ََُحم ْ 1261 ق
ق وَالْقُرْآنِ الْمَجِيدِ ﴿۱﴾ بَلْ عَجِبُوا أَنْ جَاءَهُمْ مُنْذِرٌ مِنْهُمْ فَقَالَ الْكَافِرُونَ هَذَا شَيْءٌ عَجِيبٌ ﴿۲﴾
﴾1﴿ Qaaaf; wal Qur aanil Majeed
﴾2﴿ Bal 'ajibooo an jaa'ahum munzirum minhum faqaalal kaafiroona haazaa shai'un 'ajeeb
﴾1﴿ Qāf – By the honored Qur’an
﴾2﴿ Rather, they are astonished that a warner has come to them from among themselves. So the disbelievers said, This is a strange thing
This chapter is the fourth in proving the Resurrection, and these four chapters are: Qāf, Adh-Dhāriyāt (The Winnowing Winds), At-Tūr (The Mount), and An-Najm (The Star).
Relevancy:
This surah is connected to the previous one in two ways:
After mentioning the etiquettes of unity for believers, this surah emphasizes the warning for adhering to these etiquettes by mentioning the coming of Yawm al-Khurūj (The Day of Emergence), Yawm al-Wa‘īd (The Day of Warning), and Yawm al-Khulūd (The Day of Eternity).
Since the previous surah stated that honor is based on taqwa (piety), this surah highlights the status of the pious (muttaqīn).
Claim of this surah:
The proof of resurrection after death is mentioned by referring to the emergence of the dead from the earth in (11) and (14) and through the worldly punishments inflicted on previous nations. The proof of monotheism is established by rejecting polytheism in governance and knowledge, along with the mention of four of Allah’s Most Beautiful Names.
Summary of the surah:
It is divided into two sections. The first section extends until (16), where the Quran’s testimony in proving resurrection after death is mentioned. In (1), there is a warning to the deniers, followed by further warnings in (2, 3, 5). Then, one rational and scientific proof and three evidential arguments—heavenly, intermediate, and earthly—are presented to establish the reality of the Resurrection, with each argument comprising three aspects. The claim of the surah is reiterated in (11). The punishments of previous deniers are then mentioned in three verses to instill fear in the present people. Another warning appears in (15).
[1] "Qāf" is one of the disjointed letters, and discussions about it have occurred in many surahs. In this surah, there are forty-eight words containing the letter "Qāf," which establishes a connection with its presence at the beginning of the surah. Ibn Kathīr mentions the statement of someone who claimed that "Qāf" refers to Mount Qāf but then dismisses it as the words of heretics. The narration from Abū Ḥātim al-Rāzī regarding this is mostly disconnected. It is better to interpret the next verse as the response to the oath, as "Bal" (بَلْ) is often used in such cases and can also carry the meaning of "indeed" (قد).
[2] "بَلْ عَجِبُوا أَنْ جَاءَهُمْ مُنْذِرٌ" – Since the purpose of the surah is to establish the resurrection after death, and this issue involves warning (fear), only the concept of warning is mentioned here.
"هَذَا شَيْءٌ" – The best interpretation is that "هذا" refers to resurrection after death, as the next verse elaborates on it. Some scholars, however, have said that it refers to monotheism, similar to Surah Ṣād (5), while others believe it refers to the fact that the Messenger is a human.
"عَجِيبٌ" – Anything contrary to people’s norms and expectations is considered "strange" and unfamiliar to them. However, when one reflects on the power of Allah Almighty, bringing the dead back to life is not strange at all. Thus, the astonishment of the deniers is baseless.