قَالَ فَمَا خَطْبُكُمْ ْ 1307 الرَّحمٰن
الرَّحْمَنُ ﴿۱﴾ عَلَّمَ الْقُرْآنَ ﴿۲﴾
﴾1﴿ Ar Rahmaan
﴾2﴿ Allamal Quran
﴾1﴿ He is the Most Merciful (Ar-Rahman)
﴾2﴿ He has taught the Quran
And another name for it is "The Bride of the Quran" (عروس القرآن).
Relevancy:
This surah and the previous one have several differences:
The first difference: The previous surah mentioned Allah’s general and specific control over all affairs, while this surah builds upon that by emphasizing Allah’s attribute of being the Most Merciful .
The second difference: The previous surah presented a brief mention of warning and glad tidings , whereas in this surah, both are detailed.
Claim of this surah:
The Mercy of Allah is established in this surah, along with a refutation of polytheism in seeking blessings —both at the beginning and the end of the surah.
It mentions 30 great worldly blessings in detail.
The phrase "فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ" (So which of the favors of your Lord will you deny?) is repeated 31 times as a summary.
This repetition emphasizes that "الآءِ" refers to great blessings.
Summary of the surah:
The structure of this surah follows a clear pattern:
The opening claim of the surah is established with "الرَّحْمَٰنُ" (The Most Merciful).
It mentions 30 worldly blessings, both internal (spiritual) and external (physical), which also serve as rational proofs
Within this section, the phrase "فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ" is repeated eight times.
After the warning about the Hereafter, blessings are mentioned again.
Here, the phrase "فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ" appears seven times.
Following the glad tidings of the Hereafter, the surah details the blessings of the Hereafter .
In this section, the phrase is repeated sixteen times.
First Note: It is mentioned in a hadith (as understood from the words of Ibn Kathir, the hadith is Hasan) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) recited this Surah for the Jinn, and they, after every verse (فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ), would respond with: (لَا بِشَیْءٍ مِّن نِعَمِکَ رَبَّنَا نُکَذِّبُ فَلَکَ الْحَمْدُ)—"We do not deny any of Your blessings, our Lord; for You is all praise." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) also encouraged the noble Companions to give this response.
Second Note: This sentence appears thirty-one times in this Surah. Although it is a repetition in terms of wording, it is not a repetition in terms of purpose, because in each place, the meaning of this sentence is distinct, as will become clear later.
Third Note: This sentence has been mentioned eight times along with blessings because the fundamental types of blessings are eight:
(1) Internal, (2) External, (3) Personal, (4) Universal, (5) Terrestrial, (6) Marine, (7) Celestial, and (8) Inferior.
All these types are mentioned here.
This sentence has also been mentioned seven times along with warnings of the Hereafter, indicating that there are seven gates of Hell, and salvation from all of them lies in refraining from denial.
Additionally, it has been mentioned eight times in connection with glad tidings—first eight times and then another eight times—signifying that there are eight gates of Paradise, whether referring to the first type of Paradise or the second type.
This is the first mention of blessings—this is a spiritual and religious blessing, and it is the greatest of all blessings. The teaching of the Qur'an by Allah the Exalted includes its revelation, making it easy to recite, and facilitating its understanding and admonition.