B i s m i l l a a h i r R a h m a a n i r R a h e e m Teachings of the Qur`aan Al-Muddaththir
Name, Background and Placement Soorah 74:1-7 Ayub A. Hamid Name and Background Like the previous Soorah, the name for this Soorah has been taken from its first verse where the Prophet sall Allaahu`alayhi wa sallam has been lovingly addressed as Al-Muddaththir -- a person who has wrapped himself in his blanket. The first seven verses of this Soorah were revealed at the very beginning of the prophetic mission. According to the most accepted opinion, they comprised the second revelation that the Prophet received. As the first revelation was comprised of the first five verses of Soorah Al-`Alaq, the details about it have been given in the commentary on that Soorah. As mentioned there, the unexpected first appearance of the Angel Jibreel (Gabriel) in the cave startled the Prophet who immediately headed towards home. He arrived home in a frightened, worried state, and lay down wrapped in a blanket. He was extremely worried about the responsibility he had been assigned. He was not sure if he could handle it. After this initial experience, there was a few weeks break during which nothing was revealed to give him time to ponder over and digest what had happened, to recover from the initial shock, and to become mentally ready for the challenges of the enormous responsibility that had been assigned to him. Then one day, while walking towards his home, he felt as if someone had called him. He looked around but did not see anyone. He heard the call again and lifted up his head to see in the sky the same angel that had appeared to him in the cave, sitting on a throne. The Prophet was once again overwhelmed by the experience and worried about the task ahead and arrived home trembling. Once again he asked for a blanket and lay down wrapped in it. The angel descended and came close to him and revealed these seven verses: 1 O you wrapped up in a blanket! 2 Stand up and warn the people; 3 proclaim the Greatness of your Lord; 4 purify your garments and character; 5 keep away from uncleanness; 6 and do not discontinue your efforts when you feel that you have done enough, 7 rather, persevere for your Lord. >From then on the revelations started coming frequently, as and when some >message, guidance or command had to be given. In addition to the revelations, >Angel Jibreel would also visit the Prophet sall Allaahu`alayhi wa sallam to >teach him fundamental Islamic teachings and practices. This revelation expanded on the command "Recite to people" given to him in the first revelation. He was told of his responsibility, listing the initial tasks he needed to undertake right away despite his apprehensions about the challenges and enormity of the mission. After this second revelation, the Prophet sall Allaahu`alayhi wa sallam started inviting people to Islam as commanded in these seven verses. The rest of the Soorah was revealed when the Makkan chiefs had started their opposition to the mission of the Prophet sall Allaahu`alayhi wa sallam and were much annoyed by his initial success in attracting some good people of the society to his mission. As the Hajj (Pilgrimage) season approached when Arabs from all over Arabia came to Makkah, they became worried that if some effective steps were not taken to stop the spread of his mission, many pilgrims may accept Islam and join his movement, spreading his mission to the whole of Arabia. They were concerned that the spread of his mission may undermine their hegemony and influence they enjoyed and the prosperity that ensued from that influence. The Makkan chiefs held a meeting to devise an effective strategy to blunt his efforts. They agreed to launch an extensive propaganda campaign against the Prophet, to begin as soon as the pilgrims arrived, to sow doubts about his credibility so that the pilgrims would not listen to him or take him seriously. At that meeting, one of the chiefs, Waleed ibn Mugheerah, suggested that the propaganda should be consistent in its message if it was to be effective, otherwise they would all lose their credibility. Some suggested that the Prophet sall Allaahu`alayhi wa sallam should be labelled as a soothsayer or fortune-teller. Waleed rejected the suggestion because the Qur-aan had no resemblance to the words of soothsayers or fortune-tellers whatsoever. Others suggested telling the pilgrims that he had gone crazy and that he considered himself Allaah's prophet because of this madness. Waleed rejected that idea as well on the grounds that no one who had met him or listened to him would ever believe in their claim. A suggestion was made to call him a poet so that people would disregard his claim of prophethood and his call to Islam as unreal poetic fabrication. Waleed questioned the feasibility of that characterization on the grounds that the Qur-aanic text did not lend itself to be classified as any kind of poetry that they were aware of. The last epithet that they could think of was to call him a magician. That idea was also dismissed for its obvious inapplicability. Then, others in general, and Aboo Jahl in particular, insisted that Waleed must come up with some label that he thought would credibly stick on the Prophet. After much deliberation and thought, Waleed suggested that the Prophet should be labelled as a magician and that the Qur-aan he preached created rifts and discordance among the members of a family or a clan. His suggestion was unanimously endorsed and the Makkans started warning everyone to beware of this man who was a magician and created discordance in families and clans. Considering the importance of the unity and togetherness of families and clans in the Arabian society against the attacks from outsiders, this was a lethal propaganda to scare people from the Prophet and to be extremely wary of him. Placement In the previous Soorah, Al-Muzzammil, the Prophet sall Allaahu`alayhi wa sallam was taught how to establish his close relationship with Allaah and prepare himself for an enormous, onerous responsibility. This Soorah spells out the tasks to be undertaken in fulfilling this responsibility. As we, the Muslims, have the same responsibility as was given to the Prophet sall Allaahu`alayhi wa sallam, this arrangement of Soorahs teaches us that we must start the fulfillment of our responsibility by establishing the relationship with Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala as prescribed in Al-Muzzammil and continue to undertake the tasks as described in this Soorah. Our responsibility as Muslims is not fulfilled if any of the two components is missing from our normal day to day life. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 2009 Ayub A. Hamid All rights reserved This document may be used, only with this copyright notice included. Permission is granted to circulate among private individuals and groups, to post on internet forums, and include in not-for-profit publications subject to the following conditions: (1) Material used must be produced faithfully in full, without alteration or omission; (2) The author's subject title must remain unchanged, in whole or in part; (3) Material must be attributed to the author Ustaadz Ayub A. Hamid. Contact the author for all other rights, which are reserved. Note: This series is providing the teachings of the Qur`aan, not a literal translation. Instead of literal translation, it gives interpretive meanings of the verses, along with their contextual details. Please remember that any translation of the Holy Qur`aan is in fact only an expression of the translator's understanding of the Word of Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala, and hence cannot be equated with the Qur`aan itself. Only the original Arabic text can be called the Holy Qur`aan. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ustaadz Ayub A. Hamid is a visionary and strategic Islamic thinker residing in Canada for the last 34 years. His recently published books are: 1. Islam - Does It Make Sense? 2. Unveiling the Commands - The Truth about Hijaab, Khimaar and Jilbaab. 3. Finding A Soulmate - A Guide for Parents and Youth. 4. A Book Unlike Any Other. 5. Islam - Adopting Its Paradigms. 6. Exploring the Islamic Beliefs. http://soundvisioncanada.com/shop/pbrowse.asp?Pg=3&Cat=10004 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The following soowar 'Teachings of the Qur`aan' series by Ustaadz Ayub A. Hamid, are available on request:- Al Faatihah Al Baqarah Aali`Imraan A Nisaa' Al Maaidah Al An`aam Al A`raaf Al Anfaal At Teen Al`Alaq Al Qadr Al Bayyinah Al Zilzaal Al Aadiyatt Al Qaari`ah At Takaathur Al`Asr Al Humazah Al Feel Al Quraish Al Maa`oon Al-Kowthar Al Kaafiroon Al Nasr Al Lahab Al Ikhlaas Al Falaq An Naas Al Mulk Al Qalam Al Haaqqah Al Ma`aarij Nooh Al Jinn Al-Muzammil K a r i m a -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
