Tafsir Ibn Kathir Tafsir al-Qur’an al-‘Azim (تفسير القرآن العظيم, lit. ‘Exegesis of the Great Qur’an’), also known as Tafsir Ibn Kathir, is a tafsir by the 14th-century Islamic scholar, exegete, muhaddith, historian Abu al-Fiḍā ‘Imād Ad-Din Ismā‘īl ibn ‘Umar ibn Kathīr al-Qurashī Al-Damishqī, known as Ibn Kathir. Background Tafsir Ibn Kathir references other verses of...
1. Surah Al Fatihah (The Opening) Name This Surah Al-Fatihah is named because of its subject-matter. Fatihah is that which opens a subject or a book or any other thing. In other words, Al-Fatihah is a sort of preface. Period of Revelation It is one of the very earliest Revelations...
Enjoining Good And Forbidding Wrong This article covers an Islamic rule of the way of life called: “Enjoining Good And Forbidding Wrong.“ Enjoining (what is) right and forbidding (what is) wrong ( الأمر بالمَعْرُوف والنَهي عن المُنْكَر, al-amr bi-l-maʿrūf wa-n-nahy ʿani-l-munkar) are two important duties imposed by God in Islam, as revealed in...
Qur’an On Non-Muslims This article covers verses from the Qur’an on non-Muslims. The Qur’an has many verses on Kafir or “those who reject faith”. One Arabic language analog to the infidel, referring to non-Muslims, is kafir (“kaafir”, “kufr” or “kuffar”) from the root K-F-R, which connotes covering or concealing. The term KFR may...
Prophet Salih Prophet Salih or Saleh (صَالِحٌ, Ṣāliḥ, lit. ‘Pious’) is an Arab prophet mentioned in the Quran who prophesied to the tribe of Thamud in ancient Arabia, before the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad. The story of Saleh is linked to the story of the She-Camel of God, which was the gift given by God to the people of Thamud when they desired a...
Prophet Hud Prophet Hud (هود) was a prophet of ancient Arabia mentioned in the Quran. The eleventh chapter of the Quran, Hud or Hoodh, is named after him, though the narrative of Hud comprises only a small portion of the chapter. Historical context See also: Arabian Desert and Rub’ al Khali Hud has sometimes been identified with Eber, an ancestor of...
Canonization Of Islamic Scripture This article covers the answer to the question: “What is the Canonization of Islamic Scripture?“ Canonized Islamic scripture is texts which Muslims believe were revealed by God through various prophets throughout humanity’s history — specifically the Quran and Hadith. Muslims believe the Quran to be the final revelation of God to mankind and...
Discernment Discernment is the ability to obtain sharp perceptions or to judge well (or the activity of so doing). In the case of judgement, discernment can be psychological, moral or aesthetic in nature. Discernment has also been defined in the contexts; scientific (that is discerning what is true about the...
The Qur’an With Annotated Interpretation The Qur’an with Annotated Interpretation in Modern English is an English translation of the meanings of Qur’an written by Turkish Sunni Muslim scholar Ali Ünal. First published in 2006. The translation comes with interpretation and exposition on the meaning of Qur’anic verses in conjunction with Asbab al-Nuzul (the reasons for revelation or the circumstances of revelation)...
1. Al-Fatiha (The Opening) It is commonly accepted that this sūrah was revealed during the Makkah period of Muhammad’s Prophethood. Some Traditions say that it was also revealed on a second occasion in Madīnah. The majority of scholars hold that the verses first in order of revelation are the initial...
4. An-Nisa (The Women) This sūrah, which has 176 verses, was revealed around the sixth year of the Hijrah. Sūrah An-Nisa (The Women) is the first of two sūrahs that begin with the phrase, “O humankind!” When the Qur’ān is divided into two equal parts, it is the fourth sūrah of the...
3. Al-‘Imran (The Family of Imran) This sūrah takes its name from the family of Mary (Al-‘Imran). It was revealed in Madīnah and consists of 200 verses. It deals with many matters concerning the relations of the Muslims with the People of the Book, in particular, the Christians. It clarifies...
2. Al-Baqarah (The Cow) This sūrah of 286 verses is the longest in the Qur’ān and may be regarded as a detailed summary of it. The sūrah Al-Baqarah (The Cow) began to be revealed just after the Emigration (Hijrah) to Madīnah and continued to be revealed over almost ten years until...
5. Al-Ma’idah (The Table) This sūrah was one of the last chapters of the Qur’ān to be revealed. It consists of 120 verses, and takes its name from Al-Ma’idah (The Table, verse 112) which Jesus’ disciples asked God to send them from heaven. In addition to several other topics, it...
6. Al-An’am (The Cattle) Sūrat Al-An’am (The Cattle) was revealed in its entirety during the final year of the Makkah period of Islam. Coming in order in the Qur’ān after al–Baqarah, Āl ‘Imrān, an–Nisā’, and al-Mā’idah, all of which were revealed in Madīnah, this sūrah dwells on such themes as...
8. Al-Anfal (The Spoils of War) This sūrah was revealed during the Madīnah period of Islam, just after the Battle of Badr, the first major confrontation between the Muslims of Madīnah and the polytheists of Makkah. It takes its name from the word al-anfāl found in the first verse. Al-Anfal...
7. Al-A’raf (The Heights) Sūrat Al-A‘rāf was revealed in Makkah and consists of 206 verses. It takes its title from the word al- a‘rāf, which occurs in verses 46 and 48. Al-A‘raf (The Heights or The Elevated Places) is the heights between Paradise and Hell. Following Sūrat al-An‘ām, which discusses...
9. At-Tawbah (The Repentance) According to the majority of scholars, this sūrah was revealed in Madīnah in the 9th year of the Hijrah. At-Tawbah deals with almost the same topics as those dealt with in Sūrat al-Anfāl. It is the only sūrah in the Qur’ān which does not begin with...
10. Yunus (Jonah) This sūrah was revealed in Makkah and consists of 109 verses. It takes its name from verse 98, where an incident related to Yunus (Jonah)’s people is recounted. The sūrah as a whole deals with the essentials of faith – in particular, the Divine origin of the...
11. Hud (Hūd) This sūrah was revealed in Makkah, and it consists of 123 verses. It takes its name from the story of the Prophet Hūd (Hud, The Holy Prophet), upon him be peace, and it has special importance here due to the topics dealt with. Like Sūrah Yūnus, this...