100 Sura Al-‘Adiyat (The War Horses That Run Swiftly)
Here we have an oath by war horses, some say camels, which run swiftly into battle and pass through the oppositions defences. Here ungrateful mankind is reminded that those who are in the graves shall come forth, and the evil thoughts of men shall be manifest on judgement day.
T
he Oath:“By the (steeds) that run, with panting (breath), And strike sparks of fire, And push home the charge in the morning, And raise the dust in clouds the while, And penetrate forthwith into the midst (of the foe) en-masse.”
Ungrateful mankind: “Truly man is, to his Lord, ungrateful; And to that (fact) he bears witness (by his deeds); And violent is he in his love of wealth. Does he not know, when that which is in the graves is scattered abroad And that which is (locked up) in (human) breasts is made manifest That their Lord had been well-acquainted with them, (even to) that day?”
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101 Sura Al-Qariy’ah (The Calamity) Mecca
In this sura of eleven verses the calamity spoken about is the Last Day which will be a day that strikes terror into the hearts of men as nature and men are in upheaval. It will be the day when men shall be weighed in the balance to determine their eternal destination.
The Terror of the Judgement Day
“The (day) of noise and clamour: What is the (day) of noise and clamour?
And what will explain to thee what the (day) of noise and clamour is?
(It is) a day whereon men will be like moths scattered about, and the mountains will be like carded wool.” (v 1-5)
The Balance
The balance is mentioned also in Ash-Shura 42:17: “It is Allah Who has sent down the book in truth and the balance (by which to weigh conduct). And what will make thee realise that perhaps the hour is close at hand?”
The balance is not a new concept with Islam for it is mentioned in the fictitious book ’ Testament of Abraham’ which was written in Egypt 400 years before Muhammad’s flight to Medina. Muhammad may have heard about the balance from his Coptic wife, Mary. It is also more famously known in the Egyptian work ’The Book of the Dead.’ In Islam all deeds and words will be weighed in a balance scale one balance being over paradise and the other over hell. “We shall set up scales of justice for the day of judgment, so that not a soul will be dealt with unjustly in the least, and if there be (no more than) the weight of a mustard seed, We will bring it (to account): and enough are We to take account” (Al-Anbiya 21:47).
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102 Sura At-Takathur (The Piling Up) Mecca (Disputed)
Here we read that it was the desire to multiply in wealth and children that consumed the Qurraish but they are warned not to waste their lives in such activity but rather face the reality of the Judgement Day.
“The mutual rivalry for piling up (the good things of this world) diverts you, Until ye visit the graves.
But nay, ye soon shall know (the reality). Again, ye soon shall know! Nay, were ye to know with certainty of mind,
Ye shall certainly see hell-fire! Again, ye shall see it with certainty of sight!
Then, shall ye be questioned that day about the joy (ye indulged in!)”(v.1-8)
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103 Sura Al-‘Asr (The Declining Day)
S ome call the title of this sura ‘afternoon’ connecting it with the time when the sun declines and the time of one of the appointed times of prayer. This sura was said to have been recited in the mosque at Mecca by Muhammad just before he died its theme is that apart from those things done for Allah everything has no value.
“By the time (through the ages),
Verily man is in loss,
Except such as have faith, and do righteous deeds, and (join together) in the mutual teaching of truth, and of patience and constancy.”
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104 Sura Al-Humazah (The Slanderer) Mecca
This sura is directed against one or more Quarraish rich men. Baidawi, (volume 2 page 415) names Akhas ibn Sharif as one of the men who used to slander Muhammad and others. They are said to live their whole life in acquiring wealth and seemed to consider themselves immortal.
“Woe to every scandal-monger and-backbiter,
Who pileth up wealth and layeth it by, thinking that his wealth would make him last for ever! By no means!
He will be sure to be thrown into that which breaks to pieces, And what will explain to thee that which breaks to pieces?
(It is) the fire of (the wrath of) Allah kindled, The which doth mount to the hearts
It shall be made into a vault over them, in columns outstretched.” (v 1-9)
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105 Sura Al-Fil (The Elephant) Mecca
The Ka’aba was very important to Muhammad and the Qurraish. It is likely that this sura was meant to encourage both Muhammad and the Meccans to remind them that Allah, the Lord of the Ka’aba, delivered it from the forces of Abraha, the Christian king of Abyssinia who came against it riding on an elephant.
Muslim Tradition has made extravagant and puerile legends from this event claiming that Abraha’s army was destroyed by a flocks of birds with each bird throwing down three stones on the enemy. It is said that on each stone was the name of the man to be killed by it
106 Sura Qurraish (The Qurraish) Mecca
It has been suggested that this chapter is linked with the preceding one in that the Lord of the Ka’aba had delivered the tribe from the attack on its territory by Abraha. This, along with the two annual mercantile caravan trips, one in winter to Yemen, the other in summer to Syria, had united the tribe and made it secure.
“For the covenants (of security and safeguard enjoyed) by the Qurraish,
Their covenants (covering) journeys by winter and summer,
Let them adore the Lord of this House,
Who provides them with food against hunger, and with security against fear (of danger).” (v 1-4)
The Qurraish: The Arabs were split up into various tribes often in conflict with one another. At Mecca, the Qurraish tribe was dominant and they claimed common descent from one ancestor. The origins of the Qurraish were humble and little is known of them. At first they led their lives in the wild mountains around the sacred territory of Mecca until one of their number took Mecca by force. Ten main clans have been identified, among them, Hashim (to which Muhammad had been born), Ummaya (from which many of his fiercest enemies arose), Naufal, Zuhra, Asad, Taim, Makhzum, and Sahm.
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Sura 107 Al-Ma’un (The Small Kindnesses) Mecca (Disputed)
One particular person is here intended who as well as denying a judgement day acted in a most uncharitable way to orphans and neglected to perform the Islamic prayers.
“Seest thou one who denies the judgment (to come)?
Then such is the (man) who repulses the orphan (with harshness), And encourages not the feeding of the indigent.
So woe to the worshippers who are neglectful of their prayers,
Those who (want but) to be seen (of men), But refuse (to supply) (even) neighbourly needs.”(v 1-7)
The following two hadiths emphasise the expected duty required of Muslims for the care of the less fortunate.
- Bukhari Volume 8, Book 73, Number 34: Narrated Sahl bin Sa’d: The Prophet said, “I and the person who looks after an orphan and provides for him, will be in Paradise like this,” putting his index and middle fingers together.
- Bukhari Volume 8, Book 73, Number 35: Narrated Safwan bin Salim: The Prophet said “The one who looks after and works for a widow and for a poor person, is like a warrior fighting for Allah’s Cause or like a person who fasts during the day and prays all the night.”
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Sura 108 Al-Kauthar (A River in Paradise) Mecca (Disputed)
T
hree topics are addressed here: 1.The river al-Kauthar. 2.The slaying of the sacrificial animals on the pilgrimage at the valley of Mina. 3.The consequences of hating Muhammad.
Al-Kauthar: “To thee have We granted the fount (Al-Kauthar)”(v 1)
Islam has used Jewish and Christian eschatology to develop their own system. Kauthar, means abundance, however, Muhammad explained the term as referring to a river in Paradise. Springs are said to flow through Paradise but later suras describe them more minutely as in Muhammad 47:15: “’In it (the garden) are rivers of water incorruptible; rivers of milk of which the taste never changes; rivers of wine, a joy to those who drink; and rivers of honey pure and clear.”
We supply the following hadith by Bukhari concerning al-Kauthar. (Volume 6, Book 60, Number 488) Narrated Anas: When the Prophet was made to ascend to the heavens, he said (after his return), “I came upon a river the banks of which were made of tents of hollow pearls. I asked Gabriel. What is this river?’ He replied, ‘This is the Kauthar.’
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