036- YĀ SĪN
Yā Sīn
Yā Sīn
There is consensus among all scholars that Yā Sīn is a Makkan sūrah from the early part of the middle Makkan period. Some maintain that the whole of the sūrah is Makkan, though many commentators believe that v. 12 is from the Madinan period. The sūrah takes its name from the mention of the Arabic letters yāʾ and sīn in the opening verse. Some also refer to it as “The Heart of the Quran,” after a well-known ḥadīth: “Everything has a heart, and the heart of the Quran is Yā Sīn. Whosoever recites Yā Sīn, God records for him the recitation of the Quran ten times for his recitation of it”.
Seen as the heart of the Quran, this sūrah plays a very important role in traditional Islamic piety. Many Muslims recite Yā Sīn regularly as part of their supererogatory devotions, and it is often the only sūrah longer than a page or so that Muslims have memorized in full. A famous ḥadīth says, “Recite Yā Sīn over your dead”. It is thus recited for those who are close to death, those who have just died, and at the graves of loved ones. It is also recited for those who are sick, for another ḥadīth states, “Verily in the Quran there is a sūrah that intercedes through its recitation and forgives through its being heard—indeed, that is Sūrat Yā Sīn”. Yā Sīn is also recited by many Muslims after the performance of the obligatory prayers in the morning and the evening. Regarding the latter, another report, sometimes recorded as a ḥadīth, states, “Whosoever recites Sūrat Yā Sīn at night, desiring the Face of God, is forgiven during that night”. Although many believe that the exhortation to recite Yā Sīn in the morning is a ḥadīth, it most likely derives from a saying attributed to Ibn ʿAbbās: “Whosoever recites Yā Sīn when he awakens is given ease for his day until the evening comes. And whosoever reads it in the midst of the night is given ease for his night until he awakens”.
Several scholars maintain that Yā Sīn is the heart of the Quran because it addresses its central teachings regarding God, prophethood, and the Hereafter. The sūrah begins with an address to the Prophet that clarifies both his mission and the nature of revelation (vv. 1–12) followed by a parable regarding those who reject prophets (vv. 13–30) that segues into a discussion of Resurrection and the signs of it in the natural world (vv. 31–44). Responses to various objections common to the disbelievers and the consequences of them (vv. 45–52) then lead into a discussion of the disparate ends of the disbelievers and the believers (vv. 53–68), which concludes with another reflection on the nature of Muhammad’s prophethood (vv. 69– 70). The final section returns to a discussion of the signs in the created order that serve to inform one of God’s creative Power and ability to resurrect (vv. 71–81) and concludes with an affirmation of God’s Omnipotence (vv. 82–83).
(source: “The Study Quran” a new translation and commentary by Seyyed Hossein Nasr)
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