Sura al-Mulk
This article is an introduction to the Sura al-Mulk; to read its text see text:Sura al-Mulk.| al-Tahrim | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Sura Number | 67 |
| Juz' | 29 |
| Revelation | |
| Revelation Number | 77 |
| Makki/Madani | Makki |
| Information | |
| Verse Count | 30 |
| Word Count | 330 |
| Letter Count | 1300\ |
Sūra al-Mulk (Arabic: سورة المُلک) or Sūra Tabārak (سورة تَبارَک) is the sixty seventh sura of the Qur'an. It is a Makki sura located in the juz' twenty ninth of the Qur'an. The Sura is called "al-Mulk" and "Tabarak" because these two words occur in the first verse of the sura. The main theme of Sura al-Mulk is the general Lordship of God over the whole universe and a warning about the resurrection.
The sura opens with a blessing and praise of God for His absolute dominion, sovereignty, and power, and the second verse of the sura concerns the creation of death and life as divine tests to determine people who are best in deeds. The first and the second verses are regarded as well-known verses of Sura al-Mulk. Of the virtues of the recitation of the sura, it is said that if one recites it at night, he will be given a reward equal to that of vigilance at the Night of Qadr.
Introduction
- Naming
The sura is called "al-Mulk" and "Tabarak" because these two words occur in its first verse.[1] "Tabarak" refers to the emanation of profuse blessings from God.[2] And "al-mulk" means the dominion of God over the universe. The sura is also variously called "al-Mani'a" (preventer), "al-Waqiya" (protector), "al-Munjiya" (saver), and "al-Manna'a" (extreme preventer). These appellations are because people who memorize and act upon Sura al-Mulk will be saved, prevented, and protected from the fire of the hell,[3] as pointed out in hadiths.[4]
- Place and Order of Revelation
Sura al-Mulk is a Makki sura, and in the order of revelation, it is the seventy seventh sura revealed to the Prophet (s). In the current order of compilation, it is the sixty seventh sura at the opening of the juz' twenty ninth of the Qur'an.[5]
- Number of Verses and Characteristics
Sura al-Mulk has thirty verses, 330 words, and 1300 letters.[6] With respect to size, it counts as one of the Mufassalat Suras of the Qur'an, which occupies about half of a hizb.[7] It was revealed after Qur'an 52 and before Qur'an 69 prior to Hijra (migration of Muslims from Mecca to Medina). Thus, it was revealed in Mecca, without a single Madani verse.[8] Just like Qur'an 25, Sura al-Mulk begins with "Blessed is He." It counts as one of the Mumtahanat suras,[9] which is similar to Qur'an 60 with respect to its content.[10]
Content of the Sura
The main theme of Sura al-Mulk is said to be the generality of God's Lordship over the whole universe and warning about the resurrection.[11] The sura opens with a blessing of God for His absolute dominion, sovereignty, and power, and in its second verse, it is concerned with the creation of death and life as divine tests to determine people with best deeds.[12]
In Tafsir-i nimuna, contents of Sura al-Mulk are summarized in the three following sections:
- The origin of the world, divine attributes, and the wonderful system of creation, particularly the creation of skies and stars, the creation of the Earth and its endowments, the creation of birds and flowing water, the creation of ears, eyes, and instruments of cognition,
- The resurrection, the sufferings of the Hell, and conversations between agents of punishment with inhabitants of the Hell,
- The warning of disbelievers and unjust people against various sufferings in this world and the afterlife.[13]
| God’s rule and arrangement of the world and the human life | |||||||||||||||||||||
| First speech: verses 1-5 Reasons for God's dominion over the world of being | Second speech: verses 6-14 The impact of the belief in God’s Lordship on one’s destiny | Third speech: verses 15-30 Signs of God’s arrangement of the human life | |||||||||||||||||||
| First reason: verse 1 The world’s dependence on God’s continuous attention | First subject-matter: verses 6-11 Punishment of deniers of God’s Lordship, and the reason why they are punished | First sign: verses 15-18 Preparation of the Earth for human exploitations | |||||||||||||||||||
| Second reason: verse 2 The wise creation of the human death and life | Second subject-matter: verse 12 Reward for believers in divine Lordship | Second sign: verse 19 The flight of birds in the sky | |||||||||||||||||||
| Third reason: verses 3-5 Harmonious and purposeful creation of the cosmos | Third subject-matter: verses 13-14 God's awareness of human beliefs | Third sign: verses 20-22 God's helps for human beings | |||||||||||||||||||
| Fourth sign: verse 23 Human powers of audition, vision, and intellection | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Fifth sign: verses 24-27 The human rise (or resurrection) towards God | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Sixth sign: verses 28-29 God's mercy for believers | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Seventh sign: verse 30 The flow of water on the Earth | |||||||||||||||||||||
The Occasion of the Revelation of Verse 13
| “ | "And conceal your speech or publicize it; indeed, He is Knowing of that within the breasts" | ” |
| — Qur'an, 67:13 | ||
About the occasion of the revelation of verse thirteen of Sura al-Mulk, Ibn 'Abbas was quoted as saying that the verse concerns polytheists or hypocrites who attributed false things to the Prophet (s), and then recommended one another to speak quietly so that Muhammad and his companions do not hear about those talks. However, Gabriel informed the Prophet (s) about those talks, emphasizing that God knows what is in their hearts, whether they conceal it or reveal it.[15]
Well-Known Verses
The first verses of Sura al-Mulk are its best-known verses.
The Verse of Tabarak
| “ | تَبَارَكَ الَّذِي بِيَدِهِ الْمُلْكُ وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
"Blessed is He in whose hand is dominion, and He has power over all things." |
” |
| — Qur'an 67:1 | ||
Allama Tabataba'i takes the word, "tabarak" (blessed), in the first verse of the sura to mean what yields many blessings and benefits.[16] In this verse, God's essence being blessed is tied to His dominion over the world and His power over everything. Thus, He is characterized as an eternal blessed entity.[17]
The phrase, "in whose hand is dominion," is said to suggest God's full dominance of the whole being in such a way that He can make whatever changes He wants in everything, He can manage things in whatever way He wants, and His power is not restricted in any way.[18]
Verse 2
| “ | الَّذِي خَلَقَ الْمَوْتَ وَالْحَيَاةَ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا ۚ وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْغَفُورُ
"He, who created death and life that He may test you [to see] which of you is best in conduct. And He is the All-mighty, the All-forgiving." |
” |
| — Qur'an 67:2 | ||
- The meaning of test:
The verse points to the purpose of the creation of the human death and life, which are manifestations of God's dominion and rule over the universe. The divine test is said to be a kind of training in which human beings act until they are well-trained, tested, and purified so that they deserve proximity to God. Thus, the whole world is a field of test for all human beings, where the instrument of this test is life and death, and its goal is to do good deeds, which amount to the perfection of one's knowledge, purity of one's intention, and doing good things.[19]
Merits and Benefits
There are numerous hadiths concerning the virtues of reciting Sura al-Mulk. The Prophet (s) is quoted as saying that if a person recites Sura al-Mulk at night, he will be given a reward equal to that of vigilance at the Night of Qadr.[20] According to biographies of the Prophet (s), he recited this sura every night before he went to sleep.[21] According to another hadith from the Prophet (s), Sura al-Mulk intervenes on behalf of its reciter on the day of resurrection, asking for his forgiveness.[22]
According to a hadith from Imam al-Baqir (a), Sura al-Mulk prevents sufferings in the grave. He adds, "I recite it while I am sitting, and my father, Imam al-Sajjad (a), recited it day and night."[23]
In some hadiths, the recitation of the sura is said to have effects such as safety,[24] intercession, forgiveness,[25] prevention from sufferings in the grave,[26] and forgiveness of the dead.[27]
Notes
- ↑ Ṣafawī, "Sura-yi Mulk," p. 813.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāyī, al-Mīzān, vol. 19, p. 348.
- ↑ Ṣafawī, "Sura-yi Mulk," p. 813.
- ↑ See: Meybodī, Kashf al-asrār wa 'uddat al-abrār, vol. 10. p. 170; Kulaynī, Al-Kāfī, vol. 2, p. 633.
- ↑ Khurramshāhī, "Sura-yi Mulk," p. 1257.
- ↑ Ṣafawī, "Sura-yi Mulk," p. 813.
- ↑ Khurramshāhī, "Sura-yi Mulk," p. 1257.
- ↑ Rāmyār, Tārīkh-i Qur'ān, p. 360 and 596.
- ↑ Rāmyār, Tārīkh-i Qur'ān, p. 360 and 596.
- ↑ "Glossary on Qur'anic Sciences", vol. 1, p. 2612.
- ↑ Ṣafawī, "Sura-yi Mulk," p. 813.
- ↑ Khurramshāhī, "Sura-yi Mulk," vol. 2, p. 1257.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 24, p. 311-312.
- ↑ Khamagar, Muhammad, Sakhtar-i suraha-yi Qur'an-i karim, Mu'assisa-yi Farhangi-yi Qur'an wa 'Itrat-i Nur al-Thaqalayn, Qom: Nashra, ed.1, 1392 Sh.
- ↑ Wāḥidī, Asbāb nuzūl al-Qurān, p. 462.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāyī, al-Mīzān, vol. 19, p. 348.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 24, p. 316.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāyī, al-Mīzān, vol. 19, p. 348.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 24, p. 316-317.
- ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 10, p. 66.
- ↑ Nūrī, Mustadrak al-wasāʾil, vol. 4, p. 306.
- ↑ Nūrī, Mustadrak al-wasāʾil, vol. 4, p. 366.
- ↑ Kulaynī, Al-Kāfī, vol. 2, p. 633.
- ↑ Ṣadūq, Thawāb al-aʿmāl, p. 119.
- ↑ Suyūṭī, Al-Durr al-manthūr, vol. 6, p. 246.
- ↑ Baḥrānī, al-Burhān fī tafsīr al-Qur'ān, vol. 5, p. 433.
- ↑ Baḥrānī, al-Burhān fī tafsīr al-Qur'ān, vol. 5, p. 433.
References
- Qurʾān-i Karīm. Translated by Muḥammad Mahdī Fūlādwand. Tehran: Dār al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, 1376 Sh-1418 AH.
- Baḥrānī, Sayyid Hāshim al-. Al-Burhān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Tehran: Bunyād-i Bi'that, 1415 AH.
- Farhangnāma-yi ʿulūm-i Qurʾān. Qom: Daftar-i Tablīghāt-i Islāmī, [n.d].
- Khāmagar, Muḥammad, Sākhtār-i sūrahā-yi Qur'ān-i karīm, Mu'assisa-yi Farhangī-yi Qur'ān wa 'Itrat-i Nūr al-Thaqalayn. Qom: Nashr-i Nashra, ed.1, 1392 Sh.
- Khurramshāhī, Qawām al-Dīn. "Sūra-yi Mulk" In Dānishnāma-yi Qurʾān wa Qurʾān pazhūhī. Tehran: Dūstān-Nāhīd, 1377 Sh.
- Kulaynī, Muḥammad b. Yaʿqūb al-. Al-Kāfī. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmīyya, 1407 AH.
- Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir. Tafsīr-i nimūna. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmīyya, 1371 Sh.
- Maybudī, Aḥmad b. Muḥammad. Kashf al-asrār wa 'uddat al-abrār. Tehran: Amīr Kabīr, 1371 Sh.
- Nūrī, Mīrzā Ḥusayn al-. Mustadrak al-wasāʾil. Qom: Muʾassisat Āl al-Bayt, 1408 AH.
- Rāmyār, Maḥmūd. Tārikh-i Qur'ān. Tehran: Intishārāt-i 'Ilmī wa Farhangī, 1362 Sh.
- Suyūṭī, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān b. Abī Bakr al-. Al-Durr al-manthūr fī tafsīr al-maʾthūr. Qom: Maktabaṭ Āyat Allāh al-Marʿashī, 1404 AH.
- Ṣadūq, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-. Thawāb al-aʿmāl wa ʿiqāb al-aʿmāl. Qom: Dār al-Sharīf al-Raḍī, 1406 AH.
- Ṣafawī, Salmān. "Sūra-yi Mulk" In Dānishnāma-yi Muʿāṣir-i Qurʾān-i Karīm. Qom: Intishārāt-i Salmān Azāda, 1396 Sh.
- Ṭabāṭabāyī, Muḥammad Ḥusayn. Al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Beirut: Muʾassisat al-Aʿlamī li-l-Maṭbūʿāt, 1390 AH.
- Ṭabrisī, Faḍl b. al-Ḥasan al-. Majmaʿ al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Edited by Muḥammad Jawād Balāghī. Tehran: Nāṣir Khusru, 1372 Sh.
- Wāḥidī, Alī b. Aḥmad. Asbāb al-nuzūl al-Qurʾān. Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-Ilmīyya, 1411 AH.