043- AL-ZUKHRUF
GOLD ORNAMENTS
Al-Zukhruf
Al-Zukhruf is a Makkan sūrah, believed to have been revealed directly after Sūrah 42, al-Shūrā, although some maintain that v. 45 is from the Madinan period. It takes its name from the mention of gold ornaments in v. 35. Some propose that in discussing the nature of the Quran and the Mother of the Book in the first verses, this sūrah follows directly upon a statement from the end of the previous sūrah: Thou knewest not what scripture was, nor faith. But We made it a light whereby We guide whomsoever We will among Our servants (42:52).
After opening with a brief discussion of revelation (vv. 2–5), the sūrah cites the fate of previous communities who rejected the prophets sent to them (vv. 6–8) and challenges the worldview of the Makkan idolaters (vv. 9–35). The first half of the sūrah responds to different objections that the Makkan idolaters are reported to have posed to the message of the Quran and in doing so addresses several forms of disbelief, such as assigning partners to God (vv. 15), claiming that the angels are God’s female offspring (v. 19), saying that God willed for them to worship the angels (v. 20), claiming that the Quran should have been revealed to someone who was already of high social standing (v. 31), and likening the place of deities in their religion to the place of Jesus in Christianity (vv. 57–58).
A major theme of al-Zukhruf is the incorrect ways in which human beings seek to measure truth, such as claiming to follow the tradition of one’s forefathers (vv. 22–25) and seeing the wealth of this world as an indicator of one’s true station (vv. 31–36). Regarding the former claim, Abraham is cited as an example of someone who opposed his people’s attachment to their forefathers (vv. 26–28); for the latter claim, the opposition of the idolaters to the Prophet is likened to the opposition of Pharaoh and his “notables” toward Moses (vv. 46–56). The idolaters’ attempt to liken their worship of idols to the Christian worship of Jesus is also firmly rebuked (vv. 57–65). After these examples are provided, there is an extended contrast of the fate of believers and disbelievers in the Hereafter (vv. 66–78), followed by another challenge to the belief system of the idolaters (vv. 79–87). Having cited and rebuked many different modes of disbelief, the sūrah ends with an injunction to the Prophet to remain calm in the face of the disbelievers’ opposition to his message (vv. 88–89).
(source: “The Study Quran” a new translation and commentary by Seyyed Hossein Nasr)
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