In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
A Gentle Commentary
on the book "Introductory Cards
to the Surahs of the Noble Qur'an"
by Dr. Muhammad Ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz Ibn 'Umar Nasif,
may Allah preserve him.
Surah al-Mu'minun.
In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds,
and peace and blessings be upon the seal of the prophets and messengers,
and upon his family and all his companions.
We continue with our gentle commentary on the introductory cards,
and with Surah al-Mu'minun.
I have three reflections regarding it.
The first reflection concerns the placement of the surah.
He said regarding its correlation to Surah al-Hajj,
which is the surah immediately preceding it,
that toward the end of the former it says: "that you may succeed,"
“O ye who believe! Bow down and prostrate yourselves, and worship your Lord, and do good, that haply ye may prosper.” (22:77)
"and do good, that you may succeed,"
while the beginning of this surah states: "Certainly will the believers succeed."
I have paused here specifically to point out
that in discussing thematic links between surahs,
even the slightest connection is sufficient,
and this is not meant to be exclusive;
there could very well be other connections,
and in most cases, multiple correlations exist.
At the end of the former surah, He says: "that you may succeed,"
and here He clarifies who the successful are,
or rather, who those who have succeeded are,
if we wish to be precise in our wording.
This represents a form of correlation,
which shows you that a correlation is not required
to be purely conceptual and subtle;
rather, it can be verbal, just like this example.
The second reflection
is that with this surah,
if we look at its central theme,
which is apparent from its opening
and from the motifs recurring throughout it,
its theme is strengthening faith
and clarifying the qualities of its people.
Consequently, it is appropriate
that in studying the qualities of the believers in the surah,
one should not merely look at its opening;
rather, examine the entire surah for the qualities of the believers
and for what renews faith.
How could one not, when this is the very name of the surah?
If you have a surah named al-Mu'minun (The Believers)—
in the Qur'an there is a surah called al-Mu'minun—
and you wish to learn about faith,
it is inconceivable that it would be absent from your research
among the sources you consult.
Rather, it is essential to return to it.
The same applies to surahs named after the names of Allah:
how can you understand the name of Allah al-A'la (the Most High)
without referring to Surah al-A'la?
Or the name of Allah ar-Rahman (the Entirely Merciful),
without reading Surah ar-Rahman?
These are the fundamental sources
for researching faith:
returning to the Qur'an, and specifically to Surah al-Mu'minun.
Naturally, other surahs also discuss faith,
but this surah is named "The Believers."
Therefore, attention should be paid to the title
and to seeking its manifestations throughout the surah.
At the beginning of the surah are their qualities,
and in the middle of the surah there is also reference to them:
"Indeed, they who are of apprehension of their Lord fearful..." through the verses,
and at the end of the surah is a clarification of their destiny
and the destiny of those who used to mock them.
All of this is beneficial regarding faith,
alongside other themes that stimulate the innate disposition (fitrah)
in the hearts of the disbelievers so that they might believe—
through warnings and through the call that seeks to stimulate the intellect,
that provokes intellectual reflection:
"Say, 'To whom belongs the earth and whoever is in it, if you should know?' They will say, 'To Allah...'" through the verses.
The point is that faith and everything pertaining to it
are prominent in this surah,
so one should be keen to search for it
and not settle only for the qualities mentioned at the beginning,
even though they are truly magnificent qualities:
"Certainly will the believers have succeeded: they who are during their prayer humbly submissive..."
As for the third reflection,
it is a link between two matters recurring across many surahs.
You will notice in the chronological order of revelation,
which is effectively dating the surah,
he noted that it contains such warnings to the polytheists
as to indicate a later period of revelation.
Now, if you look at the sections of the surah,
you will find warnings in them.
In the second part of the surah,
there are two warnings to the deniers:
“Till when We grasp their luxurious ones with the punishment, behold! they supplicate.” (23:64)
"...they cry out for help" in verse sixty-four;
then a few verses later in verse seventy-six:
"And We had already seized them with agony,
but they did not submit to their Lord, nor will they supplicate humbly."
“Until, when We open for them the gate of extreme punishment, behold! they are aghast thereat.” (23:77)
“Until, when We open for them the gate of extreme punishment, behold! they are aghast thereat.” (23:77)
“Until, when We open for them the gate of extreme punishment, behold! they are aghast thereat.” (23:77)
Then comes a third warning involving death,
which you will find in the final lines
of the sections of the surah:
a third warning involving death:
"Until, when death comes to one of them,
he says, 'My Lord, send me back...'"
Then a fourth warning involving the Last Day:
"So when the Horn is blown,
“And when the trumpet is blown there will be no kinship among them that day, nor will they ask of one another.” (23:101)
nor will they ask about one another."
What do we infer from these warnings?
We infer that they suggest
a later revelation,
because intense warning
is predominantly expected to occur
at an advanced stage
of the Meccan period,
even if only relatively speaking;
it is not among the earliest revelations
to contain such detailed exposition
in threatening punishment.
And Allah knows best.
May peace and blessings of Allah be upon our Prophet Muhammad,
and upon his family and all his companions,
and all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.