Prologue

This sūrah is one of the earliest to be revealed soon after the migration of the Prophet Muĥammad and his companions from Makkah to Madinah in 622 CE. It is the longest sūrah in the Qur’ān.

From the varied and wide-ranging context of its verses, it is safe to assume that they were not all revealed in sequence. A common feature of the long Madinan sūrahs is that their verses were not revealed in consecutive order. Sometimes, passages of one sūrah were revealed before the completion of an earlier one. Hence, the convention in deciding the chronological order of the sūrahs has been based on the dates of the revelation of the opening passages, and not of the complete sūrah. In this instance, we find that Verses 275-280, prohibiting usury, were among the last Qur’ānic revelations, while the opening parts of the sūrah were revealed early in the Madinah period.

The composition and arrangement of the verses within each sūrah of the Qur’ān is fixed by God and was directly intimated to Prophet Muĥammad. Al-Tirmidhī reports that `Abdullāh ibn `Abbās, a close and learned Companion of the Prophet, said that he had asked `Uthmān ibn `Affān, the third Caliph who is universally recognized as having authorized the compilation of the Qur’ānic text as we have it today, why Sūrah 8, al-Anfāl, consisting of less than 100 verses, was placed before Sūrah 9, al-Tawbah, which comprises over 100 verses, and which, unlike other sūrahs, does not contain the usual opening phrase of “In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful”? He further enquired from him why Sūrah 8 was grouped with the seven long sūrahs [that appear at the beginning of the Qur’ān].

`Uthmān answered, “The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to receive verses or passages from several sūrahs at the same time. He would call the scribes and instruct them to put specific verses at specified places in their respective sūrahs. Al-Anfāl was one of the earliest sūrahs revealed in Madinah while al-Tawbah was one of the latest, but their subject matter was very similar that I suspected they might be one sūrah. The Prophet passed away without clarifying this particular point. Therefore, I placed them one after the other without separation.”

This account makes it clear that the arrangement of the verses within every sūrah was decided on the Prophet’s instructions.

Furthermore, authentic aĥādīth related by al-Bukhārī and Muslim mention that the Prophet used to recite the Qur’ān for the Archangel Gabriel every night during the month of Ramađān, and that both the Prophet and Gabriel recited the whole Qur’ān for each other. Needless to say, he recited the Qur’ān in the right arrangement of its verses and sūrahs.

Anyone who studies the Qur’ān closely, and tastes the unique and rich experience of living within its ambience, will immediately identify the distinct character of every one of its sūrahs. Every sūrah has an aura and a personality of its own, with unique and well-defined features, and a feel that makes it stand apart from all the rest. Moreover, every sūrah revolves around a central theme, or a number of major themes related to one another by a common thread or idea. Every sūrah radiates its own atmosphere of meaning and essence, within which its theme, or themes, are discussed using the same well integrated and well coordinated style and approach. It also has its own special rhythm and musical pulse which accord with the meaning and context of its topics and content.

These general outstanding features are common to all sūrahs, including the longer ones, such as the present one.

This sūrah deals with several issues which revolve in total harmony around closely interrelated twin central lines. On the one hand, the sūrah discusses the attitude of the Israelites towards Islam and the burgeoning Muslim community in Madinah. It describes aspects of the hostile reception they gave the new religion and their reaction to the Prophet Muĥammad and the growing community of his followers. It explores the close and unholy alliance that had developed between the Jews and the hypocrites of Madinah, professing belief in Islam, on the one hand, and between the Jews and the Arab idolaters of the rest of Arabia, on the other.

On the other hand, the sūrah, having established the Israelites’ failure to uphold God’s trust and honour their covenant with Him, discusses the vicissitudes faced by the Muslim community during its formative years, and the manner and environment in which it developed, and prepared and mobilized itself for the great task of inheriting the trust of the establishment of God’s sovereignty on earth. The sūrah decisively and swiftly strips the Israelites of their association with Abraham, the great proponent of monotheistic belief, and the source of all the honours and privileges that go with it.

This two-fold central theme forms the backbone of the sūrah’s subject matter as a whole and shadows the growth and progress of Islam and the Muslim community in Madinah during the period from 622 to 632 CE.

To set the contents of this sūrah in their appropriate context, it would be pertinent to throw more light on the historic environment and the religious and social setting in which the verses were revealed. Before we do that, however, it is important to point out that, in general terms, what the Muslims had to face in those early days was a miniature of, and a rehearsal for, what has occurred throughout the later history of Islam, albeit with some variations of scope and detail. The setbacks and the achievements, the allies and the opponents have invariably been the same.

This fact highlights the role and status of the Qur’ān as the unchallenged, immutable and incontrovertible authoritative reference for the religious, ethical and legislative principles and systems of Islam. It further affirms the unique property of the Qur’ānic text as being ever fresh and responsive to the inevitable changes that come with the perpetuation and progress of human life.

With these qualities, the Qur’ān remains the eternal guiding light for Muslims, despite the difficulties and hardships they have to suffer or the animosity and hostility they have to face. This, in itself, is an aspect of the inimitability and unsurpassed veracity and beauty of every verse in the Qur’ān.

Seeking a Secure Base

The Prophet Muĥammad’s migration from Makkah to Madinah in 622 CE was undertaken after meticulous planning and with appropriate care and attention to detail. Leaving Makkah had become unavoidable in consequence of events: the indigenous Quraysh Arabs of Makkah were pursuing a relentlessly hostile and oppressive campaign against the Prophet personally, and his mission and followers in general. This campaign had intensified following the double personal tragedy of 619 CE in which the Prophet had lost his wife Khadījah, who had been to him a pillar of personal support and strength, and his uncle Abū Ţālib, his guardian and protector. This tragedy greatly restricted Muĥammad’s movement and his followers’ activities in and around Makkah.

While the conflict between Muĥammad and his tribal cousins, led by Abū Lahab, `Amr ibn Hishām and Abū Sufyān ibn Ĥarb, reached a stalemate within Makkah, his message was gaining converts and supporters outside it. The majority of provincial Arabs, however, elected to watch from a distance what they viewed as a purely internal dispute over power within the Quraysh. It would not do for them to become embroiled in supporting the religion of a man whose own tribe had denounced him, especially since that tribe held the custodianship of the sacred Ka`bah and assumed supreme religious authority for the whole of Arabia.

The Prophet had to seek an alternative home for his new faith, and a base where he could be protected, so that he could break the deadlock he had reached in Makkah, and be allowed to pursue his commission unimpeded. This, in my view, was the first and most important reason for leaving Makkah.

Before Madinah, other destinations had been proposed and tried as alternatives to Makkah. In 615, only a few years after Muĥammad’s call to prophethood in 610 CE, a number of early Muslims had emigrated to Abyssinia. It would not be correct to say that they had gone there for reasons of personal safety alone. Had this been the case, the emigrants would have included the weakest and least supported elements among the Muslims. These were the ones at the receiving end of a sustained persecution campaign. But the reverse was the case. The emigrants included some of the most powerful of the Prophet’s followers and tribesmen. The majority of them were from the tribe of Quraysh, including Ja`far ibn Abī Ţālib, and a number of young men who were accustomed to providing protection to the Prophet, such as al-Zubayr ibn al- `Awwām, `Abdur Raĥmān ibn `Awf, Abū Salamah al Makhzūmī, `Uthmān ibn `Affān, to mention but a few. There were women belonging to some of the most prominent families of the Quraysh, such as Umm Ĥabībah, daughter of Abū Sufyān, the Quraysh’s unrivalled non-Muslim leader. Such women would never be persecuted in Makkah.

There were, no doubt, other reasons for the Muslims’ emigration to Abyssinia. There was the need to shake the religious and social foundations of the Quraysh’s most noble and powerful families. There could be no greater insult or threat to the Quraysh dynasties than seeing their proudest and most noble sons and daughters running away for conscientious and religious reasons, leaving their cultural heritage and tribal homeland behind.

Whatever other reasons there might have been for the Muslims’ emigration to Abyssinia, the fact remains that the search had started very early on for a safe haven for Islam, or a secure base where it could flourish and spread freely. This is further supported by reports of the Negus of Abyssinia’s conversion to Islam, which only the threatened rebellion of his patriarchs prevented him from making public, as some reliable accounts confirm.

Following the death of his uncle, Abū Ţālib, in 619 CE and as a result of the Quraysh’s growing hostility, the Prophet sought help from the Thaqīf tribe who lived in the town of Ţā’if, some 90 km east of Makkah. The effort ended in failure because the Thaqīf gave him a most hostile reception. They mocked him and heaped scorn on him. They let loose their louts and their children to chase him and throw stones at him, causing his feet to bleed.

The Prophet’s biographers tell us that he took refuge in an orchard belonging to `Utbah ibn Rabī`ah and his brother Shaybah, where he made a most moving and emotional appeal to God, saying, “To You, my Lord, I complain of my weakness, lack of support and the humiliation I am made to receive. Most compassionate and merciful! You are the Lord of the weak, and You are my Lord. To whom do You leave me? To a distant person who receives me with hostility? Or an enemy to whom You have given power over me? If You are not displeased with me I do not care what I face. I would, however, be much happier with Your mercy. I seek refuge in Your face by which all darkness is dispelled and both this life and the life to come are put in their right courses against incurring Your wrath or being the subject of Your anger. To You I submit, until I earn Your pleasure. Everything is powerless without Your support.”

A Major Breakthrough

Not long after that, the Prophet’s, and Islam’s, fortunes suddenly changed for the better. At a place called `Aqabah near Makkah, the Prophet had two crucial historic meetings in 621 and 622 CE with a group of Arabs from Madinah, during which they pledged their allegiance and support. This was to have a profound and far-reaching effect on the whole future of Islam and the Muslim community.

Towards the end of the Makkan period, the Prophet Muĥammad embarked on a concerted effort of making contact with various influential Arab communities and tribes to introduce Islam to them and seek their following and support.

The Khazraj and the Aws, the two Arab tribes of Madinah, having lived side by side with the Jews, had often heard them boast about “the Prophet who will come soon” and “whose day is at hand”, who would lead the Jews to victory over the Arabs. A group of the Khazraj pilgrims met the Prophet who explained to them his message. They immediately realized that he was the very Prophet the Jews were talking about. They were determined to get to him before the Jews did. Having met him and listened to what he had to say, they accepted him and became Muslims. They said to him: “We have left our people in an unprecedented state of mutual hostility. May God make you the cause of their unity.” On their return home, they reported what they did to their people who approved their action.

The following year a delegation comprising members of the two tribes of the Aws and the Khazraj, arrived in Makkah to meet the Prophet. They declared their acceptance of Islam and their allegiance. He sent them back with one of his senior companions to teach them the Qur’ān and instruct them in their new religion.

At the following annual Pilgrimage, a larger group from both tribes came to Makkah, and offered to make a covenant with the Prophet Muĥammad. This was attended by his then non-Muslim uncle al-’Abbās. The covenant bound them to support Muĥammad and defend him as they would their own families and property. This is known as the second `Aqabah covenant.

`Abdullāh ibn Rawāĥah of the Madinah people is reported to have stood up and asked the Prophet to “put forward your Lord’s and your own conditions.”

Muĥammad replied, “My Lord’s condition is that you worship Him alone and take no other gods beside Him. As for myself, my condition is that you give me the protection you would give yourselves and your property.”

`Abdullāh asked, “What do we receive in return?”

“Paradise!” the Prophet replied.

They said, “This is a profitable deal on which none will go back.”

Thus the Arabs of Madinah committed themselves to Islam and to following Muĥammad and defending him. Islam was to spread rapidly and entrench itself among them. The Muslims of Makkah began to arrive in Madinah in droves, abandoning their belongings and material possessions and taking only their faith. They were warmly welcomed by their fellow Muslims, who offered to share with them everything they had.

Eventually the time came for the Prophet himself to migrate to Madinah. He was accompanied by his close and trusted companion Abū Bakr. At last Muĥammad had found the safe haven he had been looking for all those years, where he and his followers would be free to proclaim the faith and establish their community. The Prophet’s arrival in Madinah was to prove a crucial turning point in the history of Islam.

The Making of a Unique Community

The community taking shape in Madinah was a unique and distinguished one, praised repeatedly throughout the Qur’ān. This sūrah opens with a concise, generally applicable, definition of true believers. Nevertheless, it refers specifically to those early pioneers of Islam: “This is the Book; there is no doubt about it, a guidance for the God-fearing. Those who believe in what lies beyond the reach of human perception, observe Prayer and give of what We bestow upon them. Those who believe in what has been revealed to you and what was revealed before you, and are certain of the Hereafter. Those follow their Lord’s guidance, and they shall surely prosper.” (Verses 1-5)

In contrast, we are immediately given a description of the unbelievers, which is again general and universal but applies specifically to those who rejected Islam and opposed it, in and around both Makkah and Madinah: “For the unbelievers, it is alike whether you forewarn them or not, they will not accept the faith. God has sealed their hearts and ears; their eyes are covered; and a grievous punishment awaits them.” (Verses 6-7)

In Madinah, a third group emerged, the hypocrites, or al-Munāfiqūn. This faction had not been noticeable in Makkah; its rise was prompted by the Prophet’s arrival and settlement in Madinah, as outlined earlier. That was because in Makkah, Islam had no sovereign political entity or force, and the Muslims remained soft targets for persecution and repression by the rest of the Arabs. Those who accepted Islam had to be brave and sincere, prepared to endure all kinds of hardship and terror.

In Madinah, hitherto known as Yathrib, the picture was very different. Islam was gradually gaining strength and the Muslims were developing into a dominant force. This became even more evident following their decisive victory over the non-Muslim Arabs at Badr, 125 kms south of Madinah, in February of 624 CE. This caused some people, including a number of leading and privileged figures, to feign acceptance of Islam merely to save their position and protect their social and tribal status and interests. Thus they came to be known as the ‘hypocrites’ in Islamic terminology. One of the most prominent of these was `Abdullāh ibn Ubayy ibn Salūl who, prior to the Prophet’s arrival in Madinah, was about to be crowned as a king of the city.

At the beginning of the sūrah, we find a detailed description of the hypocrites (Verses 8-20) from which it can easily be seen that they included those who had reluctantly embraced Islam and had not totally relinquished their self-pride and arrogance.

We also find a reference to their ‘evil companions’, which the context of the sūrah indicates to be the Jews, who were at the forefront of opposition and hostility to Islam. The sūrah devotes a fair amount of space to a series of stinging attacks on the Jews who were ranged against Islam and the Prophet Muĥammad.

The Jews were the first community to confront Islam in Madinah, for several reasons. As a people with an established religious heritage and culture, the Jews enjoyed a privileged and highly esteemed position among the illiterate Arabs of Madinah from both tribes of the Aws and the Khazraj. However, the pagan Arabs had not shown any great enthusiasm or inclination to embrace the Jewish religion. Nevertheless, they acknowledged that the Jews were better versed in matters of religious wisdom than they were. Moreover, the tense, and at times bloody, rivalry existing between these two tribes provided the Jews with an ideal environment for manipulation and exploitation.

When Islam came to Madinah, those advantages and privileges came under threat. Not only did Islam come to embrace and endorse Jewish Scriptures and beliefs, but it immediately aimed to eliminate the existing a unified and divisions them into harmonious community, unique in the whole history of mankind.

Above all, the Jews had claimed to be God’s own chosen people, heirs of earlier prophets, true inheritors and custodians of the divine message, and the people from among whom the new Prophet, foretold in their own scriptures, was most likely to be selected. When an Arab prophet emerged, they expected him to discredit them and restrict the new religion to his own people, the Arabs. But, as Muĥammad went on to introduce his message to the Jews, as recipients of earlier revelations and therefore more likely to respond and give him their support, they became arrogant and self-important and took offence.

They were overwhelmed with envy and jealousy towards Muĥammad on two grounds: first, for being chosen as God’s Messenger and, second, for the rapid and growing success he was having in and around Madinah.

But, of course, there was another very important reason for their unease and hostility. They had seen the threat of becoming marginalized and isolated within Madinah itself, where they had held spiritual as well as commercial sway for such a long time. The alternative would be to embrace the new faith and become assimilated into the Muslim community, losing their identity and separate existence for ever. Their options were thus severely restricted.

These factors explain the stance taken by the Jews towards Islam; a stance which has been extensively explored on several occasions in the Qur’ān. In this sūrah, we find the Qur’ān appealing to the Israelites, reminding them of the attitudes and conduct of their ancestors towards earlier Prophets, and recalling their stubbornness and intransigence, and their betrayal of God’s trust and covenant.

The images and examples cited from the chequered and turbulent Jewish past were familiar in Muĥammad’s time, and reflected the true nature of the Jewish psyche and attitude. Those features have accompanied the Jews in every generation and remain typical of their behaviour even today. For this reason, the Qur’ān has adopted a unique and revealing style in addressing all Israelite generations as one and the same, which again makes these accounts relevant for all time: past, present and future. Thus, the Qur’ānic words shall remain a timely and pertinent guide, and a warning, to Muslims in every generation with respect to the identity and potential intrigues of the enemies of their faith.

The Sūrah’s Central Theme

A significant part of the sūrah is devoted to the foundation and essential preparation of the Muslim community which was to carry God’s message to the world, the Israelites having notably failed to undertake that noble task. Indeed, they were now in opposition to its final version, Islam.

Having introduced the three main types of humanity: believers, unbelievers and hypocrites, and having made a clear though implicit reference to the ‘evil ones’, the sūrah addresses mankind as a whole, asking them to worship the One God and fully acknowledge the revelations He has bestowed on His Messenger. It affirms God’s favour and wisdom in creating the earth and the heavens, and all that is in them, for the use and benefit of man. (Verses 21-29)

This is followed by an account of the occasion when God appointed man as His vicegerent and representative on earth, outlining the terms and conditions of that auspicious appointment. (Verses 30-39)

The following section of the sūrah is devoted entirely to an extensive and wide- ranging debate with the Israelites, dealing critically with various aspects of their religious and historic record. (Verses 40-141)

The discussion focuses on the Israelites’ reception of Islam in Madinah. They were the first to actively reject it. They deliberately confused and concealed facts. They adopted a two-faced attitude towards faith and attempted to distort God’s words. They cheated, lied and broke faith with the Muslims in the hope of turning them away from their religion. They claimed the exclusive possession of God’s trust and a monopoly of righteousness. They became envious of the Muslims and spared no effort to undermine their existence and cause them harm. Last, but not least, they allied themselves with Islam’s enemies, the hypocrites and pagan Arabs, and were prepared to conspire with them against the Muslim community.

In consequence, the sūrah launches a bitter and fierce attack on the Jews, drawing its justification from their behaviour towards Moses and their reaction to the laws given them by God and the prophets and messengers He sent them. All generations of the Jewish nation are addressed as one group.

The attack ends with an admonition to the Muslims never to hold any hope that the Jews will ever reconcile themselves to accepting or acknowledging Islam. It goes on to lambast the Jewish claim to the monotheistic legacy of Abraham, and to establish Muĥammad and his followers as the true heirs of Abraham’s faith who are entitled to inherit his covenant with God. It affirms that the inheritance by Muslims of the guardianship of God’s message to man had come as a fulfilment of Abraham’s and Ishmael’s prayers to God while constructing the Ka`bah, the symbol of surrender and the Sacred House devoted to the worship of the One God.

From then on, the sūrah addresses the Muslims, instructing them how to fulfil their role as guardians and carriers of God’s Message to mankind. It offers guidance on the beliefs and concepts that were to distinguish the Muslim faith and way of life for all time to come. (Verses 142-283) This part begins by defining the qiblah, the direction to which Muslims should turn when praying. It was to be the sacred site at

Makkah housing the Ka`bah, the House of God built by Abraham and Ishmael, its first keepers and custodians. The sūrah tells us that even while the Muslims had been praying towards Jerusalem, the centre of Judaism, Muĥammad was privately yearning for the Ka`bah to become the exclusive direction for the Muslims during Prayer. (Verse 144)

The sūrah goes on to outline the principles and systems of Islam in several fields including faith and outlook, rites of worship and religious matters, personal and public behaviour and conduct. It teaches the Muslims that those who give their lives for the cause of God never die; that insecurity, hunger and poverty are not necessarily evil in themselves, but are means to test the believers, to assess their potential and refine and strengthen their capacity to advance God’s cause in the world. It reassures Muslims that God is their patron and will always be on their side, while their detractors and opponents will be led astray into a wilderness of darkness by impostors, false mentors and bogus leaders. The sūrah outlines aspects of lawful and unlawful food and drink, penal measures, rules governing wills, fasting, war, and pilgrimage. It dwells at length on the regulation and organization of family affairs, including marriage and divorce, and covers rules governing spending, usury, lending and trade.

Although during this extensive discussion the sūrah refers, from time to time, to instances and glimpses from Jewish history, the main body of the second part deals basically with the structure and organization of the Muslim community, and the essential features and qualifications it requires to uphold God’s message and fulfil its prime role as His trustee and the custodian of His message for all time to come.

The following section of the sūrah is almost entirely devoted to the education, formation and building of the Muslim community, which was destined to take up the task of expounding God’s message to the rest of humanity. We continue, from time to time, to come across discourses and arguments dealing with those opposed to Islam, especially the Israelites, and their plots and schemes to thwart its progress and stifle the growth of the Muslim community. There are also instructions to the Muslims on how to fight back and what precautions to take in order to avoid their traps.

Nevertheless, the chief concern of this section, and of the rest of the sūrah, remains the establishment and codification of the distinguishing qualities and features of the Muslim community. It is a community that has its own laws, confirming and succeeding those of earlier Divine Revelation, its own qiblah, and above all its distinct and original outlook on the world and life as a whole. It is a community that is fully cognizant of its relationship with God and of its leading role in the world, and the responsibilities and obligations stemming from that role. It is a community that is confidently and loyally poised to submit fully to God’s will and command, as ordained and articulated in the Qur’ān and the teachings and work of the Prophet Muĥammad, God’s peace and blessings be upon him.

We learn that the qiblah issue is related to the fact that the Muslim community is a moderate and middle-of-the-road community. By virtue of their message and role in the world, Muslims shall be God’s witness to the rest of mankind, while Muĥammad shall be a witness to them. The Qur’ān accords the Muslims a leading status in the world, and calls on them to work hard, persevere and make all the sacrifices that are required of them to earn that status and fulfil their role, putting their trust fully in God’s will and wisdom.

We come across some important elaboration of basic Islamic concepts such as taqwā, fearing God, and `amal şāliĥ, good works. This comes in the course of refuting Jewish arguments concerning the change of the qiblah, which are based on distortion of the facts and faulty interpretations of Divine instructions.

The sūrah then turns to setting out rules and regulations for the religious and practical life of the community. These include penalties for capital offences and rules relating to wills, fasting during the month of Ramadan, going to war during the sacred months and within the surrounds of the Ka`bah, the Hajj, or Pilgrimage, drinking and gambling, and family affairs. The common denominator underpinning all these duties and regulations is sound belief and strong faith in God Almighty.

The section contains a discussion on jihād, citing an important episode from the history of the Israelites after Moses, during the reign of the Prophet David, which has many essential lessons for the Muslims as heirs of Abraham’s religious tradition and the responsibility of world leadership.

The sūrah has given us a good idea of the nature of the battle the Qur’ān was fighting and the environment it was fighting in while it was being revealed, and the objectives it was aiming to achieve in raising and building the Muslim community in the 7th century CE. The atmosphere among the Makkan Arabs was one of intrigue, mischief, confusion and falsehood. Human weakness and greed also had to be taken into account.

Above all, the Qur’ān was aiming to establish and articulate upright concepts and sound principles on which the community could be raised, and to chart for it a course for a righteous and dignified leadership of the world.

The enduring qualities of the Qur’ān are vindicated by the fact that the principles, rules and instructions it propounded fourteen centuries ago remain today, and for all time to come, essential for the regeneration and reconstruction of Muslim society. The battles and the issues and the controversies remain the same. The enemies, and the means and weapons used against the Qur’ān and its followers also remain fundamentally the same. To fight and win today’s battles, Muslims will need to follow the Qur’ānic principles and teachings which shaped and guided that pioneering Muslim community of Madinah.

Muslims today need the Qur’ān for a better and a more realistic understanding of the world and their role in it. No other source exists that can provide them with the inspiration, the practical guidance and the complete way of life they need to forge ahead and assume the leadership of the world again.

The closing two verses take us full circle to the opening of the sūrah, affirming the Muslim world community’s eternal belief in all Prophets and messages sent by God to man, without exception, and in what lies beyond the reach of human perception. They assert the Muslims’ total unqualified faith in, and submission to, the One God.

Thus, the ending of the sūrah coalesces smoothly with its beginning, as the subject matter is shaped and honed to give a complete and superb example of the Qur’ān’s inimitable and powerful style.

Overview (Verses 1 - 2)

This opening passage of the sūrah outlines the essential features of the religious groups the Muslim community faced in Madinah, with the exception of the Jews, to whom only a brief, but adequate, reference is made. They are described as the ‘satans’ or ‘evil companions’ of the hypocrites; a description that says a great deal about their qualities and the nature of their role. They are dealt with in more detail later on in the sūrah.

In delineating the features of these groups, the special characteristics of the Qur’ānic style are clearly displayed. Words are used as an artist uses lines and colours, and through them images slowly begin to take on shape and life.

At the outset, in a few words and sentences, profiles of three types of people merge, each a true representation of a group of human beings such as recurs in every day and age. Indeed, all mankind in all ages and places can be classified into these types. This is a fine example of the eloquence and power of the Qur’ānic style.

In these brief and highly informative sentences and verses, pictures are brought to life with a power and focus that no lengthy or elaborate rendition could ever provide. A few rapid touches combine with the beauties of style and rhythm to supreme effect.

Following this concise and powerful introduction, the sūrah addresses all people in the world, calling on them to belong to the first category of mankind. It urges man to believe in the One God, the Creator, Sustainer and Provider, who has no equals or partners. It challenges those sceptics who doubt the truth of the Prophet Muĥammad’s message, and of the revelations he received, to come up with a single sūrah to compare with the Qur’ān. It complements the challenge with a severe warning of horrible punishment for those who reject God’s message, and a promise of everlasting bliss and happiness for those who trust and believe in God and His revelations.

The passage then responds to certain Jews and hypocrites who had questioned the use of parables in the Qur’ān, which they used as an excuse to doubt the truth and validity of Divine revelations altogether. It gives them a stern warning that they are departing from God’s path, in contrast to the believers, who are drawn closer to God and strengthened in faith. It denounces their denial of God who gives life and takes it away, the Creator who controls all and whose knowledge of things and events in this vast universe is all-embracing and comprehensive. It is God who has bestowed His grace on mankind by making the earth and all that it contains, to be under their control and for their benefit.

These are the main themes of this opening passage of the sūrah, and we shall now go on to look into them in more detail.

The Qualities of True Believers

The sūrah opens with three Arabic letters: “Alif, lām, mīm.” (Verse 1) This is immediately followed by the statement: “This is the Book, there is no doubt about it, a guidance for the God-fearing.’’ (Verse 2)

Several sūrahs in the Qur’ān begin with a combination of Arabic letters in this way, and interpretations of these abstract openings vary quite widely. The one we tend to favour is that these are meant to emphasize the fact that the Qur’ān is a book composed of the letters of the Arabic language, in the same way as they are used by the Arabs who were the first people addressed by this divine revelation. Nevertheless, it is such an unparalleled and transcendent work that no Arab writer, using the same letters and the same language, could ever match its majesty and power. Rivals are repeatedly challenged to compose a book similar to it, or only ten sūrahs, or even a single sūrah, of matching quality. No one has ever been able to take up the challenge.

This is true for all God’s creation. Soil, for example, is made up of elements of known properties. The best man has been able to make out of soil is bricks, tiles, vessels and structures of various types and uses, which are in some cases very sophisticated. But using these same elements, God has created life, the one outstanding secret that remains far beyond man’s intellectual and creative abilities.

Similarly, the same letters and words that ordinary people, speaking the language of the Qur’ān, use to articulate expressions and convey meanings and concepts, are used by God to produce the Qur’ān as a definitive book stating the final and absolute distinction between truth and falsehood. A comparison between man’s work and the work of God is simply not possible; it is a comparison between the image and the reality, between the dead body and the living soul.

“This is the Book; there is no doubt about it.” (Verse 2) How can there be any doubt about it when the evidence for its truth and veracity is given in these very letters with which the sūrah opens? Evidence is implicit in the total inability of the Arabs to produce anything matching the Qur’ān, despite their proficiency and excellence in the use of their own language which is comprised of the same letters and words.

“This is the Book; there is no doubt about it a guidance for the God- fearing.” (Verse 2) The key word in this statement is ‘guidance’. It expresses the essence and the nature of the Qur’ān. But guidance for whom? Who are the people who will find that this Book provides them with light, direction and true counsel? They are the God-fearing.

Once a man’s heart is filled with the fear of God, he will benefit by the Qur’ān. Fear and consciousness of God is the quality that opens one’s mind to the true guidance contained in the Qur’ān and allows it to have its proper effect on one’s life. It is the factor that causes one’s heart and mind to become sensitive and receptive to God’s guidance and enables one to respond to His call and His instruction.

Anyone seeking the benefit and Godly wisdom of the Qur’ān must approach it with an open mind and a pure heart. One must also approach it with perception and sensitivity, and with a determination not to fall by the wayside or be tempted away from God. Then, and only then, will the marvels and treasures of the Qur’ān be opened and revealed, and their light and wisdom will pour into this apprehensive, alert and welcoming heart.

It is reported that `Umar ibn al-Khaţţāb, a close companion of the Prophet and his second successor, asked the learned Companion, Ubayy ibn Ka`b, about the true meaning of ‘fear of God’.

Ubayy asked `Umar, “Have you ever walked along a thorny road?” “Yes, certainly,” `Umar replied.

Ubayy asked again, “How did you manage to get through it?” `Umar replied, “I gathered up my clothes and tried my best to avoid the thorns.”

“That is precisely what God-fearing is like,” said Ubayy.

Fear of God, then, is to have a sensitive conscience, clear feelings, a continuous concern, vigilance and alacrity, and a yearning for the correct path in life. It is a feeling that is ever alive, a feeling of being aware of life’s temptations and pitfalls; and the ambitions and hopes, and the worries and fears that come with it. It is a feeling of being able to discern false hopes and unwarranted fears that one associates with individuals or powers that could neither bring benefit nor cause harm. Above all, the journey of life is full of many other kinds of thorns and nettles one must be aware of and strive to avoid.