وَٱلثَّمَرَٰتِ ۗ وَبَشِّرِ ٱلصَّـٰبِرِينَ

“We will certainly test you with a touch of fear and famine and loss of property, life, and crops. Give good news to those who patiently endure”[4] and in Surat Quraysh:

ٱلَّذِىٓ أَطْعَمَهُم مِّن جُوعٍۢ وَءَامَنَهُم مِّنْ خَوْفٍ

“Who has fed them against hunger and made them secure against fear”

Does this arrangement have a rhetorical basis?

Answer by Dr. Hussam Al-Naimi.

This is also mentioned in three different verses: In Surat Al-Baqarah, Allah presented:

“We will certainly test you with a touch of fear and famine and loss of property, life, and crops. Give good news to those who patiently endure”[5].

The reason for this is that the verse is talking about killing and fighting, so fear is presented before hunger. There is a battle, and whenever the talk is about fighting and killing, a person does not think about hunger, but rather he thinks about the loss of life, so He presented fear.

In Surat An-Nahl:

وَضَرَبَ ٱللَّهُ مَثَلًۭا قَرْيَةًۭ كَانَتْ ءَامِنَةًۭ مُّطْمَئِنَّةًۭ يَأْتِيهَا رِزْقُهَا رَغَدًۭا مِّن كُلِّ مَكَانٍۢ فَكَفَرَتْ بِأَنْعُمِ ٱللَّهِ فَأَذَٰقَهَا ٱللَّهُ لِبَاسَ ٱلْجُوعِ وَٱلْخَوْفِ بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَصْنَعُونَ

“And Allah sets forth the example of a society which was safe and at ease, receiving its provision in abundance from all directions. But its people met Allah’s favours with ingratitude, so Allah made them taste the clutches of hunger and fear for their misdeeds.”[6]

The speech is about provision (rizq), so provision is appropriate for hunger, so He put hunger first, saying فَأَذَٰقَهَا ٱللَّهُ لِبَاسَ ٱلْجُوعِ وَٱلْخَوْفِ “so Allah made them taste the clutches of hunger and fear.” This is in the entire Qur’an, so we say that these perceptions try to shed simple light on the fact that this Quran is from Allah ta’ala, and not from Muhammad ﷺ who could not read or write.

In Surah Quraysh:

“˹At least˺ for ˹the favour of˺ making Quraysh habitually secure—secure in their trading caravan ˹to Yemen˺ in the winter and ˹Syria˺ in the summer—let them worship the Lord of this ˹Sacred˺ House, Who has fed them against hunger and made them secure against fear.”

The discussion is about trade and money, and trade is food and originally their trade was food so hunger was mentioned “Who has fed them against hunger and made them secure against fear.”

It came in these three places and did not appear anywhere else and these are its secrets. When He spoke about fighting, He put fear first. When He spoke about sustenance (rizq) and about trade, He put hunger first. The rest is appropriate: وَنَقْصٍۢ مِّنَ ٱلْأَمْوَٰلِ وَٱلْأَنفُسِ وَٱلثَّمَرَٰتِ “and loss of wealth, life, and crops.” He also put wealth first. He said: نَقْصٍۢ مِّنَ ٱلْأَمْوَٰلِ “a decrease in wealth” means he reduced it even if it is a little “decrease in wealth” because a decrease in it means something happened to it inside it, while a decrease in wealth means something is lost from it. Also, notice that wealth is put first in the verse because wealth always comes first except when it is dealing with Allah ta’ala, so He put the highest (souls) first.

Tafseer of Surah Quraish

Surah Al-Ma’un

أَرَءَيْتَ ٱلَّذِى يُكَذِّبُ بِٱلدِّينِ

Have you seen the one who denies the ˹final˺ Judgment?

فَذَٰلِكَ ٱلَّذِى يَدُعُّ ٱلْيَتِيمَ

That is the one who repulses the orphan,

وَلَا يَحُضُّ عَلَىٰ طَعَامِ ٱلْمِسْكِينِ

and does not encourage the feeding of the poor.

فَوَيْلٌۭ لِّلْمُصَلِّينَ

So woe to those ˹hypocrites˺ who pray

ٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ عَن صَلَاتِهِمْ سَاهُونَ

yet are unmindful of their prayers;

ٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ يُرَآءُونَ

those who ˹only˺ show off,

وَيَمْنَعُونَ ٱلْمَاعُونَ

and refuse to give ˹even the simplest˺ aid.

The purpose of the Surah

A Meccan surah that revolves around talking about two types of people: the first is the disbeliever who denies Allah’s blessings and denies the Day of Judgment: “Have you seen the one who denies the ˹final˺ Judgment? That is the one who repulses the orphan, and does not encourage the feeding of the poor.”

The other type is the hypocrite who shows off and does not do his work for the sake of Allah, but rather shows off in all his deeds and worship: “So woe to those ˹hypocrites˺ who pray yet are unmindful of their prayers; those who ˹only˺ show off, and refuse to give ˹even the simplest˺ aid.”

Abdullah ibn Abbas (ra) said: “Praise be to Allah who saved us by one letter (harf) after another. He said about their prayer (عن صلاتهم), not in their prayer (في صلاتهم). So who among us is not heedless in his prayer (في صلاته)?” If He had said “in their prayer” (في صلاتهم), it would have been referring to the believers, and a believer may be heedless in his prayer. However, the fact that the verse says “about their prayer” (عن صلاتهم) means it was understood to refer to the hypocrites, because the heedlessness of the praying hypocrite is the one who is heedless of it and delays it out of negligence, and does not complete its bowing and prostration.

The Rhetorical Perceptions in the surah

What is the difference between (رَأَى) “seen” in this Surah and in Surah Luqman?

Q. What is the difference betweenأَرَءَيْتَ ٱلَّذِى يُكَذِّبُ بِٱلدِّينِ “Have you seen the one who denies the ˹final˺ Judgment?” And هَـٰذَا خَلْقُ ٱللَّهِ فَأَرُونِى مَاذَا خَلَقَ ٱلَّذِينَ مِن دُونِهِۦ “This is Allah’s creation. Now show Me what those ˹gods˺ other than Him have created.”[7]

Answer by Dr. Hussam Al-Naimi.

أَرَءَيْتَ ٱلَّذِى يُكَذِّبُ بِٱلدِّينِ “Have you seen the one who denies the ˹final˺ Judgment? This is an ordinary seeing i.e. with the eyes.

هَـٰذَا خَلْقُ ٱللَّهِ فَأَرُونِى مَاذَا خَلَقَ ٱلَّذِينَ مِن دُونِهِۦ

“This is Allah’s creation. Now show Me what those ˹gods˺ other than Him have created.”

This is seeing with the eye or seeing with insight. This is the creation of Allah, so present before Me what you have created, and what is required here is to present before Me what you have created without prior material or matter, meaning that you have generated material but its material is from Allah ta’ala, so you do not have new material that you have brought.

Surah Al-Kawthar

إِنَّآ أَعْطَيْنَـٰكَ ٱلْكَوْثَرَ

Indeed, We have granted you ˹O Prophet˺ Al-Kawthar (abundant goodness).

فَصَلِّ لِرَبِّكَ وَٱنْحَرْ

So pray and sacrifice to your Lord ˹alone˺.

إِنَّ شَانِئَكَ هُوَ ٱلْأَبْتَرُ

Only the one who hates you is truly cut off ˹from any goodness˺.

The purpose of the Surah

This Meccan Surah is one of the greatest Surahs that reveal the blessings of Allah ta’ala upon His Messenger ﷺ and His great favor and abundant gifts to him in this world and the hereafter: “Indeed, We have granted you ˹O Prophet˺ Al-Kawthar.”

As with the previous surahs that spoke of blessings from Allah ta’ala, this surah ends with a call to thank and worship Allah ta’ala and to sacrifice in gratitude to Him for His great blessings and many favors: “So pray and sacrifice to your Lord ˹alone˺.”

The Surah ends with condemning the enemies of the Messenger ﷺ and stating that they are the ones cut off from all good in this world and the hereafter. As for the Messenger ﷺ Allah ta’ala has elevated his mentioning in this world, and given him in this world and the hereafter what he deserves, and his name and mentioning will remain until the end of time: “Only the one who hates you is truly cut off ˹from any goodness˺,” because the meaning of cut off (الأبتر) is one cut off from all good (khair).

The Rhetorical Perceptions in the surah

What is the link between this surah and the previous surahs?

In the order of the Qur’an, Surah Al-Kawthar comes after Surah Al-Ma’un.

All the attributes in Surah Al-Ma’un indicate that he is cut off (الابتر) because good has been cut off from him, so he is truly cut off. “he denies the Day of Judgment, he repulses the orphan, he does not encourage the feeding of the poor, …” Your enemy is the one cut off, and the one cut off is the one whose good deeds have been cut off from all good.

Surah Al-Kawthar is the fulfillment of what Allah promised His Messenger in Surah Ad-Duha:

وَلَسَوْفَ يُعْطِيكَ رَبُّكَ فَتَرْضَىٰ

“Your Lord will soon give to you and you will be satisfied.”

In Surah Ad-Duha, there is a promise from Allah to give (عطاء), and in Surah Al-Kawthar, there is giving and the fulfillment of giving. In Surah Al-Kawthar, Allah the Almighty said:

إِنَّآ أَعْطَيْنَـٰكَ ٱلْكَوْثَرَ “Indeed, We have granted you ˹O Prophet˺ Al-Kawthar.” (إِنّا) here indicates emphasis.

In Surah Ad-Duha:

وَلَسَوْفَ يُعْطِيكَ رَبُّكَ فَتَرْضَىٰ “Your Lord will soon give to you and you will be satisfied.” (لَسَوْفَ) here also indicates emphasis.

In Surah Al-Kawthar:

فَصَلِّ لِرَبِّكَ وَٱنْحَرْ “So pray and sacrifice to your Lord ˹alone˺.”

In Ad-Duha:

وَلَسَوْفَ يُعْطِيكَ رَبُّكَ فَتَرْضَىٰ “Your Lord will soon give to you and you will be satisfied.”

That is, pray to your Lord who promised that He will give you, and fulfill the promise.

Tafseer Surah Ad-Duha

Why is the pronoun “we” used and not “I” in “We granted you” (أَعْطَيْناكَ)?

(إِنَّآ أَعْطَيْنَـٰكَ) “Indeed, We have granted you”:

In the linguistic construction of the verse, the pronoun (إِنّا) “indeed we” precedes the verb أَعْطَيْنَـٰكَ “We have granted you.” This is an emphasis confirmed by the word (إِنَّ) and also indicates certainty. So why was the pronoun (إِنّا) presented? The most important purposes of presenting it are concern and attention (الاِهْتِمام) and exclusivity (الاِخْتِصاص).

When we say (أنا فعلت) “I did”, we mean (فعلته) “I did it” and no one else did it (الاِخْتِصاص).

وَأَنَّهُۥ خَلَقَ ٱلزَّوْجَيْنِ “And that He created the two mates”[10]…وَنُوحًا هَدَيْنَا مِن قَبْلُ “and We previously guided Noah”[11] (الاِهْتِمام)

رَّبَّنَآ إِنَّنَا سَمِعْنَا مُنَادِيًۭا يُنَادِى لِلْإِيمَـٰنِ

“Our Lord! We have heard the caller to ˹true˺ belief,”

denotes concern (الاِهْتِمام). Hearing was not limited to them alone, but others heard as well.

In the verse: إِنَّآ أَعْطَيْنَـٰكَ ٱلْكَوْثَرَ “Indeed, We have granted you ˹O Prophet˺ Al-Kawthar,” there are two matters: concern (الاِهْتِمام) and exclusivity (الاِخْتِصاص). Allah ta’ala gave His Prophet al-Kawthar exclusively to him and no one else, and as a concern for him as well. If Allah is the one who gave him exclusively, then no one can take away what Allah has given him, given the emphasis in the sentence structure.

(إِنّا) is a pronoun of majesty (ضَمِير التَعْظِيم) and emphasis.

Why did Allah say “We granted you” (أَعْطَيْناكَ) and not “We gave you” (آتَيْناكَ)?

There is a phonetic similarity between (آتى) and (أعطى) and a similarity in meaning as well, but (آتى) is used for a wider meaning in the language than (أعطى).

(آتى) is used for giving (أعطى), and it is usually used to mean spiritual things, but it can also be used to mean material things.

يُؤْتِى ٱلْحِكْمَةَ مَن يَشَآءُ “He grants wisdom to whoever He wills.”[12]

وَلَقَدْ ءَاتَيْنَا مُوسَىٰ تِسْعَ ءَايَـٰتٍۭ بَيِّنَـٰتٍۢ “We surely gave Moses nine clear signs.”[13]

وَءَاتَيْنَـٰهُم مُّلْكًا عَظِيمًۭا “And We gave them a great kingdom.”[14]

وَقَدْ ءَاتَيْنَـٰكَ مِن لَّدُنَّا ذِكْرًۭا “And We have certainly granted you a Reminder from Us.”[15]

(آتى) is used for mercy, wisdom, money: وَءَاتَى ٱلْمَالَ عَلَىٰ حُبِّهِۦ “who give charity out of their cherished wealth”,and it is also used to mean guidance:وَلَقَدْ ءَاتَيْنَآ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ رُشْدَهُۥ “And indeed, We had granted Abraham sound judgment.”[16]

As for the verb (أعطى) it is only used in material matters:

وَأَعْطَىٰ قَلِيلًۭا وَأَكْدَىٰٓ “and ˹initially˺ paid a little ˹for his salvation˺, and then stopped?”[17]

فَأَمَّا مَنْ أَعْطَىٰ وَٱتَّقَىٰ “As for the one who is charitable, mindful ˹of Allah˺”[18]

So, the word (آتى) is used for money and other things. It is mostly used for wide and great matters such as kingship, maturity, and wisdom.

(أعطى) on the other hand is mostly used for exclusivity, and there are matters in which it is not correct to use the word (أعطى) at all, such as wisdom and maturity.

Why was (أعطى) used instead of (آتى) when (آتى) is more widely used?

Giving (الإيتاء) includes taking away, meaning it is not ownership, rather granting (العَطاء) is ownership. Giving (الإيتاء) is not necessarily ownership:

تُؤْتِى ٱلْمُلْكَ مَن تَشَآءُ وَتَنزِعُ ٱلْمُلْكَ مِمَّن تَشَآءُ

“You give authority to whoever You please and remove it from who You please”[19]

وَءَاتَيْنَـٰهُ مِنَ ٱلْكُنُوز

“We had granted him such treasures”[20]

فَخَسَفْنَا بِهِۦ وَبِدَارِهِ ٱلْأَرْضَ

“Then We caused the earth to swallow him up, along with his home.”[21]

So giving (الإيتاء) includes taking away, whereas granting (العَطاء) is ownership. In the case of ownership, (الإيتاء) is used because Allah may take it away, whereas (العَطاء) is for complete ownership, and since it is ownership of the person, he has the right to dispose of it, whereas الإيتاء does not have that meaning.

قَالَ رَبِّ ٱغْفِرْ لِى وَهَبْ لِى مُلْكًۭا لَّا يَنۢبَغِى لِأَحَدٍۢ مِّنۢ بَعْدِىٓ

“He prayed, “My Lord! Forgive me, and grant me an authority that will never be matched by anyone after me.”[22]

هَـٰذَا عَطَآؤُنَا فَٱمْنُنْ أَوْ أَمْسِكْ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍۢ

“˹Allah said,˺ This is Our gift, so give or withhold ˹as you wish˺, never to be called to account.”[23]

Since it is a gift from Allah to our master Sulaiman (as), he has the right to dispose of Allah’s gift to him.

Giving (الإيتاء) may be include a Quranic ayah given to him ﷺ, but the Prophet ﷺ does not have the right to dispose of it. Rather, he must convey it. The Lord of the Worlds gave the Kawthar to His Messenger ﷺ giving him the right to dispose of it as he wishes.

Why did Allah say Al-Kawthar?

Al-Kawthar (ٱلْكَوْثَرَ) is one of the adjectives of exaggeration (المُبالَغَة) on the pattern of (فوعل وفيعل) that indicates excessive exaggeration in goodness (khair). It has been said that Al-Kawthar is a river in Jannah, or it has been said that it is the basin (الحَوْض), or it has been said that it means elevation of remembrance (رفعة الذكر) and other things. Everything that has been said includes the goodness that Allah ta’ala gave to His Messenger ﷺ so it is Kawthar, and from Al-Kawthar, meaning the goodness that Allah ta’ala bestowed upon His Messenger.

Al-Kawthar denotes excessive abundance of something. The difference between Kawthar and Katheer (الكَثِير) is that Kawthar can be an adjective or an essence (ذاتاً), while Katheer is just an adjective. Kawthar being an adjective indicates abundant goodness (الخَيْر الكَثِير) and not (الكَثْرَة)[24], but Kawthar denotes abundant goodness, and (الكَثْرَة) can be in goodness or other things. Al-Kawthar, in addition to excessive abundance, is specifically in goodness. Al-Kawthar can also be the essence described as good. (يقال أقبل أي it is said, “Sayyid al-Kawthar (السيد ٱلْكَوْثَرَ) has arrived,” meaning the master who is very good and giving (السيد الكثير الخير و العطاء).

Al-Kawthar is more deserving than Katheer because it contains excessive abundance and goodness. There is a reading of the verse (al-Katheer), which is a similar attribute, like (الفَيْصَل al-Faisal).

The letter waw (و) is stronger than the letter ya (ي), so Allah gave the stronger description, which is (ٱلْكَوْثَرَ), and not (الكَثِير). In this verse, the described thing was omitted, so Allah did not say al-Kawthar water or al-Kathir wealth, but rather He said al-Kawthar only to include all goodness.

When Al-Kawthar was defined with the definite article (ال), the river was included in its meaning. If he had said Kawthar (without the definite article), the river would not have been included in it, but deleting the described word provided generality and gathered all goodness.

When Allah ta’ala gave His Messenger ﷺ absolute and abundant goodness, it needed emphasis and glorification. That is why He said “We” with the pronoun of majesty because it is appropriate for the abundant and absolute goodness, and the emphasis in “We” is also appropriate for it.

Why did Allah mention pray and sacrifice?

فَصَلِّ لِرَبِّكَ وَٱنْحَرْ “So pray and sacrifice to your Lord ˹alone˺.”

After Allah ta’ala gave the good news to His Messenger ﷺ that He would grant him Al-Kawthar, the reason came with the letter “fa” (فَ), meaning that He wanted him to be grateful (شُكْر) for the blessing He had given him. Blessings should be received with gratitude, and He did not say to him “be grateful” because gratitude may be a little or a lot. If he only said “al-hamdu lillah” then he would have been grateful, but this great matter and great gift requires a lot of gratitude. Therefore, Allah ta’ala asked His Messenger ﷺ for two things: the first is related to Allah ta’ala, which is prayer, and the second is related to His servants, which is sacrifice. Prayer is the greatest pillar of Islam and the highest degree of gratitude to Allah, and sacrifice involves giving to Allah’s creation and showing compassion to Allah’s creation. Gratitude for blessings is achieved through two things: thanking Allah and being kind to His creation are also examples of gratitude. When we are kind to Allah’s creation, this is part of being grateful for Allah’s blessings.

Allah mentioned prayer before sacrifice because prayer is more important than sacrifice. It is one of the pillars of Islam and the first thing a servant will be asked about on the Day of Judgment. It is supposed to be said five times a day and night. Therefore, it is more general than sacrifice because sacrifice is only performed when one is financially able, while prayer is not waived for servants under any circumstances, such as sickness, poverty, or otherwise. Prayer has been mentioned in the Quran in several forms. If it comes from Allah, then it is mercy; if it comes from the Messenger ﷺ it is supplication; if it comes from the servants, it is worship, words, deeds, and movements. Whenever prayer and zakat are mentioned in the Quran, prayer comes before zakat because it is more general and important.

Why didn’t He say فَصَلِّ لِلّٰهِ “Pray to Allah” or فَصَلِّ لَنا “Pray to us”?

The letter “lam” (ل) in (لِرَبِّكَ) indicates exclusivity (الاِخْتِصاص), and the intent is that prayer is to Allah alone. It is the opposite of what was mentioned in Surat Al-Ma’un concerning the hypocrites in prayer:

فَوَيْلٌۭ لِّلْمُصَلِّينَ “So woe to those ˹hypocrites˺ who pray”

ٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ عَن صَلَاتِهِمْ سَاهُونَ “yet are unmindful of their prayers;”

ٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ يُرَآءُونَ “those who ˹only˺ show off,”

وَيَمْنَعُونَ ٱلْمَاعُونَ “and refuse to give ˹even the simplest˺ aid.”

As for Surat Al-Kawthar, it came فَصَلِّ لِرَبِّكَ “so pray to your Lord”, meaning persist in praying to your Lord and don’t be like the hypocrites.

Why didn’t He say فَصَلِّ لَنا “pray to us”?

In language, this is called turning (اِلْتِفات) from the absent to the present or vice versa. Prayer is to the Lord (رَبّ), not to the giver (مُعْطِي). So if He said (فَصَلِّ لَنا) “pray to us”, it would indicate that the prayer is to the giver, but the correct thing is that the giver is only to be thanked (شُكْر), not prayed to, so that no one would think that prayer is to any giver. Prayer is the right of Allah alone, and only the giver is to be thanked. Likewise, Allah ta’ala said, إِنَّآ أَعْطَيْنَـٰكَ “Indeed, We have granted you,” using the pronoun of majesty (نَحْنُ) “We”. If He had said (فَصَلِّ لَنا) “pray to us,” it would have suggested that it is polytheism (that Allah ta’ala has a partner, Allah forbid), as the pronoun of majesty can also be used for the plural.

Note: In the entire Quran, the pronoun of majesty is not mentioned except when it is preceded or followed by a singular word (إِفْراد) indicating the Oneness of Allah:

وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُم بِشَىْءٍۢ مِّنَ ٱلْخَوْفِ وَٱلْجُوعِ

“We will certainly test you with a touch of fear and hunger”[25]

إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّآ إِلَيْهِ رَٰجِعُونَ

“Surely to Allah we belong and to Him we will ˹all˺ return.”[26]

كُلُوا۟ مِن طَيِّبَـٰتِ مَا رَزَقْنَـٰكُمْ وَٱشْكُرُوا۟ لِلَّهِ

“Eat from the good things We have provided for you and give thanks to Allah.”[27]

أَلَمْ نَشْرَحْ لَكَ صَدْرَكَ وَ وَضَعْنَا عَنكَ وِزْرَكَ

“Have We not uplifted your heart for you ˹O Prophet˺, and relieved you of the burden”[28]

وَإِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ فَٱرْغَب

“turning to your Lord ˹alone˺ with hope.”[29] He did not say, وإِلَينا فَٱرْغَب “turning to Us with hope”.

Therefore, it is clear that the pronoun of majesty is not mentioned in the entire Quran, except when it is preceded or followed by something indicating the singular to avoid polytheism (shirk).

Why was the word Lord (الرَبّ) chosen instead of Allah?

Allah said: فَصَلِّ لِرَبِّكَ “Pray to your Lord” and He did not say (فَصَلِّ لِلّٰهِ) “Pray to Allah”. This verse is the fulfillment of what Allah promised His Messenger ﷺ in Surah Ad-Duha: وَلَسَوْفَ يُعْطِيكَ رَبُّكَ فَتَرْضَىٰ “Your Lord will soon give to you and you will be satisfied,” and its meaning is pray to your Lord who fulfilled the promise He promised you. (العَطاء) “giving” comes from (الرِعايَة) “caring”, and the word (العَطاء) is not mentioned in the entire Quran except with the word (الرَبّ):

قَالَ رَبُّنَا ٱلَّذِىٓ أَعْطَىٰ كُلَّ شَىْءٍ خَلْقَهُۥ ثُمَّ هَدَىٰ

“He answered, Our Lord is the One Who has given everything its ˹distinctive˺ form, then guided ˹it˺.”[30]

وَلَسَوْفَ يُعْطِيكَ رَبُّكَ فَتَرْضَىٰٓ

“And ˹surely˺ your Lord will give so much to you that you will be pleased.”[31]

كُلًّۭا نُّمِدُّ هَـٰٓؤُلَآءِ وَهَـٰٓؤُلَآءِ مِنْ عَطَآءِ رَبِّكَ ۚ وَمَا كَانَ عَطَآءُ رَبِّكَ مَحْظُورًا

“We provide both the former and the latter from the bounty of your Lord. And the bounty of your Lord can never be withheld.”[32]

جَزَآءًۭ مِّن رَّبِّكَ عَطَآءً حِسَابًۭا

“a ˹fitting˺ reward as a generous gift from your Lord,”[33]

Therefore, the word (العَطاء) is not mentioned in the entire Quran except with the word (الرَبّ). Lord (الرَبّ) is the nurturer (المُرَبِّي), the giver (المُعْطِي), and the guardian (القَيِّم).

What is the significance of the shift in address to the Messenger ﷺ from the first person to the third person?

This is a case of shifting (الاِلْتِفات iltifat) in rhetoric (البَلاغَة) where He shifts from the third person to the present person, and from the present person to the third person. But why? The shift from the third person to the first person, and from the first person to the third person is called iltifat. It is well-known that there is a general principle in iltifat, which is to awaken the soul, because changing the style renews the listener’s activity and makes him realize that the speech was about an absent person, and then it changed to a present person. This is the general principle in iltifat, that it attracts the listener’s attention and makes him pay attention. For example:

إِنَّآ أَعْطَيْنَـٰكَ ٱلْكَوْثَرَ “Indeed, We have granted you ˹O Prophet˺ Al-Kawthar.” Allah ta’ala speaks about Himself, then He says, فَصَلِّ لِرَبِّكَ وَٱنْحَرْ “So pray and sacrifice to your Lord ˹alone˺,” and He did not say, (فَصَلِّ لَنا) “Pray to us,” so this is a shift. Every issue in the Quran that has an iltifat, is for alerting (تَنْبِيه) the listener to something.

Why is there an iltifat in فَصَلِّ لِرَبِّكَ وَٱنْحَرْ “So pray and sacrifice to your Lord ˹alone˺”?

Prayer is to the Lord (الرَبّ), not to the giver (المُعْطِي). If someone says, (صَلِّ لَنا) “Pray to us,” it means “because we have given you.” Prayer (الصلاة) is not for the sake of the gift (العَطاء) given by the giver (المُعْطِي). Rather, prayer is to (الرَبّ), whether He gives you something or not. Prayer is not for the sake of a gift, but rather as a form of gratitude (الشُكْر). Therefore, the iltifat placed on every matter in the Qur’an serves a purpose.

Why did the pronoun shift from the first person to the third person?

Iltifat in rhetoric (البَلاغَة), as they say, arouses the attention of the listener and stimulates his activity. There is another matter that we have pointed out on more than one occasion, that every expression in the Qur’an that uses a plural pronoun for glorification, this is for glorification. Every pronoun in the Qur’an without exception that speaks about Allah must be preceded or followed by something that indicates that Allah ta’ala is singular. There is no place in the Qur’an in which there is a pronoun for glorification (we), except that it is made clear that it is singular in what precedes or follows it. When He said:

إِنَّآ أَعْطَيْنَـٰكَ ٱلْكَوْثَرَ

“Indeed, We have granted you ˹O Prophet˺ Al-Kawthar,”

He said:

فَصَلِّ لِرَبِّكَ وَٱنْحَرْ

“So pray and sacrifice to your Lord ˹alone˺.” He did not say فَصَلِّ لَنا “Pray to us”.

إِنَّآ أَنزَلْنَـٰهُ فِى لَيْلَةِ ٱلْقَدْرِ

“Indeed, ˹it is˺ We ˹Who˺ sent this ˹Quran˺ down on the Night of Glory.”

Then He said:

تَنَزَّلُ ٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةُ وَٱلرُّوحُ فِيهَا بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِم مِّن كُلِّ أَمْرٍۢ

“That night the angels and the ˹holy˺ spirit descend, by the permission of their Lord, for every ˹decreed˺ matter.”[34]

Why did Allah say (أَنْحُر) and not (ذَبْح)?

The word (النَحْر) “nahr” in Arabic refers to the slaughter of camels only and is not used with anything other than camels. It is said (ذَبْح الشاَة) “slaughter of a sheep” and it can be used for everything, for cows, birds, sheep and camels. However, “nahr” is specific to camels because they are slaughtered from their throats. So Allah wanted to charity to be given in the most precious thing to the Arabs. If He had said (ذَبْح), it would have been permissible to slaughter a bird or something else. It is well known that camels were the best of the Arabs’ wealth. Since Allah gave His Messenger ﷺ abundant goodness and abundance, it is not appropriate for this great gift to be little in gratitude. That is why He chose prayer and sacrifice (النَحْر), which are the greatest forms of gratitude.

Why didn’t He say (تَصْدُق) give charity instead of (أَنْحُر)?

Charity (الصَدَقَة) includes both little and much. If someone gave in charity a dirham or a bird, the meaning would be sufficient, but Allah ta’ala wanted to give in charity the best of money to be in line with the abundant giving.

Why didn’t He say (زَكِيَ) pay zakat instead of (أَنْحُر)?

The Messenger ﷺ did not possess the minimum amount for zakat at all, so it is not permissible at all. Moreover, zakat is obligatory once a year at a rate of only 2.5%, and since it differs from what Allah ta’ala has imposed on all Muslims, it will not be a special thank you to Allah ta’ala for His abundant gift, which is Al-Kawthar.

Why didn’t He say (ضحي) instead of (أَنْحُر)?

(الأُضْحِيَّة) Udhiyah is anything that is considered a valid Islamic sacrifice. If a sheep is sacrificed, it would be sufficient. The time for sacrifice is four days: the Day of Sacrifice and the Days of Tashreeq only. Allah ta’ala did not want to limit gratitude to Him for His abundant bounty to specific days only.

The mufassirun differed on the issue of prayer and sacrifice, whether it is the Eid prayer, the general prayer, or specific. The meaning of the verse: فَصَلِّ لِرَبِّكَ وَٱنْحَرْ “So pray and sacrifice to your Lord ˹alone˺” includes all of these cases. On Eid, the sacrifice is after the prayer, but many commentators said that it is general and includes the Eid prayer and the sacrifice.

Why didn’t He say (تقرب) instead of (أَنْحُر)?

(القُرْبان) Al-Qurbani is from the word (التَقَرُّب) “closeness”. (القُرْبان) was mentioned only once in the Holy Quran in the incident of the two sons of Adam (as):

وَٱتْلُ عَلَيْهِمْ نَبَأَ ٱبْنَىْ ءَادَمَ بِٱلْحَقِّ إِذْ قَرَّبَا قُرْبَانًۭا

“Relate to them in truth ˹O Prophet˺ the story of Adam’s two sons—how each offered a sacrifice”[35]

What is the definition of the word (الأَبْتَر) and what does it mean?

إِنَّ شَانِئَكَ هُوَ ٱلْأَبْتَرُ

“Only the one who hates you is truly cut off ˹from any goodness˺.”

This verse was revealed when the two sons of the Messenger ﷺ died. The Quraysh said (بَتَرَ مُحَمَّد) “Muhammad is cut off.” When the sons of a person dies, then he is called (أَبْتَر) “cut off.”

(الأَبْتَر) in the language has several meanings:

1 – كل أمر انقطع من الخير أثره فهو ابتر Everything that is cut off from good effects is (أَبْتَر).

2 – إذا مات أولاد الشخص الذكور أو ليس له أولاد ذكور أصلاً If a person’s male children die or he has no male children at all.

3- الخاسر يسمى أبتر The loser is called (أَبْتَر).

One of the most famous things mentioned in the reasons for revelation (asbab an-nuzul) of this verse is the incident of the death of the two sons of the Messenger ﷺ.

هُوَ ٱلْأَبْتَرُ “He is the one who is cut off.” It is said, He is the rich one (الغَنِيّ), to indicate specificity (التَخْصِيص). He is rich: that is, he is among the rich.

Allah ta’ala wanted to specify the hater as (أَبْتَر), so He did not say, (إِنَّ شَانِئَكَ هُوَ أَبْتَر) “Your hater is (أَبْتَر)” i.e. without the definite article (ال). In the verse, there is a separating pronoun (ضَمِير مُنْفَصِل)[36], and the definition of (الأَبْتَر) with the definite article restricts (أَبْتَر) to the hater specifically.

The meaning of (شنئان) Hatred, is (بُغْض) Loathing.

Allah ta’ala made merely hating (بُغْض) the Messenger ﷺ a loss, and this is especially true for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.

He did not say “your enemy” (عَدُوّكَ) is the one who is cut off, because merely hating the Messenger ﷺ is hatred and loss, even if a person did not declare their enmity publicly:

فَإِن كَانَ مِن قَوْمٍ عَدُوٍّۢ لَّكُمْ وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌۭ

“But if the victim is a believer from an enemy (عَدُوٍّۢ)…”[37]

Why did He say (الأَبْتَر) and not (المَبْتُور) “mutilated”?

(الأَبْتَر) is an adjective (صِفَة مشبهة) on the pattern of (أَفْعَل) that denotes permanence, such as red (الأَحْمَر), lame (الأَعْرَج), dark-skinned (الأَسْمَر), and bald (الأَصْلَع).

(المَبْتُور) is on the form (صِيغَة) of (فعول) which indicates a period of time, such as concerned (مَهْمُوم), saddened (مَحْزُون), and pleased (مَسْرُور). It does not indicate permanence, but rather it is transformed.

So, the use of (الأَبْتَر) is obligatory in all meanings of (البَتْر), with the continuation of this characteristic by the cessation of his offspring in reality or by rule (حُكْم). It is said that the one who hates the Messenger ﷺ has his offspring completely cut off, either by the cessation of offspring entirely, or by his offspring converting to Islam after him, so they never make du’a for their disbelieving father. Therefore, his offspring and legacy are also cut off after his death. He has been cut off from offspring and cut off from goodness as well. It has been reported that the one who hates the Messenger ﷺ is Abu Jahl, whose sons all converted to Islam and believed in Allah and His Messenger ﷺ.

Why did He not say: جَعَلْنا شَانِئَكَ هُوَ ٱلْأَبْتَرُ “We made your enemy the one cut off” or سَنَجْعَل شَانِئَكَ هُوَ ٱلْأَبْتَرُ “We will make your enemy the one cut off”?

Abundant goodness (الخَيْر الكَثِير) is what Allah gives, and giving (العَطاء) is measured by the amount of the giving, its value, and the giver (المُعْطِي). So, if the giver is great, then the giving is great. From the perspective of the giver, there is no one greater than Allah ta’ala. Al-Kawthar is the abundant goodness, while (الأَبْتَر) is not making (جَعْلاً) but rather it’s an original characteristic. There is a difference between making a person with a certain characteristic, or making him by his original characteristic.

(شَانِئَكَ) “hated” is the strongest word in terms of expression (أَلْفاظ). When reading (شنئك) it indicates that the one who is cut off is the one who is excessively hated. The end of the surah is connected to the beginning, as Allah ta’ala gave a lot of goodness in the beginning, and in contrast, the word (الأَبْتَر) came, which refers to the one who lost everything and whose trace of all goodness was cut off. This is in contrast to the great goodness that Allah ta’ala gave to the Messenger ﷺ.

The Messenger ﷺ has not lost in this world or in the hereafter, and he is not the one cut off. The Messenger ﷺ is mentioned by his name every second, and this is specific to our master Muhammad ﷺ. Rather, the one who hates is the one cut off in this world and the hereafter, and he is the loser materially and morally.

When Allah ta’ala commanded His Messenger ﷺ to slaughter فَصَلِّ لِرَبِّكَ وَٱنْحَرْ “So pray to your Lord and sacrifice”, He enabled him to have one hundred camels to slaughter after the verse was revealed in thanks to Allah ta’ala for His many blessings.

Surah Al-Kafirun

قُلْ يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلْكَـٰفِرُونَ

Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “O you disbelievers!

لَآ أَعْبُدُ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ

I do not worship what you worship,

وَلَآ أَنتُمْ عَـٰبِدُونَ مَآ أَعْبُدُ

nor do you worship what I worship.

وَلَآ أَنَا۠ عَابِدٌۭ مَّا عَبَدتُّمْ

I will never worship what you worship,

وَلَآ أَنتُمْ عَـٰبِدُونَ مَآ أَعْبُدُ

nor will you ever worship what I worship.

لَكُمْ دِينُكُمْ وَلِىَ دِينِ

you have your deen and I have mine.

The purpose of the Surah

A Meccan surah, it is the surah of monotheism and innocence from polytheism (shirk) and misguidance. It was revealed after the disbelievers of Quraysh asked the Messenger ﷺ to worship their gods for one year and they would worship his God for one year. In it, the ambitions of the disbelievers were cut off and the dispute settled, and that this deen is the deen of truth and there is no compromise in it, Say, “O disbelievers, I do not worship what you worship, nor do you worship what I worship, I will never worship what you worship, nor will you ever worship what I worship.” Either they follow it and are saved, or they turn away from it and face the painful punishment in the Hereafter “you have your religion and I have mine.”

The Rhetorical Perceptions in the surah

What is the significance of the tenses (time periods)?

We read in the Surah: Say, “O disbelievers, I do not worship what you worship, nor do you worship what I worship, I will never worship what you worship, nor will you ever worship what I worship. You have your religion and I have mine.”

It is noted that Allah negated the worship (عِبادَة) of what they worship for Himself in both the nominal (الاِسْمِيَّة)[38] and verbal (الفِعْلِيَّة)[39] states (sentences). He said: لَآ أَعْبُدُ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ “I do not worship what you worship.” Worship (أَعْبُدُ) is a present/future tense (مُضارِع) verb, and in: وَلَآ أَنَا۠ عَابِدٌۭ مَّا عَبَدتُّمْ “I will never worship what you worship” worship (عابِد) is a noun. With regard to them He negated the worship of what is worshipped in the nominal state alone, so He repeated: وَلَآ أَنتُمْ عَـٰبِدُونَ مَآ أَعْبُدُ “nor do you worship what I worship” twice.

We also notice that He negated the past (الماضِي) and present/future (مُضارِع) tenses with verbs.

(مُضارِع): لَآ أَعْبُدُ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ “I do not worship what you worship.”

(الماضِي): وَلَآ أَنَا۠ عَابِدٌۭ مَّا عَبَدتُّمْ “I will never worship what you worship”

So He negated the worship of that which they worship from Himself with the nominal and verbal forms, and the past (الماضِي) and the present/future (مُضارِع) tenses, and He negated from them with the nominal form only: وَلَآ أَنتُمْ عَـٰبِدُونَ مَآ أَعْبُدُ “nor do you worship what I worship”

Now two images became clear. What He denied about Himself, the nominal and the verbal, the past, the present and the future, i.e. in all time periods. What He denied about them, the nominal, and we know that the nominal indicates permanence and the verb indicates occurrence and renewal.

So He denied about Himself the worship of what they worship in the fixed and renewed state, in the past (عَبَدتُّمْ) “you worshipped” and the present and future (تَعْبُدُونَ) “you will worship”. He denied about them the worship of what is worshipped with the nominal sentence, meaning in the fixed state (عَـٰبِدُونَ) “worshippers”. This is a negation about His fixed nominal self and the renewed verbal, past, present and future. He denied about Himself everything possible, and that is the fixed state meaning that His insistence on His worship and His deen is stronger than their insistence, because He denied it in all the fixed and renewed states, and the past, present and future, so He is stronger.

It may be said that (عَـٰبِدُونَ) “worshippers” is also permanent, and the noun is correct in that it indicates stability and permanence, and it’s repeated. However, it is not always the case that the noun indicates a permanent state absolutely. I mean, when you say (جَواد) “jawad”, this is a name that means (كَرِيم) “noble or generous”, but is someone like that at all times and at all hours? Do they not sleep at night? This is based on the majority opinion, that in most cases it is the permanent state. If someone is (حَلِيم) “gentle/patient” does that mean they don’t get angry?! Again (رحيم) “merciful”, does that mean they don’t punish?! So the state of stability and permanence indicated by the noun may be separated from them.

However, for the Messenger ﷺ it is the permanent and renewable state that is not separated from him (meaning at all times and places). The permanent state for the Messenger ﷺ is not worshipping what they worship, and the renewable one is also not worshipping what they worship. If their state is separated, and it may be separated, then what they worship will not be worshipped.

Also when He said, قُلْ يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلْكَـٰفِرُونَ “Say, ‘O you disbelievers,’” (الكافِرُونَ) “the disbelievers” came with the nominal attribute, so He also negated the description with the nominal attribute. وَلَا أَنْتُمْ عَابِدُونَ مَا أَعْبُدُ “nor do you worship what I worship.” He did not say (الذين كفروا) “those who disbelieved.” So when the description came with the nominal attribute, the description of worship came with the nominal attribute. So every expression has its purpose.

What is the significance of repetition in Surah Al-Kafirun?

The negation of the Messenger ﷺ worshipping what the disbelievers worship, was mentioned twice and was negated in two instances.

The first was when he negated from himself the worship of what the disbelievers worship using a nominal and verbal sentence. The verb came once in the past tense: وَلَآ أَنَا۠ عَابِدٌۭ مَّا عَبَدتُّمْ “I will never worship what you worship”, and another time in the present tense: لَآ أَعْبُدُ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ “I do not worship what you worship.”

As for the disbelievers, the negation came only in the nominal sentence in His saying: وَلَآ أَنتُمْ عَـٰبِدُونَ مَآ أَعْبُدُ “nor do you worship what I worship.” This indicates the insistence of the Messenger ﷺ and his belief in his creed was greater and more steadfast than the insistence of the disbelievers. Allah the Almighty negated worship from the disbelievers using a nominal sentence to indicate permanence, and He negated it from the Messenger ﷺ using a verbal and nominal sentence as evidence of his insistence on worshipping his Lord constantly, in the present and in the past.

لَآ أَعْبُدُ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ “I do not worship what you worship” fallswithin the linguistic principle negating the worship of what they worship in the nominal and verbal forms in the abstract (المُتَجَرِّدَة) state لَآ أَعْبُدُ “I do not worship” and the fixed state (عابِد) “worshipper” because sometimes a person may be in a fixed (الثابِتَة) state but may deviate from it sometimes, although that is still the predominant characteristic of them. For example, if we say (كريم) “generous”, it does not mean that someone is generous 24 hours a day.

As for the Messenger ﷺ if he deviates from the fixed state, he is in the renewable state (via the verbal sentence) in which Allah negated the worship of idols, but as for the disbelievers, He negated the fixed state from them. We notice the verb (تَعْبُدُونَ) “you worship” in the present and future tenses and (عَبَدتُّمْ) “you worshipped” in the past tense, so it fulfilled all the time periods, past, present and future.

As for the Messenger ﷺ he denied that he worshipped what they worship in the past, present, and future, fixed and renewed, while he denied them وَلَآ أَنتُمْ عَـٰبِدُونَ مَآ أَعْبُدُ “nor do you worship what I worship” in the nominal state, so the Messenger ﷺ remaining on his belief is stronger, more established, and more lasting than the disbelievers remaining on their belief.

The nominal sentence came because their name cameقُلْ يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلْكَـٰفِرُونَ “Say, O disbelievers”, so the negation came in the nominal sentence because they were defined by the name (الكافِرُونَ) “the disbelievers”.

We note two things regarding the negation of worshipping what they worship and their negation of worship.

وَلَآ أَنتُمْ عَـٰبِدُونَ “nor do you worship” is a negation from them.

The Messenger ﷺ negated two states for himself: the nominal and the verbal. The verbal: لَآ أَعْبُدُ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ “I do not worship what you worship,” then he negated with the nominal وَلَآ أَنَا۠ عَابِدٌۭ مَّا عَبَدتُّمْ “Nor will I worship what you worship”.

(عابد) “worshipper” is an active participle (اسم فاعل). So Allah negated their worship from Him by the nominative and the verbal, and by the past مَّا عَبَدتُّمْ “what you worship” and the present مَا تَعْبُدُونَ “what you worship”. So He negated worship from Him by the nominative and the verbal, the fixed and the renewable, the past and the future, because the noun indicates permanency and the verb indicates occurrence. So He negated worship from Himself in the fixed and renewable past and future states.

As for the disbelievers, negating worship from them is only in one state وَلَآ أَنتُمْ عَـٰبِدُونَ مَآ أَعْبُدُ “nor do you worship that which I worship”. So Allah is stronger in negation because He negated all the fixed and renewable, past and future states, and this is more indicative.

They said (عابد) “worshipper” is a noun, and when He described them, He described them by the noun يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلْكَـٰفِرُونَ “O you disbelievers”. He negated worship from them by the noun, and when He described them by the noun, He said يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلْكَـٰفِرُونَ “O you disbelievers”, so He made a connection between the description and the negation. When He said (الكافِرُونَ) “the disbelievers”, this is a noun, and when He negated worship, He said وَلَآ أَنتُمْ عَـٰبِدُونَ مَآ أَعْبُدُ “nor do you worship that which I worship”. This is their description.

He mentioned the fixed and changing state, and merely negating the changing state is not sufficient. لَآ أَعْبُدُ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ “I do not worship that which you worship.” So this is not a repetition. The concept of repetition is the repetition of the same word. Repetition can be used for emphasis, and repetition isn’t always bad unless it’s idle talk that isn’t considered eloquent. The Qur’an has a specific usage that we must pay attention to.

What is the difference between (ما) and (مَن) in linguistic usage?

In the language, (ما) “what” is used for non-rational beings (غَيْر العاقِل) and the attributes (صِفات) of rational beings (العُقَلاء). Allah ta’ala says,

أَلْقِ مَا فِى يَمِينِكَ “Throw down what (ما) is in your right hand”[40] What (ما) is in his right hand? His staff (عَصاه) i.e. non-rational object. تَلْقَفْ مَا صَنَعُوٓا۟ “It will swallow up what (ما) they have made” i.e. imaginary snakes which are non-rational beings.

You say, (مَن هذا) “Who is this?” This is so-and-so. You ask, (ما هُوَ) “What is he?” You ask about his attributes, so it is said, for example, (هُوَ تاجِر) “He is a merchant.” You ask, (مَن هُوَ) “Who is he?” i.e. you ask about his self.

(ما) is used for two things: for non-rational beings (غَيْر العاقِل) and the attributes (صِفات) of rational beings (العُقَلاء). Allah ta’ala says,

فَٱنكِحُوا۟ مَا طَابَ لَكُم مِّنَ ٱلنِّسَآءِ “Then marry such women as seem good to you”[41] i.e. the attribute (طَابَ good) of a rational being (ٱلنِّسَآءِ women).

Our Lord, glory be to Him, uses it for Himself, as stated in Surat Ash-Shams:

وَنَفْسٍۢ وَمَا سَوَّىٰهَا “And by the soul and ˹the One˺ Who fashioned it.”[42] Here He is speaking about Himself, glory be to Him and His attribute of forming the soul.

(ما) is used for all attributes of knowledgeable people, even a more precise group of grammarians do not say intellect because Allah ta’ala is not described as rational (العَقْل), nor does He describe Himself as the rational (العاقِل), but rather the knower (ٱلْعَلِيمُ). So grammarians use (ما) for the knowledgeable and non-rational beings. Allah ta’ala says:

وَمَا خَلَقَ ٱلذَّكَرَ وَٱلْأُنثَىٰٓ “And by ˹the One˺ Who (ما) created male and female!”[43] Who (مَن) is the Creator (الخالِق)? It is Allah ta’ala.

وَلَآ أَنتُمْ عَـٰبِدُونَ مَآ أَعْبُدُ “And you do not worship what (ما) I worship”[44] What I worship is Allah ta’ala,

وَلَآ أَنَا۠ عَابِدٌۭ مَّا عَبَدتُّمْ “And I will not worship what (ما) you worship”[45] Idols are non-rational, and (ما) is used for non-rational beings and for the attributes of rational beings.

(مَن) “who” when used alone is specifically for rational beings. It may be used in situations that are outside of this scope. For example, if you treat a non-rational being as a rational being, such as you speak to your horse and someone says to you: مَن تُكلِّم “Who are you speaking to?” You say: “I speak to someone who understands me, someone who remembers me.” This is a metaphor (majaz).

Originally, (مَن) was for non-rational beings, and sometimes a rational being is required with a non-rational being, so (مَن) is applied to them, and thus there is a detail:

وَٱللَّهُ خَلَقَ كُلَّ دَآبَّةٍۢ مِّن مَّآءٍۢ ۖ فَمِنْهُم مَّن يَمْشِى عَلَىٰ بَطْنِهِۦ وَمِنْهُم مَّن يَمْشِى عَلَىٰ رِجْلَيْنِ وَمِنْهُم مَّن يَمْشِى عَلَىٰٓ أَرْبَعٍۢ ۚ يَخْلُقُ ٱللَّهُ مَا يَشَآءُ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍۢ قَدِيرٌۭ

“And Allah has created from water every living creature. Some of them crawl on their bellies, some walk on two legs, and some walk on four. Allah creates whatever He wills. Surely Allah is Most Capable of everything.”[46]

The one who crawls on his belly is a non-rational being, and the one who walks on two legs is a human being. They are gathered together generally so He detailed in its places using (مَن). But if it is singular, it is only for the rational person:

أَلَا يَعْلَمُ مَنْ خَلَقَ وَهُوَ ٱللَّطِيفُ ٱلْخَبِيرُ

“How could He not know His Own creation? For He ˹alone˺ is the Most Subtle, All-Aware.”[47] i.e. for the one with knowledge.

Why is there a difference between the Quranic verse endings (الفَاصِلَة) in Surah Al-Zumar and Surah Al-Kafirun?

In Surat Al-Kafirun, Allah ta’ala says: لَكُمْ دِينُكُمْ وَلِىَ دِينِ “you have your deen and I have mine,” and in Surat Az-Zumar: قُلِ ٱللَّهَ أَعْبُدُ مُخْلِصًۭا لَّهُۥ دِينِى Say, “It is ˹only˺ Allah that I worship, being sincere in my devotion to Him.[48] He mentioned the ending letter (ى) in Al-Zumar, so why did He omit it in Al-Kafirun?

The preceding verses in Surah Al-Zumar to the verse above are:

قُلْ إِنِّىٓ أُمِرْتُ أَنْ أَعْبُدَ ٱللَّهَ مُخْلِصًۭا لَّهُ ٱلدِّينَ

Say, “I am commanded to worship Allah, being sincerely devoted to Him ˹alone˺.

وَأُمِرْتُ لِأَنْ أَكُونَ أَوَّلَ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ

And I am commanded to be the first of those who submit ˹to His Will˺.”

قُلْ إِنِّىٓ أَخَافُ إِنْ عَصَيْتُ رَبِّى عَذَابَ يَوْمٍ عَظِيمٍۢ

Say, “I truly fear—if I were to disobey my Lord—the torment of a tremendous Day.”

قُلِ ٱللَّهَ أَعْبُدُ مُخْلِصًۭا لَّهُۥ دِينِى

Say, “It is ˹only˺ Allah that I worship, being sincere in my devotion to Him.[49]

After this He said:

فَٱعْبُدُوا۟ مَا شِئْتُم مِّن دُونِهِۦ ۗ قُلْ إِنَّ ٱلْخَـٰسِرِينَ ٱلَّذِينَ خَسِرُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَهُمْ وَأَهْلِيهِمْ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ ۗ أَلَا ذَٰلِكَ هُوَ ٱلْخُسْرَانُ ٱلْمُبِينُ

Worship then whatever ˹gods˺ you want instead of Him.” Say, “The ˹true˺ losers are those who will lose themselves and their families on Judgment Day. That is indeed the clearest loss.”[50]

The ayaat before and after this verse differ between the surahs but they are in the same [logical] order, and although the word (دِينِى) is used in Al-Zumar and (دِين) in Al-Kafirun, both of them have the speaker’s Ya (ياء المُتَكَلِّم), except that in Al-Kafirun it is omitted and in Al-Zumar it is not. The verse endings (الفَاصِلَة) of the verses are also similar between the surahs.

First, let us look at the context of the verses mentioning (دِينِى) and (دِين). There are several things that caused the mention and omission of the speaker’s (ياء) here. We notice that the speech about deen in the verse of Al-Zumar is longer, while in Al-Kafirun it is one verse: لَكُمْ دِينُكُمْ وَلِىَ دِينِ “you have your deen and I have mine.” This is the only verse at the end of the surah. The speech in Al-Zumar is longer and more related to the deen. Allah ta’ala said: مُخْلِصًۭا لَّهُ ٱلدِّينَ “dedicating my deen entirely to Him,”[51] مُخْلِصًۭا لَّهُۥ دِينِى “dedicating my deen entirely to Him,”[52]

Even from the beginning Surah Al-Zumar talks about the deen: إِنَّآ أَنزَلْنَآ إِلَيْكَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ بِٱلْحَقِّ فَٱعْبُدِ ٱللَّهَ مُخْلِصًۭا لَّهُ ٱلدِّينَ “Indeed, We have sent down the Book to you ˹O Prophet˺ in truth, so worship Allah ˹alone˺, dedicating my deen entirely to Him.”[53] أَلَا لِلَّهِ ٱلدِّينُ ٱلْخَالِصُ “the true deen is due to Allah alone.”[54]

So the speech about the deen, the atmosphere (جَوّ) of the surah, and the context (سِياق) of the verses are more in Surah Al-Zumar. This is one verse, and there are multiple verses before and after it, even. At the beginning of the Surah, this matter was mentioned. This is first. So, the speech about the deen is longer in Surah Al-Zumar, and so (دِينِى) is longer than (دِين). Therefore, it is more appropriate to mention (دِينِى) in Surah Al-Zumar. This is the first point.

Surah Al-Kafirun is about abandoning worship while Al-Zumar is about worship and commanding worship, not abandoning worship. In Surah Al-Kafirun:

لَآ أَعْبُدُ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ

I do not worship what you worship,

وَلَآ أَنتُمْ عَـٰبِدُونَ مَآ أَعْبُدُ

nor do you worship what I worship.

وَلَآ أَنَا۠ عَابِدٌۭ مَّا عَبَدتُّمْ

I will never worship what you worship,

وَلَآ أَنتُمْ عَـٰبِدُونَ مَآ أَعْبُدُ

nor will you ever worship what I worship.

In Surah Al-Zumar:

قُلْ إِنِّىٓ أُمِرْتُ أَنْ أَعْبُدَ ٱللَّهَ مُخْلِصًۭا لَّهُ ٱلدِّينَ

Say, “I am commanded to worship Allah, being sincerely devoted to Him ˹alone˺.

وَأُمِرْتُ لِأَنْ أَكُونَ أَوَّلَ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ

And I am commanded to be the first of those who submit ˹to His Will˺.”[55]

In Al-Kafirun, there is abandoning worship, and here in Al-Zumar there is proof of worship and commanding it. Which of the two is easier, abandoning or performing something? Abandoning salah or praying? It is easier to abandon salah because worship is more difficult: فَٱعْبُدْهُ وَٱصْطَبِرْ لِعِبَـٰدَتِهِۦ “So worship Him ˹alone˺, and be steadfast in His worship.”[56] Abandoning siyam is easier than fasting, and omission is easier than remembrance. So with the light abandonment, there is omission, and with the heavy and difficult, there is remembrance (ذِكْر). This phenomenon is called the suitability of the thing to the event (مُناسَبَة الشَيْء لِلحَدَث).

This is what the situation requires, and eloquence (البَلاغَة) is matching speech to what the situation requires. Negation (النَفِيّ) is the non-occurrence of something (لَآ أَعْبُدُ) “I do not worship”. Surat Al-Kafirun is a negation, while Al-Zumar is an affirmation or an order to affirm (فاعبد الله) “Worship Allah”. So, Al-Kafirun is a negation of an event, while Al-Zumar is an affirmation or an order to affirm. So, the ending letter (ى) was affirmed when it became an affirmation i.e. in Al-Zumar, and its omission occurred when it became a lack of mention and negation i.e. in Al-Kafirun.

Linguistically, it is permissible to say in Surah Al-Kafirun (ولي ديني) “And to me my deen”, but we are talking about eloquence (البَلاغَة) and appropriateness (المُناسِبَة). Why did Allah omit it and why did He include it? This is to take into account the requirements of the situation. It is not just a matter of phonetic coherence (التَناسُب الصَوْتِيّ), although it exists, but sometimes the phonetic coherence differs from what comes before and after it. The mushrikun certainly understood more than we do and knew more than we do, and that is why they refrained from producing something like Surah Al-Kafirun or Al-Kawthar or others, even though Allah ta’ala challenged them with a surah and they refrained from that.

Surah An-Nasr

إِذَا جَآءَ نَصْرُ ٱللَّهِ وَٱلْفَتْحُ

When Allah’s ˹ultimate˺ help comes and the victory ˹over Mecca is achieved˺,

وَرَأَيْتَ ٱلنَّاسَ يَدْخُلُونَ فِى دِينِ ٱللَّهِ أَفْوَاجًۭا

and you ˹O Prophet˺ see the people embracing Allah’s Way in crowds,

فَسَبِّحْ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّكَ وَٱسْتَغْفِرْهُ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ تَوَّابًۢا

then glorify the praises of your Lord and seek His forgiveness, for certainly He is ever Accepting of Repentance.

The purpose of the Surah

A Madani Surah that talks about the conquest of Mecca, by which Allah ta’ala honored the Muslims. Islam spread throughout the Arabian Peninsula, truth was victorious, falsehood was vanquished, and people entered Allah’s deen in multitudes (أفواجا).

Allah ta’ala had foretold of the conquest of Mecca before it happened, and this is one of the proofs of his prophethood ﷺ and it is a notification from Allah ta’ala of the completion of the message and it contains the obituary of the Messenger ﷺ.

We may wonder and say, what is the connection between victory (النَصْر) and asking for forgiveness (الاِسْتِغْفار) in this Surah? Conquerors and victors throughout the ages and times are usually afflicted with arrogance, conceit and self-admiration for their victories and forget Allah who granted them victory. As for the Islamic ummah, it has a specific method. Seeking forgiveness (الاِسْتِغْفار) comes to teach this ummah that victory is not a time for arrogance and conceit, but rather a time for the soul to return to its Lord who helped in the victory in the first place. Thus, Surat An-Nasr teaches us that at the end of great deeds in our deen, we must seek forgiveness, just as we do after prayers, Hajj, fasting and all the acts of worship that we perform. All of this is so that Allah ta’ala can protect us from falling into arrogance, conceit and self-admiration. No matter what a Muslim has achieved, he must remember his shortcomings before the greatness and blessings of Allah ta’ala, so he seeks forgiveness from his Lord in all circumstances.

The Rhetorical Perceptions in the surah

What is the significance of using the verb (جاءَ) “came”?

The Holy Quran uses the word (أَتَى) “to come” for something easier than (جاءَ), meaning that (المَجِيء) is more difficult than (أَتَى), and therefore this is almost a general characteristic of the Holy Quran. Therefore, the verb (جاءَ) does not come in the present/future tense (المُضارِع), nor does it have an imperative verb (فعل الأمر) or an active participle (اِسْم الفاعِل) in the Quran. Allah ta’ala says:

فَإِذَا جَآءَتِ ٱلصَّآخَّةُ “Then, when the Deafening Blast comes to pass.”[57] Here there is severity of the event.

فَإِذَا جَآءَتِ ٱلطَّآمَّةُ ٱلْكُبْرَىٰ “When the great overwhelming event arrives.”[58] Again here there is severity of the event.

إِذَا جَآءَ نَصْرُ ٱللَّهِ وَٱلْفَتْحُ “When Allah’s help and victory have arrived”[59]

Victory (النَصْر) is a great matter. This is a victory that does not come easily, except after wars and battles.

Surah Al-Masad

تَبَّتْ يَدَآ أَبِى لَهَبٍۢ وَتَبَّ

May the hands of Abu Lahab perish, and he ˹himself˺ perish!

مَآ أَغْنَىٰ عَنْهُ مَالُهُۥ وَمَا كَسَبَ ٢

Neither his wealth nor ˹worldly˺ gains will benefit him.

سَيَصْلَىٰ نَارًۭا ذَاتَ لَهَبٍۢ

He will burn in a flaming Fire,

وَٱمْرَأَتُهُۥ حَمَّالَةَ ٱلْحَطَبِ

and ˹so will˺ his wife, the carrier of ˹thorny˺ kindling,

فِى جِيدِهَا حَبْلٌۭ مِّن مَّسَدٍۭ

around her neck will be a rope of palm-fibre.

The purpose of the Surah

A Meccan surah also called Surat Al-Lahab and Surat Tabbat. It revolves around the destruction of Abu Lahab, the enemy of Allah ta’ala and His Messenger ﷺ who prevented people from believing, and harmed the Messenger ﷺ. Allah ta’ala threatened him with a blazing fire in which he and his wife would burn. Allah ta’ala singled her out with a special kind of torment, which was a rope (الحَبْل) that would be wrapped around her neck to drag her to the fire as an additional punishment for what she did to the noble Messenger ﷺ and the harm she caused him in Mecca.

Ibn Al-Musayyab said about Abu Lahab’s wife that she had a luxurious necklace of jewels, and she said: واللات والعزى لَأَنْفَقْنَها في عَداوَة محمد “By Al-Lat and Al-Uzza, I will spend it in enmity against Muhammad.” So Allah ta’ala replaced it with a rope of palm fiber around her neck.

The Rhetorical Perceptions in the surah

What is the grammatical analysis (إِعْراب) of the word (حمّالةَ) “carrier”?

Allah ta’ala said: وَٱمْرَأَتُهُۥ حَمَّالَةَ ٱلْحَطَبِ “And his wife, the carrier of firewood.” The word (حمّالةَ) is the direct object (مفعول به) of an omitted verb (فِعْل محذوف), the meaning of which is (أذُمُّ حمّالةَ الحطب) “I blame the carrier of firewood”, which is known as cutting (القَطْع) and has a special meaning in the Holy Quran. It is in the accusative (مَنْصُوبَة) case for blame (الذَمّ) or cutting (القَطْع) for the purpose of blame.

In this verse, Allah ta’ala blamed Abu Lahab’s wife twice, once using the word cutting (القَطْع) and once using the exaggerated form (صِيغَة المُبالَغَة) of (حمّالة) with the pattern of (فعّالة) fa’ala.

Surah Al-Ikhlas

قُلْ هُوَ ٱللَّهُ أَحَدٌ

Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “He is Allah—One ˹and Indivisible˺;

ٱللَّهُ ٱلصَّمَدُ

Allah—the Sustainer ˹needed by all˺.

لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ

He has never had offspring, nor was He born.

وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُۥ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌۢ

And there is none comparable to Him.”

The purpose of the Surah

A Meccan surah that discusses the attributes of Allah, the One (الواحد) and Only (الأحد), free from any imperfections, resemblance, or similarities. It responded to the Christians who believed in the Trinity and to the mushrikeen who attributed children and a mate to Allah.

The reason for its revelation was that a group of mushrikeen asked the Messenger ﷺ to describe to them his Lord: Is He made of gold, silver, emeralds, or rubies? Then the surah was revealed.

Surah Al-Ikhlas is equivalent to one-third of the Quran, as reported in the hadiths. It was narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said: وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ إِنَّهَا لَتَعْدِلُ ثُلُثَ الْقُرْآنِ “By the One in whose hand is my soul, it is equal to a third of the Quran.”[60]

Scholars (العُلَماء) have said that because of the meanings, sciences, and knowledge it contains, the sciences of the Quran are three: tawheed, ahkam (rulings), and stories (qisas). This surah includes tawheed, so it is one-third of the Quran in this regard, because it is the foundation of the oneness of Allah and His singularity in worship, with no partner or son. Glory be to Him above what they say and invent.

The Rhetorical Perceptions in the surah

Why was the definite article (ال) omitted from (أَحَدٌ)?

Allah made (أَحَدٌ) indefinite (نَكِرَة), and (الصَمَد) definite (المَعْرِفَة). This is information (إِخْبار) for those being addressed who were ignorant of it and denied it. As for the Quraysh, they did not believe in tawheed because they were mushrikeen, so this was information to them. As for Allah being (الصَمَد) “self-sufficient” they all knew this. (الصَمَد) means the Sufficient One to whom they turn when they need Him. He is the One who suffices them and fulfills their needs and requests. He is the One they turn to when in need. This is the meaning of (الصَمَد) in the language. He turned (صَمَد) to Him, meaning he turned to Him and asked Him for what he needed. The one who is turned to is the master to whom one turns.

Is (هُوَ) a separating pronoun (ضَمِير فَصْل)?

The most common grammatical analysis (إِعْراب) is that (هو) is a (ضَمِير الشَأْن)[61] and the first subject (مُبْتَدَأ). (الله) the divine name is the second subject (مُبْتَدَأ). (أحد) is the predicate (خبر) of the second subject (مُبْتَدَأ) and the sentence (الجملة) consisting of the second (مُبْتَدَأ) and its (خبر) is the predicate (خبر) of the first (مُبْتَدَأ). There are other analyses but this is the most common. The (ضَمِير الشَأْن) for glorification and magnification does not refer to a specific mentioned thing but rather means the matter, affair or topic. What is the matter? ٱللَّهُ أَحَدٌ “Allah is One.” The sentence (verse) after it clarifies the intended meaning.

What does the word (الصَمَد) mean?

(الصَمَد): Its morphological formation (تَشْكِيلَتها الصَرْفِيَّة) comes from (صَمَدَ يَصْمُد) on the pattern of فَعَل with the meaning of the passive participle (اِسْم المَفْعُول), like the word (السَلَب) “theft” with the meaning of (المَسْلُوب) “one who is robbed”. It is one of the passive participle patterns, meaning the one who is directed towards, like (الهَمَل) “neglected”, meaning (المُهْمَل) “the neglected”.

(صَمَد) means (المصمود). This description is used to describe humans, in addition to describing the Creator (الخالق), such as (رَؤُوف) “kind” and (رَحِيم) “merciful”. Our Lord ta’ala, described the Messenger ﷺ as (رَؤُوف) “kind” and (رَحِيم) “merciful”.

(الصَمَد) is the master (السيد) who is sought after in all needs. (الصَمَد) also means the one who is independent, above whom there is no one, who is flawless. Among men, it means the one who has no one above him. This is from the linguistic perspective of (الصَمَد).

In the sense of (المصمود) “the one who is sought after in all needs” (ٱللَّهُ ٱلصَّمَدُ), it is related to His statement, وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُۥ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌۢ “There is none comparable to Him.” If He had a peer (نَظِير), He would not have been (المقصود) “the one sought out and no one else.”

It is also related to the two Mu’awwidhat (المعوذتين) after the surah i.e. Surah Al-Falaq and Surah An-Nas, because the one who fears something and is wary turns towards the One who protects him and takes refuge in Him. He did not say (المقصود) because (الصَمَد) has more than one meaning as we mentioned. So, He is (الصَمَد) with all these meanings. If Allah had said (المصمود) it would have been one meaning of (الصَمَد). So, He used a word that combines more than one meaning and He did not restrict (الصَمَد) to anything. He did not say (المصمود) with something and did not restrict (الصَمَد) or mention anything, in order to indicate generality. If He had restricted it to something, then He would have been directed towards that thing.

We said that (الصَمَد) has the meaning of a passive participle because (المصمود) is said of the one sought after even once. أنت صمدت إلى فلان مرة واحدة “You sought after so-and-so once, so you say (مصمود إليه) “sought after him.” But (الصَمَد) is for generality in the sense of permanence and in it is repetition and includes much perseverance and steadfastness. As for (المصمود) it is said of the one who sought after him even once. So, Allah chose (الصَمَد) to indicate permanence in the many meanings.

Why was (لَمْ) “not” used which negates the past instead of (لَن) “will not” which negates the future?

Furthermore, (لَمْ) negates the past tense (الماضِي), so how can it be used with the present/future tense (المُضارِع)?

لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ “He has never had offspring, nor was He born.”

وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُۥ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌۢ “And there is none comparable to Him.”

In grammar (النَحْو), the particle (لَمْ) is called a particle (حَرْف) of negation (نَفِيّ), apocopation[62] (جَزْم), and inversion[63] (قلْب). Negation is clear. Jazm makes the present/future (المُضارِع) tense verb into the state of jazm, and inversion changes the (المُضارِع) verb to a (الماضِي) verb.

(لَمْ يَذْهَب) “He didn’t go” means (ما ذَهَبَ) “He didn’t go.” (لَمْ) and (لَمّا) differ in their meanings, but both are letters of negation (نَفِيّ), jazm, and inversion (قلْب).

(لَمّا) “when” indicates something that is expected to happen but has not happened yet. Allah ta’ala says:

وَلَكِن قُولُوا أَسْلَمْنَا وَلَمَّا يَدْخُلِ الْإِيمَانُ فِي قُلُوبِكُمْ

“But say, ‘We have submitted,’ for faith has not yet entered your hearts.”[64] i.e. iman is expected to enter their hearts.

(لَمّا) indicates a near state, while (لَمْ) is absolute (مُطْلَق).

A particle of jazm and inversion that changes the present/future tense to past tense. (ما فَعَلَ) “He didn’t” as Sibawayh (d.796CE) says, is an answer to (لَقَد فَعَلَ) “He had done”. If we say (هُوَ فَعَلَ) “He did”, its negation is (لَمْ يَفْعَل) “he didn’t”. If we say (لَقَد فَعَلَ) “He had done” its negation is (ما فَعَلَ) “he didn’t”. (لَقَد فَعَلَ) is said as if it were an oath”. Allah ta’ala says:

يَحْلِفُونَ بِاللّهِ مَا قَالُواْ وَلَقَدْ قَالُواْ كَلِمَةَ الْكُفْرِ

“They swear by Allah that they did not say it, but they did say the word of kufr.”[65]

(قد فَعَلَ) “he had done”, its negation is (لَمّا يَفْعَل) “he hasn’t done”.

Due to the precision of the words in the text, it is difficult to translate the Holy Quran, so in practice only the meanings can be translated. How do we translate (عالِم) “scholar”, (عَلِيم) “specialist” and (عَلّام) “expert”? Or for example, (هو يفعل), (إنه يفعل), (لهو يفعل), (إنه ليفعلنّ) and (إنه ليفعل), how do you translate them? The general meaning is the same i.e. “He does” but with varying levels of emphasis from light to heavy.

Allah ta’ala says in Surah Yusuf:

وَإِن كُنَّا لَخَـٰطِـِٔينَ “and we have surely been sinful.”[66]

إِنَّا كُنَّا خَـٰطِـِٔينَ “We have certainly been sinful.”[67]

Both verses have the same general meaning but one is stronger than the other but how do we then translate them?

Languages have a specific usage and the Arabic language in particular has characteristics that no other language can perform. I mentioned in the book الجملة العربية والمعنى ‘The Arabic Sentence and Meaning’, that there are 18 forms (صيغة) in the Arabic language but their translation in English is the same and has not changed. Even in negation (النفي):

إِنْ أَنَا۠ إِلَّا نَذِيرٌۭ وَبَشِيرٌۭ لِّقَوْمٍۢ يُؤْمِنُونَ

“I am only a warner and deliverer of good news for those who believe.”[68]

وَمَآ أَنَا۠ إِلَّا نَذِيرٌۭ مُّبِينٌۭ

“And I am only sent with a clear warning.”[69]

Each one of these verses has a different meaning but its translation is the same. In the books of the previous prophets, Allah did not challenge the people, but rather He challenged our ummah with the miracle of the Quran.

Why did Allah only negate the past but not the future?

The Lord of the Worlds denied the past (الماضي) but did not deny the future (المستقبل). He said, لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ “He has never had offspring, nor was He born,” and He did not say, (لَن يَلِدْ) “will not have offspring”. Also He said, وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُۥ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌۢ “And there is none comparable to Him,” and He did not say, (ولن يكن له كفواً أحداً) “and there will be none comparable to Him.” So it is as if Allah denied the past but did not deny the future.

This a response to those who said that Allah has a son:

أَلَآ إِنَّهُم مِّنْ إِفْكِهِمْ لَيَقُولُونَ وَلَدَ ٱللَّهُ وَإِنَّهُمْ لَكَـٰذِبُونَ

Indeed, it is one of their ˹outrageous˺ fabrications to say, “Allah has children.” They are simply liars.[70]

They (the Christians) did not say (سَيَلِد) “will have offspring”.

Some said, وَقَالُوا۟ ٱتَّخَذَ ٱللَّهُ وَلَدًۭا They say, “Allah has offspring,”[71] and some said (وَلَدَ اللَّهُ). They did not say (سَيَلِد) “will have offspring” or (سَيَتَّخِذ) “will take” because this matter is related to an existing deity and not to a deity that will come in the future. So when they said ((وَلَدَ اللَّهُ) “Allah has offspring”, He told them: وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُۥ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌۢ لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ “He has never had offspring, nor was He born, and there is none comparable to Him”. So if they said: أَنَّىٰ يَكُونُ لَهُۥ وَلَدٌۭ وَلَمْ تَكُن لَّهُۥ صَـٰحِبَةٌۭ “How could He have children when He has no mate?”[72]

Since Allah has no equal, meaning He has no mate (صاحبة), then how will He have offspring in the future?

Surah Al-Falaq

قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ ٱلْفَلَقِ

Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “I seek refuge in the Lord of the daybreak

مِن شَرِّ مَا خَلَقَ

from the evil of whatever He has created,

وَمِن شَرِّ غَاسِقٍ إِذَا وَقَبَ

and from the evil of the night when it grows dark,

وَمِن شَرِّ ٱلنَّفَّـٰثَـٰتِ فِى ٱلْعُقَدِ

and from the evil of those ˹witches casting spells by˺ blowing onto knots,

وَمِن شَرِّ حَاسِدٍ إِذَا حَسَدَ

and from the evil of an envier when they envy.”

The purpose of the Surah

A Meccan Surah that teaches the servants to turn to Allah ta’ala: قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ ٱلْفَلَقِ “Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “I seek refuge in the Lord of the daybreak”. To seek refuge with Him from the evil of His creations (مِن شَرِّ مَا خَلَقَ), and from the evil of the night when it darkens because it arouses fear in the soul (وَمِن شَرِّ غَاسِقٍ إِذَا وَقَبَ), and from the evil of envious people and sorcerers (وَمِن شَرِّ حَاسِدٍ إِذَا حَسَدَ وَمِن شَرِّ ٱلنَّفَّـٰثَـٰتِ فِى ٱلْعُقَدِ). It is one of the two Mu’awwidhatain (المعوذتين)[73] with which the Prophet ﷺ used to protect himself. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: أُنْزِلَ – أَوْ أُنْزِلَتْ – عَلَىَّ آيَاتٌ لَمْ يُرَ مِثْلُهُنَّ قَطُّ الْمُعَوِّذَتَيْنِ “There have been sent down to me verses the like of which had never been seen before. They are the Mu’awwadhatain.”[74] In this Surah, there is a seeking of refuge (استعاذة) in Allah from evils (الشُرُور) that befall a person from outside his control and that he cannot repel, such as night and darkness, envy, and sorcery. It is a seeking of refuge from the evils of calamities. In this Surah, there is a seeking of refuge in Allah alone from many evils.

The Rhetorical Perceptions in the surah

What are the differences between Surat Al-Falaq and Surat An-Nas?

Q. The one sought for refuge in Surat An-Nas is three (Lordship, Divinity and Kingship) and the matter sought from refuge is one (whispers). However, in Surat Al-Falaq, one attribute, which is Lordship, is used for the one sought for refuge, and the matter sought from refuge is four (evil creation, evil of the night, magic and jealousy). Why the difference?

Answer by Dr. Hussam Al-Naimi.

This is the contrast between the Mu’awwidhatain:

Surah Al-Falaq	Surah An-Nas
قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ ٱلْفَلَقِ Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “I seek refuge in the Lord of the daybreak	قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ ٱلنَّاسِ Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “I seek refuge in the Lord of humankind,
مِن شَرِّ مَا خَلَقَ from the evil of whatever He has created,	مَلِكِ ٱلنَّاسِ the Master of humankind,
وَمِن شَرِّ غَاسِقٍ إِذَا وَقَبَ and from the evil of the night when it grows dark,	إِلَـٰهِ ٱلنَّاسِ the God of humankind,
وَمِن شَرِّ ٱلنَّفَّـٰثَـٰتِ فِى ٱلْعُقَدِ and from the evil of those ˹witches casting spells by˺ blowing onto knots,	مِن شَرِّ ٱلْوَسْوَاسِ ٱلْخَنَّاسِ from the evil of the lurking whisperer—
وَمِن شَرِّ حَاسِدٍ إِذَا حَسَدَ and from the evil of an envier when they envy.”	ٱلَّذِى يُوَسْوِسُ فِى صُدُورِ ٱلنَّاسِ who whispers into the chests of humankind—
	مِنَ ٱلْجِنَّةِ وَٱلنَّاسِ from among jinn and humankind.”

The summary is that in the phrase: قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ ٱلْفَلَقِ “Say, “I seek refuge in the Lord of the daybreak”,someonesought refuge (استعاذ) in the Lord of the daybreak, and the daybreak is the beginning of dawn (الفجر), the splitting of light, from: the evil of what He created in general, from the evil of darkness, from the evil of those who blow on knots and from the evil of an envier when he envies. All of these evils affect a person in his outward appearance, in his body, in his outward appearance, but they do not affect his iman or ‘aqeeda (belief). So the seeking of refuge was in one word from these multiple evils that are related to the outward thing, to the outward appearance of a person and not to his ‘aqeeda, his inward appearance, or his iman.

In Surah An-Nas, there is seeking refuge (استعاذ) in the Lord (الرَبّ), the Nurturer (المربي) (رب الناس) “Lord of mankind”, the One who undertakes to nurture and create (التَكْوِين), (ملك الناس) “the King of mankind”, the Owner (المالِك) of everything.

So, Allah mentioned the attribute of (التَرْبِيَة) “nurturing”, the attribute of (المُلك) “sovereignty”, and the (الإله) god who is worshipped alone, the One to whom one turns and to whom one turns, the One beloved (المحبوب). So, Allah mentioned three attributes.

From the evil of whispering (الوسواس), this occurs within the body, and the result of whispering is a deviation in ‘aqeeda, a deviation in conviction, and a deviation in deen. This issue is more serious than the issue of a person seeing something in the dark that harms him, or that there are sorcerers harming him in his body, or an envious person trying to get at him or harm him. This cannot be compared to that. So, he sought refuge in three attributes of Allah ta’ala that are related to matters of ‘aqeeda and matters of iman, because whispering affects iman.

Why did He begin with (الرَبّ)?

Allah began with (الرَبّ) because He raises man from his childhood, and the (الملِك) “king” is for him when he is older and owned/ruled by him. Those who worship (الإله) God i.e. Allah ta’ala have reached the stage of reason (العقل) and awareness (الوعي), as if there is a gradual progression and all of it is seeking refuge (استعاذة) from anything entering the heart of man. In Surah Al-Falaq (رَبِّ ٱلْفَلَقِ) “the Lord of the Daybreak” is the dawn (الفجر) that shines from evils, and all evils are worldly.

The following text is from one of our scholars, Ismail Haqqi Bursevi (d.1715), in his book (روح البيان) “The Spirit of the Statement” saying:

“And in this regard, there is a profound subtlety, which is that the One sought for refuge in the first surah is mentioned with one attribute, which is that He is the Lord of the daybreak. – (meaning the question that crossed the mind of the questioner crossed the mind of our ancient scholars and they stopped at it) – and the One sought for refuge from is three types of evils: the darkness, the blowers, and the envious.

As for this surah (i.e., Surah An-Nas), the One sought for refuge is mentioned with three attributes: the Lord, the King, and the God. And the One sought for refuge from is one evil: the whispering. And it is known that the more important the desired thing is and the more perfect and abundant the desire for it, the more and more abundant the praise of the seeker before his request. (Here, another subtlety is made which we did not point out, which is that when the desired thing is higher, the praise is greater. Because the desired thing is related to faith, the praise increases.)

What is sought in the previous surah (Al-Falaq) is the safety of the body from the aforementioned evils, and in this surah (An-Nas) it is the safety of the religion from the whisperings of Shaitan. Thus, it is clear that in the arrangement of the two noble surahs there is an indication that the safety of the religion from the whisperings of Shaitan, even if it is one matter, it is a greater intention. The most important requirement is that the body be free from these afflictions, even though they are multiple matters, not of that level of concern.

Surah An-Nas includes seeking refuge from the evil that is the cause of sins and transgressions, and it is the evil within the person that is the source of punishments in this world and the hereafter.

Surah Al-Falaq includes seeking refuge from the evil that is the cause of the servant’s injustice to himself, and it is an external evil. The first evil does not fall under obligation, and he is not required to desist from it because it is not of his making. The second evil does fall under obligation and is related to prohibition.”

Why did Allah being with (قُل) “say”?

Allah ta’ala wants man to openly declare his weakness and need for his Lord with his tongue, to declare and speak, and not be satisfied with his need in his heart. The address is directed to the Messenger ﷺ and then to all of humanity. So our Lord the Almighty wants man to openly declare his weakness, and need for his Lord so that He may deliver him from whatever he fears and is wary of, and not be satisfied with his feeling of need. This declaration of need for his Lord is necessary for several reasons:

First, it kills self-admiration and the false feeling of self-sufficiency, which is one of the causes of transgression.

كَلَّآ إِنَّ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنَ لَيَطْغَىٰٓ أَن رَّءَاهُ ٱسْتَغْنَىٰٓ

“Most certainly, one exceeds all bounds once they think they are self-sufficient.”[75]

So let him declare, so that he declares his weakness before his Lord, and that he is not self-sufficient from Him, because there is a group of people who are prevented by arrogance from seeking help.

The other matter is that it is one of the reasons for obedience. This declaration is one of the reasons for obedience, because if you seek help from someone whom you obey and do not disobey, how can you seek help from him and disobey him? So in this declaration: قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ ٱلْفَلَقِ “Say, “I seek refuge in the Lord of the daybreak”, you are saying this command, meaning you are seeking help from your Lord. This is calling you to obey Him, so how can you seek refuge in Him while you are disobeying Him? It is not possible.

Seeking refuge (الاستعاذة) softens the hearts and makes them submissive to the Lord of the Worlds, especially if the seeking of refuge is accompanied by a feeling of intense need for the help of those who seek help. He seeks refuge because he has a feeling of need for someone to help him. You seek help and protection from a person and ask for support because you feel a need for him. He is greater than your strength, so you seek help and declare your need and resort to the One to whom you resort, who is greater than your strength and greater than what you can do.

This thing softens the hearts, especially if the matter is big:

وَقَالَ مُوسَىٰٓ إِنِّى عُذْتُ بِرَبِّى وَرَبِّكُم مِّن كُلِّ مُتَكَبِّرٍۢ لَّا يُؤْمِنُ بِيَوْمِ ٱلْحِسَابِ

Moses replied, “I seek refuge in my Lord and your Lord from every arrogant person who does not believe in the Day of Reckoning.”[76]

So this matter makes the heart soften when you are accompanied by the feeling of need for your Lord, and your heart softens and is humble.

One of the early scholars likened it to the fact that when a person seeks refuge in his Lord, it should be like the feeling of a boy who is barked at by a dog, so he clings to his father. This is one of the reasons for softening the hearts.

Then it is like glorifying and remembering Allah, and we are commanded to glorify and remember Him, we mention Him with our tongues:

وَٱذْكُر رَّبَّكَ فِى نَفْسِكَ تَضَرُّعًۭا وَخِيفَةًۭ وَدُونَ ٱلْجَهْرِ مِنَ ٱلْقَوْلِ بِٱلْغُدُوِّ وَٱلْـَٔاصَالِ وَلَا تَكُن مِّنَ ٱلْغَـٰفِلِينَ

“Remember your Lord inwardly with humility and reverence and in a moderate tone of voice, both morning and evening. And do not be one of the heedless.”[77]

Just as we mention glorifying Allah verbally, we seek help from our Lord verbally and by tongue, not by feeling alone. If someone said, (أعوذ بالله) “I seek refuge in Allah,” this is not a verbal command, it is a command for him to say it.

فَإِذَا قَرَأْتَ ٱلْقُرْءَانَ فَٱسْتَعِذْ بِٱللَّهِ مِنَ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنِ ٱلرَّجِيمِ

“When you recite the Quran, seek refuge with Allah from Shaitan, the accursed.”[78]

When Allah said, (فَٱسْتَعِذْ) “Seek refuge,” He commanded you to seek refuge and to also say a command to seek refuge.

Allah swears by the daybreak (الفلق) in exchange for four things. Is the daybreak so great that Allah swears by it?

The famous meaning of Al-Falaq is the “dawn” (الصبح), and also in the language it means all of creation (فالق الإصباح). Al-Falaq in the language: (الصبح) “dawn”, (الشقّ) “slit”, and (الخلْق) “creation”. All of creation is (فَلَق), this is from the language perspective.

If it means creation, then its connection to the meaning is clear because it is seeking refuge from all of creation: “from the evil of what He created, from the evil of the darkening when it comes, from the evil of the blowers on knots, from the evil of the envier when he envies”.

If it is in this linguistic meaning, then this is creation, but Allah arranged them in order and moved from the general to the specific: مِن شَرِّ مَا خَلَقَ “from the evil of whatever He created”, this is general, meaning everything He created. Then He comes to the specific غَاسِقٍ إِذَا وَقَبَ “the night when it grows dark”, meaning the night when its darkness becomes turbid. This is more specific because it is part of what He created. (الغاسق) is the night when its darkness becomes turbid and dark, meaning when the dark, pitch-black night entered.

If the word (الفلق) means creation, which is an existing linguistic meaning, then it is clearly connected to what comes after it. It is all (الفلق) but He arranged it in a rhetorical order and moved from the general to the specific: مِن شَرِّ مَا خَلَقَ “from the evil of whatever He created” this is general, meaning everything that He created. وَمِن شَرِّ غَاسِقٍ إِذَا وَقَبَ “from the evil of darkness when it comes” is more specific, and وَمِن شَرِّ ٱلنَّفَّـٰثَـٰتِ فِى ٱلْعُقَدِ “from the evil of those who blow on knots” this is even more specific and less frequent because night enters every day, but how many blow on knots?

وَمِن شَرِّ حَاسِدٍ إِذَا حَسَدَ “from the evil of an envier when he envies” is specific and less frequent. Those who blow on knots is plural and the envier is singular. He moved from the general to the specific and arranged them in a rhetorical order, and this is the pinnacle of eloquence, and they are intended to be arranged in a rhetorical and artistic order with extreme precision.

If (الفلق) means (الصبح) “dawn”: وَمِن شَرِّ غَاسِقٍ إِذَا وَقَبَ “from the evil of darkness when it comes,” (الفلق) follows the darkening (الغاسق) or the night (الليل). If Al-Falaq means dawn, then its connection to what comes after it is clear: وَمِن شَرِّ غَاسِقٍ إِذَا وَقَبَ “from the evil of darkness when it comes,” which is the night. Allah removes the darkness of the night and removes its evils and brings the break of dawn. The One who is able to remove the darkness of the night is able to remove the evils that come after it, which He mentioned: وَمِن شَرِّ ٱلنَّفَّـٰثَـٰتِ فِى ٱلْعُقَدِ “from the evil of those who blow on knots,” the one who is bewitched in darkness whose matter cannot be made clear, and وَمِن شَرِّ حَاسِدٍ إِذَا حَسَدَ “from the evil of an envier when he envies,” and the one who is envied is in darkness. All of this is darkness (ظَلام). He who removed the darkness of the night (غَاسِقٍ إِذَا وَقَبَ) and brought (الفلق) removes all evils, the darkness of the bewitched and the envier, so seek refuge in Allah who removes these evils. A person seeks help from Allah ta’ala against them. Whether (الفلق) means creation or the dawn, their connection is clear, and (الفلق) means cleaving (الشقّ), as if He splits the dawn from the darkness of the night.

In Surat Al-Falaq he sought refuge from many things, whereas in Surat An-Nas he sought refuge from only one thing. Why?

What is mentioned in Surah An-Nas is more serious than what is mentioned in Surah Al-Falaq. Firstly, in Surah Al-Falaq, a person seeks refuge from matters over which he has no control: “from the evil of what He created, from the evil of the darkening when it comes, from the evil of the blowers on knots, from the evil of the envier when he envies”.If an evil befalls him, it will be recorded in his record of good deeds if he is patient (صابِر) and expects reward.

In Surah An-Nas, evil is included in the list of his bad deeds (سَيِّئات), and he will be held accountable for them in this world and the hereafter “from the evil of the lurking whisperer” that drives him to harm himself and others “who whispers into the chests of humankind”. All evil deeds (الشُرُور) are from the evil of the retreating whisperer (الوَسْواس), whether it is against himself or others, and he will be held accountable for them in this world and the hereafter.

If he transgresses against others, he will be held accountable in this world if the law reaches him, and he will be held accountable for them in the hereafter if he does not receive punishment in this world. Therefore, it is more dangerous so Allah said three things: Say, “I seek refuge in the Lord of humankind, the Master of humankind, the God of humankind, and He arranged them in a wonderful order. He arranged them so that these matters are how evils are repelled between people in dealing with life.

If a person has a problem that he does not know how to resolve, he first seeks help from the people of experience, who is the Lord (الرب), and the Lord is the instructor (المُرْشِد), guide (المُوَجِّه), teacher (المُعَلِّم) and nurturer (المُرَبِّي).

If the problem is not solved, he resorts to authority (سلطة) and the judiciary (القضاء) i.e. (ملك).

If it is not solved by the judiciary, he resorts to the Lord of the Worlds to solve it i.e. Allah.

This dealing in life was arranged by Allah ta’ala in Surat An-Nas. The Lord is the instructor, guide and teacher, so you seek help from the people of experience, the guide and the teacher or they guide you. When you have a problem, they guide you but if the issue is not resolved, you resort to the judiciary (ملك). If it is still not resolved, you resort to Allah ta’ala.

Even the arrangement of the grammatical order is amazing! In the muḍāf[79] (رب، ملك، إله) it goes from many to few, and in the muḍāf ilayh (الناس) it goes from few to many.

Allah began with the Lord (الرب), and there may be many guides (مرشدون) and instructors (موجهون) in society. How many kings are there in this world? The kings are fewer in number than the Lords (the instructors, and we might say the masters of the house) in this world. It finishes with one i.e. Allah. So He moved from the Lord (many) to what is less (the king) to the One and Only (Allah), and He arranged the verses from many to few.

He arranged the muḍāf ilayh (the word الناس) from few to many.

Lord of the people (رب الناس), for every group of people has someone who teaches them, and for every group the one who teaches them is their Lord.

The people of the king are more than the people of the Lord because the state (الدولة) has only one king. Finally the people of Allah are more than the people of the king.

The law of life in disputes is: Lord, king, Allah.

Therefore, He arranged the verses with the muḍāf (رب، ملك، إله) from many to few and with the muḍāf ilayh (الناس) from few to many.

Allah did not use the (و) when He said: (رب الناس, ملك الناس ,إله الناس) “Lord of the people, King of the people, and God of the people,” to indicate that it is a single entity that does not tolerate multiple entities, and the (و) may indicate difference. When He omitted the (و), He indicated that it is for a single entity. If you seek refuge in the Lord, then He is Allah. If you seek refuge in the King, then He is Allah. If you seek refuge in God, then He is Allah. All in one. That is why He said: Say, “I seek refuge in the Lord of mankind, the King of mankind, the Allah of mankind.”

No one in the early days of Islam criticized the Qur’an, but they said:

وَإِذَا تُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْهِمْ ءَايَـٰتُنَا قَالُوا۟ قَدْ سَمِعْنَا لَوْ نَشَآءُ لَقُلْنَا مِثْلَ هَـٰذَآ ۙ إِنْ هَـٰذَآ إِلَّآ أَسَـٰطِيرُ ٱلْأَوَّلِينَ

Whenever Our revelations are recited to them, they challenge ˹you˺, “We have already heard ˹the recitation˺. If we wanted, we could have easily produced something similar. This ˹Quran˺ is nothing but ancient fables!”[80]

So when Allah challenged them to say something like it, they did not say anything.

But when ignorance of the Arabic language and rhetoric (البلاغة) arose, the questions began. Whoever has insight into style (الأسلوب) knows that this Qur’an cannot be the words of a human being.

Surah An-Nas

قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ ٱلنَّاسِ

Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “I seek refuge in the Lord of humankind,

مَلِكِ ٱلنَّاسِ

the Master of humankind,

إِلَـٰهِ ٱلنَّاسِ

the God of humankind,

مِن شَرِّ ٱلْوَسْوَاسِ ٱلْخَنَّاسِ

from the evil of the lurking whisperer—

ٱلَّذِى يُوَسْوِسُ فِى صُدُورِ ٱلنَّاسِ

who whispers into the chests of humankind—

مِنَ ٱلْجِنَّةِ وَٱلنَّاسِ

from among jinn and humankind.”

The purpose of the Surah

A Meccan surah and the second of the two Mu’awwidhatain. It contains seeking protection and shelter in the Lord of the Worlds: Say, “I seek refuge in the Lord of humankind, the Master of humankind, the God of humankind, from the evil of the worst of enemies, Shaitan and his helpers from the devils among mankind and jinn “from the evil of the lurking whisperer” who mislead people with various types of temptations to lead them astray and distance them from the worship of the One, the Just, the Judge: “who whispers into the chests of humankind— from among jinn and humankind.”

The seeking of protection (استعاذة)in this surah is from the internal evils of man, whether they befall him or others, and it is a seeking of protection from faults. In this surah, there is a seeking of protection from one evil (شُرُور), which is the evil of the whisperings (وَسْوَسَة) of Shaitan, which destroys the Lord, the King, and the Allah.

The repeated word “people” (الناس) each denotes a different meaning to fit with the words Lord, King and God (رب، ملك، إله), The first people are less than the people who come after it and the last, so the meaning of the word (الناس) has progressed from few to many, unlike the word Lord, king and Allah, which has progressed from many to few. The Lord is the guiding guide, and there may be many guides in the society, but every country has its own king, and the world has many kings, but Allah is one, with no partner for all creation, among humans and jinn. So Allah is the God of all creation, and His people are many. As for the king, his people are less than Allah, and likewise the people of the Lord are less because the Lord is the Lord of the obedient believers only, and not all people are believers.

This Surah concludes the verses of the Holy Quran and is the best conclusion for this Quran. It is in keeping with its beginning – Surah Al-Fatihah in which Allah the Almighty addressed the people by saying: الحمد لله رب العالمين “Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds” and إياك نعبد وإياك نستعين “You alone do we worship and You alone do we ask for help”. Then this Surah came: مِنَ ٱلْجِنَّةِ وَٱلنَّاسِ “from among jinn and humankind” to include all of the worlds, and all of them, from the beginning to the end, seek help from Allah the Almighty and resorting to Him. It is noteworthy that Allah the Almighty mentioned jinn before people because the jinn are the origin of whispers. And Allah knows best.

This is the conclusion of this section and the conclusion of the Holy Qur’an, which I advise you and myself not to abandon in any way, and not to be among those about whom the Messenger ﷺ said: إِنَّ قَوْمِى ٱتَّخَذُوا۟ هَـٰذَا ٱلْقُرْءَانَ مَهْجُورًۭا “My people have abandoned this Qur’an.”[81]

Let us act upon it as our Messenger and role model Muhammad ﷺ advised us:

يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنِّي قَدْ تَرَكْتُ فِيكُمْ مَا إِنْ أَخَذْتُمْ بِهِ لَنْ تَضِلُّوا كِتَابَ اللَّهِ وَعِتْرَتِي أَهْلَ بَيْتِي

“O people! Indeed, I have left among you, that which if you hold fast to it, you shall not go astray: The Book of Allah and my family, the people of my house.”[82]

The example of the one who reads the Quran and does not recite it is like the example of the living and the dead. So let us revive our hearts and homes with the Noble Quran and by contemplating its verses and following its commands and avoiding its prohibitions. Let us adopt its morals and establish its limits and increase our good deeds, because this Noble Quran is a treasure of good deeds.

Whoever reads a letter from it will receive a good deed, and a good deed is multiplied by ten. I do not say that Alif is a letter, Lam is a letter, and Mim is a letter. So how, after all this bliss and this great treasure, can one of us abandon this Noble Quran or not contemplate it?

It is the way of life of the Muslim, which leads to the pleasure of Allah ta’ala and the Gardens of Eden that Allah has promised to His believing servants. May Allah make us and you among those who listen to the word and follow the best of it, and among those who establish the limits of the Quran, not among those who establish its letters and waste its limits.

May Allah guide us all to understand His Noble Book, apply its rulings, and comply with its commands so that we may enjoy the happiness of both worlds and be among the people of the Quran and His chosen ones who are the beloved of Allah ta’ala. May Allah make us among those for whom the Quran will intercede on the Day of Resurrection: حرمته النوم بالليل فشفّعني فيه اللهم آمين “I prevented him from sleeping at night, so accept my intercession for him.”[83] Amen.

This great Quran is a cure for the chest and psychological illnesses, and the will of Allah ta’ala in this Quran is great, and it is suitable for all times and places, and it contains good for our ummah, and its wonders never end. Diving into its depths is not an easy matter, but these pages are only a simple attempt to fathom the depths of this great treasure and to contemplate its verses and meanings.

We ask Allah ta’ala for success and to teach us what will benefit us and benefit us with what He has taught us, and to increase our understanding of His Book and our work according to its rulings. My success comes only from Allah, the Almighty, the Wise. Our final supplication is that all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, and prayers and peace be upon the one sent as a mercy to the Worlds, the most honorable of the Prophets and Messengers, our master, our beloved, our role model, the apple of our eyes, and our guide to goodness, our Messenger Muhammad – may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him.

The Rhetorical Perceptions in the surah

What are the differences between Surat Al-Falaq and Surat An-Nas?

The two Mu’awwidhatain are two Surahs in the Holy Quran that gather together seeking refuge from all evils, apparent and hidden, that befall a person from outside and those that emanate from within him. Surah Al-Falaq includes seeking refuge from the apparent and hidden evils that befall a person from outside and that a person cannot ward off. There is no way to do so except through patience, because if a patient person is patient in the face of these evils, he will receive a reward from Allah ta’ala for his patience and it will increase in his balance of good deeds, because Allah ta’ala rewards the patient. Evil in Surah Al-Falaq is not something that is subject to obligation, and a person is not required to refrain from it because it is not something that he has earned, so he will not be held accountable for it.

As for Surat An-Nas, which is in our hands, it is the Surah of seeking refuge from the internal evils of a person (those stemming from within himself), which befall a person himself or others, and which a person can repel and avoid oppressing himself and others. If a person falls into these evils, they will be recorded in his record of bad deeds. The evil intended in this Surah is that which is subject to obligation and for which a person will be held accountable because it is included among the things that are prohibited.

The two Surahs combine seeking refuge from all evils, apparent and hidden… what is subject to obligation (what is mentioned in Surat An-Nas) , and what is not subject to obligation (what is mentioned in Surat Al-Falaq) , what one cannot repel (Al-Falaq), what people can repel, what is included in the record of good deeds (Al-Falaq) , and what is included in the record of bad deeds (An-Nas). As a number of commentators and scholars have said: Surat Al-Falaq seeks refuge in Allah from the evils of calamities, and Surat An-Nas seeks refuge in Allah from the evils of faults.

What is the meaning of “Say, I seek refuge in the Lord of humankind”?

قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ ٱلنَّاسِ

Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “I seek refuge in the Lord of humankind,

“I seek refuge in Allah” (أعوذ بالله) in the language means “I seek refuge (ألتجأ) and protection (أَعْتَصِم) in Allah.”

Say (قُلْ) means Allah the Almighty commanded the Messenger to say (قُلْ). The command to say is very important here, and if the verb were omitted, the intended meaning would be lost. (قُلْ) is to express his weakness and his seeking refuge in his Lord. The word (قُلْ) is a form of expressing and declaring a person’s need for his Lord, the Almighty and Majestic. He expresses this need himself and utters it with his tongue. It kills arrogance because pride and arrogance sometimes prevent a person from asking for help when he is in dire need of it, and because the one who asks for help from others refrains from arrogance. A person should not be satisfied with feeling the need for his Lord, but he should announce his need to his Lord, whether that is the Messenger or someone else.

قالوا أتشكو إليه ما ليس يخفى عليه فقلت ربي يرضى ذل العزيز لديه

They said, “Do you complain to Him about something that is not hidden from Him?” I said, “My Lord is pleased with the humiliation of the honorable in His sight.”[84]

(قُلْ): In this declaration there is destroying and even a cure for the arrogance and conceit in the human soul which may lead him to tyranny:

كَلَّآ إِنَّ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنَ لَيَطْغَىٰٓ أَن رَّءَاهُ ٱسْتَغْنَىٰٓ

“Most certainly, one exceeds all bounds once they think they are self-sufficient.”[85]

Therefore, it is necessary to say it with the tongue and it is not permissible to utter the seeking of refuge without a command (قُلْ). This saying is one of the reasons for obedience. So if we seek help from Allah to protect us from evils, then it is one of the reasons for obedience to Him, the Most High. If seeking refuge is accompanied by a feeling in the soul of needing the help of those who seek help, to take refuge in a strong support, then this feeling of need for his Lord, this feeling softens the hard hearts.

What is the meaning of (رب الناس, ملك الناس ,إله الناس) “Lord of mankind, the King of mankind, the God of mankind”?

قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ ٱلنَّاسِ مَلِكِ ٱلنَّاسِ إِلَـٰهِ ٱلنَّاسِ

Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “I seek refuge in the Lord of humankind, the Master/King of humankind, the God of humankind.

The seeking of refuge (الاستعاذة) in this Surah is with the Lord of the people, King of the people, and God of the people, from the evil of the retreating whisperer.” So what is sought refuge from is a single evil, and the seeking of refuge from it is with the Lord, the King, and the God from the destructive whisperings (وسوسة) of Shaitan. This is in contrast to what is mentioned in Surah Al-Falaq, where the seeking of refuge is with one thing from multiple evils. This is a great indication of the danger of whisperings to a person and others, because if he responds to these whispers, he may destroy himself in this world and the hereafter. As for the matter that is not of his making (what is mentioned in Surah Al-Falaq), he sought refuge from it with one thing, and this is a great rhetorical gesture from these two noble Surahs, to the danger of human beings and the danger of whisperings.

The order of the names in Surat An-Nas is as follows: (رب، ملك، إله). When a person encounters a need, he first seeks help from his own experience and knowledge, or from someone with experience and expertise to guide him and advise him on what to do. This is the role of the Lord (رب), i.e. the Nurturer (المربي), the Guide (المرشد), the Teacher (المعلم), and the Guide (المُوَجِّه). That is why the verses begin with Him the “Lord of mankind”. If he does not succeed in what he wants, he resorts to authority and its possessor, i.e. the King, “King of mankind”. If authority proves to be of no avail, he resorts to Allah the “God of mankind”.

The order of the verses in the Surah is in line with this order and as a person’s need to interact in life. This is evident in the stages of a person’s life and livelihood. The embryo is the beginning, then people emerge into life to encounter the Nurturer who provides them with the upbringing and care they need. When they grow up, they need society and what regulates their relationship with it. Then comes the age of accountability when Allah holds them accountable. Societies in general are between lordship and kingship. Every society needs its young ones to have a Nurturer and then to have authority. As for divinity, it is delayed and may be hidden from some people and is surrounded by doubts, illusions, and atheism. It needs to be reminded.

The verses progressed from many to few, as the Lord is the guiding guide, and there may be many guides and nurturers in society, but each country has one king, and the world has many kings, but Allah is one for all, so the context moved from many to few in terms of the meaning of the word by number – the Lord is many, the kings are fewer, but Allah is one.

The word “people” (الناس) is mentioned three times in the Surah, and each one refers to a different group of people. We will explain them below:

The word (الناس) refers to a small group of people, one person, or all people.

The Lord is the guide of a group of people who may be few or many.

As for the king, his people are greater than the people of the nurturer.

As for Allah, he is the God of all people, and his people are definitely the majority.

If the verses had mentioned the Lord of people, their king and their God (برب الناس وملكهم وإلههم), the entire meaning would have returned to the first group of people (ناس الرّب) “the people of the Lord” without including others, and it would not have specified which group of people. Therefore, the pronoun (الضمير) is not sufficient here; rather, the muḍāf ilayh must be repeated and mentioned explicitly, because each has a different meaning.

The word (الناس), in terms of its multiple connotations in the surah, shifts from few to many, unlike the words (رب، ملك، إله). The progression of attributes begins with few to many, while in the muḍāf ilayh it refers to (الناس), the reverse is true: from few to many. Thus, the people of the nurturer are few, the people of the king are many, and the people of Allah are the most numerous.

The verses in this surah did not come with the (وَ) of conjunction (واو العطف) between them. It is not permissible at all to say: (برب الناس وملك الناس وإله الناس) “by the Lord of mankind and the King of mankind and the God of mankind”, but rather it came as: (قل أعوذ برب الناس* ملك الناس* إله الناس) so they are not thought of as different entities, because they are one entity, Allah, glory be to Him, the Nurturer, the King, and He is the One and only God.

What is the meaning of the whispers and the retreating whisperer?

مِن شَرِّ ٱلْوَسْوَاسِ ٱلْخَنَّاسِ ٱلَّذِى يُوَسْوِسُ فِى صُدُورِ ٱلنَّاسِ مِنَ ٱلْجِنَّةِ وَٱلنَّاسِ

from the evil of the lurking whisperer—who whispers into the hearts of humankind—from among jinn and humankind.

مِن شَرِّ ٱلْوَسْوَاسِ ٱلْخَنَّاسِ “from the evil of the lurking whisperer”:The verse uses (مِن شَرِّ ٱلْوَسْوَاسِ) and not (من الوسواس) “from the whisperer” as in seeking refuge from Shaitan: فَٱسْتَعِذْ بِٱللَّهِ مِنَ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنِ ٱلرَّجِيمِ “seek refuge with Allah from Shaitan, the accursed,”[86] because in Surah An-Nas Shaitan is not specified, but rather it is from the jinn and mankind. Thus the whisperer is divided into two categories: from the jinn or from mankind. The whisperer may be from the jinn or from mankind, as among the jinn there are righteous and unjust ones, وَأَنَّا مِنَّا ٱلْمُسْلِمُونَ وَمِنَّا ٱلْقَـٰسِطُونَ “And among us are those who have submitted ˹to Allah˺ and those who are deviant,”[87] as Allah the Almighty said on behalf of the jinn in Surat Al-Jinn. Therefore, seeking refuge from the jinn in general is not valid, and likewise with people, we seek refuge from the unjust and evil among people, not from all of mankind. Therefore, the verse specifically seeks refuge from evilمِن شَرِّ ٱلْوَسْوَاسِ ٱلْخَنَّاسِ “from the evil of the retreating whisperer.”

As for Shaitan, he is entirely evil, so the verse seeks refuge from him, but not from mankind. It was reported in the hadith:

الْمُؤْمِنُ الَّذِي يُخَالِطُ النَّاسَ وَيَصْبِرُ عَلَى أَذَاهُمْ أَعْظَمُ أَجْرًا مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِ الَّذِي لاَ يُخَالِطُ النَّاسَ وَلاَ يَصْبِرُ عَلَى أَذَاهُمْ

“The believer who mixes with people and bears their annoyance with patience will have a greater reward than the believer who does not mix with people and does not put up with their annoyance.”[88]

(الوَسْواس): The word (وَسْواس) is in the form (صيغة) of (فعلال), which denotes repetition because it is inseparable from (الوسوسة). In the language, it is called (تكرار المقطع لتكرار الحَدَث) “repetition of a syllable to repeat an event”. In it, is the repetition of the syllable (وس). This is like the word (كَبْكَبَ) “revert” which is a repetition of (كب), and (حَصْحَصَ) “manifest” which is a repetition of (حص) to indicate the repetition of an event.

The form (فعلال) also denotes exaggeration (المبالغة). So the word (وَسْواس) denotes exaggeration and repetition. The expression in the verse is (الوَسْواس) and not (المُوَسْوَس) because (المُوَسْوَس) does not denote exaggeration, and because it is said to a person who is afflicted by obsessive thoughts without denoting exaggeration. The seeking of refuge with (شر الوسواس) “the evil of obsessive thoughts” and not (شر الوسوسة) “the evil of obsessive thoughts” only is to indicate that seeking refuge is from all the evils of obsessive thoughts, whether they are obsessive thoughts or not.

(الخنّاس): is an adjective (صفة) from (الخنوس), which means to disappear. It is also an exaggerated form (صيغة مبالغة), which indicates that (الخنوس) has become a kind of profession that he perseveres in. When a person has an enemy (عَدُوّ), he is keen to know the extent of his hostility, the extent of his strength, and the methods that enable him to overcome him or escape from him. Allah ta’ala told us about our enemy, and the most that a person can do is to suppress his whispers, because Shaitan will remain until the Day of Judgment, and we cannot kill him or do anything else to him. Rather, we seek refuge in Allah, and Shaitan is suppressed, or we neglect and forget, and fall into the whispers, as it came in the hadith:

الشَّيْطَانُ جَاثِمٌ عَلَى قَلْبِ ابْنِ آدَمَ فَإِذَا ذَكَرَ اللَّهَ خَنَسَ وَإِذا غفَلَ وسوس

“Shaitan is sitting on the heart of the son of Adam. When he remembers Allah, he withdraws, and when he is heedless, he whispers.”[89]

ٱلَّذِى يُوَسْوِسُ فِى صُدُورِ ٱلنَّاسِ

“who whispers into the chests of humankind”:

The verse mentions the location of the whisper, which is the chests (الصدور), but does not mention the hearts (القلوب) because the chests are wider and are like the entrances to the heart. So from them the desires enter the heart, and Shaitan fills the chest with whispers, and from there they enter the heart without leaving behind a clean passage through which the breaths of Iman can enter. Rather, he fills the arena with whispers as much as he can, closing the path to the heart.

مِنَ ٱلْجِنَّةِ وَٱلنَّاسِ

“from among jinn and humankind”:

Obsessive thoughts (الوسواس) are of two types; it may be from the jinn or from people. People are the ones who are attacked. That is why the verse says (رب الناس) “Lord of mankind” and does not say (رب الجِنّة والناس) “Lord of the jinn and people”, because when people were harmed, they sought refuge or were commanded to seek refuge with their Lord to save them from the evil of (الوسواس).

The jinn are the origin of (الوسواس). Allah mentioned jinn before people because they are the origin of (الوسواس), and people follow them and are the aggressors against people. The (الوسواس) of humans may be from the (الوسواس) of jinn. The jinn are the origin of (الوسواس), and (الوسواس) do not occur in their hearts, but in the hearts of humans. In another verse in the Holy Quran, the verse mentions the shaitans among mankind before the jinn, because the context was about the disbelieving humans who share the whisperings with the jinn, so they were mentioned before the jinn:

وَكَذَٰلِكَ جَعَلْنَا لِكُلِّ نَبِىٍّ عَدُوًّۭا شَيَـٰطِينَ ٱلْإِنسِ وَٱلْجِنِّ يُوحِى بَعْضُهُمْ إِلَىٰ بَعْضٍۢ زُخْرُفَ ٱلْقَوْلِ غُرُورًۭا ۚ وَلَوْ شَآءَ رَبُّكَ مَا فَعَلُوهُ ۖ فَذَرْهُمْ وَمَا يَفْتَرُونَ

And so We have made for every prophet enemies—devilish humans and jinn—whispering to one another with elegant words of deception. Had it been your Lord’s Will, they would not have done such a thing. So leave them and their deceit.[90]

What is the difference between the use of the word (الناس) “people”?

Answer by Dr. Hussam Al-Naimi.

The origin of the question comes from the word (الناس) which is the second to last in the surah (في صدور الناس) “in the chests of people”. Some mufasireen said that the word (الناس) here means the created beings from the two kinds of beings, mankind and jinn. So He whispers in their chests, and the last of people (من الجنة والناس) “of jinn and people” are humans (البَشَر). This is not correct and the most correct opinion is that (الناس) wherever it appears is the opposite of jinn (الجِنّة).[91]

الجِنّة والناس “Jinn and People”: For us, the opposite of the jinn (الجِنّ) are humans (الإنس) and they are the two kinds of beings. The opposite of the jinn (الجانّ) are humans (الإنسان), and the opposite of jinn (الجِنّة) is people (الناس), because jinn (الجِنّة) means a group of jinn (الجِانّ), not all jinn but rather individuals from the jinn. (الناس) are individuals from humanity (الإنس). It may be used for individuals, or for a group, or for a large group, or for all of humanity. So when Allah contrasted (الناس) with (الجِنّة) which refers to individuals, this means that the word (الناس) here means a small number.

What are the differences between Surat Al-Falaq and Surat An-Nas?

This whisperer (الوسواس), that is, the one who whispers, means a worker like a chatterbox who chatters and chatters. The whisperer who does this thing is in the hearts of people, which is his workstation. The chest such that it becomes cloudy and from this cloudiness he enters the heart. Why did Allah say the chest (الصدر)? So that it appears that it is the heart and what surrounds it, because the chest is where the heart is, and this is a metaphor (مجاز مرسل)[92].

The seeking of refuge here is because the whispering in the chest or in the heart relates to something internal and not something external. The internal thing is that which relates to faith and belief, and from here comes the whispering. Therefore, he sought refuge in the Lord of mankind, the King of mankind, the God of mankind.

He did not use a (وَ) of conjunction (واو العطف) because the issue is serious, so he sought refuge in the Nurturer who undertakes to nurture, and in the King who owns and disposes, and in the Worshipped God (with the three attributes) to save him from this matter so that his internal belief is safe.

While the harm in Surah Al-Falaq is external and apparent (an envious person might plot against you, the evil blowers might do something against you, the night when it darkens might come from it a crooked eye or something else, magic), all of them are physical harms, so these do not require many attributes, but rather one attribute, which is (رب) “Lord”, because all harm is the opposite of what Allah ta’ala wants in their upbringing or development (تربيته). The one who causes harm was not raised or developed properly, and Allah guided him to be raised properly, but he did not do it, so he sought refuge in the Lord of the daybreak (رب الفلق). The daybreak (الفلق) is the emergence of light and illumination, because the work of all of these people is in the darkness: the envious person, the evil blowers, and the magician, so there is an amazing connection. Here also, when He says (رب الناس) “Lord of mankind”, it is a matter of development (تربيته). (ملك الناس) “King of mankind” it is a matter of possession (التَمَلُّك) and subjugation (القَهْر), because the King is in control (ملك), a Subduer (قاهر), and Dominant (متسلط).

The benefit of this order (الترتيب) – (رب، ملك، إله) “Lord, King, God” – are that it is a gradual progression because development (تربيته) is during childhood, then the king usually works with soldiers and adults. God is the One worshipped who people devote themselves to, and the worship of Allah the Almighty, are usually the elderly more than the youth, after they finish military service or other work. So this gradual progression is where this arrangement comes from.

The one who whispers in the hearts of people مِنَ ٱلْجِنَّةِ وَٱلنَّاسِ “from the jinn and mankind” means this whispering can be from the jinn or from humans.

As for the whispering of the jinn, this falls under the realm of the unseen (الغيب) which are spoken about in the verse about the ambiguous meanings (المُتَشابِه):

وَٱلرَّٰسِخُونَ فِى ٱلْعِلْمِ يَقُولُونَ ءَامَنَّا بِهِۦ

“and those firmly grounded in knowledge say, “We believe in it [mutashabihat verses]”[93]

The jinn whisper, but how do they whisper? This is the realm of the (المُتَشابِه), and we believe in it.

As for the whisperings of mankind, we know them well. The friend who on the Day of Resurrection will say,

يَـٰوَيْلَتَىٰ لَيْتَنِى لَمْ أَتَّخِذْ فُلَانًا خَلِيلًۭا

لَّقَدْ أَضَلَّنِى عَنِ ٱلذِّكْرِ بَعْدَ إِذْ جَآءَنِى ۗ وَكَانَ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنُ لِلْإِنسَـٰنِ خَذُولًۭا

Woe to me! I wish I had never taken so-and-so as a close friend. It was he who truly made me stray from the Reminder after it had reached me.” And Satan has always betrayed humanity.[94]

The advisors (المُسْتَشارُونَ) who whisper in the hearts of the rulers (الحُكّام), and other people encouraging them to do this or that action when it doesn’t please Allah ta’ala, are from this type of whispering.

We suffer from the whisperings of mankind in our lives. Whispering applies to malicious (الخَبِيث) speech, while consultation (المَشْوَرَة) is generally required وَأَمْرُهُمْ شُورَىٰ بَيْنَهُمْ “conduct their affairs by mutual consultation”.[95] (الوسوسة) is like a low voice. It does not have the courage or boldness to say what it says or announce the whisper in general, because as long as it is in this form and as long as someone seeks refuge from it, it is for evil and not for good. If it is for good, then it is advice (نصيحة), guidance (إرشاد), or a reminder (تَذْكِير) and it is not (وسوسة) because the advice is clear.

Notes

[1] Surah Al-Furqan ayah 45

[2] Surah Al-Mu’minun, ayah 77

[3] Surah Al-‘Araf, ayah 133

[4] Surah Al-Baqara, ayah 155

[5] Surah Al-Baqara, ayah 155

[6] Surah An-Nahl ayah 112

[7] Surah Luqman ayah 11

[8] Additional question not in the original text

[9] Additional question not in the original text

[10] Surah An-Najm, ayah 45

[11] Surah Al-An’am, ayah 84

[12] Surah Al-Baqara, ayah 269

[13] Surah Al-Isra’, ayah 101

[14] Surah An-Nisa’, ayah 54

[15] Surah TaHa, ayah 99

[16] Surah Al-Anbiya, ayah 51

[17] Surah An-Najm, ayah 34

[18] Surah Al-Layl, ayah 5

[19] Surah Al-i-Imran, ayah 26

[20] Surah Al-Qasas, ayah 76

[21] Surah Al-Qasas, ayah 81

[22] Surah As-Saad, ayah 35

[23] Surah As-Saad, ayah 39

[24] (الكَثِير) is (الكَثْرَة)

[25] Surah Al-Baqara, ayah 155

[26] Surah Al-Baqara, ayah 156

[27] Surah Al-Baqara, ayah 172

[28] Surah Ash-Sharh, ayat 1-2

[29] Surah Ash-Sharh, ayah 8

[30] Surah TaHa, ayah 50

[31] Surah Ad-Duha, ayah 5

[32] Surah Al-Isra, ayah 20

[33] Surah Naba’ ayah 36

[34] Surah Al-Qadr

[35] Surah Al-Ma’ida, ayah 27

[36] https://www.learnarabiconline.com/arabic-rhetoric/ilm-ul-maani/pronoun-of-separation/#:~:text=The%20Pronoun%20of%20Separation%20%D8%B6%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%B1,subject%20and%20predicate%20are%20definite.

[37] Surah An-Nisa’, ayah 92

[38] A noun or naming word has no tense (time), and therefore the noun or nominal sentence (no verbs) has a permanent meaning devoid of time. The nominal sentence is stronger and more permanent than a verbal sentence.

[39] A verb is action + tense (time). Therefore, it applies to a specific time period only depending on its tense, past, present or future. The verbal sentence also indicates occurrence and renewal.

[40] Surah TaHa, ayah 69, referring to Musa (as)

[41] Surah An-Nisa’, ayah 3

[42] Surah Ash-Shams, ayah 7

[43] Surah Al-Layl, ayah 3

[44] Surah Al-Kafirun, ayah 3

[45] Surah Al-Kafirun, ayah 4

[46] Surah An-Nur, ayah 45

[47] Surah Al-Mulk, ayah 14

[48] Surah Az-Zumar, ayah 14

[49] Surah Az-Zumar, ayat 11-14

[50] Surah Az-Zumar, ayah 15

[51] Surah Az-Zumar, ayah 11

[52] Surah Az-Zumar, ayah 14

[53] Surah Az-Zumar, ayah 1

[54] Surah Az-Zumar, ayah 3

[55] Surah Az-Zumar, ayat 11-12

[56] Surah Al-Maryam, ayah 65

[57] Surah ‘Abasa, ayah 33

[58] Surah An-Nazi’at, ayah 34

[59] Surah An-Nasr, ayah 1

[60] Sahih al-Bukhari 5013, https://sunnah.com/bukhari:5013

[61] A pronoun used to stress the importance of something being said after it. https://www.learnarabiconline.com/arabic-rhetoric/ilm-ul-maani/nouns-in-the-place-of-pronouns/#Dameer_ush-Shan_%D8%B6%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%B1_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D8%A3%D9%86

[62] The omission of one or more sounds or syllables from the end of a word, often resulting in a shorter version with the same or similar meaning. Jazm (الجزم) in Arabic grammar is a grammatical state that affects the mudari’ (present tense) verb, essentially “cutting off” or suppressing its ending vowel, typically indicated by a sukoon, or the dropping of letters under specific conditions. This change occurs when the present tense verb is preceded by certain “Jazm particles” (حروف الجزم) one of which is (لَمْ) as discussed here.

[63] قلب is where you swap the position of two words in a sentence, thereby changing the meaning of the sentence.

[64] Surah Al-Hujurat, ayah 14

[65] Surah Al-Tawbah, ayah 74

[66] Surah Yusuf, ayah 91

[67] Surah Yusuf, ayah 97

[68] Surah Al-‘Araf, ayah 188

[69] Surah Al-Ahqaf, ayah 9

[70] Surah As-Saffat, ayaat 151-152

[71] Surah Al-Baqarah, ayah 116

[72] Surah Al-An’am, ayah 101

[73] Surah Al-Falaq and Surah Al-Nas. Literally the two seeking refuge (استعاذة).

[74] Sahih Muslim 814b, https://sunnah.com/muslim:814b

[75] Surah Al-‘Alaq, ayaat 6-7

[76] Surah Ghafir, ayah 27

[77] Surah Al-A’raf, ayah 205

[78] Surah An-Nahl, ayah 98

[79] In Arabic grammar, iḍāfah (إضافة) is a grammatical structure used to express a relationship, most commonly possession, between two nouns. The first noun in this structure is called the muḍāf (مضاف), meaning “the added,” and the second noun is the muḍāf ilayh (مضاف إليه), meaning “that which is added to” or “the possessor”.

[80] Surah Al-Anfal, ayah 31

[81] Surah Al-Furqan, ayah 30

[82] Jami’ at-Tirmidhi 3786, https://sunnah.com/tirmidhi:3786

[83] https://dorar.net/hadith/sharh/114850

[84] Famous Arabic poem

[85] Surah Al-‘Alaq, ayaat 6-7

[86] Surah An-Nahl, ayah 98

[87] Surah Al-Jinn, ayah 14

[88] Sunan Ibn Majah 4032, https://sunnah.com/ibnmajah:4032

[89] Mishkat al-Masabih 2281, https://sunnah.com/mishkat:2281

[90] Surah Al-An’am, ayah 112

[91] This discussion is about collective nouns (اِسْمُ الْجَمْعِ) which refers to a group of individuals that is linguistically conceived of as a unit or plural such as humans (الإنسان) and jinn (الجانّ). In order to address an individual element of a collective noun then typically a “tar marbutta” is added at the end. So to refer to individual jinn from the collective, the word is (الجِنّة) which the Qur’an uses in Surah An-Nas because not all jinn are whisperers. In regard to humans the form doesn’t contain a “tar marbutta” but is (الناس). Again this is why the Qur’an uses this (الناس) rather than the collective noun because not all humans are whisperers.

[92] Mazaz Mursal (Metonymy) means using any words which is not the real meaning of it.

[93] Surah Al-i-Imran, ayah 7

[94] Surah Al-Furqan, ayaat 28-29

[95] Surah Ash-Shuraa, ayah 38

Surah Al-Fil

The purpose of the Surah

The Rhetorical Perceptions in the surah

What is the significance of the phrase (أَلَمْ تَرَ) “Have you not seen”?

Why did He say (أَرْسَلَ عَلَيْهِمْ) “He sent against them” instead of (أَرْسَلَ إِلَيهِم) “He sent to them” i.e. using the preposition (عَلَى) instead of (إِلَى)?

Surah Quraysh

The purpose of the Surah

The Rhetorical Perceptions in the surah

What is the significance of presenting winter before summer and hunger before fear?

Compare fear and hunger mentioned in Surah Al-Baqarah with Surah Quraish

Surah Al-Ma’un

The purpose of the Surah

The Rhetorical Perceptions in the surah

What is the difference between (رَأَى) “seen” in this Surah and in Surah Luqman?

Surah Al-Kawthar

The purpose of the Surah

The Rhetorical Perceptions in the surah

What is the link between this surah and the previous surahs?

Why is the pronoun “we” used and not “I” in “We granted you” (أَعْطَيْناكَ)?

Why did Allah say “We granted you” (أَعْطَيْناكَ) and not “We gave you” (آتَيْناكَ)?

Why was (أعطى) used instead of (آتى) when (آتى) is more widely used?

Why did Allah say Al-Kawthar?

Why did Allah mention pray and sacrifice?

Why didn’t He say فَصَلِّ لِلّٰهِ “Pray to Allah” or فَصَلِّ لَنا “Pray to us”?

Why didn’t He say فَصَلِّ لَنا “pray to us”?

Why was the word Lord (الرَبّ) chosen instead of Allah?

What is the significance of the shift in address to the Messenger ﷺ from the first person to the third person?

Why is there an iltifat in فَصَلِّ لِرَبِّكَ وَٱنْحَرْ “So pray and sacrifice to your Lord ˹alone˺”?

Why did the pronoun shift from the first person to the third person?

Why did Allah say (أَنْحُر) and not (ذَبْح)?

Why didn’t He say (تَصْدُق) give charity instead of (أَنْحُر)?

Why didn’t He say (زَكِيَ) pay zakat instead of (أَنْحُر)?

Why didn’t He say (ضحي) instead of (أَنْحُر)?

Why didn’t He say (تقرب) instead of (أَنْحُر)?

What is the definition of the word (الأَبْتَر) and what does it mean?

Why did He say (الأَبْتَر) and not (المَبْتُور) “mutilated”?

Why did He not say: جَعَلْنا شَانِئَكَ هُوَ ٱلْأَبْتَرُ “We made your enemy the one cut off” or سَنَجْعَل شَانِئَكَ هُوَ ٱلْأَبْتَرُ “We will make your enemy the one cut off”?

Surah Al-Kafirun

The purpose of the Surah

The Rhetorical Perceptions in the surah

What is the significance of the tenses (time periods)?

What is the significance of repetition in Surah Al-Kafirun?

What is the difference between (ما) and (مَن) in linguistic usage?

Why is there a difference between the Quranic verse endings (الفَاصِلَة) in Surah Al-Zumar and Surah Al-Kafirun?

Surah An-Nasr

The purpose of the Surah

The Rhetorical Perceptions in the surah

What is the significance of using the verb (جاءَ) “came”?

Surah Al-Masad

The purpose of the Surah

The Rhetorical Perceptions in the surah

What is the grammatical analysis (إِعْراب) of the word (حمّالةَ) “carrier”?

Surah Al-Ikhlas

The purpose of the Surah

The Rhetorical Perceptions in the surah

Why was the definite article (ال) omitted from (أَحَدٌ)?

Is (هُوَ) a separating pronoun (ضَمِير فَصْل)?

What does the word (الصَمَد) mean?

Why was (لَمْ) “not” used which negates the past instead of (لَن) “will not” which negates the future?

Why did Allah only negate the past but not the future?

Surah Al-Falaq

The purpose of the Surah

The Rhetorical Perceptions in the surah

What are the differences between Surat Al-Falaq and Surat An-Nas?

Why did He begin with (الرَبّ)?

Why did Allah being with (قُل) “say”?

Allah swears by the daybreak (الفلق) in exchange for four things. Is the daybreak so great that Allah swears by it?

In Surat Al-Falaq he sought refuge from many things, whereas in Surat An-Nas he sought refuge from only one thing. Why?

Surah An-Nas

The purpose of the Surah

The Rhetorical Perceptions in the surah

What are the differences between Surat Al-Falaq and Surat An-Nas?

What is the meaning of “Say, I seek refuge in the Lord of humankind”?

What is the meaning of (رب الناس, ملك الناس ,إله الناس) “Lord of mankind, the King of mankind, the God of mankind”?

What is the meaning of the whispers and the retreating whisperer?

What is the difference between the use of the word (الناس) “people”?

What are the differences between Surat Al-Falaq and Surat An-Nas?

Notes

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