RENAISSANCE SEPTEMBER 2022

Qur’anic Exegesis 8 Monthly Renaissance September 2022 Quraysh. It is because of these few verses that our exegetes have differed about the place of revelation of the surah - whether it was Makkah or Mad ī nah. However, if a few Mad ī nan verses are inserted in a Makkan s ū rah – and the nature too of these verses is that of an explanation – then this does not make the whole s ū rah into a Mad ī nan one. There are some Mad ī nan verses in S ū rah al- Muzzammil too even though there is a consensus that it is a Makkan s ū rah . It will be explained ahead that these verses are like that of a stipulation of premise that was stated concisely. When something that was stated in the last phase of the Makkan period was explained in verses revealed in the early Mad ī nan period, then both these set of verses were placed adjacent to one another. Zamakhashar ī too has regarded this s ū rah , with the exception of a few verses, to be Makkan. 1 Analysis of the Meanings Verses (1-4): The opponents of the Qur’ ā n are warned of God’s grasp and of the horrors of the torment in the Hereafter. Becoming neglectful of the Hereafter and following Satan as a result of associating partners with God without any basis is a call for doom. Satan’s real task, for which God has given him respite, is not to provide guidance so that people follow him. He is in fact leading all the wretched people who follow him to the fire of Hell. Verses (5-8): Arguments in favour of the Hereafter are cited by referring to phases of creation of a human being and by the phenomenon of earth’s revival to life after a dry spell. The purpose is to urge people who are in doubt regarding the Hereafter and have become indifferent to it and who are neither reflecting on the nature and wisdom of their creation nor on the world around them. They are urged to open their eyes to the signs within them and in the world around them instead of demanding to observe the torment. The advent of the Hereafter is an obvious and necessary consequence of God’s attributes. It is destined to come without doubt. Verses (9-16): Because of reliance on their alleged deities and intercessors, people who were indifferent to the Hereafter and wanted to always argue and dispute with the Prophet (sws) in support of polytheism are taken to task and refuted. It is explained 1. Zamakhshar ī , Al-Kashsh ā f , vol. 3, 142.