Surah Ar-Rahmaan

IN TODAY'S ENGLISH

Presented and Illustrated by Farah Hani Abdul Rahim

Copyright © 2020 Farah Hani Abdul Rahim

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Editor-In-Chief: Farah Hani Abdul Rahim

Editor: Michael J Nolan
Translator: Yahiya Emerick
Illustrator: Farah Hani Abdul Rahim
Graphics Consultant: Armin Firdaus Ahmad Fadzil

Website: https://thegraphicalquran.wordpress.com/

DISCLAIMER:
The information in this book is meant to supplement, not replace the Noble and Holy Qur'an.
Although the editorial and graphics team have made every effort to ensure that the information in this book is correct, the editorial and
graphics team are not experts in the subject matter and only provide the information in this book for educational purposes. This book is not
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 ‫الر ۡح ٰ َم ِن ﱠ‬
‫الر ِح ِيم‬ ‫ِب ۡس ِم ﱠ ِ ﱠ‬
Surah Ar-Rahmaan
Chapter 55: A Summary
Surah Ar-Rahmaan contains 78 verses with 31 of its verses being the same. This means 39.7% less work for those who
are interested to memorize this surah, also known as chapter. Recognized for its beautiful rhythm and rhyme scheme,
many scholars believe this surah was sent down in the very early years of the prophethood of Prophet Muhammad, peace
and blessings be upon him (‫)ﷺ‬, who used to recite it often in his Tahajjud prayers. It is worth listening to a Qāriʾ (a
person who recites the Qur'an with the proper rules of recitation, in other words, tajweed) to truly appreciate the
aesthetically pleasing rhythmic sound of this surah. I sincerely hope this book can help you memorize surah Ar-
Rahmaan with tajweed so you can feel the beautiful rhythm in your own heart.

Background story of this chapter's revelation:

When this chapter was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad ‫ﷺ‬, he was busy sharing the message of Islam with his
relatives, friends and close associates but had not yet gone public. The total number of Muslims was less than fifty
people around this time. Any form of opposition the new Muslims dealt with came mostly from the leaders of Quraysh
and from individual families who might have opposed their members joining what they considered to be a new cult. It
was mostly the young who were responding to Prophet Muhammad's ‫ ﷺ‬call, and he had quite a few young men and
women in his following.
 One day while in a secret meeting, several of Prophet Muhammad's ‫ ﷺ‬followers began to point out that the
general public had never heard anyone recite the Qur'an in front of the Ka'bah before. They wondered aloud who among
them should be the first to do it. A young man named 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him ( ‫ي ٱ‬ َ ‫ض‬
ِ ‫َر‬
ُ‫ )) َع ۡنه‬volunteered. However, many in the meeting were scared for his safety. So they suggested that a better candidate
would be someone stronger or with better family connections since an attack by the pagans was a very real threat at that
time. 'Abdullah merely said, “Leave me alone, for God is my protector.”

The next morning, he entered into the courtyard of the Ka'bah where the various tribal elders were holding their
counsels and began reciting this very chapter, raising his voice as he went along. Initially, the Quraysh did not know
what he was saying. When they realized he was reciting some of the Qur'an that Prophet Muhammad ‫ ﷺ‬was preaching in
private to people all over the city, they stood up and set upon him with their palms and fists. 'Abdullah kept on reciting
despite the assault he received, determined to recite as much as he could. Finally, when he could no longer handle the
non-stop assault, he made his way back to the companions of the Prophet Muhammad ‫ﷺ‬. When the companions saw
him, they were very worried and knew this type of assault was bound to happen. Undeterred, 'Abdullah said “God's
enemies were never so light for me as they were today. If you give the word, then I'll recite the Qur'an to them again
tomorrow.” They all said, “No, you've done enough; you've made them listen to what they didn't want to hear.” (Ibn
Hisham).

Thus, Surah Ar-Rahmaan became the first surah, which was read out loud in front of the Ka'bah.
In almost the entire Surah Ar-Rahmaan, Allah, The Most Glorified, The Most High (‫س ۡب َحانَهُ َوت َ َعالَ ٰى‬
ُ ) addresses two types of
creation: mankind and jinn. Prophet Muhammad ‫ ﷺ‬recited this surah to the Jinn on one particular night. We call this
night, The Night of The Jinn.

What is The Night of The Jinn? The story of The Night of The Jinn:

On this one particular night when our story occured, Prophet Muhammad ‫ ﷺ‬went missing for an entire night. As a result,
'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud ُ‫ي ٱ َع ۡنه‬
َ ‫ض‬
ِ ‫ َر‬and the other companions panicked when they were not able to find him in his house
or the city of Makkah where he lived. Filled with fear and worry, they were shocked and relieved to see him return from
the desert the next morning. Overwhelmed with curiosity, they asked him where he went.

Prophet Muhammad ‫ ﷺ‬said that when he went to sleep, a messenger from the jinn approached him and told him there
was a delegation that wanted to talk with him. Prophet Muhammad ‫ ﷺ‬went and spent the whole night with them,
speaking with them and teaching them. He recited Surah Ar Rahmaan to the Jinn on the Night of the Jinn.

ّ َ ‫( َفبِأ‬fabi-ayyi ālāi rabbikumā tukadhibāni (so which of the favors of

ِ َ‫ي ِ َء َاﻵ ِء َر ِبّكُ َما ت ُ َك ِذ ّب‬
Whenever he gets to the verse “‫ان‬

َ ‫ِب فَلَ َك ۡال‬

your Lord will you deny?))”, the Jinn would respond by saying “ُ ‫ح ْمد‬ ُ ّ ‫( ﻻَ بِش َۡيءٍ ِ ّم ۡن نِ َع ِم َك َربﱠنَا نُ َكذ‬la bi shai'in min
ni'mati rabbina nukadhdhib (we do not deny any of our Lord's blessings))”. The Jinn heard the recitation of Surah Ar
Rahmaan from the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. and embraced Islam. (Hadith reference for this story can be found at the
end of the book.)
The Bride of the Qur'an
Some of the companions used to call this surah The Bride of the Qur'an, meaning the most decorated of the chapters in
the Qur'an. This surah describes Allah's name Ar Rahmaan and explains the meaning of Ar Rahmaan by mentioning one
blessing after another.

Unique Features:
• This surah displays duality in speech e.g. “‫ان‬ ّ َ ‫( فَبِأ‬fabi-ayyi ālāi rabbikumā tukadhibāni (so which
ِ َ‫ي ِ َء َاﻵ ِء َر ِبّكُ َما ت ُ َك ِذّب‬
of the favors of your Lord will you (both) deny?))” because Allah is addressing both mankind and jinn.
• The first verse of this surah is just Allah's name, and nothing else. It is the only verse like it in the Qur'an.

Beautiful Flow
The Surah is very beautiful in its order. It begins by saying “The Compassionate, taught the Qur'an. He created (every
woman and) man. He taught (them) communication.” Let's break it up:

“The Compassionate, [1]

taught the Qur'an. [2]
He created (every woman and) man. [3]
He taught (them) communication.” [4]

Allah ‫س ۡب َحانَهُ َوتَعَالَ ٰى‬

ُ created the Qur'an before mankind. Therefore, the Qur'an is mentioned before mankind in this surah.
The Qur'an is more important than our existence. If Allah had created us without the Qur'an, our existence would be
meaningless. Allah would not have created mankind without guidance.

Then Allah ‫س ۡب َحانَهُ َوت َ َعالَ ٰى‬

ُ taught us communication. The word al-bayaan is not just limited to communication or speech, it
is eloquent speech. No other species or creation has bayaan except for mankind. The animals have speech, they can
communicate but they do not have bayaan. Al-bayaan is poetry, philosophy, deep thoughts, metacognition implying a
deeper level of understanding. Al-bayaan means we are created with the ability to think because we cannot have
metacognition if we are not able to think. Metacognition means awareness and ability to understand one's own thought
processes. We are the only species that records our history, the only species that thinks about abstract concepts, the only
species that can contextualize our metacognition, awareness within awareness; awareness beyond a single dimension.
These numerous generous blessings that Allah has given us are presented in Surah Ar-Rahmaan and with each reminder
of these blessings, Allah ‫س ۡب َحانَهُ َوت َ َعالَ ٰى‬
ُ is asking which of these favors given to us are we denying.

What does it mean to deny? There are three levels of denial. The first and highest level of denial is to deny that Allah
‫س ۡب َحا َنهُ َوتَعَالَ ٰى‬
ُ gave the blessings in the first place. This is done by people who don't believe in God's existence. The second
level of denial is like those of the Quraysh of Makkah whereby they acknowledge that Allah ‫س ۡب َحا َنهُ َوتَعَالَ ٰى‬ ُ gave the favors
but then they worship other than Allah ‫س ۡب َحانَهُ َوتَعَالَ ٰى‬
ُ . The third level of denial is to affirm that Allah ‫س ۡب َحا َنهُ َوتَعَالَ ٰى‬
ُ gave them
but not be thankful to Allah ‫س ۡب َحا َنهُ َوتَعَالَ ٰى‬
ُ for these favors.
Blessings Featured Throughout
Then Allah ‫س ۡب َحانَهُ َوت َ َعالَ ٰى‬
ُ mentions 8 blessings of this World in the vastness of earth, in the creation of animals, fruits,
grains, and flowers, in the creation of human beings and jinn, the separation of two seas, the production of pearls and
corals, and the smooth sailing of ships. And how all of this will just pass away or disappear into nothingness. Only Allah
‫س ۡب َحا َنهُ َوت َ َعالَ ٰى‬
ُ and His attributes will remain.

Punishments Mentioned
This is then followed by 7 threats of punishments and judgment. Allah ‫س ۡب َحانَهُ َوت َ َعا َل ٰى‬
ُ mentions Hell and the suffering of
burning in an eternal fire.

Descriptions of Paradise
Lastly, there are 8 descriptions of a higher level of Paradise and 8 descriptions of a lower level of Paradise.

A Beautiful Summation (8+7+8+8 = 31)

The grand total of 8 blessings, followed by 7 punishments, followed by 8 of the higher level of Jannah, and followed by
8 of the lower level of Jannah, brings 31, which is the number of times the verse “fabi-ayyi ālāi rabbikumā tukadhibāni
(so which of the favors of your Lord will you (both) deny?)” is repeated throughout this Surah.

The levels of Jannah are parallel together. There are 2 levels of Jannah. The higher level (verses 46 – 61) and the lower
level (verses 62 to 78).
 TRANSLITERATION GUIDE

D ‫ض‬ a ‫ا‬
T ‫ط‬ b ‫ب‬
DH ‫ظ‬ t ‫ت‬
3a ‫ع‬ th ‫ث‬
gh ‫غ‬ j ‫ج‬
f ‫ف‬ H ‫ح‬
q ‫ق‬ kh ‫خ‬
k ‫ك‬ d ‫د‬
l ‫ل‬ dh ‫ذ‬
m ‫م‬ r ‫ر‬
n ‫ن‬ z ‫ز‬
h ‫ه‬ s ‫س‬
w ‫و‬ sh ‫ش‬
a ‫ء‬ S ‫ص‬
y ‫ي‬
‫‪Muhammad bin Al Munkadir narrated that:‬‬
‫‪Jabir [may Allah be pleased with him] said: “The Messenger of Allah came out to his Companions, and recited Surat Ar-Rahman from its‬‬
‫‪beginning to its end for them, and they were silent. So he said: ‘I recited it to the Jinns on the ‘Night of the Jinns,’ and they had a better‬‬
‫‪response to it than you did. Each time I came to Allah’s saying: ‘Which of your Lords favor do you deny.’ They said: “We do not deny any of‬‬
‫”‪Your favors our Lord! And Yours is praise.‬‬

‫ي‪َ ،‬حدﱠثَنَا ْال َو ِليد ُ ْب ُن ُم ْس ِل ٍم‪َ ،‬ع ْن ُز َهي ِْر ب ِْن ُم َح ﱠمدٍ‪َ ،‬ع ْن ُم َح ﱠم ِد ب ِْن ْال ُم ْن َكد ِِر‪َ ،‬ع ْن َجا ِب ٍر‪،‬‬ ‫الر ْح َم ِن ب ُْن َواقِ ٍد أَبُو ُم ْس ِل ٍم ال ﱠ‬
‫س ْع ِد ﱡ‬ ‫َحدﱠثَنَا َع ْبدُ ﱠ‬
‫آخ ِرهَا‬ ‫الر ْح َم ِن ِم ْن أ َ ﱠو ِل َها إِلَى ِ‬
‫ورة َ ﱠ‬
‫س َ‬ ‫ص َحابِ ِه فَقَ َرأ َ َعلَ ْي ِه ْم ُ‬ ‫علَى أ َ ْ‬
‫سو ُل ﱠ ِ صلى ﷲ عليه وسلم َ‬ ‫رضى ﷲ عنه قَا َل خ ََر َج َر ُ‬
‫ْت َعلَى قَ ْو ِل ِه ِ◌ ‪ ) :‬فبأ َ ِ ّ‬
‫ى آﻻَ ِء َر ِّبكُ َما‬ ‫ت كُلﱠ َما أَتَي ُ‬ ‫سنَ َم ْردُودًا ِم ْن ُك ْم ُك ْن ُ‬ ‫فَ َس َكتُوا فَقَا َل ” لَقَ ْد قَ َرأْت ُ َها َ‬
‫علَى ْال ِج ِّن لَ ْي َلةَ ْال ِج ِّن فَ َكانُوا أ َ ْح َ‬
‫ث ْال َو ِلي ِد‬
‫يب ﻻَ نَ ْع ِرفُهُ ِإﻻﱠ ِم ْن َحدِي ِ‬
‫ِيث غ َِر ٌ‬ ‫ِب فَلَ َك ْال َح ْمدُ “ ‪ .‬قَا َل أَبُو ِعي َسى َهذَا َحد ٌ‬ ‫َيءٍ ِم ْن نِ َع ِم َك َربﱠنَا نُ َكذّ ُ‬ ‫ان ( قَالُوا ﻻَ ِبش ْ‬ ‫ت ُ َك ِذّ َب ِ‬
‫ْس ُه َو الﱠذِي يُ ْر َوى َع ْنهُ ِب ْال ِع َرا ِ‬
‫ق‬ ‫ب ِْن ُم ْس ِل ٍم َع ْن ُز َهي ِْر ب ِْن ُم َح ﱠم ٍد ‪ .‬قَا َل أ َ ْح َمد ُ ب ُْن َح ْن َب ٍل َكأ َ ﱠن ُز َهي َْر بْنَ ُم َح ﱠم ٍد الﱠذِي َوقَ َع ِبال ﱠ‬
‫ش ِام لَي َ‬
‫ي يَقُو ُل أ َ ْه ُل ال ﱠ‬
‫ش ِام يَ ْر ُوونَ‬ ‫ت ُم َح ﱠمدَ بْنَ ِإ ْس َما ِعي َل ْالبُخ ِ‬
‫َار ﱠ‬ ‫س ِم ْع ُ‬ ‫َكأَنﱠه ُ َر ُج ٌل آخ َُر قَ َلبُوا ا ْس َمهُ يَ ْعنِي ِل َما يَ ْر ُوونَ َع ْنه ُ ِمنَ ْال َمنَا ِك ِ‬
‫ير ‪َ .‬و َ‬
‫ار َبةً‬ ‫ق يَ ْر ُوونَ َع ْنهُ أ َ َحاد َ‬
‫ِيث ُمقَ ِ‬ ‫ير َوأ َ ْه ُل ْال ِع َرا ِ‬
‫ع ْن ُز َهي ِْر ب ِْن ُم َح ﱠم ٍد َمنَا ِك َ‬
‫‪َ .‬‬

‫‪Grade‬‬ ‫)‪: Hasan (Darussalam‬‬

‫‪English reference: Vol. 5, Book 44, Hadith 3291‬‬
‫‪Arabic reference : Book 47, Hadith 3602‬‬
Narrated Ash-Sha'bi:
that 'Alqamah said: "I said to Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him: 'Did any of you accompany the Prophet ( ‫ )ﷺ‬on the Night of the
Jinn?' He said: 'None of us accompanied him. One night, while he was in Makkah, we could not find him. We said: "He has been murdered
[or] snatched, what has happened to him?" So we spent the worst night a people could spend until the morning' or 'it was about dawn when
we saw him coming from the direction of Hira.' He said: 'They told him about what they had went through.'" "So he ( ‫ )ﷺ‬said: 'Someone from
the Jinn came to invite me, so I went to them to recite for them.' He said: "So we went and saw their tracks and the traces of their camp fire.'"
Ash-Sha'bi said: "They asked him about their provisions - and they were Jinns of Mesopotamia - so he said: 'Every bone upon which Allah's
name has not been mentioned, that falls into your hands, and every dropping of dung is fodder for your beasts.'" So the Messenger of Allah (
‫ )ﷺ‬said: "Do not perform Istinja with them for indeed they are provisions for your brothers among the Jinns."

ُ ‫ قَا َل قُ ْل‬،َ‫ َع ْن َع ْلقَ َمة‬،ِ‫ي‬

‫ت ِﻻب ِْن َم ْسعُو ٍد رضى ﷲ عنه‬ َ ‫ أ َ ْخبَ َرنَا إِ ْس َما ِعي ُل ب ُْن إِب َْرا ِه‬،‫ي ب ُْن ُح ْج ٍر‬
ّ ‫ َع ِن ال ﱠش ْع ِب‬،َ‫ َع ْن دَ ُاود‬،‫يم‬ َ ‫َحدﱠثَنَا‬
‫ع ِل ﱡ‬
‫ات َل ْيلَ ٍة َو ُه َو ِب َم ﱠكةَ فَقُ ْلنَا‬ َ ‫ي صلى ﷲ عليه وسلم َل ْي َلةَ ْال ِج ِّن ِم ْن ُك ْم أ َ َحد ٌ قَا َل َما‬
َ َ‫ص ِح َبهُ ِمنﱠا أ َ َحد ٌ َولَ ِك ْن قَ ِد ا ْفتَقَ ْدنَاهُ ذ‬ ‫ب النﱠ ِب ﱠ‬ َ ‫ه َْل‬
َ ‫ص ِح‬
‫ْح ِإذَا ن َْح ُن ِب ِه َي ِجي ُء ِم ْن ِق َب ِل‬
ِ ‫صب‬ ‫ص َب ْحنَا أ َ ْو َكانَ فِي َو ْج ِه ال ﱡ‬ ْ َ ‫ات ِب َها َق ْو ٌم َحتﱠى إِذَا أ‬ َ ‫ا ْغ ِتي َل أ َ ِو ا ْست ُ ِط‬
َ ‫ير َما فُ ِع َل ِب ِه َف ِبتْنَا ِبش ِ َّر َل ْي َل ٍة َب‬
. ‫يرانِ ِه ْم‬ َ َ ‫طلَقَ فَأ َ َرانَا آث‬
َ َ‫ار ُه ْم َوآث‬
َ ‫ار ِن‬ ُ ْ‫ي ْال ِج ِّن فَأَتَ ْيت ُ ُه ْم فَقَ َرأ‬
َ ‫ فَا ْن‬. “ ‫ت َعلَ ْي ِه ْم‬ َ ‫ِح َرا َء قَا َل فَذَ َك ُروا لَهُ الﱠذِي َكانُوا فِي ِه فَقَا َل ”أَتَانِي دَا ِع‬
ْ ‫ال ” ُك ﱡل َع‬
‫ظ ٍم لَ ْم يُ ْذ َك ِر ا ْس ُم ﱠ ِ َعلَ ْي ِه يَقَ ُع فِي أَ ْيدِي ُك ْم أَ ْوفَ َر َما َكانَ لَ ْح ًما َو ُك ﱡل‬ َ ‫الزادَ َو َكانُوا ِم ْن ِج ِّن ْال َج ِز‬
َ َ‫يرةِ فَق‬ ‫سأَلُوهُ ﱠ‬ َ ‫ي َو‬ ‫قَا َل ال ﱠش ْعبِ ﱡ‬
. “ ‫سو ُل ﱠ ِ صلى ﷲ عليه وسلم ” فَﻼَ ت َ ْست َ ْن ُجوا ِب ِه َما فَإِنﱠ ُه َما زَ ادُ إِ ْخ َوا ِن ُك ْم ِمنَ ْال ِج ِّن‬ ٌ َ‫َب ْع َرةٍ أ َ ْو َر ْوث َ ٍة َعل‬
ُ ‫ فَقَا َل َر‬. “ ‫ف ِلدَ َوا ِّب ُك ْم‬
َ ‫س ٌن‬
‫ص ِحي ٌح‬ َ ‫ِيث َح‬ َ ‫قَا َل أَبُو ِعي‬
ٌ ‫سى َهذَا َحد‬

Grade : Sahih (Darussalam)

English reference: Vol. 5, Book 44, Hadith 3258
Arabic reference : Book 47, Hadith 3567
References and Resources:
1. Yahiya Emerick, 2000, The Meaningof the Holy Qur'an in Today's English – Extended Study Edition.
2. Abu Ammaar Yasir Qadhi, YouTube videos on Tafseer of Surah Ar Rahmaan.
3. Moutasem Al Hameedi, YouTube videos on Tafseer of Surah Ar Rahmaan
4. https://sunnah.com/urn/680010
5. https://sunnah.com/urn/642930
6. http://www.alim.org/#
7. http://corpus.quran.com/
8. https://inkscape.org/
9. https://www.openoffice.org/