إِلَيْهِ يُرَدََُّ ْ 1169 الشورىٰ
حم ﴿۱﴾ عسق ﴿۲﴾ كَذَلِكَ يُوحِي إِلَيْكَ وَإِلَى الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ اللَّهُ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ ﴿۳﴾
﴾1﴿ Haa Meeem
﴾2﴿ Ayyyn Seeen Qaaaf
﴾3﴿ Kazaalika yooheee ilaika wa ilal lazeena min qablikal laahul 'Azeezul Hakeem
﴾1﴿ Haa Meeem
﴾2﴿ Ayyyn Seeen Qaaaf
﴾3﴿ Thus has it been revealed to you and to those before you that Allah, the Almighty, the All-Wise, is dominant and full of wisdom
And its other name is Ḥā Mīm ‘Ayn Sīn Qāf.
Relevancy:
It has several connections with the previous surah:
first In the previous surah, nine attributes of the Qur'an were mentioned, while in this surah, nine attributes of the people of the Qur'an are described.
second In the previous surah, there was rebuke for those who opposed the Qur'an, whereas in this surah, there is an invitation to settle matters through the Qur'an.
third In Surah As-Sajdah, there was encouragement for calling towards Allah, while in this surah, the challenges and hardships faced by the caller are mentioned.
Claim of this surah:
The refutation of shirk in wilāyah (authority and guardianship) is discussed in this surah, and wilāyah has two meanings:
first Authority and control over creation (Disposation and authority over the universe).
second The authority to legislate and establish laws (Authority of legislation).
This claim is addressed both affirmatively and negatively through various terms in the following verses:
Affirmatively: Verses (53, 49, 32, 29, 28, 19, 12, 11, 9, 4) confirm Allah’s sole authority.
Negatively: Verses (46, 44, 31, 9, 8, 6) negate false claims to wilāyah.
Using ḥukm (Decree of judgment), tashrī‘ (Legislation of law making), and their synonyms:
Affirmatively: Verses (52, 51, 47, 17, 13, 10, 7, 3) establish Allah’s exclusive right to legislate.
Negatively: Verses (35, 21, 16, 14) reject any claim of legislative authority besides Allah.
Additionally, this surah addresses responses to three doubts (shubuhāt) raised against divine authority and legislation.
Summary of the surah:
This surah is divided into three sections:
First Section (up to verse 51):
Responds to the first doubt (shubhah) by emphasizing the significance of revelation (waḥy).
Establishes Allah's exclusive authority (wilāyah) and affirms that peace and order in the universe exist through Tawḥīd.
Negates any claim to wilāyah from other than Allah.
Encourages adherence to the Qur’an.
Again, refutes false claims of wilāyah from any entity besides Allah.
Responds to the second doubt by presenting two rational arguments to prove that wilāyah belongs solely to Allah and to affirm His exclusive right to legislate (tashrī‘).
Then, it addresses the third doubt.
[1,2] This surah begins with disjointed letters (Muqaṭṭa‘āt), similar to Kāf Hā Yā ‘Ayn Ṣād (کهٰیٰعص). Both consist of five letters (five). However, there are key differences:
Kāf Hā Yā ‘Ayn Ṣād (کهٰیٰعص) is written as a single unit, whereas in this surah, most reciters read and write Ḥā Mīm (حٰمٓ) and ‘Ayn Sīn Qāf (عٓسٓقٓ) separately.
There are two explanations for this:
First View: It is considered one complete verse or two separate verses, depending on the recitation style.
Second View: Since other Ḥā Mīm (حٰمٓ) surahs also begin with Ḥā Mīm before and after this surah, Ḥā Mīm (حٰمٓ) is written separately to maintain consistency.
[3] This verse encourages adherence to the Qur'an, affirming that it is divine revelation from Allah, just as previous prophets also received revelation.
It also addresses the first doubt (shubhah) raised by the disbelievers. Their objection was that this Prophet (ﷺ) claims something unprecedented, something no one before him has claimed. Even today, when someone calls towards Tawḥīd (monotheism), similar objections are raised against them.
The essence of the response is that this is not something new, nor is it an unheard-of claim. Rather, similar revelations were given to the previous prophets (peace be upon them).