Fussilat: 1

Ayah

Word by Word

حمٓ

Ha Meem

Translation

Ha Mim:

Tafsir

Tafsir of Surah Fussilat

Description of the Qur'an, and what Those Who turn away from it say.

Allah says,

حم

تَنزِيلٌ مِّنَ الرَّحۡمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Ha Mim.

A revelation from the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

means, the Qur'an is revealed from the Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

This is like the Ayat:

قُلۡ نَزَّلَهُ رُوحُ الۡقُدُسِ مِن رَّبِّكَ بِالۡحَقِّ

Say Ruh Al-Qudus (Jibril) has brought it down from your Lord with truth. (16:102)

وَإِنَّهُ لَتَنزِيلُ رَبِّ الۡعَـلَمِينَ

نَزَلَ بِهِ الرُّوحُ الاٌّمِينُ

عَلَى قَلۡبِكَ لِتَكُونَ مِنَ الۡمُنۡذِرِينَ

And truly, this is a revelation from the Lord of all that exists, Which the trustworthy Ruh (Jibril) has brought down upon your heart that you may be (one) of the warners. (26:192-194

كِتَابٌ فُصِّلَتۡ ايَاتُهُ

A Book whereof the Ayat are explained in detail,

means, its meanings are clear and its rulings are sound and wise.

قُرۡانًا عَرَبِيًّا

a Qur'an in Arabic,

means, because it is a clear Arabic Qur'an, its meanings are precise and detailed and its words are clear and not confusing.

This is like the Ayah:

كِتَابٌ أُحۡكِمَتۡ ءايَـتُهُ ثُمَّ فُصِّلَتۡ مِن لَّدُنۡ حَكِيمٍ خَبِيرٍ

(This is) a Book, the Ayat whereof are completed, and then explained in detail from One (Allah), Who is All-Wise Well-Acquainted. (11:1)

meaning, it is miraculous in its wording and in its meanings.

لااَّ يَأۡتِيهِ الۡبَـطِلُ مِن بَيۡنِ يَدَيۡهِ وَلَا مِنۡ خَلۡفِهِ تَنزِيلٌ مِّنۡ حَكِيمٍ حَمِيدٍ

Falsehood cannot come to it from before it or behind it, (it is) sent down by the All-Wise, Worthy of all praise. (41:42)

لِّقَوۡمٍ يَعۡلَمُونَ

for people who know.

means, this clear style will be readily understood by scholars who are thoroughly versed in knowledge

بَشِيرًا وَنَذِيرًا

Giving glad tidings and warning,

means, sometimes it brings glad tidings to the believers, and sometimes it brings a warning to the disbelievers.

فَأَعۡرَضَ أَكۡثَرُهُمۡ فَهُمۡ لَاأ يَسۡمَعُونَ

but most of them turn away, so they hear not.

means, most of the Quraysh did not understand anything of it at all, despite the fact that it was so clear

وَقَالُوا قُلُوبُنَا فِي أَكِنَّةٍ

And they say:Our hearts are under coverings...

meaning, they are wrapped and screened,

مِّمَّا تَدۡعُونَا إِلَيۡهِ

وَفِي اذَانِنَا وَقۡرٌ

from that to which you invite us; and in our ears is deafness,

means, `we are deaf to the message you bring to us.'

وَمِن بَيۡنِنَا وَبَيۡنِكَ حِجَابٌ

and between us and you is a screen,

`so nothing of what you say reaches us.'

فَاعۡمَلۡ إِنَّنَا عَامِلُونَ

so work you (on your way); verily, we are working.

means, go your way, and we will go our way, and we will not follow you

The Call to Tawhid

Allah says,

قُلۡ

Say, (O Muhammad, to these disbelievers and idolators),

إِنَّمَا أَنَا بَشَرٌ مِّثۡلُكُمۡ يُوحَى إِلَيَّ أَنَّمَا إِلَهُكُمۡ إِلَهٌ وَاحِدٌ

I am only a human being like you. It is revealed to me that your God is One God,

`not like these idols and false gods which you worship. Allah is one God,'

فَاسۡتَقِيمُوا إِلَيۡهِ

therefore take straight path to Him,

means, `worship Him Alone sincerely, in accordance with what He has commanded you through His Messengers.'

وَاسۡتَغۡفِرُوهُ

and seek forgiveness of Him,

means, `for your past sins.'

وَوَيۡلٌ لِّلۡمُشۡرِكِينَ

And woe to the polytheists.

means, doom and destruction is their lot

الَّذِينَ لَا يُوۡتُونَ الزَّكَاةَ

Those who give not the Zakah,

Ali bin Abi Talhah reported from Ibn Abbas that;

this means those who do not bear witness that there is no God except Allah.

This was also the view of Ikrimah.

This is like the Ayat:

قَدۡ أَفۡلَحَ مَن زَكَّـهَا

وَقَدۡ خَابَ مَن دَسَّـهَا

Indeed he succeeds who purifies himself. And indeed he fails who corrupts himself. (91:9-10)

And;

قَدۡ أَفۡلَحَ مَن تَزَكَّى

وَذَكَرَ اسۡمَ رَبِّهِ فَصَلَّى

Indeed whosoever purifies himself shall achieve success. And remembers (glorifies) the Name of his Lord, and prays. (87:14-15)

And;

فَقُلۡ هَل لَّكَ إِلَى أَن تَزَكَّى

And say to him:Would you purify yourself? (79:18)

What is meant by Zakah here is purification of the soul, ridding oneself of all bad qualities, the worst of which is Shirk. The Zakah paid on one's wealth is so called because it purifies wealth, and it is a means of increasing it, blessing it and making it more beneficial, and a means of assisting one to use it in doing good deeds.

Qatadah said, They withheld the Zakah of their wealth.

This is the apparent meaning according to many of the scholars of Tafsir, and this is the view favored by Ibn Jarir.

But the matter is subject to further examination, because the obligation of Zakah was instituted during the second year after the Hijrah to Al-Madinah, according to what is stated by several scholars. Yet this Ayah was revealed in Makkah. However, it is not unlikely that the principle of giving charity and Zakah was already in place and had been enjoined at the beginning of the Prophet's mission, as Allah says:

وَءَاتُواۡ حَقَّهُ يَوۡمَ حَصَادِهِ

but pay the due thereof on the day of their harvest, (6:141)

As for the details of Zakah and how it is to be calculated according to the Nusub, were explained in Al-Madinah. This is how we may reconcile between the two opinions. Similarly, prayer was originally enjoined before sunrise and before sunset at the beginning of the Prophet's mission; it was only on the Night of the Isra', a year and a half before the Hijrah, that Allah enjoined upon His Messenger the five daily prayers. The conditions and essential elements of prayer were explained later, in stages. And Allah knows best.

وَهُم بِالاۡخِرَةِ هُمۡ كَافِرُونَ

and they are disbelievers in the Hereafter.

Then Allah says:

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ امَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لَهُمۡ أَجۡرٌ غَيۡرُ مَمۡنُونٍ

Truly, those who believe and do righteous good deeds, for them will be an endless reward that will never stop.

Mujahid and others said,

It will never be cut off or decrease.

This is like the Ayat:

مَّاكِثِينَ فِيهِ أَبَدًا

They shall abide therein for ever. (18:3)

عَطَأءً غَيۡرَ مَجۡذُوذٍ

a gift without an end. (11:108)

Related Q&A

Why muqotto'at verses exist in Quran?

Many scholars say that no one knows the meaning of Huruf Muqatta'at (Disjointed-Letters) except Allah. Then why they exist in the Qur'an which was sent down to the humankind?

ANSWER:

Firstly, to say that no one understands the meaning of these letters except Allah is not the consensus of all scholars. Indeed, some scholars beginning from some Shahabah (Companions) explained their meanings. Yasiin, for example, means "O human" according to Ibn 'Abbas. He also told that "Alif Lam Ra'" stands for "Ana Allah Araa" which means "I -Allah- see."

On the other hand, we should acknowledge that there are several Shahabah and scholars believe that only Allah who knows the meaning of these Huruf Muqatta'at. Abu Bakr said: "There is secret in every book. Then the secret of Allah in the Quran is these letters in the beginning of surahs." Ali ibn Abi Thalib and others also stated the same thing.

Ash-Sha'bi, a Tabi'i, was once asked about these letters. He then answered, "Every book have their secret. The secret of the Qur'an is the letters in the beginning of surahs. So, leave it and ask me other question beside it."

Yet even from this perspective, these Huruf Muqatta'at are not useless. They even show us many benefits, of them are:

- to examine our faith

- to show us that our knowledge is limited

- to show us that the Quran is in Arabic since it is arranged from these Arabic letters

- to attract listeners' attention due to their uniqueness

- to make a pledge

- to be names for some surahs

There are also interesting facts from this Huruf Muqotta'at. Of them is the total amount of these letters is 14 which is a half of 28 Arabic letters. They can be drawn up to be a sentence like this:

نص حكيم قاطع له سر

The wise, absolute text which has secret.

In short, some scholars exegete these letters while the others did not but still say that these letters have benefits and wisdoms.

Allah knows best.

See:

Ma'alim Al-Tanzil (II/249) & (VII/7)

Al-Kashshaf (I/20-28)