1

SURAH IKHLAS (112)

The traditions show that different people on different occasions had questioned the Holy Prophet
(pbuh) about the essence and nature of the God to Whose service and worship he invited the
people, and on every occasion he recited by Allah's command this very Surah in response. First of
allthe pagans of Quraish asked him this question in Makkah, and in reply this Surah was sent
down. Then, at Madinah, sometimes the Christians, and sometimes the other people of Arabia,
asked him questions of this nature, and every time Allah inspired him to recite this very Surah in
answer to them. In each of these traditions, it has been said that this Surah was revealed on this
or that occasion. From this one should not form the impression that all these traditions are
mutually contradictory. The fact is that whenever there existed with the Holy Prophet a verse or a
Surah previously revealed in respect of a particular question or matter, and later the same
question was presented before him, Allah inspired him to recite the same verse or Surah to the
people as it contained the answer to their question. The reporters of Hadith describe the same
thing, saying: When such and such a question or matter was presented before the Holy Prophet,
such and such a verse or Surah was revealed. This has also been described as repetition of
revelation, i. e. the revelation of a verse or Surah several times.

Thus, the fact is that this Surah is Makki, rather in view of its subject matter a Surah revealed in
the earliest period at Makkah, when detailed verses of the Quran dealing with the essence and
attributes of Allah Almighty had not yet been revealed, and the people hearing, the Holy Prophet's
invitation to Allah, wanted to know what was his Lord like to whose worship and service he was
calling them. Another proof of this Surah's being one of the earliest Surahs to be revealed is that
when in Makkah Umayyah bin Khalaf, the master of Hadrat Bilal, made him lie down on burning
sand and placed a heavy stone on his chest, Bilal used to cry "Ahad, Ahad!" This word was
derived from this very Surah.

It was narrated on the authority of UbayyibnKa’b thatthe polytheists said to the Messenger of

Allah , "Tell us the lineage of your Lord." In response, Allah The Almighty revealed (what
means): {Say, "He Is Allah, [Who Is] One, Allah, the Eternal Refuge. He neither Begets nor Is
Born. Nor is there to Him anyequivalent}[Quran 112:1-4][Ahmad and At-Tirmizi]

This Hadith shows that there is an origin for the story, but the polytheists, not a Christian man,

were the ones who asked the Prophet . This is supported by the fact that Surah Al-Ikhlaas is a

Makkan Surah which was revealed before Hijrah, and that the Prophet , first met the People of
the Book in Madina.

Islamiyat (2058) Circumstances of some Quranic Surahs Teacher: Umar Hayat

 2

SURAH KAUSAR: (108)

Surah al-Kawthar (Arabic: ‫سورة الكوثر‬, "Abundance") is the 108th sura of theQur'an, and the
shortest. There are several differing opinions as to the circumstances under which it was revealed.
According to IbnIshaq, it was revealed in Makka, sometime before the Isra and Miraj.

This answer required simple background and main teachings of both passages. Following are the
details.
The Prophet (PBUH)’s second son died in infancy. Makkans felt that Prophet (PBUH) was
helpless as his infant son died.
Makkans (especially Abu Lahab and his wife Umm e Jamil) called him abtar i.e. someone who had
no male heir to carry out his name to next generations.
Prophet (PBUH) was deeply grieved and mentally under pressure due to these taunts by the
pagans of Makkah. Allah commanded Prophet (PBUH) to pray and sacrifice in those
circumstances. “Say truly my prayer & my service of sacrifice, my life and my death are (all)
for Allah, the Cherisher of the worlds”. (6:162) Al-Anaam.
This Surah was revealed to console Prophet (PBUH).
Allah reminded Prophet (PBUH) of what he had given him.
The word Kausar explains it i.e. Physical and spiritual abundance. According to a Hadis Imam
Ahmad recorded from Anas bin Malik that a man said,

"O Messenger of Allah! What is Al-Kawthar He replied: (It is a river in Paradise which my Lord has
given me. It is whiter than milk and sweeter than honey. There are birds in it whose necks are
(long) like carrots.) `Umar said, "O Messenger of Allah! Verily, they (the birds) will be
beautiful. The Prophet replied,(The one who eats them (i.e., the people of Paradise) will be more
beautiful than them, O `Umar)

These include knowledge, revelations, prophet hood etc.

It also includes the River of the heaven stated in hadith of Prophet (PBUH).
Allah reassured the revenge from those who hated and taunted Prophet (PBUH).
In fact the Makkans who taunted Prophet (PBUH) were the ones forgotten and
their sons worked for the mission of Prophet (PBUH).Muslims recognize this Surah as a promise
of Allah in this Surah came true.The Prophet (PBUH) is remembered by his spiritual offspring i.e.
the Muslim
Ummah which has been forwarding Prophet (PBUH)’s name, mission and cause.

Islamiyat (2058) Circumstances of some Quranic Surahs Teacher: Umar Hayat

 3

SURAH AD-DUHA (93)

The chapter was revealed at Mecca. It has one section, eleven verses forty words and one
hundred seventy two letters.

In the circumstances of its revelation it has been narrated that the revelation was not received by
the prophet for three years. The infidels began to say that Allah has left Muhammad (pbuh), so this
chapter was revealed.
The fundamental lesson of this surah is the favours that Allah (swt) has given His messenger and
this surah and the next is dedicated to the favours of Allah (swt). In this surah Allah (swt)
describes the favours He has given the messenger (saw) and at the end He will tell the messenger
(saw) what he should do as a show of gratitude. When someone is given favours and blessings
they should be grateful for it and acknowledge it and we as followers of Muhammad (saw) should
follow his perfect example.

Some experts (of hadis) were of the opinion that this surah was revealed in response to criticism
and ridicule directed towards the messenger (saw) from the pagans. The revelation had stopped
for a few days which intensely grieved and saddened the messenger (saw) to the extent that a
group from amongst the pagans (IbnKathir mentions that it was the wife of Abu Lahab) began to
sarcastically ridicule him. She would say that Allah had abandoned Muhammad and that He was
unhappy with him. It is important to appreciate that the messenger (saw) was thoroughly
concerned with the plight of humanity and fully aware of the fact that there would be no prophets
to come after him. Thus, there is a huge burden on his shoulders as if fails in his mission then not
only the Quraysh but also the whole of humanity will be destroyed. When people reject the
message the prophet (saw) as a result is worried that he is doing something wrong and that there
are shortcomings in his efforts. As a result he is constantly blaming himself. Allah (swt) constantly
tells Muhammad (saw) not to worry and that he is not as fault yet the taunting of the disbelievers
which are intended to make him feel bad is gradually cultivating the thought in his mind that maybe
he in fact did do something wrong which is why the revelation has stopped. The pause of
revelation was like the dark night when it is still. The prophet (saw) could not wait until the softness
of the morning sun and revelation returned. The revelation did return and this was not a
permanent cease in the same way that the night and darkness is not permanent and gives way to
the morning.

Imam Ahmad recorded from Jundub (ibn Abdullah) that he said, “The Prophet became ill, so he
did not stand for prayer for a night or two. Then a woman came and said, `O Muhammad! I think
that your devil has finally left you.’ So Allah revealed, ‘By the forenoon. By the night when it

Islamiyat (2058) Circumstances of some Quranic Surahs Teacher: Umar Hayat

 4

darkens, Your Lord has neither forsaken you nor hates you.’” Al Bukhari, Muslim, At-Tirmidhi, An-
Nasa’i, IbnAbiHatim and IbnJarir, all recorded this Hadith.

In a narration from Al- Aswad bin Qays, he said that he heard Jundub say that Jibril was slow in
coming to the Messenger of Allah. So the idolaters said, “Muhammad’s Lord has abandoned him.”
So Allah revealed, ‘By the forenoon. By the night when it darkens Your Lord has neither forsaken
you nor hates you.’

Al-`Awfi reported from Ibn `Abbas, “When the Qur’an was revealed to the Messenger of Allah,
(Angel) Jibril was delayed from coming to him for a number of days (on one occasion). Therefore,
the Messenger of Allah was affected by this. Then the idolaters began to say, `His Lord has
abandoned him and hates him.’ So Allah revealed this surah.

Surah Naas and Surah Falaq

The following last two Surahs of the Holy Quran were revealed
together. These Surahs were revealed to the Holy Prophet (pbuh) during a time when His health
was slightly affected by witchcraft or black magic.

There was a Jew called Labidibn al-Asam who got hold of the Prophet's (pbuh) blessed hair and
put a spell on it. He then put the hair in a well. The Prophet (pbuh) became very sick. After a few
days Hazrat Jibraeel (A.S) came to Muhammad (pbuh) and told him that a Jew had made Jaa'doo
(cast a magic spell) on him and had buried the Jaa'doo items under a stone in a certain well.

Our Prophet (pbuh) sent Hazrat Ali (R.A) to remove the magic items. Hazrat Ali (R.A)went
immediately to that well and emptied the water from it. He found the stone and lifted it. Underneath
the stone was a bag made of date palm fibers and in it was the blessed hair of our Prophet (pbuh).
He also found a few teeth of the blessed comb of Nabi Muhammad (pbuh) and a line or a string of
a bow on which was tied eleven knots. There was also a puppet made of wax in which there were
11 needles. The Jaa'doo items were brought to Muhammad (pbuh).

Almighty Allah (S.W.T) then revealed these two Surahs together to Muhammad (pbuh). Surah
Falaq had five Ayat and Surah Naas had six Ayat, altogether counting eleven. When
Muhammad (pbuh) read all the eleven Ayahs, all the knots were opened one by one. The
Prophet (pbuh) was cured.

The Prophet (pbuh) urged Muslims to recite these two Surahs as often as possible. It will protect
us from the evil works of Devils, Jinn or Magic. It will protect us from hatred and jealousy.

Islamiyat (2058) Circumstances of some Quranic Surahs Teacher: Umar Hayat

 5

When anyone speaks ill about you, when you are feeling sad or unable to concentrate in your
Salat, then you must recite these two Surahs.

An-Naas means "The People". Surah an-Naas teaches us to place our trust in Allah (S.W.T). It
teaches us to seek Allah's protection against things that might affect us. We should not place our
trust in man. Allah (S.W.T) is our Ruler.

The Surah warns us against the secret whispers of evil inside our hearts. It also warns us about
the evil that may come from other men or invisible spirits. As long as we put ourselves in
Allah's (S.W.T) protection and we trust in Allah (S.W.T), evil will not be able to affect us.

This Surah was revealed in Madina. It has 6 Ayahs, 20 words and 79 letters.

Surah Fateha

Surah Fateha means: The Opening. It is the beautiful opening of

the Book of Allah (S.W.T). It is also known as "Umm al-Kitab" (Mother of the Book), "al-Hamd"
(The Praise) and "al-Asas" (The Foundation).

An Angel once told the Holy Prophet (pbuh) that it is a light that has never been given to any other
Prophet before him. It is the main Prayer(Du'aa) of the Muslims, and Muslims must recite it in
every Rakat of prayer (Salaah).

This Surah is placed at the beginning of the Holy Quran. It is actually a prayer. Allah (S.W.T) is
Kind, Merciful, Good to us, and for Him is all our praise. He is our Master and King. We shall stand
before Him on the Day of Judgment with our actions, good and bad.

This Surah teaches us how to speak to Allah (S.W.T). He is the only One we worship and ask for
help. We ask Him for help with the source (means of approaching Allah's Court) of the Holy
Prophet (pbuh). We ask Allah (S.W.T) to guide us both in this world and the next. We ask
Allah (S.W.T) to keep us on the path of those pious people whom He is pleased with. We ask Him
not to make us follow those people with whom He is angry, nor those who mislead us, making us
confused and lost.

The other names of Surah Fateha are: FaatehatulKitaab (Opening Chapter of the Book); Ummul
Quran (Mother of the Quran); SuratulKanz (Chapter of the Treasure); Kaafiyah (Abundant);
Waafiyah (Complete); Shaafiyah (Healing); Shifa (Cure); Noor (Light); etc.

This Surah was revealed in Makkah. It contains 7 Ayahs, 27 words and 140 letters.

Islamiyat (2058) Circumstances of some Quranic Surahs Teacher: Umar Hayat