Category: Quran by Surah

This sura is seen to be a precise table of contents of the Qur’anic message. It is very important in Islamic worship, being an obligatory part of the daily prayer, repeated several times during the day.

Source: The Qur’an (Oxford World’s Classics) by M. A. S. Abdel Haleem (Amazon Kindle Edition)

This is a Medinan sura and the longest in the Qur’an, containing material revealed over several years, and named after the story of the cow which the Israelites were ordered to slaughter (verses 67 ff.). The sura opens with a response to the plea for guidance in Sura1, ‘The Opening’, dividing mankind into three groups in their response to this guidance—

A Medinan sura which takes its title from the family of ‘Imran mentioned in verse 33. It begins by emphasizing that the Qur’an confirms the earlier scriptures and goes on to say later that the central tenet of faith is devotion to God (verses 19–20). The story of Zachariah, Mary, and Jesus is given in verses 35–64 and the fact that Jesus was unfathered, just as Adam was created without a father, is accentuated.

A Medinan sura which takes its title from the many references to women throughout the sura (verses 3–4, 127–30). It gives a number of instructions, urging justice to children and orphans, and mentioning inheritance and marriage laws. Verses 5–12 of the sura give rulings on property and inheritance, and so does the verse which concludes the sura.

The title relates to food, and a central theme of this Medinan sura is the regulation of lawful and unlawful food, obedience to which is part of the pledge between God and the believers (verses 1–5, 87–108). Part of the sura concerns hunting for food during the pilgrimage and respect for the rites of pilgrimage.

A Meccan sura which takes its title from verses 136–9. The false claims the polytheists made about livestock are thoroughly addressed: the sura in its entirety makes plain that it is God who creates, controls, and sees everything, and that it is to Him that we turn in times of need. Thus it gives a lengthy refutation of the idolaters’ claims.

A Meccan sura named after the heights of the barrier which will divide the righteous from the damned on the Day of Judgement (verse 46). The sura begins by addressing the Prophet, reassuring him about his revelations, and closes emphasizing the fact that he merely repeats what is revealed to him.

The main part of this Medinan sura is a comment on the Battle of Badr (near Medina), the first fought between the Muslims and their Meccan opponents in the second year after the Migration. The Muslims, some of whom were at first reluctant to fight, won in spite of being vastly outnumbered, and began to question the distribution of the gains.

A Medinan sura whose title is taken from verse 104. The sura opens by giving notice of the severance of the treaty with the idolaters because they had broken it, but the bulk of the sura deals with preparations and recruitment for the expedition to Tabuk, which took place in the heat of the summer of AH 9 (631 CE).

A Meccan sura named after the prophet Hud whose story is given in verses 50—60

A Meccan sura dealing primarily with the story of Joseph, but framed by a three-verse introduction about the Qur’an and a ten-verse epilogue about the Meccans’ response, the punishment met by earlier disbelievers, and encouragement for the Prophet.

A Medinan sura that takes its title from the thunder that praises God in verse 13. The sura is distinguished by its moving description of God’s power and knowledge.