Surah Fussilat (Explained in Detail) 41 : 26

وَقَالَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ لَا تَسْمَعُوا۟ لِهَٰذَا ٱلْقُرْءَانِ وَٱلْغَوْا۟ فِيهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَغْلِبُونَ

Translations

 
 Muhsin Khan
 Pickthall
 Yusuf Ali
Quran Project
And those who disbelieve say, "Do not listen to this Qur’ān and make noise during [the recitation of] it that you will overcome."

1. Lessons/Guidance/Reflections/Gems

[ edit ]

Explanatory Note

One aspect of what such wicked companions persuaded them to do was to fight the Qur'an when they realized how powerful was its argument: "The unbelievers say: Do not listen to this Qur'an, but drown it in frivolous talk, so that you may gain the upper hand." The elders of the Quraysh in Makkah used to counsel each other to do just this, and they also persuaded the masses to do the same. They realized that they were no match for the Qur'an, its beauty, power and eloquence: "Do not listen to this Qur'an." They claimed that it cast a magical spell over their minds and ruined their lives, causing division between a man and his children or a man and his wife. It is true that the Qur'an causes such division, but only through God's criterion that separates faith from unfaith, and guidance from going astray. The Qur'an wins people's hearts so that they no longer value any other bond as they do their bond of faith. Thus, it was known as al-Furgan, meaning 'The Criterion'. "Do not listen to this Qur'an, but drown it in frivolous talk, so that you may gain the upper hand." Such frivolity is totally unbecoming, yet it was the result of their knowing that they could not combat the Qur'an with logic or consistent argument. Those who persist in such disbelief can basically do nothing other than drown out the voice of the Qur'an with their own frivolities. They used to do this in a variety of ways: Malik ibn al-Nadr, for example, used to sit and relate accounts of Rustum and other Persian kings in order to impress people so that they would not listen to the Qur'an, while others used to shout and make noises or recited poetry and rhymes. All this, however, came to nothing while the Qur'an retained its power because it is the word of the truth, and the truth is overpowering.

2. Linguistic Analysis

[ edit ]
The data for this section is awaiting to be be uploaded. Be the first to contribute.


Frequency of Root words in this Ayat used in this Surah *


3. Surah Overview

4. Miscellaneous Information

[ edit ]
The data for this section is awaiting to be be uploaded. Be the first to contribute.

5. Connected/Related Ayat

[ edit ]
The data for this section is awaiting to be be uploaded. Be the first to contribute.

6. Frequency of the word

[ edit ]
The data for this section is awaiting to be be uploaded. Be the first to contribute.

7. Period of Revelation

[ edit ]

According to authentic hadith, it was sent down after the affirmation of the Faith by Hamza, the uncle of the Prophet and before the affirmation of the Faith by Umar. Muhammad bin Ishaq, the earliest biographer of the Prophet, has related on the authority of Muhammad bin Ka’b al-Qurzi (a  famous Companion), that one day some of the Quraysh chiefs were sitting in their assembly in the Masjid al-Haram, while in another corner of the Mosque there was the Prophet sitting by himself. This was the time when Hamza had already embraced Islam and the people of the Quraysh were feeling upset at the growing numbers of the Muslims. On this occasion, Utbah bin Rabi’ah (the father-in-law of Abu Sufyan) said to the Quraysh chiefs: “Gentlemen, if you like I would go and speak to Muhammad and put before him some proposals; maybe that he accepts one of them, to which we may also agree, and so he stops opposing us.” They all agreed to this, and Utbah went and sat by the Prophet. When the Prophet turned to him, he said: “Nephew, you know the high status that you enjoy in the community by virtue of your ancestry and family relations, but you have put your people to great trouble: you have created divisions among them and you consider them to be fools: you talk ill of their religion and gods, and say things as though all our forefathers were pagans. Now listen to me and I shall make some suggestions. Consider them well: maybe that you accept one of them.” The Prophet said: “Abul Walid, say what you want to say and I shall listen to you.” He said, “Nephew, if by what you are doing, you want wealth, we will give you enough of it so that you will be the richest man among us; if you want to became an important man, we will make you our chief and will never decide a matter without you; if you want to be a king, we will accept you as our king; and if you are visited by a Jinn, whom you cannot get rid of by your own power, we will arrange the best physicians and have you treated at our own expense.” ‘Utbah went on speaking in this strain and the Prophet went on listening to him quietly. Then he said, “Have you said, O Abul Walid, what you had to say?” He replied that he had. The Prophet said: “Well, now listen to me.” Then pronouncing Bismillah ir Rahman-ir-Rahim he began to recite this very Surah, and Utbah kept on listening to it, putting his hands behind his back and leaning on them as he listened. Coming to the verse of prostration (v. 37) the Prophet prostrated himself; then raising his head, said, “This was my reply, O Abul Walid, now you may act as you please.” Then Utbah arose and walked back towards the chiefs, the people saw him from afar, and said: “By God! Utbah’s face is changed. He does not look the same man that he was when he went from here.” Then, when he came back and sat down, the people asked, “What have you heard?” He replied, “By God! I have heard something the like of which I had never heard before. By God, it’s neither poetry, nor sorcery, nor magic. O chiefs of the Quraysh, listen to what I say and leave this man to himself. I think what he recites is going to have its effect. If the other Arabs overcome him, you will be saved from raising your hand against your brother, and the others will deal with him. But if he overcame Arabia, his sovereignty would be your sovereignty and his honour your honour.” Hearing this the chiefs spoke out: “You too, O father of Walid, have been bewitched by his tongue.” Utbah replied, “I have given you my opinion; now you may act as you please.” (Ibn Hisham, vol. I, pp. 313-314).

8. Reasons for Revelation

[ edit ]
The data for this section is awaiting to be be uploaded. Be the first to contribute.

9. Relevant Hadith

[ edit ]
The data for this section is awaiting to be be uploaded. Be the first to contribute.

10. Wiki Forum

Comments in this section are statements made by general users – these are not necessarily explanations of the Ayah – rather a place to share personal thoughts and stories…

11. Tafsir Zone

 


12. External Links

[ edit ]
The data for this section is awaiting to be be uploaded. Be the first to contribute.