Surah Nuh "Noah": Summary of 71st Chapter of the Holy Quran

Sūrat Nūḥ (Noah) is the seventy-first surah / chapter of the Quran with 28 ayat and two rukuh, part of the 29th Juz. It is about the Prophet Nūḥ (Noah, peace be upon him) and the great flood that followed as a wrath of Allah on people who disobeyed the Divine message conveyed to them through Prophet Nuh. It may be added for information that the Part / Juz 29 of the Holy Qur'an generally includes surahs that provide the guidelines of doing da’wah (preaching the word of Allah) and the essential character required of a da’ee (the preacher).

This surah is said to have been revealed in Makkah at a time when the opposition to the Holy Prophet's message of Islam by the pagans of Makkah had grown very intense, offensive and unbearable in their rejection of the Message. Thus one can understand the purpose of revelation of this surah to serve as a lesson as well as a caution to those who mock and oppose the prophets of Allah, the same attitude as the people of the Prophet Nūḥ had adopted towards him, that is; "If you do not change this attitude, you too would meet with the same end." This had not been said in so many words anywhere in the Surah, but in the background of the conditions under which this story was narrated to the people of Makkah, this subject itself became obvious.

We may also conclude that since people of Prophet Nuh were unable to grasp the idea of the existence of one Allah, the lives of Prophets Muhammad and Nuh are parallel to each other. The surah was used to increase the faith of the believers; it shows that Prophet Nuh too  before Prophet Muhammad had difficulties in dealing with the disbelievers of his time.

Although, we have already published the story of Prophet Nuh (Noah) and the Great Flood earlier in our blog, this post is related to Surah Nuh as given in the Holy Qur'an. However, this surah is limited only to the Prophet Nuh's efforts to call his people to the Divine message and his lamentation when they refused that resulted into the the big flood. The post above describes in detail the making of the big boat, the great flood and its aftermath by taking references from the Holy Qur'an whereever these occur to complete the total picture.

Let us now read explanation of the Surah segmented into portions as per the subject matter. Surah segmented into portions as per the subject matter:

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ 

"In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful"

The opening verses 1-4 briefly explain how he began his mission and what he preached.

1) We sent Noah to his people (and directed him): “Warn your people before a grievous chastisement comes upon them.” 2) Noah said: “My people, I have certainly been sent as a clear warner to you, 3) that you serve Allah and fear Him, and follow me; 4) He will forgive your sins and will grant you respite until an appointed term.4 Indeed when Allah's appointed term comes, it cannot be deferred; if you only knew!” 

The preaching of Prophet Nuh's mission for ages the report that he made to his Lord has been given in verses 5-20. In it he states how he had been trying to bring his people to the right path and how his people had stubbornly opposed him.

5) He said:7 “My Lord, I called my people by night and by day, 6) but the more I called, the farther they fled. 7) And every time I called them so that You might forgive them, they thrust their fingers into their ears and wrapped up their faces with their garments and obstinately clung to their attitude, and waxed very proud.

The verses 6-7 above means the more Prophet Nuh called them to come to the truth, the more they avoided it. Every time he preached the Message, he though they would submit and Allah will forgive them. But stubborn as they were, it seemed that they had rather closed their ears so as not to hear the prophet's calling. This is similar to what the unbelievers of Quraysh did, as recorded in the Qur’an [Surah Fussilat ayah 26] wherein Allah says, “And those who disbelieve say, ‘Listen not to this Qur’an, and make noise in the midst of its (recitation) that you may overcome.”  In (Surah Houd, 11: 5), a similar attitude of the people of Makkah has been described: Unquestionably, they the disbelievers turn away their breasts to hide themselves from Him. Unquestionably, [even] when they cover themselves in their clothing, Allah knows what they conceal and what they declare. Indeed, He is Knowing of that within the breasts.

8) Then I summoned them openly, 9) and preached to them in public, and also addressed them in secret. 10) I said to them: “Ask forgiveness from your Lord; surely He is Most Forgiving.

All apostles of Allah have always asked their people to ask forgiveness from Allah for he is surely the most forgiving. And this message has been sent in many surahs of the Holy Qur'an .

• In Surah AI-Ma'idah (verse 66)  it has been said: "Had the people of the Book observed the Torah and the Gospel and the other Books which had been sent down by their Lord, abundance of provisions would have been given to them from above and from beneath." 
• In Al-A`Raf (verse 96): "Had the people of the settlements believed and adopted the way of piety, We would have opened on them doors of blessings from the heavens and the earth." 
• In Surah Hud (verse 52), the Prophet Hud addressed his people, saying: "And O my people, beg forgiveness of your Lord, then turn to Him in penitence, and He will open the gates of heavens for you and add more strength to your present strength." 
• Through the Holy Prophet himself in this very Surah Hud (verse 3), the people of Makkah have been admonished to the effect: "And you should beg forgiveness of your Lord, then return to Him, and He will provide you with good provisions of life till an appointed term." 
• According to the Hadith, the Holy Prophet said to the Quraish: "There is a word which. if you accept, would enable you to rule over the Arab as well as the non-Arab world." 

11) He will shower upon you torrents from heaven,  12) and will provide you with wealth and children, and will bestow upon you gardens and rivers.

Verses 10-11 are so powerful that once during a famine Hadrat `Umar came out to invoke Allah for the rain and begged only forgiveness of Allah. The people said: "O Commander of the Faithful. you have not prayed for the rain." He replied: "I have knocked at the doors of heaven where from the rain is sent down", and then he recited these verses of Surah Nuh to them. (Ibn Jarir, Ibn Kathir). Likewise, when in the assembly of Hadrat Hasan Basri, a person complained of drought, he said to him "Beg forgiveness of Allah." Another person complained of poverty, a third one said .that he was not being blessed with children, a fourth one said that his harvest had failed, and he continued to remind everyone to beg forgiveness of Allah. The people asked: "How is it that you have suggested to all the people one and the same cure for the different complaints? He in response recited these verses of Surah Nuh to them" (Al-Kashshaf).

13) What is amiss with you that you do not look forward to the majesty of Allah 14) when He has created you in stages? 15) Do you not see how Allah has created seven heavens, one upon the other, 16) and has placed the moon in them as a light, and the sun as a radiant lamp? 7) And Allah has caused you to grow out of the earth so wondrously, 18) and He will later cause you to return to it and will then again bring you out of it. 19) Allah has made the earth a wide expanse for you 20) so that you may tread its spacious paths.” 

The Prophet Noah's final submission has been recorded in verses 21-24, and shares his utter disappointment about his people: "These people have rejected my invitation: they are blindly following their chiefs, who have devised a tremendous plot of deceit and cunning. Time now has come when these people should be deprived of every grace to accept guidance." For some, it may seem that the prophet got impatient by the continued refusal by his people to his call. In fact Prophet Nuh is said to have invoked Allah to send His wrath on his people after he had tried for almost 950 years but they did not budge. This reveals to us the amount of patience that Allah and His prophet have for people. They remained adamant in their stubbornness but he continued to preach for nine centuries until he had enough.

21) Noah said: “My Lord, they did not pay heed to what I said, and followed those (nobles) whose possession of wealth and children has led them to an even greater loss. 22) They contrived a plot of great magnitude.

In verse 23, out of the gods of the Prophet Noah’s people only those gods have been mentioned whom later the people of Arabia had also started worshiping and whose shrines were found all over the country at the advent of Islam. It is not impossible that the later generations heard the names of the ancient gods of Noah’s people from the people who were saved from the flood, and when ignorance once again spread among their children, they made idols of the same gods and started worshiping them again.

23) They said: “Do not abandon your deities; do not abandon Wadd, nor Suwa, nor Yaghuth, nor Yauq, nor Nasr.

As for the gods names above:

• Wadd was the god of the Bani Kalb bin Wabash, a branch of the Qudaah tribe, whose shrine had been built at Daumat al-Jandal. In the ancient Arabian inscriptions he has been named as Waddam ibam (father Wadd). Kalbi has stated that the image built to him was of a man of enormous size. The Quraish also acknowledged him as god and called him Wudd. It is after him that a person has been named Abd-i Wudd (slave of Wudd) in history.
• Suwa was the goddess of the Hudhayl tribe and her idol was a female figure. Her temple was situated at Ruhat near Yanbu.
• Yaghuth was the god of Anum, a branch of the Tay tribe, and of some branches of the Madhjih tribe. The people of Madhjih had installed its idol, the image of a lion, at Jurash, a place between Yaman and Hijaz. Among the Quraish also some people had been named Abd-i Yaghuth.
• Yauq was the god of Khaywan, a branch of the Hamdan tribe, in the territory of Hamdan in Yaman; its idol was of the horse’s figure.
• Nasr was the god of Al-i dhul-Kula, a branch of the Himyar tribe, in the territory of Himyar; it had its idol installed at Balkha and had the image of the vulture. In the ancient inscriptions of Saba its name has been written as Nasor. Its temple was called bayt Nasor (house of Nasor) and its devotees ahl Nasor (people of Nasor). The ruins of the ancient temples that are found in Arabia and in the adjoining lands have the image of the vulture made on the doors of most of them. 

24) They have misled many. So do not enable these evildoers to increase in anything except straying (from the Right Way).” 

When no chance of their acceptance or coming to the Right Path was left, eventually Allah’s punishment descended and they were wiped out as mentioned in the verse 25. 

25) And so they were drowned on account of their sins, and then cast into the Fire, and did not find any other than Allah, to come forth to their help. 

and just drowning was not their end, but after death their souls were immediately subjected to the punishment of the Fire. This precisely was the treatment that was meted out to Pharaoh and his people, as has been stated in (Surah Al-Momin, Ayats 45-46). This verse also indicates the punishment of barzakh (intermediary stage between death and Resurrection). The second of the verse 25 means that none of the gods whom they looked upon as their supporters and helpers came to their rescue. This, in fact, was a warning to the people of Makkah, as if to say: If you too are subjected to the torment of Allah, these gods on whom you have placed all your reliance, will avail you absolutely nothing.

In the concluding verses, the Prophet Noah's supplication that he made to his Lord, right at the time the torment descended, has been recorded. In it he prays for his own and for all the believers' forgiveness, and makes a submission to Allah to the effect: "Do not leave any of the disbelievers alive on the earth, for they have become utterly devoid of every good: they will not beget any but disbelieving and wicked descendants."

26) Noah said: “My Lord, do not leave out of these unbelievers even a single dweller on earth, 27) for certainly if You should leave them (alive), they will mislead Your servants, and will beget none but sinners and utter unbelievers. 28) My Lord, forgive me and my parents, and whoever enters my house as a believer, and forgive all believers, both men and women, and do not increase the wrong-doers in anything except perdition.”

This surah in fact points towards patience of the prophets of Allah. But when after long efforts and hard labour to convince the non believers to the Divine commandments, if they are unsuccessful and call out to Allah, then Allah certainly listens to their lamentations and sends down His wrath that does not spare no one and is nothing but complete destruction.

So those who read this post and do not believe in Allah and His last religion should take a time out to sturdy Islam and if it is done with a genuine quest to find the truth, they will, God willing the truth will be unfolded unto them and will enlighten their souls and life - both in this word and the hereafter.

You may now like to listen to Arabic recitation of Sūrat Nūḥ  with English subtitles:

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

Photo | References: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 
An effort has been made to gather explanation of the surahs of the Holy Qur'an from authentic souses and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. However, those wanting detailed explanations and tafsir (exegesis), may refer to sites the references of which are given above.

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How should Muslims react to Instigative Emotional Accesses

Islam is the fastest growing religion of the world and many countries are fearing that in time Islam may overtake Christianity which at present dominates the religion chart. Many non Muslims, instead of acknowledging the main cause of true growth rate, attribute the larger family size the cause of the fast growth rate of Muslims. But the fact of the matter is that most non Muslims embracing Islam confess that they finally found the truth in Islam and they had had no regret leaving their faith of birth. As per one estimate, there are 2.1 billion Christians while Islam is just trailing closely with 1.3 billion Muslims around the globe.

These 'alarming' figures make many worry and thus there is a deliberate effort of propagating the concept of "Islamophobia" and funding mercenaries and dissidents in the garb of ISIS and other terrorist groups to destabilize the world peace and thus throw all blame of the unrest on Islam. In most European countries, where Islam is the second major religion, a wave of disinformation is being spread twisting verses of Qur'an or using them out of context to mislead people and show supremacy of Bible. I have written a post earlier on the subject "Disinformation about Islam" quoting many Christian sites which aim to spread disinformation and have given counter arguments to put the records straight.

However, those feeling threatened by spread of Islam have now started another campaign: Maligning the Prophet of Allah, Muhammad (peace be upon him) by publishing derogatory caricatures to instigate Muslims to retaliate and then label Islam as violent and terrorist. The Charlie Hebdo of Paris did exactly the same which disturbed peace due to retaliation of Muslims. Instead of condemning the newspaper for the instigative caricatures, millions around the world who had likely never picked up a copy of Charlie Hebdo embraced the slogan "Je suis Charlie" in solidarity

While much of the (Christian) world has rallied in solidarity with the publication, its irreverent cartoonists and their right to free speech, there were some saner rejections too. Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, a U.S. organization that "defends the rights of Catholics," issued a statement titled "Muslims are right to be angry." In it, Donohue criticized the publication's history of offending the world's religiously devout, including non-Muslims. In fact his statement ended with a quote from U.S. founding father James Madison: "Liberty may be endangered by the abuses of liberty, as well as by the abuses of power." In other words, we may be free to speak, but we have to appreciate the value of that right.

But not learning any lessons from the French episode of defaming the Prophet of Islam, only this year in June, Geert Wilders, a member of Netherlands parliamentarian decided to hold a competition on caricatures of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in November this year. This time it drew much criticism from around the world, specially Pakistan, and Geert Wilders was forced to cancel the competition, but has vowed to still go ahead with his sinister plan sometime in future. For he is of the opinion: “The contest is not meant to provoke, but to show that we do not haggle with our freedom.”

The very purpose of such instigative emotional accesses is very clear: To hurt Muslims by hitting at the revered personality of the last messenger of Allah, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) by taking the cover of freedom of speech and expression. And when Muslims retaliate, they should be labelled as terrorists and violators of world peace. But they fail to understand that despite all their negativities about Islam, people are still attracted to Islam and everyday more and more non Muslims come under the fold of Islam for they believe they have finally found the truth. Please read many such personal experiences shared in our blog under the heading of Embracing Islam.

Now how should Muslims react to this emotional instigation? We as Muslims must understand that Islam is religion of peace and that is how the Prophet of Allah it demonstrated by His daily routine of life, expecting Muslims to emulate His life, live peacefully and spread the message by their peaceful behaviour so that others are naturally attracted to Islam, Killing in response to insult, no matter how gross, must be unequivocally condemned.

Here I would like to quote a few instances from the practical life of the Prophet of Allah to show how he always exercised restraint even in the face of extreme provocation and maltreatment:

• Once while in the company of His companions, a person walked in and straightaway went to the Prophet of Allah and demanded return of money that the Prophet had taken as a loan from. Now well imagine, a person of the stature of a prophet, yet He was so hard pressed to obtain loan from others. While the Prophet asked for some time, the man got furious and took old of the collar of Prophet's shirt. This naturally infuriated the companions and they got up to take the man away. But the Prophet of Allah mentioned them to stay calm and said: Since I owe him, he has all the right to demand it back. 
• There was a disbeliever old women who whenever the Prophet walked past her house, she would throw garbage on her. But the Prophet never uttered a word or showed any reaction. And one day when the Prophet passed by her home and she did not get out, the Prophet knocked her house to inquire whether she was well or otherwise.
• When the Prophet of Allah visited Taif for conveying the message of Allah, the disbelievers of the city not only rejected Him outrightly and stoned him to an extent that his whole body was covered in blood. Seeing the plight of His prophet, Allah sent His angel Jibraeel (Gabriel) for help. Angel Gabriel asked the Prophet that if he allowed,  He (angel Gabriel) could bring devastation on the people who have so hurt the Prophet of Allah. But Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) told him not to do anything of the sort, for one day people of city would repent their action and come under the fold of Islam. And after capture of Makkah, the entire people living in the lands around including Taif embraced Islam.

What do these incidents show: Restraint even in the face of extreme provocation. And this is the lesson that we have to learn and exhibit in true letter and spirit. In fact the degradation of status of Prophet of Allah is acceptance of His high status which threatens the non Muslims and is one of the major causes of many of them embracing Islam for the entire life of the Prophet has been a role model for all future generations.

It is now our duty as Muslims to not only inculcate the habits and lifestyle of the Prophet in our personalities and exhibit the same practically in our daily life so that non Muslims take a carry-able impression and seek truth and become Muslims. 

In the wake of recent acts of violence, see how the Australian newspaper has captioned the news and how one of our recently converted Muslim friend responded in his message on the Facebook:

We should also try to dispel the wrong picture painted about Islam and Prophet of Allah and try to explain the true message of Islam that is embodied in the Holy Qur'an and infused in the life of the Holy Prophet, for He was a walking Qur'an for no action of His ever defied the message contained in Qur'an and commandments of Allah. The disinformation spread deliberately against Islam and Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) needs to be dispelled with by reasoning and logics and not by emotional outburst and violence which will take people away from Islam and paint it as violent and inhuman. The message of peace of Islam would get blurred by our illogical and emotional response to the machinations and Instigative Emotional Accesses by the non Muslims.

Now listen to the video below of the learned Islamic scholar Professor Ghamdi on the subject and understand how Muslims should react when someone tries to instigate them emotionally. (The video is in Urdu)

So Muslims, please cling to the peaceful Islam and do not get lured into Instigative Emotional Accesses by the non Muslims and DO NOT act irrationally by resorting to violence. Remember, reasoning and logic is much effective response than violence. Indulge into discussions with non Muslims to tell them What is Right and the plain Truth, rather then arguing with them to prove who is right.

Photo | References: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |

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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Surah Al-Jinn "The Jinn" : Summary of 72nd Chapter of Holy Quran

Sūrat al-Jinn, the 72nd surah with 28 verses and two rukuh was revealed in the later part of Prophet of Allah's stay in Makkah and is part of 29th Juz / part of the Holy Qur'an. As is evident form its name, the surah specifically attributed to Jinns, the unseen inhabitants of the earth made from the smokeless fire. Like human beings, they too are good or bad and Muslim and Non Muslim creatures. However, jinns and demons (shayāṭīn) are different entities in Islamic traditions and should not be taken as one and the same thing.

In this surah the event of the Jinn's hearing the Qur'an and returning to their people to preach Islam to them, has been related in detail. It has been quoted on the authority of Hadrat Abdullah bin Abbas that once while the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) was going to visit the Fair of Ukaz with some of his Companions, he led the Fajr Prayer at Nakhlah. At that time a company of the jinn happened to pass that way. When they heard the Qur'an being recited, they stopped and listened to it attentively. 

Here it would be pertinent to clear a misunderstanding about the time and space of happening of the incident mentioned above. As asserted by Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi in his book "Tafhim al-Qur'an" most of the commentators believe that this incident relates to the Holy Prophet's well known journey to Taif, which had taken place three years before the Hijrah in the 10th year of the Prophet hood. But this is not correct for several reasons: [1]

• The jinn's hearing the Qur'an during the journey to Taif has been related in Al-Ahqaf 29-32. A cursory reading of those verses shows that the jinn who had believed after hearing the Qur'an on that occasion were already believers in the Prophet Moses and the previous scriptures. 
• On the contrary, verses. 2- 7 of this surah clearly show that the jinn who heard the Qur'an on this occasion were polytheists and deniers of the Hereafter and Prophet hood. 
• Then, it is confirmed historically that in his journey to Taif none accompanied the Holy Prophet except Hadrat Zaid bin Harithah. On the contrary, concerning this journey Ibn Abbas says that the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) was accompanied by some of his Companions.
• Furthermore, the traditions also agree that in that journey the jinn heard the Qur'an when the Holy Prophet had stopped at Nakhlah on his return journey from Taif to Makkah, and in this journey, according to the traditions of Ibn Abbas, the event of the jinn's hearing the Qur'an occurred when the Holy Prophet was going to Ukaz from Makkah. 
• Therefore, in view of these reasons what seems to be correct is that in Surah Al-Ahqaf and Surah Al Jinn, one and the same event has not been narrated, but these were two separate events, which took place during two separate journeys.

Let us now read explanation of the Surah segmented into portions for better understanding:

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ 

"In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful"

The first fifteen verses of this surah deliberate on the impact of the Qur'an on the company of the jinn when they heard it and what they said to their fellow jinn when they returned to them. Allah, in this connection, has not cited their whole conversation but only those particular things which were worthy of mention. If one studies these sentences spoken by the jinn carefully, one can easily understand the real object of the narration of this event of their affirming the faith and or mentioning this conversation of theirs with their people in the Qur'an. 

The first verse shows that the jinn at that time were not visible to the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace), nor he knew that they were hearing the Qur'an being recited, but Allah informed him of the incident afterwards by Revelation.  The words at the end of the first verse are "Quran-un-ajaba," Ajab is a superlative, which is used in Arabic for a wonderful thing. So, what the jinn said means: We have heard such a wonderful recital which is unique both in its language and in its subject-matter.

1) Say, (O Prophet), it was revealed to me that a band of jinn attentively listened to (the recitation of the Qur'an) and then (went back to their people) and said:

The verse 2 below shows that  jinn not only hear what human beings say but also understand their language. The exclamation by the jinns thus clearly shows that the jinn who listened to the Quran at that time were so conversant with the Arabic language that they not only appreciated the matchless eloquence of the divine word but also understood its sublime subject-matter.

2) “We have indeed heard a wonderful Qur'an which guides to the Right Way; so we have come to believe in it, and we will not associate aught with Our Lord in His Divinity”;

This verse also highlights three things: (1) That the jinn do not deny Allah’s existence and His being Lord and Sustainer. (2) That among them there are polytheists also, who like polytheistic human beings ascribe divinity to others than Allah: thus, the community of the jinn whose members heard the Quran was polytheistic. (3) That the Prophethood and revelation of divine scriptures does not exist among the jinn, but whoever of them believe, they believe in the Prophets raised among human beings and in the Books brought by them. This same thing is confirmed by Surah Al-Ahqaf, verses 29-30, where it has been stated that the jinn who had then heard the Quran, were from among the followers of the Prophet Moses (peace be upon him), and they after having heard the Quran, had invited their people to believe in the revelation that had been sent down by Allah confirming the previous scriptures.  Surah Ar-Rahman (Chapter 55) also points to the same, for its whole subject-matter shows that the audience of the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) invitation are both the men and the jinn.

3) and that “He – exalted be His Majesty – has not taken to Himself either a wife or a son”;

It is evident from the verse 3 above that those jinn were either from among the Christian community of jinn, or they were followers of a different religion in which Allah was regarded as having children and families. And thus they realized the error of their creed and knew that it was sheer ignorance and impudence to ascribe wife and children to the High and Exalted Being of Allah.

4) and that “the foolish among us have been want to say outrageous things about Allah”;

In verse 4, the Arabic word  "safihuna" has been used, which can be spoken for an individual as well as for a group. If it is taken for a foolish individual, it would imply Iblis and if for a group, it would imply a group of foolish jinn who said such things.

5) and that “we had thought that men and jinn would never speak a lie about Allah”,

As for explanation of verse 6, it has been attributed to Ibn Abbas who said: In the pre-Islamic days of ignorance when the Arabs had to spend a night in some uninhabited, desolate valley, they would shout out: We seek refuge of the jinn, who is owner of this valley. And if wandering Bedouins ran short of water and fodder, they would send one of their men to some other place to see if water and fodder were available; and when they reached the new site under his direction, they would shout out before they halted to pitch the camp: We seek refuge of the sustainer of this valley so that we may live here in peace from every calamity. They believed that every un-inhabited place was under the control of one or another jinn and if someone stayed there without seeking his refuge, the jinn would either himself trouble the settlers, or would let others trouble them. These believing jinn are referring to this very thing.

6) and that “some from among the humans used to seek protection of some among the jinn, and thus they increased the arrogance of the jinn”;

7) and that “they thought, even as you thought, that Allah would never raise anyone (as a Messenger)”; 8) and that “we tried to pry (the secrets of) the heaven, but we found it full of terrible guards and shooting meteors”;

The Judgement in verse 7, and the Punishment in verse 25 below, are both references to the Yaum al Qiyamah or the Day of Resurrection.

9) and that “we would take up stations in the heaven to try to hear but anyone who now attempts to listen finds a shooting meteor in wait for him”;

Verse 9: This is the reason why these jinn were now out searching as to what particularly had happened or was going to happen on the earth, which had necessitated strict security measures against eavesdropping so that they were driven away from wherever they tried to eavesdrop in any way.

10) and that “we do not know whether evil is intended for those on the earth, or whether their Lord intends to direct them to the Right Way”;

The verse 10 above means that such extraordinary measures were adopted in the heavens only on two kinds of occasions.

• First, when Allah might decide to inflict the dwellers of the earth with a torment, and the divine will might be that before it was actually inflicted the jinn might not know and convey its news to warn their friendly human beings of the impending disaster. 
• Second, that Allah might appoint a Messenger on the earth, and strict security measures might be adopted so that neither the messages being conveyed to him be interfered with by the satans nor should they be able to know beforehand what instructions were being given to the Messenger. 
• Thus, the saying of the jinn means: When we noticed that strict security measures had been adopted in the heavens for the safeguard of the news, and the meteorites were being showered profusely, we wanted to know which of the two things had happened. And we were on the lookout for the same when we heard the wonderful revelation, which guides to the right path, and we came to know that Allah had not sent down a torment but had raised a Messenger to show the right way to the people. 

11) and that “some of us are upright and some of us are otherwise for we follow widely divergent paths”; 12) and that “we thought that we will neither be able to frustrate Allah on earth, nor frustrate Him by flight”; 13) and that “when we heard the teaching of the Right Way we came to believe in it; he who believes in His Lord shall have no fear of suffering loss or being subjected to any injustice”;

The verses 11-14 above can be explained as under:

• 11) That is there are also good and bad jinn, and all do not follow one and the same religion, but we (jinn) are divided into different groups. With these words the believing jinn want to convince the other jinn of their community that they certainly stood in need of finding out the right way and could not dispense with this need.
• 12) That is we were not fearless of Allah and we believed that we would not be able to avoid His punishment if we disobeyed Him. So when we heard the divine revelation that had been sent to show the right way, we could not have the courage and boldness to persist in the beliefs that our foolish people had spread among us after we have known the truth.
• 13) Fear of deprivation: Fear of being given a lesser reward than what one actually deserves for one’s good deeds. Injustice: That one may be deprived of the reward for the good deeds done but duly punished for the errors committed or punished innocent; no believer has any fear of such an injustice from Allah. 

14) and that “among us some are Muslims (Those who have submitted to Allah), and some of us are deviant. So those who became Muslims found the Right Course; 15) but those who deviated from the Truth, will be the fuel for Hell.”

In verses 16-l8, the people have been admonished to the effect:"If you refrain from polytheism and follow the way of righteousness firmly, you will be blessed; otherwise if you turn away from the admonition sent down by Allah, you will meet with a severe punishment." 

16) If people were to keep firmly to the Right Way, We would have vouchsafed them abundant rain. 17) so that We might try them through this bounty.17 Whoso turns away from the remembrance of his Lord,18 He will cause him to suffer a grievous chastisement; 18) and that “mosques belong to Allah, so do not invoke anyone with Him”;

In verses 19-23, the disbelievers of Makkah have been reproached, as if to say: When the Messenger of Allah calls you towards Allah, you surround and mob him from every side, whereas the only duty of the Messenger is to convey the messages of Allah. He does not claim to have any power to bring any gain or cause any harm to the people." 

19) and when Allah's servant [that is the Prophet (peace be upon him)] stood up to call on Him, they well-nigh swarmed him.

Verses 20-22 are especially important as Monotheism (tawhid) among the Jinn is reaffirmed and the inescapable wrath of God is emphasized.

20) Say, (O Prophet): “I call on my Lord alone, and I do not associate aught with Him in His Divinity.” 21) Say: “Surely neither it is in my power to hurt you nor to bring you to the Right Way.” 22) Say: “None can protect me from Allah, nor can I find a refuge apart from Him.

23) (My task is no more than) to deliver Allah's proclamation and His messages. And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger, surely the Fire of Hell awaits him; therein he will abide in perpetuity.”

In verses 24-25 the disbelievers have been warned to the effect: "Today you are trying to overpower and suppress the Messenger seeing that he is helpless and friendless, but a time will come when you will know who in actual fact is helpless and friendless. Whether that time is yet far off, or near at hand, the Messenger has no knowledge thereof, but it will come to pass in any case." 

24) (They shall not change their ways) until they see that against which they had been warned, and then they will know whose helpers are weaker and whose supporters are fewer in number. 25) Say: “I know not whether what you are promised is near or whether my Lord will prolong its term.

Verses 25-28 establish that Qiyamah is known only to God, and that God takes into account all the deeds of a man when judging him. 

In conclusion, the people have been told: The Knower of the unseen is Allah alone. The Messenger receives only that knowledge which Allah is pleased to give him. This knowledge pertains to matters connected with the performance of the duties of Prophethood and it is delivered to him in such security which does not admit of any external interference whatever.

You may now like to listen to Arabic recitation of Sūrat al-Jinn with English subtitles:

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

Photo | References: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
An effort has been made to gather explanation of the surahs of the Holy Qur'an from authentic souses and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. However, those wanting detailed explanations and tafsir (exegesis), may refer to sites the references of which are given above.

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
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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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Surat al-Qiyamah "The Resurrection": Summary of 75th Chapter of the Holy Quran

Sūrat al-Qiyāmah is the 75th surah / chapter of the Holy Qur'an part of the 29th part / juz. It has 40 verses and two rukuh. Since the subject matter of the surah is 'The Resurrection", it has been so named with Al-Qiyamah also appearing in the first verse.

Owing to the subject matter, Sūrat al-Qiyāmah is one of the earliest Surahs which were revealed in Makkah. Although the subject matter mainly hinges on the Resurrection, there is a parenthetical passage between verse 15 and 20, when the discourse is suddenly interrupted and the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) told: "Do not move your tongue to remember this Revelation hastily. It is Our responsibility to have it remembered and read. Therefore, when We are reciting it, listen to its recital carefully. Again, it is Our responsibility to explain its meaning."  This interruption has been made here for the reason that when the Angel Jibraeel (Gabriel) was reciting this Surah to the Holy Prophet, the Holy Prophet, lest he should forget its words later, was repeating them at the same moment. This in fact happened at the time when the coming down and receipt of Revelation was yet a new experience for him and he was not yet fully used to receiving it calmly. There are two other instances also of this in the Qur'an. First, in Surah Ta Ha (v. 114) the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) has been told: "And see that you do not hasten to recite the Qur'an before its revelation is completed to you.". Then, in Surah Al-A'la (v. 6) it has been said: "We shall enable you to recite:, then you shall never forget." Later, when the Holy Prophet became fully used to receiving the Revelation well, there remained no need to give him any such instruction. That is why except for these, three, there is no other instance of this in the Qur'an.

Scholars and interpreters of the Holy Qur'an are of the view that most of the Surahs, from here till the end of the Qur'an, in view of their content and style, seem to have been sent down in the period when after the first seven verses of Surah Al-Muddaththir, the 74th Chapter / surah, revelation of the Qur'an began like a shower of rain:Thus, in the successively revealed Surahs Islam and its fundamental concepts and moral teachings were presented so forcefully and effectively in pithy, brief sentences and the people of Makkah warned so vehemently on their errors and deviations that the Quraish chiefs were utterly confounded. 

Although just 40 verses long, it took me quite a while to understand this surah from various tafsirs /exegeses its theme and the message. That is why the readers would find explanations rather longish fro I could not shorten these from the source exegeses  lest the meaning were lost and not understood. So do take a time out to understand this surah. Also be mindful of the fact that the main theme revolves around the Resurrection - but there is a a "time out" between verses 15 and 20 a portion which is addressed to the Prophet of Allah alone. Why that is so, read the explanation given below.

Let us now read explanation of the Surah segmented into portions as per the subject matter. Surah segmented into portions as per the subject matter.

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ 

"In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful"

To begin the discourse with "Nay" by itself indicates that the Surah was sent down to refute some argument which was already in progress. The theme that follows shows that the argument was about Resurrection and life after death, which the people of Makkah were denying and also mocking at it at the same time. This can be understood by an example. If a person only wants to affirm the truth of the Messenger, he will say: "By God, the Messenger has come with the truth." But if some people might be denying the truth of the Messenger, he in response would rejoin, thus: “Nay, by God, the Messenger has come with the truth." It would mean: "That which you say is not true. I swear that the truth is this and this."

1. Nay, I swear by the Day of Resurrection; 2. And nay I swear by the self-reproaching person (a believer). 

The Qur'an has mentioned three kinds of human self: (1) Ammarah: the self that urges man to evil; (2) Lawwamah: the self that feels repentant at doing wrong, thinking wrong and willing wrong and reproaches man for this; and the same is called Conscience in modern terminology; and (3) Mumta'innah: the self that feels full satisfaction at following the right path and abandoning the wrong path.

In the verses 1 and 2 above. the thing for which. Allah has sworn an oath by the Resurrection (al- Qiyamah) and the self-reproaching Self, has not been mentioned, for the following sentence (verse 3) itself points it out. The oath has been sworn to stress the truth that Allah will certainly resurrect man after death and He has full power to do so. Now, the question arises: What is the relevance of swearing an oath by these two truths to this thing?

As for the Day of Resurrection, the reason of swearing by it is certainty. The whole system of the universe testifies that it is neither eternal nor everlasting. Its own nature tells that it has neither existed since eternity nor can last till eternity. Human intellect has never had any strong argument to support the baseless view that this ever changing world could have existed since ever and would last for ever. But as the knowledge of man about this world increases, it becomes more clearer for man that this workhouse of life had a beginning in time before which it was not, and necessarily it has also an end in time. For this reason, Allah has sworn an oath by Resurrection itself on the occurrence of Resurrection.

3. Does man (a disbeliever) think that We shall not assemble his bones? 4. Yes, We are Able to put together in perfect order the tips of his fingers.

Third argument has been given to prove that life after death is possible. The people of Makkah who denied it, often said: "How can it be that the people who died hundreds of thousands of years ago, whose bodies have disintegrated into particles and mixed in the dust, whose bones decayed and were scattered away by the winds, some of whom were burnt to ashes, others devoured by the beasts of prey, still others drowned in the seas and swallowed by fish, the material constituents of their bodies should re-assemble and every man should rise up as the same person that he once was ten or twenty thousand years before? Allah has given its very rational and highly forceful reply in the form of this brief question: "Does man think that We shall not be able to put his bones together?" That is, "If you had been told that the scattered particles of your body would reunite of their own accord some time in the future, and you would come back to life by yourself with this very body, you would no doubt have been justified in regarding it as impossible. But what you have actually been told is that such a thing will not happen by itself, but Allah Almighty will do this. Now, do you really think that the Creator of the universe, Whom you yourself also regard as the Creator, would be powerless to do so?" This was such a question in answer to which nobody who believed in God to be the Creator of the universe; could say, neither then nor today, that even God Himself could not do this even if He so willed. And if a disbeliever says such a thing, he can be asked: How did God in the first instance make the body in which you at present exist, by gathering its countless particles together from the air, water and earth and many other places you know not what, and how can you say that the same God cannot gather its constituent parts together once again?

5. Nay! (Man denies Resurrection and Reckoning. So) he desires to continue committing sins. 6. He asks: “When will be this Day of Resurrection?” 7. So, when the sight shall be dazed, 8. And the moon will be eclipsed,  9. And the sun and moon will be joined together (by going one into the other or folded up or deprived of their light, etc.) 10. On that Day man will say: “Where (is the refuge) to flee?” 11. No! There is no refuge! 12. Unto your Lord (Alone) will be the place of rest that Day. 13. On that Day man will be informed of what he sent forward (of his evil or good deeds), and what he left behind (of his good or evil traditions). 14. Nay! Man will be a witness against himself [as his body parts (skin, hands, legs, etc.) will speak about his deeds]. 15. Though he may put forth his excuses (to cover his evil deeds).

The painting of the picture of the Day of Resurrection in verses 5-15 above explains it all - answering all baseless questions of the pagans of Makkah who denied the end day merely to continue enjoying their leisures and pleasures, for if they believed what the Prophet of Allah was conveying to them, then they would have had o choice but to give in and brace for their dreadful ending - a day when their own body parts would bear witness to their wrong doings which would finally lead them to the blazing fires of hell.

Now here is the interruption from the subject matter, verses 16-19 below, wherein Allah takes upon Himself to make His commandments clear to His Prophet:

16. (O Prophet),11 do not stir your tongue hastily (to commit the Revelation to memory). 17. Surely it is for Us to have you commit it to memory and to recite it. 18. And so when We recite it, follow its recitation attentively; 19. then it will be for Us to explain it.

This exclusive passage here is for a reason: In the initial stage of the Prophet-hood when the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) receiving the Revelations, he was afraid whether he would be able to remember exactly what the Angel Gabriel recited to him or not. Therefore, he would try to commit to memory rapidly what he heard from the Angel simultaneously. Therefore, interrupting what was being revealed, the holy Prophet was instructed to the effect: "Do not try to memorize the words of the revelation, but listen to it attentively and carefully. It is Our responsibility to enable you to remember it by heart and then to recite it accurately. Rest assured that you will not forget even a word of this Revelation, nor ever commit a mistake in reciting it!

This interruption is the same when a teacher seeing the inattentiveness of a student in the course of the lesson might interrupt the lesson to tell him, "Listen to me carefully", and then resume his speech. It may also be noted here that though it was Angel Gabriel who recited the Qur'an to the Holy Prophet (upon whom be Allah's peace), he recited it on behalf of Allah and not on his own behalf. That is what it means when Allah says: "When We are reciting it."

The verse 19 above "then it will be for Us to explain it" is a very important verse, which proves certain fundamental concepts which, if understood well, can protect one against the errors which some people have been spreading before as they are spreading them today. The explanation is rather lengthy, but it could not have been made any shorter for every word of it has to be clearly understood:

1. It clearly proves that the Prophet ((peace be upon him) did not receive only the revelation recorded in the Quran but he was also given such knowledge by revelation as is not recorded in it. For, if the meaning and intention of the commandments of the Quran, its allusions, its words and its specific terms, which the Prophet (peace be upon him) was made to understand had been recorded in the Quran, there was no need to say that it was also Allah’s own responsibility to explain its meaning, for it should then be there in the Quran itself. Hence, one will have to admit that the explanations which were given by Allah of the meanings of the contents of the Qur'an, were in any case in addition to the words of the Quran. 
2. The explanation of the meaning and intention of the Quran and of its commandments that was given by Allah to the Prophet (peace be upon him), was given for the purpose that he should make the people understand the Quran by his word and deed according to it and teach them to act on its commands.  
3. Even if a person has read the Quran only cursorily, he cannot help feeling that there are many things in it whose actual meaning and intention cannot be understood by a reader of Arabic only from the words of the Quran, nor can he know how to act on the commands enjoined in them. Take the word salat for instance. The act which has been most stressed by the Quran after the affirmation of faith is the act of salat. But no man only with the help of the dictionary can determine its actual meaning. At the most what one can understand from the way it has been repeatedly mentioned in the Quran is that this Arabic word which probably implies some special act which the believers are required to perform. But merely by reading the Quran no reader of Arabic can determine what particular act it is, and how it is to be performed. The question: If the Sender of the Quran had not appointed a teacher from Himself and explained to him the precise and exact meaning of this term and taught him the method in full detail of implementing the command of salat, could there be even two Muslims in the world who would have agreed on one method of acting on the command of salat just by reading the Quran. The reason why Muslims have been performing salat in one and the same way, generation after generation, for more than 1500 years, is that Allah had not only revealed the words of the Quran to His Messenger (peace be upon him) but had also explained to him fully the meaning of those words and the same meaning he taught to the people who accepted the Quran as the Book of Allah and him as the Messenger (peace be upon him) of Allah.
4. The means of knowing the explanation of the words of the Quran that Allah taught His Messenger (peace be upon him) and the Messenger (peace be upon him) his ummah by word and deed, is none but the Hadith and the sunnah, The Hadith implies the traditions which the earliest followers passed on to the later generations about the sayings and acts of the Messenger (peace be upon him) on sound authority, and the sunnah implies the way of life which became prevalent in the individual and collective life of the Muslims by the Messenger’s (peace be upon him) oral and practical teaching, the details of which have been bequeathed by the former to the latter generations by reliable traditions as well as seen by them practically in the life of the earliest followers. The person who refuses to acknowledge this means of knowledge, in fact, says that Allah after taking the responsibility of explaining the meaning of the Quran to His Messenger (peace be upon him) had, God forbid, failed to fulfill His promise. For this responsibility had not been taken to explain the meaning only to the Messenger in his personal capacity but for the purpose that the ummah also be made to understand the meaning of the divine Book through the agency of the Messenger (peace be upon him). And as soon as the Hadith and the sunnah are denied to be a source of law, it virtually amounts to saying that Allah has failed to carry out His responsibility. May Allah protect us froth such blasphemy. 

From verses 20-40, the main theme of the surah again takes over after a brief interruption by the parenthesis, that is verses 16-19 above.

20. Nay; the truth is that you love ardently (the good of this world) that can be obtained hastily, 21. and are oblivious of the Hereafter.

Verse 21 explains the second reason for denying the Hereafter, the first being the one mentioned in verse 5 above, (5. Nay! (Man denies Resurrection and Reckoning. So) he desires to continue committing sins.) In verse 21, it is contended that the deniers of the Hereafter are only conceder about what appears in this world. They think that they should spend all their labor and effort in attaining whatever benefits, pleasures or joys they can attain here, for if one attained this, one attained everything, no matter what evil end this might lead to in the Hereafter. Likewise, they think that the loss or trouble or grief that can afflict one here is a thing that one must avoid, no matter how great a reward it might earn one in the Hereafter if one endured it here. They are only interested in the cash bargain. For the sake of as remote a thing as the Hereafter they can neither abandon a profit nor suffer a loss today. With this mode of thought when they discuss the question of the Hereafter rationally, it is not true rationalism but a mode of thinking because of which they are resolved not to acknowledge the Hereafter in any case even if their conscience might be crying froth within that the arguments for the possible occurrence and necessity of the Hereafter given in the Quran are highly rational and their own reasoning against it is very weak.

22. Some faces on that Day will be fresh and resplendent, 23. and will be looking towards their Lord;  24. and some faces on that Day will be gloomy, 25. believing that a crushing calamity is about to strike them.

In Verse 26 below, The word Nay relates to the context, and means: You are wrong in thinking that you will be annihilated after death and you will not return to your Lord.

26. Nay; when a man's soul reaches up to the throat,

In the verse 27, the end word in Arabic is  "raqin" which may have been derived from "ruqayyah", which means resort to charming, enchanting and exercising, and also from "raqi", which means ascending. In the first case, the meaning would be: At last, when the attendants of the patient are disappointed with every remedy and cure, they will say: Let us at least call in an enchanter, who may save him. In the second case, the meaning would be: At that time the angels will say: which angels are to take his soul: the angels of punishment or the angels of mercy? In other words, at that very time the question will be decided in what capacity the dying one is entering the Hereafter; if he is a righteous person, the angels of mercy will take him, and if he is wicked, the angels of mercy will keep away and the angels of punishment will seize him and take him away.

27. and it is said: “Is there any enchanter who can step forward and help (by his chanting)?”

In the verse 29, the word "Saq" is used twice. Some commentators have taken the word saq (leg, shank) in its literal meaning, thereby implying that at death one lean leg will join the other lean leg; some others have taken it metaphorically in the sense of difficulty, vehemence and hardship so as to mean: At that time one affliction will be joined with another affliction, one of being separated from the world and all its enjoyments, and the other of being seized and taken to the Hereafter as a culprit, and this will be experienced by every disbeliever, hypocrite and sinner.

28. and he realizes that the hour of parting is come, 29. and calf is inter-twined with calf.

From verse 30-32, the text is shows its meaning openly. It is aimed at those who did not verify the truth of the message sent to them through the Messenger of Allah, nor did the pray to be forgiven.

30. On that Day you will be driven to your Lord. 31. But he did not verify the Truth, nor did he observe Prayer; 32. on the contrary, he gave the lie to the Truth and turned his back upon it, 33. then he went back to his kinsfolk, elated with pride.

And the verse 33 is elaborated by commentators as: It means that the one who was not prepared to believe in the Hereafter, heard all that has been described in the above verses; yet he persisted in his denial, and hearing these verses went back to his household, arrogantly. Mujahid, Qatadah and Ibn Zaid say that this person was Abu Jahl. The words of the verse also indicate that it was some particular person, who adopted such a conduct after having heard the above-mentioned verse of Surah Al- Qiyamah. The words, He neither affirmed the truth nor offered the Prayer, are particularly noteworthy. They clearly show that the first and necessary demand of acknowledging the truth about Allah and His Messenger and Book is that one should perform the Prayer, The occasion and time to carry out the other injunctions of the divine Shariah come later but the Prayer time approaches soon after one has affirmed the faith, and then it becomes known whether what one has affirmed with the tongue was really the voice of his heart, or it was only a puff of the wind which one sent out from his mouth in the form of words.

34. This (attitude) is worthy of you, altogether worthy; 35. again, it is worthy of you, altogether worthy.

In the verses 34 and 34, the Arabic word "aula laka" has been used which means: shame on you, may you perish, woe to you, may you hasten to your doom. However, it could also be interpretted in following words: When you have had the boldness to disown your Creator, then it only behooves a person like you to persist in the sort of conduct you display. This is the same sort of sarcastic remark as occurred in(Surah Ad-Dukhan, Ayat 49). While meting out punishment to the culprit in Hell, it will be said: Taste this, a mighty and honorable man that you are.

36. Does man think that he will be left alone, unquestioned? 37. Was he not a drop of ejaculated semen, 38. then he became a clot, and then Allah made it into a living body and proportioned its parts, 39. and then He made of him a pair, male and female? 40. Does He, then, not have the power to bring back the dead to life?

Verses 38-40 are the concluding verses of the surah. In the verse 36, the last word in Arabic is "Suda" - which often used in Arabic with regard to a camel which is wandering aimlessly, grazing at will, without there being anybody to look after him. Thus, the verse means: Does man think that he has been left to himself to wander at will as if his Creator had laid no responsibility on him, had imposed no duty on him, had forbidden nothing to him, that at no time in future he would be required to account for his deeds. This same theme has been expressed in (Surah Al-Mominoon, Chapter 24, Ayat 115) thus: On the Day of Resurrection, Allah will ask the disbelievers: Did you think that We had created you without any purpose, and that you would never be brought back to Us. At both these places the argument for the necessity of the life hereafter has been presented as a question. The question means: Do you really think that you are no more than mere animals? Don’t you see the manifest difference between yourself and the animal. The animal has been created without the power of choice and authority, but you have been blessed with the power of choice and authority; there is no question of morality about what the animal does, but your acts are necessarily characterized by good and evil. 

Verses 37-39 show the evolution of man from just a drop of semen, he became a clot, nourished in mother's womb for a specified period and then was born, raised and made pairs of male and female to continue the life process. Here the last question is then asked from those not believing in the resurrection: If Allah could make a man from a drop of sperm, do the disbelievers still think that Allah does not have the power to bring back the dead to life and question them what they did in their worldly life and why they preferred pleasures of life and ignored the truth that one day they will be raised from dead and made accountable for their deeds? 

Whenever the Prophet of Allah recited the 40th verse of this surah, it is quoted that he often said: Bala (an Arabic word meaning why not!), sometimes with Subhanaka Allahumma fa-bala (Glorified are You, O Allah, why not!) and sometimes with Subhanaka fa-bala or Subhanaka wa-bala. It has been attributed to Hadrat Abu Hurairah that Holy Prophet said: "When in Surah At-Tin, you read the verse; Alais-Allahu bi-ahkam-il-Hakimin ("Is not Allah the greatest Ruler of all?"), you should respond to it, saying: Bala wa ana `ala dhalika min-ash-shahidin (Why not? I am of those who bear witness to this"). And when you read verse: Fa-bi ayyi ,hadith-in ba `da hu yu minun ("Now, what message is there after this (Qur'an) in which they will believe?" of Surah Al-Mursalat, say: Amanna billah (We believed in Allah), Traditions on this subject have been related also by Imam Ahmad Tirmidhi, lbn al-Mundhir, lbn Marduyah, Baihaqi and Hakim. 

You may now like to listen to Arabic recitation of Sūrat al-Qiyāmah with English subtitles:

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

Photo | References: | Main Reference Source: Tafhim al-Qur'an | 1 | 2 |

An effort has been made to gather explanation of the surahs of the Holy Qur'an from authentic souses and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. However, those wanting detailed explanations and tafsir (exegesis), may refer to sites the references of which are given above.

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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Muslims in Non Muslim Countries: Albania

I have been writing about Muslims living in Non Muslim Countries for awhile now. But writing about Albania is really peculiar and interesting specially those who do not the dominating religion of the country. Albania despite having an overwhelming Muslims majority, some 58% of the tonal population, a legacy of its centuries of Ottoman rule, is not a Muslim country. 

In fact Albania is constitutionally a secular country, and as such, "neutral in questions of belief and conscience". The most-commonly practiced religion in Albania is Islam (mainly Sunni or Bektashi), the second-most-commonly practiced religion is Christianity (mainly Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant), however there are also many irreligious Albanians.

Albania has been a predominant Christian country till Islam arrived during the Ottoman period in the 15th century and the majority of Albanians converted to Islam in 16th and 17th centuries. The Muslims were generally Sunnis, however a portion opted to be Bektashi (a Shia-Sufi order). By 19th Muslim Albanians formed around 70% of the overall Balkan Albanian population in the Ottoman Empire with an estimated population of more than a million. In the early 20th century, the decline of Ottoman rule through military defeat in the Balkans was imminent. At this juncture Albanians represented by Ismail Qemali declared Independence from the Ottoman Empire on 28 November 1912 in Vlorë. However, the international recognition of Albanian independence entailed the imposition of a Christian monarch. During World War I, northern, central and south-central Albania came under Austro-Hungarian occupation. In the census of 1916–18 conducted by Austro-Hungarian authorities, the results showed that Muslims in the regions of Dibër, Lumë and Gorë were over 80% of the population.

The experience of World War One, concerns over being partitioned and loss of power made the Muslim Albanian population support Albanian nationalism and the territorial integrity of Albania. Seeing the decline of Muslim hold, an understanding emerged between most Sunni and Bektashi Albanians that religious differences needed to be sidelined for national cohesiveness. From 1920 until 1925 a four-member governing regency council from the four religious denominations [(Sunni, Bektashi, Catholic, Orthodox) was appointed.] Albanian secularist elites pushed for a reform of Islam as the process of Islamic religious institutions were nationalized and the state increasingly imposed its will upon them.

Following the government program of reforms, the Albanian Islamic congress in Tirana decided to deliberate and reform some Islamic traditional practices adopted from the Ottoman period. The measures was a break with the Ottoman Caliphate and to establish local Muslim structures loyal to Albania, banning polygamy, and the mandatory wearing of veil (hijab) by women in public. A new form of prayer was also implemented (standing, instead of the traditional prayer ritual. However, the wearing of the veil in 1937 was banned.

In 1939, Italy invaded Albania. The Italians attempted to gain sympathies of the Muslim Albanians by proposing to build a large mosque in Rome, though the Vatican opposed this measure and nothing came of it in the end. Mussolini's son in law Count Ciano also replaced the leadership of the Sunni Muslim community, which had recognized the Italian regime in Albania with clergy that aligned with Italian interests.

After the World War II, the communists took over Albania and attempted to forge a national identity that transcended and eroded these religious and other differences with the aim of forming a unitary Albanian identity.  Thus the religions like Islam were denounced as foreign and through policy the Muslim way of life and Islamic culture was destroyed.  In 1967 the communist regime declared Albania the only non-religious country in the world, banning all forms of religious practice in public. The Muslims and Christians suffered severe persecution. Friday prayers in a mosque were banned and personal possession of religious literature such as the Quran was forbidden.

Mosques became a target for Albanian communists who saw their continued existence as exerting an ideological presence in the minds of people. In 1967 within the space of seven months the communists destroyed 740 mosques, some of which were prominent and architecturally important like the Kubelie Mosque in Kavajë, the Clock Mosque in Peqin and the two domed mosques in Elbasan dating from the 17th century. Other Islamic buildings were appropriated by the communist state and turned into them into gathering places, sports halls, warehouses, barns, restaurants, cultural centers and cinemas in an attempt to erase those links between religious buildings and people. 

In early 1990, the Communist regime started to collapse and it reluctantly allowed for limited religious expression to reemerge. Thus a Catholic church and the Lead mosque in Shkodër were both the first religious buildings reopened. At that time Azem Hajdari (1963–1998) and Sali Berisha, who later served multiple terms as president and prime minister were prominent leaders in the movement for democratic change and between 1992 - 1997 people part of the Albanian government were mostly of a Muslim background. Areas that had been traditionally Muslim prior to 1967 reemerged in a post-communist context once again mainly as Muslim. From then on, Muslims placed their focus on restoring institutions, religious buildings and Islam as a faith in Albania. Most mosques and some madrassas (schools teaching Islam and Qur'an) destroyed and damaged during the communist era were reconstructed or restored in former locations where they once stood before 1967.

In 1967 it officially declared itself an atheist country. Such association of the country with Islam is unfair to non-Muslim Albanians who, at least in Albania, make up the overwhelming majority of the population. Albania is supposed to be an example of religious tolerance where Islam, Catholic Christianity and Orthodox Christianity, and other religions coexist peacefully. However, at present, The Albanian state is secular, with no declared state religion. In 1992 Albania became the only entirely European member of the OIC, generating intense controversy within Albania due to concerns that Albania might drift from a secular European future. The Albanian government viewed membership in the OIC as being a bridge between the Muslim-Christian worlds and also as having a "civilizing mission" role within the Islamic world due to the Western orientation of Albania.

The Albanian state administers most of the mosques while also viewed as the main representative of Muslims in the country. Due to funding shortages in Albania, around 90% of the budget of the Albanian Muslim community came from foreign sources in the 1990s, though from 2009 after the signing of agreements the Albanian government allocates funding from the state budget to the four main religions to cover administrative and other costs.

The Muslim Community of Albania in its statutes claims authority over all Muslim groups in Albania. As Albanian migrants went abroad financial resources were sent back to fund other reconstruction projects of various Sufi shrines. The Bektashi order in Albania views themselves as the centre of a worldwide movement and have reconnected with various Turkish educational and Iran religious organizations emphasizing their common links, something that other Sufi orders in Albania have done.

As for relations with other Muslims countries, Turkey has been supportive of Albanian geopolitical interests within the Balkans. Turkish brand of Islam now dominates the country’s religious institutions as it is culturally more in step with Albania’s Muslims and less vulnerable to radicalized religious interpretation. Albania has established political and economic ties with Arab countries, in particular with Arab Persian Gulf states who have heavily invested in religious, transport and other infrastructure alongside other facets of the economy in addition to the somewhat limited societal links they share.

Two official holidays are: Bajrami i Madh (Big Bayram, Eid al-Fitr) celebrated at the conclusion of Ramadan and Kurban Bajram (Bayram of the sacrifice) or Bajrami i Vogël (Small Bayram, Eid al-Adha) celebrated on 10 Dhu al-Hijjah. During the month of Ramadan practicing Sunni Muslims fast and 5 nights are held sacred and celebrated. The prophet Muhammad's birthday is also commemorated and the Muslim Community of Albania holds a concert in Tiranë. It is attended by Albanian political and Muslim religious establishment representatives alongside Albanian citizens, many non-practicing Muslims.

Watch a video of Muslims of Albania celebrating the Holy month of Ramadan:

For Shiite Muslims, the Day of Sultan Novruz (Nowruz) on March 22 is an official holiday. Ashura, a day commemorating the massacre at Karbala is also held. A pilgrimage on 20–25 August to Mount Tomorr to commemorate and celebrate the Shi'ite saint Abbas Ali.

Halal slaughter of animals and food is permitted, mainly available in the eateries of large urban centers and becoming popular among people who are practicing Sunni Muslims. Muslim dress is not prohibited in Albania in public areas.Religious Muslim law as with other religious law is not recognized by the Albanian courts. The Sunni Muslim Community of Albania however recognizes nikah or religious Muslim marriage although not many people undertake marriage in this form. During the communist period Muslim Albanians were buried alongside Albanians of other faiths and due to that legacy in contemporary times separate Muslim graveyards are uncommon.

Photo | References: | Main reference Source: Wikipedia (Islam in Albania) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |

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