Unique Correlation between Surah As Sajda and Surah Al Insān (The Surahs Prophet Muhammad ﷺ recited in Fajr prayer on Fridays)

In one of our recent posts on Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, we mentioned that the revered Prophet of Allah used to recite Surah 32. As Sajda and Surah 76. Al Insān in the first and second rakat of pre-dawn prayer Fajr on Fridays. Both these surahs are rather long and one wonders why would Prophet Muhammad ﷺ choose these long surahs for Fajr prayer. Even once some companion asked Prophet Muhammad ﷺ the why and he shrugged him off for there cannot be an explanation for everything, but only Prophets of Allah know the wisdom behind.

While we cannot fathom the realities and wisdom of such acts of prophets, we can find correlation between these two far apart placed surahs. But before we do that do that, let us recapitulate the themes of the two surahs:

Here let us briefly know the two surahs before drawing the correlation between the two:

Surah 32. As Sajda:

• Basic Information: Surah As Sajdah السجدة is the 32nd surah with 30 ayahs with three rukus and one Sajdah, part of the 21st Juzʼ of the Holy Qur'an. The Surah appears to have been sent down during the middle Makkah period, more particularly in its initial stage. 
• Theme: The Surah aims at removing the doubts of the people concerning Tauhid, the Hereafter and the Prophethood, and to invite them to all these three realities. The surah also answers to many doubts of the disbelievers of Makkah when the Prophet extended them invitation to Islam. And the disbelievers have been told: "Most certainly it is Allah's Word, which has been sent down in order to arouse a people who are sunk in heedlessness, being deprived of the bounties and blessings of Prophethood. How can you call it a fabrication when its having been sent down from Allah is manifest and self-evident?"

Surah 76. Al Insān (Man) / also called Surah Al Dahr (The Endless Time):

• Sūrah Al-Insān (The Man) is the 76th surah / chapter of the Holy Qur'an with 31 verses and two rukuh. 
• Theme: The surah has three distinct parts: The opener that briefly touches upon the creation of man from a very humble beginning, the Main which is full of news of bounties for those who lived the life as was expected of them in this life and the plentiful rewards that would be bestowed upon to them in the life in the hereafter, and the Concluding part that is addressed to the Prophet of Allah and is told that Allah sent this Quran gradually according to the issues faced by mankind Allah, the all-powerful, will show mercy only to those who seek mercy, and for those who are proud and arrogant, there will be utter punishment awaiting in the hereafter.

Now we share herein under an enlightening video below on the unique relationship between Surah As Sajda and Surah Al Insān by one of the most eminent scholars of present times, Nouman Ali Khan:

Nouman Ali Khan, born to a Pakistani family, is an American Muslim speaker and Arabic instructor who founded the Bayyinah Institute for Arabic and Qur’anic Studies, after serving as an instructor of Arabic at Nassau Community College. He has been named one of the 500 most influential Muslims in the world by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre of Jordan.

وَمَا عَلَيۡنَاۤ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِيۡنُ‏ 

(36:17) and our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message.”

That is our duty to convey only to you the message that Allah has entrusted us with. Then it is for you to accept it or reject it. We have not been made responsible for making you accept it forcibly, and if you do not accept it, we shall not be seized in consequence of your disbelief, you will yourselves be answerable for your actions on Day of Resurrection.

May Allāh (سبحانه و تعالى‎) help us understand Qur'ān and help us to act upon the commandments of Allah contained therein. May Allah help us to be like the ones He loves and let our lives be lived helping others and not making others' lives miserable or unlivable. May all our wrong doings, whether intentional or unintentional, be forgiven before the angel of death knocks on our door. 

May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in the video above are those of the scholar concerned. We have shared this view as added information in better understanding of Islam. The reader may or may not agree with the view owing to their own perception. If anyone differs with the material contained in this post, one may consult the references and their authors.  If someone has more material about the subject, he/she is most welcome to share in the comments box to make the post all encompassing.

Photo | Read more: Surah As Sajda: | Overview | Exegesis | Surah Al Insān: | Summary | Exegesis |

For more Scholarly views and videos, please read our reference page: Scholars' Viewpoint on Important Issues Related to Islam.

You may also refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Quran.

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Surah As Sajdah -The Prostration: Overview of 32nd Chapter of the Holy Quran

Surah As Sajdah السجدة is the 32nd surah with 30 ayahs with three rukus and one Sajdah, part of the 21st Juzʼ of the Holy Qur'an. The Surah appears to have been sent down during the middle Makkah period, more particularly in its initial stage, for one does not find in its background that severity of the persecution and tyranny which one finds in the Surahs sent down in the later stages. 

The Surah has been titled As-Sajdah after the theme of Sajdah (prostration) as expressed in verse 15, which mentions those who "... fall prostrate and hymn the praise of their Lord". Alternative names of the chapter include Alif Lam Mim Tanzil ("Alif, Lam, Mim, The Revelation") after the first words of the chapter (verses 1 and 2), and Al-Madajiʻ ("The Beds"), after a mention of those who "shun [their] beds" in order to worship God at night (tahajjud).

Sajdah (سجدة) is an Arabic word meaning prostration to Allah in the direction of the Kaaba at Makkah which is usually done during the daily prayers (salat). While in sajdah, the Muslims praise and glorify Allah. The position involves having the forehead, nose, both hands, knees and all toes touching the ground together.

A hadith narrated by Abu Huraira said that Muhammad often recited As-Sajda together with Al-Insan (chapter 76 of the Quran) for the early morning prayer (fajr) every Friday. This report also appears in Tafsir ibn Kathir. Another report said that he often recited the chapter before going to sleep.

Before we post our next post on the exegesis . tafseer of the Surah As Sajdah, it would be appropriate to present an overview of the Surah, its background. The overview is followed by an a commentary on the salients of the surah by Nouman Ali Khan.

The Main Theme

The Surah aims at removing the doubts of the people concerning Tauhid, the Hereafter and the Prophethood, and to invite them to all these three realities. The disbelievers of Makkah, when they talked of the Holy Prophet in private, said to one another, "This person is forging strange things sometimes he gives news of what will happen after death. He says: when you have become dust, you will be called to render your accounts, and there will be Hell and Heaven. Sometimes he says: these gods and goddesses and saints are nonentities: One God alone is the Deity. And sometimes he says: the discourses which I recite are not my own but Allah's Word. All these are strange things which he presents." The answer to these doubts and misgivings forms the theme and subject matter of this Surah.

In this connection, the disbelievers have been told: "Most certainly it is Allah's Word, which has been sent down in order to arouse a people who are sunk in heedlessness, being deprived of the bounties and blessings of Prophethood. How can you call it a fabrication when its having been sent down from Allah is manifest and self-evident?"

Then, they have been asked, "Use your common sense and judge for yourselves which of the things presented by the Quran is strange and novel?Look at the administration of the heavens and the earth: consider your own creation and structure. Don't these things testify to the teaching which this Prophet is presenting before you in the Quran? Does the system of the universe point to Tauhid or to shirk? When you consider this whole system and your own creation, does your intellect testify that the One Who has given you your present existence, will not be able to create you once again?"

Then a scene of the Hereafter has been depicted, the fruits of belief and the evil consequences of disbelief have been mentioned and the people exhorted to give up disbelief even before they meet their doom and accept the teaching of the Quran, which will be to their own advantage in the Hereafter.

Then they have been told: It is Allah's supreme Mercy that He does not seize man immediately for his errors to punish him finally and decisively but warns him beforehand by afflicting him with small troubles and hardships and calamities and losses and strokes of misfortune so that he may wake up and take admonition.

Then it is said: "This is not the first and novel event of its kind that a Book has been sent down upon a man from God. Before this the Book had been sent upon Moses also, which you all know. There is nothing strange in this at which you should marvel. Be assured that this Book has come down from God, and note it well that the same will happen now as has already happened in the time of Moses. Leadership now will be bestowed only on those who will accept this Divine Book. Those who reject it shall be doomed to failure."

Then the disbelievers of Makkah have been admonished to the effect:"See the end of the doomed communities of the past by whose ruined habitations you pass during your trade journeys. Will you like to meet the same doom yourself? Do not be deluded by the apparent and superficial. Today you see that no one is listening to Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace) except a few young men and some slaves and poor men, and he is being made the target of curses and ugly remarks from every side. From this you have formed the wrong impression that his mission will fail. But this is only a deception of your eyes. Don't you see the phenomenon in your daily life that a land previously lying absolutely barren starts swelling with vegetation and plant life everywhere just by a single shower of the rain though before this no one could ever imagine that under the layers of its soil there lay hidden such treasures of greenery and herbage?"

In conclusion, the Holy Prophet has been addressed to the effect: "These people mock at what you say and ask as to when you will attain this decisive victory. Tell them: when the time comes for the final judgment regarding you and us, believing then will not profit you at all. If you have to believe, believe now. But if you intend to await the final judgment, then await it as you please."

You may now like to listen to an enlightening commentary of Surah As Sajdah by Nouman Ali Khan:

You may refer to our post "114 Chapters (Sūrahs) of the Holy Qur'an" for translation, meaning and summary / exegesis of other chapters (Though not complete but building up from 30th Juzʼ / Part backwards for chapters in 30th Juzʼ / Part are shorter and easier to understand). 

Photo | References: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
Reading the Holy Quran should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully.

An effort has been made to gather explanation / exegesis of the surahs of the Holy Qur'an from authentic sources and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. However, the exegesis of the chapters of the Holy Quran are basically based on the "Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Qur'an" by one of the most enlightened scholars of the Muslim World Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi. In addition the references of  other sources which have been explored have also been given above. Those desirous of detailed explanations and tafsir (exegesis), may refer to these sites. 

If you like Islam: My Ultimate Decision, and to keep yourself updated on all our latest posts to know more about Islam, follow us on Facebook
Follow @IslamUltimate

Please share this page to your friends and family members through Facebook, WhatsApp or any means on Social Media so that they can also be benefited by it and better understand Islam and the Holy Qur'an - Insha Allah (Allah Willing) you shall be blessed with the best of both worlds.

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