Surah an-Naml (The Ant ) 27 : 1

بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ طسٓ ۚ تِلْكَ ءَايَٰتُ ٱلْقُرْءَانِ وَكِتَابٍ مُّبِينٍ

Translations

 
 Muhsin Khan
 Pickthall
 Yusuf Ali
Quran Project
Tā, Seen. These are the verses of the Qur’ān [i.e., recitation] and a clear Book

1. Lessons/Guidance/Reflections/Gems

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Explanatory Note

The sūrah begins with two separate letters, Ţā Sīn, as reference to the basic material of which the sūrah and the entire Qur’ān are composed. These letters are available to all Arabic-speaking people, yet they are all unable to compose anything like the Qur’ān: they have been challenged to do so, yet none has ever produced anything that approximates the excellence of the Qur’ān. These two letters are followed by a reference to the Qur’ān itself: “These are verses of the Qur’ān, a clear, elucidating book.” (Verse 1) It should be noted that in the Arabic text the conjunction wa, which means ‘and’, occurs after the word ‘Qur’ān’, but in this usage it only means ‘which is’. Describing the Qur’ān here as ‘a book’ provides a subtle element of comparison with how the unbelievers in Makkah received the book bestowed on them from on high and how the Queen of Sheba and her people received Solomon’s letter, which in this sūrah is also called a kitāb, meaning ‘book’. Yet Solomon is no more than God’s servant.

  • The letter's طس -  are the opening letters of the first Ayat of Surah an-Naml which is Surah no. 27 with 93 Ayat. Interestingly, the letter ط occurs 27 times and the letter س occurs 93 times in this whole Surah.

The مقطعات‎ حروف Huruf Muqatta’at

The مقطعاتحروف Huruf Muqatta’at "disjointed letters" are combinations of between one and five Arabic letters appearing at the beginning of 29 out of the 114 Surahs of the Quran (approximately 33% of Surahs). The letters are written together like a word, but each letter is pronounced separately. Some of these are a complete Ayat in it of themselves whilst others are part of a longer Ayat (some qurra number the endings of Ayat differently).  There is only one instance, Surah 42: Shura (Ha Mim, Ayn Sin Qaf), where the disjointed letters are part of two separate Ayaat.

Meaning of the Muqatta’at

A group of scholars refrained from interpreting Ayaat which contain Huruf Muqatta’at and it was not narrated that the Prophet explained them. It is preferable to say Allah knows better about what they mean. However, it was narrated that some of the scholars, even amongst the Sahabah, did interpret them and they differed in their interpretation. 

Some of the scholars who tried to discover the wisdom behind these letters said; these letters mentioned at the beginning of Surahs point to the miraculous nature of the Qur’an, and implies that all mankind is unable to match it, even though it is composed of the letters that they use in their daily speech.

Ibn Kathir writes, "The individual letters in the beginning of some Surahs are among those things whose knowledge Allah has kept only for Himself. This was reported from Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali and Ibn Mas’ud. It was said that these letters are the names of some of the Surahs. The wisdom behind mentioning these letters in the beginning of the Surahs, regardless of the exact meanings of these letters, is that they testify to the miracle of the Qur'an. Indeed, the servants are unable to produce something like the Qur'an, although it is comprised of the same letters with which they speak to each other."

One of the benefits of these letters is a rhetorical benefit; O you disbelievers, how come you cannot come up with a similar Qur'an to this one? Aren't these the same letters you use in your daily speech? So why can't you produce a similar Qur'an if it is not from Allah?

We do not know their true meaning and this humbles mankind - people who recite letters in their daily speech but they do not have full knowledge of the meanings of all words. In Surah al Fatihah, we asked Allah to 'guide us to the upright path'. These letters show that we cannot be guided by our own will and we need Allah's help. The letters show that we cannot know and understand everything, so we should put more hope and reliance upon Allah. Allah lets us know that if you really want to get guidance from this Book - you will have to ask Allah to give you understanding of this religion, you cannot know it of your own accord. So an arrogant attitude will prevent you from true knowledge, and submission to Allah will open the doors for true understanding.

Analysis and Figures

There are 29 Surahs that have the Huruf Muqatta’at. These are:

1. Surah 2: al-Baqarah - Alif Lam Mim الم

2. Surah 3: ale-Imran - Alif Lam Mim الم

3. Surah 7: al-A'raf - Alif Lam Mim Sad المص

4. Surah 10: Yunus - Alif Lam Ra الر

5. Surah 11: Hūd - Alif Lam Ra الر

6. Surah 12: Yusuf - Alif Lam Ra الر

7. Surah 13: ar-Ra'd - Alif Lam Mim Ra المر

8. Surah 14: Ibrahim - Alif Lam Ra الر

9. Surah 15: al-Hijr - Alif Lam Ra الر

10. Surah 19: Maryam - Kaf Ha Ya Ain Sad كهيعص

11. Surah 20: Ta Ha - Ta Ha طه

12. Surah 26: ash-Shuʿara - Ta Sin Mim طسم

13. Surah 27: an-Naml - Ta Sin طس

14. Surah 28: al-Qasas - Ta-Sin Mim طسم

 15. Surah 29: al-Ankabut  - Alif Lam Mim الم

16. Surah 30: ar-Rum  - Alif Lam Mim الم

17. Surah 31: Luqman -  Alif Lam Mim الم

18. Surah 32: as-Sajdah - Alif Lam Mim الم

19. Surah 36: Ya Sin - Ya Sin يس

20. Surah 38: Saad - Saad ص

21. Surah 40: Ghafir - Ha Mim حم

22. Surah 41: Fussilat - Ha Mim حم

23. Surah 42: ash-Shura - Ha Mim; Ain Sin Qaf حم عسق

24. Surah 43: Az-Zukhruf Ha Mim حم

25. Surah 44: ad-Dukhan - Ha Mim حم

26. Surah 45: al-Jathiya Ḥā Mīm حم

27. Surah 46: al-AHqaf - Ha Mim حم

28. Surah 50: Qaf - Qaf ق

29.Surah 68: Al-Qalam - Nun ن

Four Surahs are named after their Muqatta'at letters, Surah Ta-Ha (20), Ya-Sin (36), Sad (38) and Qaf (50).

14, 14 and 14

Of the 28 letters of the Arabic alphabet, exactly one half appear as Muqatta'at, either singly or in combinations of two, three, four or five letters. The most frequent are Alif Lam Mim and Ha Mim, occurring six times each.

The 14 letters that are used as Muqatta'at are; alif أ, ha هـ, Ha ح, ta ط, ya ي, kaf ك, lam ل, mim م, nun ن, sin س, ayn ع, saad ص, qaf ق, ra ر.

The 14 letters that are not used are; ba ب, ta ت, tha ث, jeem ج, kha خ, dal د, dhal ذ, zal ز, dzha ظ, dhad ض, ghayn غ, fa ف, sheen ش, waw و.

Interestingly, there is also a total combination of 14 patterns used;

1. Alif Lam Mim الم

2. Alif Lam Mim Sad المص

3. Alif Lam Ra الر

4. Alif Lam Mim Ra المر

5. Kaf Ha Ya Ain Sad كهيعص

6. Ta Ha طه

7. Ta Sin Mim طسم

8. Ta Sin طس

9. Ya Sin يس

10. Saad ص

11. Ha Mim حم

12. Ha Mim; Ain Sin Qaf حم عسق

13. Qaf ق

14. Nun ن

Combinations of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 letters.

a.    Three Surahs begin with only one letter:

(i)    Surah 38: Sad with Sad

(ii)   Surah 50: Qaf with Qaf

(iii)  Surah 68: Qalam  with Nun

b.    The combination of two letters occurs in 10 Surahs:

Three of them occur only once each:

(i)   Surah 20: Ta Ha  has Ta Ha

(ii)  Surah 27: al Naml has Ta Seen

(iii) Surah 36: Ya Sin  has Ya Seen

Ha Meem occurs in seven consecutive Surahs from Surah 40 to Surah 46:

(i)    Surah 40: Ghafir

(ii)   Surah 41: Fussilat

(iii)  Surah 42: ash-Shura 

(iv)  Surah 43: az-Zukhruf 

(v)   Surah 44: ad-Dukhan 

(vi)  Surah 45: al-Jathiyah 

(vii) Surah 46:al-Ahqaf 

c.    There are three combinations of three letters each occurring in 14 Surahs. 

Alif Laam Meem occurs in six Surahs

(i)   Surah Al Baqarah  2

(ii)  Surah Ali ‘Imran  3

(iii) Surah Al ‘Ankabut  29

(iv) Surah Al Rum  30

(v)  Surah Luqman  31

(vi) Surah Al Sajdah  32

Alif Laam Ra   occurs in six consecutive Surahs: Surah 10 to Surah 15:

(i)    Surah Yunus  10

(ii)   Surah Hud  11

(iii)  Surah Yusuf  12

(iv)  Surah Al Rad  13

(v)   Surah Ibrahim  14

(vi)  Surah Al Hijr  15

Ta Seen Meem  occurs in two Surahs:

(i)   Surah Al-Shura  26

(ii)  Surah Al-Qasas  28

d.    Combination of four letters occurs twice:

(i)   Surah Aaraf  7: Alif Laam Meem Sad

(ii)  Surah Ar-Ra`d  13: Alif Laam Meem Ra

e.    Combination of five letters occurs twice:

(i)   Surah Maryam  19 begins with Kaf Ha Ya Ayn Sad

(ii)   Surah Al-Shura  42 begins with Ha Meem Ayn Seen Qaf

 

Some reflections on the Disjointed Letters - حروف مقطعات‎ Huruf Muqatta’at

The human body is composed of various fundamental elements that are found in nature. Clay and dust are composed of the same fundamental elements. Yet it would be absurd to say that a human being is exactly the same as the dust. We can all have access to the elements that are found in the human body, and add a few gallons of water, which is the constitution of the human body. We know the elements in the human body and yet we are at a loss when asked the secret of life.

Similarly the Qur’an addresses those people who reject its Divine authority. It tells them that this Qur’an, is in your own language, and over which the Arabs took pride. It is composed of the same letters that the Arabs used to express themselves most eloquently. The Arabs were very proud of their language and Arabic was at its peak when the Qur’an was revealed. With the letters Alif Lam Mim, Ya Sin, Ha-Mim, etc., (in English we would say A, B, C, D) the Qur’an challenges mankind to produce a Surah  similar to the Qur’an, in beauty, elegance, accuracy and truth, if they doubt its authenticity.

Initially, the Qur’an challenges all the men and jinn to produce a recital like the Qur’an and adds that they would not be able to do it even if they backed each other. This challenge is mentioned in Surah Isra (17:88) and in Surah Tur (52:34). Later the Qur’an repeats the challenge in Surah Hud (11:13) by saying produce ten Surahs like it and later in Surah Yunus (10:38) produce one surah like it and finally the easiest challenge is given in Surah Al-Baqarah (2:23).

"And if ye are in doubt as to what We have revealed from time to time to Our servant, then produce a Surah like thereunto; and call your witnesses or helpers (if there are any) besides Allah if your doubts are true. But if ye cannot – and of a surety ye cannot – then fear the fire whose fuel is men and stones – which is prepared for those who reject faith." (2:23-24).

The Arabs are noted for their rhetoric ability, eloquence and meaningful expression. Just as the constituents of the human body are known to us and can be obtained by us, the letters comprising the Qur’an, such as Alif Lam Mim are known to us, and used frequently to formulate words. Life cannot be created by us, even if we possess knowledge of the constituents of the human body. Similarly we cannot capture the same eloquence and beauty of expression, accuracy and truth that we find in the Qur’an, despite knowing the letters that constitute the Qu’ran. The Qur’an thus proves its Divine origin.

2. Linguistic Analysis

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Frequency of Root words in this Ayat used in this Surah *


3. Surah Overview

4. Miscellaneous Information

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5. Connected/Related Ayat

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6. Frequency of the word

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7. Period of Revelation

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8. Reasons for Revelation

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9. Relevant Hadith

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10. Wiki Forum

Comments in this section are statements made by general users – these are not necessarily explanations of the Ayah – rather a place to share personal thoughts and stories…

11. Tafsir Zone

 

Overview (Verses 1 - 6)

All by the Grace of God 
 
The sūrah begins with two separate letters, Ţā Sīn, as reference to the basic material of which the sūrah and the entire Qur’ān are composed. These letters are available to all Arabic-speaking people, yet they are all unable to compose anything like the Qur’ān: they have been challenged to do so, yet none has ever produced anything that approximates the excellence of the Qur’ān. These two letters are followed by a reference to the Qur’ān itself: “These are verses of the Qur’ān, a clear, elucidating book.” (Verse 1) It should be noted that in the Arabic text the conjunction wa, which means ‘and’, occurs after the word ‘Qur’ān’, but in this usage it only means ‘which is’. Describing the Qur’ān here as ‘a book’ provides a subtle element of comparison with how the unbelievers in Makkah received the book bestowed on them from on high and how the Queen of Sheba and her people received Solomon’s letter, which in this sūrah is also called a kitāb, meaning ‘book’. Yet Solomon is no more than God’s servant.
 
The Qur’ān, or the book, is then described as “a guidance and joyful tidings to the believers.” (Verse 2) This is more expressive than saying that it contains or provides guidance and joyful tidings. Indeed the way the description is phrased makes the very entity of the Qur’ān the guidance and the happy tiding. For certain, the Qur’ān provides guidance to believers in every way and every sense. It also gives them what brings happiness both in this life and in the life to come.
 
That the guidance and the happy news are given to the believers only is especially significant. The Qur’ān is not a book of theoretical or applicable science that yields all its benefits to whoever reads and understands it. The Qur’ān addresses hearts in the first instance and gives all its light and fragrance to an open mind which receives it with certainty and contentment. When a person’s mind is refreshed with firm belief, it can better appreciate the Qur’ān and understand far more of its meanings than we can imagine. It brings about miraculous changes in this life as one adopts a new way of life and discards his old one. All the systems, legislation and values the Qur’ān promotes are based first and foremost on faith. Hence, a person who does not, deep at heart, believe in God or accept that this Qur’ān is revealed by God or that its contents represent the system God wants implemented in human life, cannot find the desired guidance in the Qur’ān and will not share in the joyful news it brings.
 
This book, the Qur’ān, contains inexhaustible treasures of guidance, knowledge and sound directives, but faith is the key to opening it all. Without this key, the Qur’ān does not yield its treasures to anyone. Hence those who truly believed in it were able to accomplish miracles. But when the Qur’ān was reduced to no more than chants set to charming tunes that people enjoyed hearing without touching their hearts, it remained an unopened treasure, incapable of achieving anything.
 
The sūrah outlines the qualities of those believers who find guidance and happy news in the Qur’ān. They are ones: “who attend regularly to prayers and pay their zakāt, and who firmly believe in the life to come.” (Verse 3) The first quality is to attend regularly to prayer, offering it as it should be offered, with their hearts and souls conscious of the fact that they are standing in front of God, in all His majesty. Thus they feel themselves in contact with His sublime presence, and their thoughts fully attentive to addressing and glorifying Him. Secondly, they pay their zakāt, which is the obligatory charity. When they pay it they purge their hearts of stinginess rising above the lure of wealth. They give their brethren some of what God has granted them, thus fulfilling their social duty towards their community. Finally, they firmly believe in the life to come, which means that their fate in the hereafter remains topmost in their thoughts. It prevents them from giving free rein to their desires and keeps the fear of God alive in their hearts. They dread lest they might be considered disobedient when they come before Him for judgement.
 
It is only such obedient believers who can hope for God’s reward yet still dread His punishment. Only they, with their hearts open to the Qur’ān, can find its guidance and receive its happy news. For them, it is a light illuminating their lives, providing them with strong motivation for action. It is their only reliable guide and one to which they always refer.
 
Strong emphasis is placed on believing in the hereafter; this in the form of a stern warning to those who refuse to believe, and persist with their erring ways: “As for those who will not believe in the life to come, We make their deeds seem fair to them, and so they wander about in distraction.” (Verse 4)
 
Believing in the life to come is the motive that keeps whims and desires in check, urging us to lead a life of moderation. When such belief is lacking, a person cannot restrain himself from pursuing wanton desires, thinking that his only chance for indulging in pleasure is that offered in this life. Yet life on earth is scarcely long enough to fulfil a small portion of what people desire or hope for. Besides, when someone has the means to lead a life of indulgence, what can stop him from pursuing his wildest pleasures unless he has to reckon with standing before God, awaiting His judgement, reward or punishment? Indeed, a person lacking belief in the hereafter will inevitably pursue every pleasure within his ability. No sense of shame or check will restrain him. It is in the nature of human beings that they love pleasure unless they are guided by a divine message that tells them of a future, permanent life that follows this short one, and that the latter is but preparation for that future life. If they heed this guidance then they will find much greater pleasure in different types of pursuits.
 
It is God who has moulded human nature in this fashion, giving it the propensity to follow His guidance when it opens its receptive faculties to this, and the opposite propensity to remain blind when it shuts such faculties down. His will is always done, in both situations. Hence, the Qur’ān says in reference to those who will not believe in the hereafter: “We make their deeds seem fair to them, and so they wander about in distraction.” (Verse 4) They choose not to believe, and thus God’s law comes into operation making their deeds seem fair and attractive to them. They cannot see any foul element in what they do and so remain unable to find a clear way leading them aright.
 
When evil is made to seem fair, the end result is well known: “These are the ones for whom grievous suffering is in store, and who in the life to come shall be the worst losers.” (Verse 5) Whether suffering is meted out to them in this present life or in the life to come, they will have to face utter ruin in the hereafter. It will be their just recompense for pursuing what is evil.
 
The sūrah’s opening is completed with a verse that re-emphasizes the divine source of the Qur’ān: “Most certainly, you receive the Qur’ān out of the grace of One who is Wise, All-Knowing.” (Verse 6) The Arabic verb tulaqqā, which is rendered here as ‘you receive’, gives a sense of the Qur’ān being a sublime gift presented by the One who does everything wisely and plans everything on the basis of perfect knowledge. Indeed, His wisdom and knowledge are clearly seen in the Qur’ān; its mode, the duties it assigns and directives it gives, in the system it follows, in its revelation at the most appropriate time, in the flow of its component parts and in the harmony of its subject matter.
 
The sūrah then begins its historical accounts which provide a panoramic exhibition of aspects of God’s wisdom, knowledge, planning and care.


12. External Links

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