041- FUṢṢILAT
EXPOUNDED
Fuṣṣilat
Fuṣṣilat is a Makkan sūrah believed to have been revealed directly after the preceding sūrah, Ghāfir. It takes its name from the reference to the Quran in v. 3 as a Book whose signs have been expounded. This sūrah is also known as Sajdah, “Prostration,” and as ḥā Mīm Sajdah. Other less common names for this sūrah are “The Lamps” (al-Maṣābīḥ), for the phrase We adorned the lowest heaven with lamps and a guard in v. 12, and “Means of Sustenance” (al-Aqwāt), from the reference to God having apportioned means of sustenance for all things on the earth in v. 10.
According to some, Fuṣṣilat follows the previous sūrah, because the discussion of the punishments that befell the pre-Islamic Arabian tribes of ʿĀd and Thamūd and the similar punishments that are foretold for the Quraysh echo the warnings of 40:82: Have they not journeyed upon the earth and observed how those before them fared in the end? They were more numerous than them, and greater than them in strength, and left firmer traces upon the earth. But that which they used to earn availed them not. In this same vein, v. 2 can be seen as a warning to the Quraysh that echoes 40:83, And when their messengers brought them clear proofs, they exulted in the knowledge they possessed, and that which they used to mock beset them, since the Quraysh were said to mock the Quran, as in v. 26: And those who disbelieve will say, “Listen not to this Quran, but speak dismissively of it, that haply you might prevail”.
The sūrah begins with a brief discussion of the nature of the Quran (vv. 1–4), which is followed by advice to the Prophet regarding those who refuse to pay it heed (vv. 5–6), juxtaposing the disbelievers and the believers (vv. 7–8). After calling for reflection upon the manner in which God created the heavens and the earth (vv. 9–12), the sūrah invokes the calamities that befell the pre-Islamic Arabian tribes of ʿĀd and Thamūd as examples of the fate that awaits disbelievers in this world (vv. 13–18), followed by a warning of the fate that awaits them in the Hereafter (vv. 19–25). A discussion of the fate that awaits those who reject the Quran (vv. 26–28) then transitions into another juxtaposition of the believers and the disbelievers (vv. 29–32) and an exhortation to the believers to maintain respectful speech and conduct even with the disbelievers (vv. 33–39). This is followed by a return to a discussion of the nature of the Quran and the fate that awaits those who reject it (vv. 40–46). The final section (vv. 47–54), which reflects upon the vagaries of the human condition, includes one of the most important verses for the discussion of the manner in which God reveals the truth to human beings (v. 53).
(source: “The Study Quran” a new translation and commentary by Seyyed Hossein Nasr)
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