96. Al-Alaq The Cloth) This sūrah of 19 verses derives its name from the word Al-Alaq (The Cloth or Clinging Clot – the fertilized female ovum or zygote) that occurs in the second verse. Its initial five verses are the first part of the Qur’ān that was revealed to God’s...
98. Al-Baiyyinah (The Clear Evidence) Revealed in Madīnah and consisting of eight verses, the sūrah takes its name from the word, Al-Baiyyinah or al-bayyinah (the clear evidence), in the first verse. It draws attention to the fact that God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, is the clear evidence...
99. Az-Zalzalah (The Quaking) This sūrah (Az-Zalzalah; The Quaking) of eight verses was revealed in Madīnah. It takes its name from the word zilzāl (violent earthquake) in the first verse. It is concerned with some important events that will take place on the Day of Resurrection. In the Name of God,...
100. Al-‘Aadiyaat (The Chargers) This sūrah of 11 verses was probably revealed in Madīnah. It gets its name from the word Al-‘Aadiyaat or al-ādiyāt (chargers) in the first verse. After it praises the vanguards of Islam, it draws attention to some negative attitudes that exist in human beings, particularly in...
102. At-Takaathur (Vying in Abundance) This sūrah of eight verses was revealed in Makkah. It is named after the word At-Takaathur or at-takāthur (rivalry in worldly increase) in its first verse. It warns against competition in, and boasting about, the possession of ever more worldly things. In the Name of...
103. Al-‘Asr (The Age) This sūrah of three verses, revealed in Makkah, takes its name from the word al-‘asr (The Age or time heavy with events) in the first verse. As pointed out by all interpreters of the Qur’ān and linguists, this short sūrah contains the basic teachings of the...
105. Al-Fil (The Elephant) The five verses of this sūrah were revealed in Makkah. The sūrah takes its name from the word al-fil or al-feel (the elephant) that occurs in its first verse. Describing what befell the Abyssinian army of Abrahah, which attacked Makkah in order to destroy the Ka‘bah,...
106. Al-Quraish (The Quraysh) This sūrah of four verses was revealed in Makkah. It takes its name from the word al-Quraysh or Al-Quraish (the name of the tribe living then in Makkah) in its first verse. It mentions God’s important favors upon them. As God defended and protected them against foreign...
33. Al-Ahzab (The Confederates) This sūrah of 73 verses was revealed in the 5th year of the Madīnan period, and derives its name from verse 20, where the word Ahzāb or Al-Ahzab (The Confederates or The Clans) occurs, referring to the allied enemy forces that besieged Madīnah. The sūrah concentrates...
34. Saba (The Sheba) Revealed in Makkah in the initial years of the revelation of Islam, this sūrah of 54 verses derives its name from verse 15, in which the civilization of Saba (Sheba) is mentioned. That civilization was founded in Yemen and was famous for its cities. rich in greenery,...
36. Ya-Sin (Yasin) This sūrah, which consists of 83 verses, was revealed in the mid-Makkan period. Ya-Sin, Ya Sin or Yaseen takes its name from the first verse, the shortest in the Qur’ān, and which, according to some, implicitly means a human being. It deals, using diverse arguments, with three...
56. Al-Waqi’ah (The Event) This sūrah of 96 verses was revealed in Makkah and takes its name from the word Al-Waqi’ah or Al-Waqi’a (The Event, The Inevitable, or The Event Inevitable) in the first verse. It mentions some events that will take place during the destruction of the world, and the...
58. Al-Mujadilah (She Who Pleaded) Consisting of 22 verses, this sūrah was revealed in Madīnah, most probably after the Battle of the Trench, in the fifth year after Hijrah. Al-Mujadilah or Al-Mujadila (The Pleading Woman or She Who Pleaded) derives its name from the first verse, where a woman’s plea...
63. Al-Munafiqun (The Hypocrites) Revealed in Madīnah, most probably in the sixth year after the Hijrah, this sūrah has 11 verses, and it takes its name from the word Al-Munafiqun or Al-Munafiqoon (The Hypocrites) in the first verse. It reveals the inner world of the hypocrites and their plots against...
79. An-Nazi’aat (The Draggers) Revealed in Makkah, this sūrah of 46 verses takes its name from the word An-Nazi’aat or an-nāzi‘āt (those angels who fly out or The Draggers) in the first verse. It reminds us of death, warns against those who deny the afterlife, and draws attention to the...
92. Al-Layl (The Night) This sūrah of 21 verses was revealed in Makkah. It takes its name from the word al-layl (the night) in the first verse. It urges humans to do the things that will earn their salvation, and to avoid the things that will earn their perdition. In...
108. Al-Kawthar (Abundant Good) Revealed in Makkah and having three verses, this sūrah takes its name from al-kawthar (unceasing, abundant good) in its first verse. It gives God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, the good tidings that he will be favored with unceasing, abundant blessings, and that those...
109. Al-Kaafirun This sūrah of six verses was revealed in Makkah. It takes its name from the word al-kāfirūn or Al-Kaafirun (The Unbelievers) in the first verse. Kāfir means one who rejects faith in one, some, or all the principles of faith that must be believed in by a believing...
111. Al-Masad (Ruin) Revealed in Makkah in the early period of the Makkan era of the Prophet Muhammad’s mission, this sūrah, Al-Masad, of five verses takes its name from the verb TabBa (be ruined), in the first verse. It promises and foretells the perishing of Abū Lahab and his wife,...
110. An-Nasr (Help) This sūrah, An-Nasr, of three verses was revealed in Madīnah some three months before the death of God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings. It is about God’s completion of His favor upon him during his life and, therefore, the end of the Messenger’s duty of...