Overview - Surah 15: al-Hijr (The Valley of Stone)
The main theme of the Surah is divine guidance, and people's response. Allah's warns those who deny this message and as a reminder of these warnings, we have here the stories of Prophet Lot's people, Thamud and other groups.
Sections:
- Qur'an is the Books of Allah. He revealed it and He will guard it.
- Allah knows everything in the universe. He is the Creator of all.
- The creation of human being is from a very humble stuff, but Allah honored him and asked angels to bow down to Adam. Satan's response.
- Allah is very forgiving, but His punishment is also severe.
- Prophet Lot and Prophet Shu'aib's people.
- The People of Hijr and what happened to them. Qur'an and Surah al-Fatihah are special gifts of Allah. Allah will take care of those who ridicule His message
It is named ‘Hijr’ after the valley located between Madinah and Sham [Greater Syria], where the people of Salih, Thamud lived.
There are 99 Ayat in this Surah.
Overview
| Total Ayat | 99 |
| Total Words * | 655 |
| Root Words * | 210 |
| Unique Root Words * | 3 |
| Makki / Madani | Makki |
| Chronological Order* | 54th (according to Ibn Abbas) |
| Year of Revelation* | 9th year of Prophethood |
| Events during/before this Surah*
Boycott of Banu Hashim Yr 3, Boycott of Banu Hashim Yr 2, Boycott of Banu Hashim Yr 1, 2nd Migration to Abyssinia, Physical beating and torture of some Muslims - 1st Migration of Muslims to Abyssinia, Public Invitation to Islam - Persecution of Muslims; antagonism - ridicule - derision - accusation - abuse and false propaganda., Revelation begins - Private Invitation to Islam , Revelation begins - Private Invitation to Islam , Revelation begins - Private Invitation to Islam
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| Events during/after still to occur*
Death of Abu Talib - Death of Khadijah - Stoning at Ta'if - al-Isra wal Mi'raj - Night Journey,1st Pledge of Aqabah,2nd Pledge of Aqabah,,Migration from Makkah to Madinah - Building of Masjid Nabi in Madinah - Treaty with Jews of Madinah - Marriage of Prophet to Aishah,Change of Qiblah from Jerusalem to Makkah - Battle of Badr,Battle of Uhud,,Battle of Ahzab - Expedition of Banu Quraydhah,Treaty of Hudaiybiyah - Letters to Kings and Rulers,,Conquest of Makkah - Battle of Hunain,Hajj led by Abu Bakr - Expedition of Tabuk,Farewell Hajj by Prophet - Death of Prophet - End of Divine Revelation
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| Names of Prophets Mentioned
Lut, Ibrahim
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| Surah Index
Abraham, Angels, Angels (not sent to satisfy whims) , Astronomy (constellations) , Communications (overhearing the Host on high) , Death (those communities who have no revelation will not be destroyed) , Earth, Friends (avoid active disbelievers) , Future (learning of it through divination forbidden) , Hell, Humankind (creation of) , Humankind (creation of) (from clay), Humankind (creation of) (from dark transmuted slime), Iblis, Jinn, Jinn (created of fire) , Judgement (Day) , Lot, Madyan, Materialism (envy forbidden) , Mountains, Prayer (prostration) , Qur’an, Resurrection (of soul) , Revelation, Thamud, Thamud (rock dwellings) , Weather (rain) , Weather (wind) , Weather (wind) (to pollinate)
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Theme 1: Allah protects and preserves His Deen [religion]
Though the main topics of the Surah are :
a. warning to those who rejected his Message, opposed it tooth and nail and ridiculed him.
b. comfort and encouragement to the Prophet
It does not mean that this Surah does not contain admonition and instructions. As a matter of fact the Qur’an never confines itself to mere warning; rebuke and censure but resorts to precept in every suitable place. Accordingly this Surah contains brief arguments for Monotheism (Tawhid) on the one hand and admonition in the story of Adam and Satan on the other.
At the beginning and end of the surah there are profound statements about the Qur’an – 15:9 “Indeed, it is We who sent down the Qur'an and indeed, We will be its guardian.” And in 15:87 “And We have certainly given you, [O Muhammad], seven of the often repeated [verses] and the great Qur'an.”
Manuscripts / Inscriptions
764 H 1363 CE
764 H 1363 CE
1037-1194 CE
1037-1194 CE
1st Century Hijrah (7th Century CE)
1st Century Hijrah (7th Century CE)
Total Word Count per Ayat (shows how many words per Ayat) = 3* | ||
| # | Root Word | Frequency in Surah | Frequency in Qur'an |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | ق و ل | 25 | 1722 |
| 2. | ك و ن | 16 | 1390 |
| 3. | إِلَّا | 13 | 663 |
| 4. | ع ل م | 12 | 854 |
| 5. | ر ب ب | 9 | 980 |
| 6. | أ ت ي | 7 | 549 |
| 7. | ر س ل | 7 | 513 |
| 8. | ب ش ر | 7 | 123 |
| 9. | ن ز ل | 6 | 293 |
| 10. | خ ل ق | 6 | 261 |
| Root Word | Frequency in Surah |
Frequency in Qur'an |
|---|---|---|
| ق و ل | 25 | 1722 |
| ك و ن | 16 | 1390 |
| إِلَّا | 13 | 663 |
| ع ل م | 12 | 854 |
| ر ب ب | 9 | 980 |
| أ ت ي | 7 | 549 |
| ر س ل | 7 | 513 |
| ب ش ر | 7 | 123 |
| ن ز ل | 6 | 293 |
| خ ل ق | 6 | 261 |
“This surah was revealed in Makkah, after the revelation of Surah 12, Joseph. The time was a very critical one, falling as it did between the ‘year of sorrow’ when the Prophet lost his wife Khadijah and his uncle Abu Talib and the year when the Prophet migrated to Madinah. The surah thus reflects the needs and requirements of this difficult period.” [Ref: Qutb, Fi Dhilal]
“It is clear from its topics and style that the period of its revelation is similar to that of Surah 14: Ibraheem (Abraham) as two things are quite prominent in its background. Firstly, it appears from the repeated warnings in this Surah that despite the fact that the Prophet had been propagating the Message for many years his people in general had not shown any inclination towards its acceptance, nay they had become more and more obdurate and stubborn in their antagonism, enmity and ridicule with the passage of time. Secondly by that time the Prophet had begun to feel a little tired of making strenuous efforts to eradicate disbelief and opposition of his people. That is why God has consoled and comforted him over and over again by way of encouragement..” [Ref: Mawdudi]
- The Qur'an is a Divine Book.
- Allah protects His Book (15:9), the heavans (15:17), provisions, (15:21), water on earth (15:22), Adam and his children (15:39-40), Ibrahim and his nephew by saving them from the plots of their people, the Prophet Shuayb and finally the Prophet Muhammad (15:95) [verification of Ayat numbers required]
- On the Day of Judgement, the disbelievers will wish that they had become Muslims.
- Allah Himself has taken the responsibility of preserving and safeguarding Al-Qur'an.
- Admonition through the story of Adam's creation, prostration of the angels before him, and refusal of Shaitan to prostrate.
- The Prophet Ibrahim was given the good news of having a son by the same two angels who were assigned to destroy the nation of Lut.
- Al-Fatiha is also named, "seven verses worthy of oft-recitation."
- Divine order to proclaim the commandments of Allah publicly and turn away from the mushrikin.
Tafsir Zone
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Overview (Verses 30 - 31) What happened after God issued His order to the angels to prostrate themselves before Adam? “Thereupon, the angels, one and all, prostrated themselves.” (Verse 30) That is in the nature of this aspect of God’s creation, the angels. They obey God’s orders whatever they are, without argument or delay. However, something else also took place at the same time: “Not so Iblīs, who refused to be among those who prostrated themselves.” (Verse 31) Iblīs belongs to a different type of creation, separate from the angels. He is created out of fire while they are created out of light. They do not disobey God, whatever His command may be. He, on the other hand, disobeyed God, rejecting His command. For certain, then, he is not, and never was, one of the angels. That we have here a form of exception, more strongly pronounced in the Arabic text, refers to what is called in Arabic linguistics ‘inconsequential exception’. It is acceptable to say in Arabic: “The Joneses have come except for Ahmad”, when you know that Ahmad does not belong to the Jones family, but is always with them. Now since the order stated here has been issued to the angels, how could it apply to Iblīs? That the same order was issued to Iblīs is clearly stated in Sūrah 7, The Heights. There the order to Iblīs is mentioned in a later verse, when God questions him: “What has prevented you from prostrating yourself when I commanded you?” (7: 12) This is clear proof that Iblīs was given the same order. He might have been included in the order given to the angels, if he was with them at the time, or perhaps a separate order was issued to him. However, this is not mentioned here and this shows that he is of a far lesser position than the angels. Furthermore, the texts we have, and Satan’s own behaviour, all demonstrate that he was not one of the angels. It should be also mentioned that we are dealing here with matters that belong to a different realm, and that we cannot fathom their nature or how they took place, except within the meaning of the texts we have. Neither human reason nor imagination has any role to play here. |
Ibn Kathir (English)
Sayyid Qutb
Sha'rawi
Al Jalalain
Mawdudi
الطبري - جامع البيان
ابن كثير - تفسير القرآن العظيم
القرطبي - الجامع لأحكام
البغوي - معالم التنزيل
ابن أبي حاتم الرازي - تفسير القرآن
ابن عاشور - التحرير والتنوير
ابن القيم - تفسير ابن قيّم
السيوطي - الدر المنثور
الشنقيطي - أضواء البيان
ابن الجوزي - زاد المسير
الآلوسي - روح المعاني
ابن عطية - المحرر الوجيز
الرازي - مفاتيح الغيب
أبو السعود - إرشاد العقل السليم
الزمخشري - الكشاف
البقاعي - نظم الدرر
الهداية إلى بلوغ النهاية — مكي ابن أبي طالب
القاسمي - محاسن التأويل
الماوردي - النكت والعيون
السعدي - تيسير الكريم الرحمن
عبد الرحمن الثعالبي - الجواهر الحسان
السمرقندي - بحر العلوم
أبو إسحاق الثعلبي - الكشف والبيان
الشوكاني - فتح القدير
النيسابوري - التفسير البسيط
أبو حيان - البحر المحيط
البيضاوي - أنوار التنزيل
النسفي - مدارك التنزيل
ابن جُزَيّ - التسهيل لعلوم التنزيل
علي الواحدي النيسابوري - الوجيز
السيوطي - تفسير الجلالين
المختصر في التفسير — مركز تفسير
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Overview (Verses 30 - 31) What happened after God issued His order to the angels to prostrate themselves before Adam? “Thereupon, the angels, one and all, prostrated themselves.” (Verse 30) That is in the nature of this aspect of God’s creation, the angels. They obey God’s orders whatever they are, without argument or delay. However, something else also took place at the same time: “Not so Iblīs, who refused to be among those who prostrated themselves.” (Verse 31) Iblīs belongs to a different type of creation, separate from the angels. He is created out of fire while they are created out of light. They do not disobey God, whatever His command may be. He, on the other hand, disobeyed God, rejecting His command. For certain, then, he is not, and never was, one of the angels. That we have here a form of exception, more strongly pronounced in the Arabic text, refers to what is called in Arabic linguistics ‘inconsequential exception’. It is acceptable to say in Arabic: “The Joneses have come except for Ahmad”, when you know that Ahmad does not belong to the Jones family, but is always with them. Now since the order stated here has been issued to the angels, how could it apply to Iblīs? That the same order was issued to Iblīs is clearly stated in Sūrah 7, The Heights. There the order to Iblīs is mentioned in a later verse, when God questions him: “What has prevented you from prostrating yourself when I commanded you?” (7: 12) This is clear proof that Iblīs was given the same order. He might have been included in the order given to the angels, if he was with them at the time, or perhaps a separate order was issued to him. However, this is not mentioned here and this shows that he is of a far lesser position than the angels. Furthermore, the texts we have, and Satan’s own behaviour, all demonstrate that he was not one of the angels. It should be also mentioned that we are dealing here with matters that belong to a different realm, and that we cannot fathom their nature or how they took place, except within the meaning of the texts we have. Neither human reason nor imagination has any role to play here. |
- Surah 15. Al-Hijr - Saad al Ghamidi https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvlchpsEhWw&list=PLhM2xiAUdw2cAqW_o3zZkbhJNw0bnaBZN&index=15
- Surah 15. Al-Hijr Mahmoud Khalil Al Hussary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MstV_Kbp9_4&list=PLxpAkjlGauHfMFWX22VZWOKpzjr-vH_BM&index=15
- Surah 15. Al-Hijr Muhammad Al Luhaydan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHnL6SvX4d4&list=PLxpAkjlGauHfKAYuQLRNAZomoezhfhRZe&index=15
- Idris Akbar Surah Hijr https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQ6kdndUmpw
- Surah 15. Al-Hijr muhammad Minshawi https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGOHF57JukM&list=PLxpAkjlGauHdUcO_uc-8F8J2NUQRDZjPG&index=15
