Qur'an Wiki - Surah 29: al-`Ankabut


Overview - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 - 20 - 21 - 22 - 23 - 24 - 25 - 26 - 27 - 28 - 29 - 30 - 31 - 32 - 33 - 34 - 35 - 36 - 37 - 38 - 39 - 40 - 41 - 42 - 43 - 44 - 45 - 46 - 47 - 48 - 49 - 50 - 51 - 52 - 53 - 54 - 55 - 56 - 57 - 58 - 59 - 60 - 61 - 62 - 63 - 64 - 65 - 66 - 67 - 68 - 69 - DISPLAY ALL
<< Prev Next >>

Surah Introduction

[ edit ]

This Surah reminds the Believers to be strong in their faith and not to give up their faith because of hardship or family pressures. Stories of previous Prophets and their followers are also mentioned here to show that the path of truth is not an easy path. It has trials and hardships.

Sections:

Tests and trials are part of faith.
Examples of Prophets Noah and Ibrahim - peace be upon them.
Example of Prophet Lot – peace be upon him.
Example of Prophet Shu'aib. References to the people of 'Ad, Thamud, Qarun and Pharaoh. Message of Prophet Moses - peace be upon him. Spider web of Shirk.
Give the message of Allah in the best way.
Warnings to the non-believers.
The truth will succeed. Allah guides the steps of those who follow the right path.

Al-Ankabut [The Spider] is mentioned in Ayat [29:40].

There are 69 Ayat in this Surah.

1	Surah Introduction
2	Central Theme
3	Connection of the name of the Surah and its Ayaat
4	Connection between the beginning and the ending of the Surah
5	Connection of the Surah to the Surah before/after it
6	The Virtues of the Surah
7	Special Features of the Surah
8	Important key and unique words of the Surah
9	Period of Revelation
10	Background Reasons for Revelation
11	Relevant Hadith
12	Lessons/Guidance/Major-Issues/Reflections
13	Wiki Forum
14	Miscellaneous Issues
15	External Links

Overview

Total Ayat	69
Total Words *	976
Root Words *	233
Unique Root Words *	2
Makki / Madani	Makki
Chronological Order*	85th (according to Ibn Abbas)
Year of Revelation*	6th year of Prophethood
Events during/before this Surah* 2nd Migration to Abyssinia, Physical beating and torture of some Muslims - 1st Migration of Muslims to Abyssinia, Public Invitation to Islam - Persecution of Muslims; antagonism - ridicule - derision - accusation - abuse and false propaganda., Revelation begins - Private Invitation to Islam , Revelation begins - Private Invitation to Islam , Revelation begins - Private Invitation to Islam
Events during/after still to occur* Boycott of Banu Hashim Yr 1,Boycott of Banu Hashim Yr 2,Boycott of Banu Hashim Yr 3,Death of Abu Talib - Death of Khadijah - Stoning at Ta'if - al-Isra wal Mi'raj - Night Journey,1st Pledge of Aqabah,2nd Pledge of Aqabah,,Migration from Makkah to Madinah - Building of Masjid Nabi in Madinah - Treaty with Jews of Madinah - Marriage of Prophet to Aishah,Change of Qiblah from Jerusalem to Makkah - Battle of Badr,Battle of Uhud,,Battle of Ahzab - Expedition of Banu Quraydhah,Treaty of Hudaiybiyah - Letters to Kings and Rulers,,Conquest of Makkah - Battle of Hunain,Hajj led by Abu Bakr - Expedition of Tabuk,Farewell Hajj by Prophet - Death of Prophet - End of Divine Revelation
Names of Prophets Mentioned Nuh, Lut, Ibrahim, Ishaq, Yaqub, Shuaib, Musa
Surah Index ‘Aad, Abraham, Adversity (patience during) , Astronomy (celestial mechanics) (moon), Astronomy (celestial mechanics) (sun), Behaviour (argue in a kindly manner with those given earlier revelation) , Disbelievers, Disbelievers (God’s promise to) , Earth, Earth (creation and recreation of) , Earthquake, Haman, Hell, Homosexuality, Hud, Iblis, Jacob, Jihad (non-believing parents trying to persuade a believer to polytheism) , Jihad (striving hard in God’s cause) , Knowledge, Knowledge (travel to learn) , Lot, Madyan, Moses, Noah, Noah (ark) , Noah (flood) , Pharaoh, Prayer (restrains one from loathesome deeds) , Prophet (people who are false prophets are wicked) , Qarun, Resurrection (Day) , Resurrection (of humans) , Resurrection (of soul) , Revelation, Ships, Shu’ayb, Sin, Spider, Thamud, Weather (rain) , Weather (wind)

Central Theme

[ edit ]

Theme 1: Trials and tribulations [fitnah and Ibtalah] are an historic truth in the lives of Believers.

Connection of the name of the Surah and its Ayaat

[ edit ]

One the running themes of the Surah is about tests, trials and tribulations and just like a Spider's web, these tests are inter-twinned and complex.

Connection between the beginning and the ending of the Surah

[ edit ]

Those who struggle in for Allah. Allah says in the beginning, "He who jahada [struggles] does for the benefit of himself." [29:6]. In the end of the Surah, "Those who jahada [struggles] for Us - We will surely guide them to Our ways. And indeed, Allah is the Muhsineen." [29:69]

Manuscripts / Inscriptions

View All

14th Century

by Exhibition Islam

Last part of Surah al-Ankabut, 29. Start of Surah ar-Rum, 30. A Quran bifolium originating in Persia written during the 14th ...read more

17th Century

by Mughal Period India

Surah al-Ankabut, 29. A very large 17th century Qur'an from the late Mughal period of Islamic rule in India. The size and ele...read more

18th Century

by Exhibition Islam

Surah al-Ankabut, 29. A complete Qur'an manuscript from China, 18th century. The text has been written by a neat hand in a tr...read more

4th Century

by Exhibition Islam

Surah Ankabut, 29:57;61. Qur'an manuscript leaf written in maghribi script, using handsome, elegant and austere characters. T...read more

2nd/3rd Century

by British Library London

Surah al-Ankabut, 29:23;26. Below Surah Luqmaan, 32:21;25. Kufic Qur'an written in horizontal format. Red dots are used for v...read more

9th century

by British Library London

Surah al-Ankabut, 29:23. A Qur'an written in Kufic script using a horizontal format, 9th century. The manuscript provides a g...read more

16th Century

by Exhibition Islam

Surah al-Ankabut, 29:42. Thirteen lines of a bihari script in black and gold, 16th century. The page is ruled in red and blac...read more

706 H 1306 CE

by Ahmad ibn Al-Suhrawardi

End of Surah Al-Ankabut 29. Ayah 69. And starting of Surah Ar-Rum30. Ayah 1. (cat.40). Oljaytu's Qur'an, juz' 21, text-page, ...read more

669 H (1270 CE)

by Seljuk, Turkey

Surah al-Ankabut 29:45, "Recite, what has been revealed to you of the Book and establish prayer. Indeed, prayer prohibits imm...read more

15th Century CE

by Persia

Surah al-Ankabut 29:25 onward. The 15th century Persian prince Baysunqur ibn Shahrukh, famous as a bibliophile, is probably t...read more

3rd /4th Century Hijrah

by University of Cambridge Library

Surah al-Ankabut 29:44 onwards. Manuscript ID: MS Add.1144. https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-ADD-01144/4...read more

1st Century Hijrah (7th Century CE)

by Topkapi Museum, Istanbul, Turkey

Surah al-29:55 onward. The Topkapi manuscript, which is generally attributed to Caliph Uthman, is preserved at the Sacred Rel...read more

Late 1st century / early 2nd century of Hijra.

by Topkapi Museum, Istanbul, Turkey

Folio 253b showing end of Surah 28: al-Qas?as? and beginning of Surah 29: al-Ankab?t. Mehmed Ali Pasha, Governor of Egypt...read more

Late 1st century / early 2nd century of Hijra.

by Topkapi Museum, Istanbul, Turkey

Mehmed Ali Pasha, Governor of Egypt, sent this mus?h?af to the Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II as a gift in 1226 AH / 1811 CE. A not...read more

Connection of the Surah to the Surah before/after it

[ edit ]

Surah 29, 30, 31 and 32 all begin with ALIF-LAM-MEEM - The same huruf muqatiat [disjointed letters]

The Virtues of the Surah

[ edit ]

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

Special Features of the Surah

[ edit ]

The only mention of Hypocrisy [29:11] in the whole of Makki Surahs.
This is the only of the Qur'an where the word 'al-Ankabut' [The Spider] is mentioned in the whole Qur'an.

Important key and unique words of the Surah

[ edit ]

Fitnah - يُفْتَنُونَ in the second Ayah - is key word [further research needed]

Total Word Count per Ayat (shows how many words per Ayat) = 2*

Unique Root Words to this Surah only

2 unique root words that do not appear in any other Surah *

Top 10 Most Frequent Root Words used in this Surah

#	Root Word	Frequency in Surah	Frequency in Qur'an
1.	أ ل ه	44	2851
2.	ق و ل	25	1722
3.	ع ل م	23	854
4.	ٱلَّذِى	22	1464
5.	ك و ن	21	1390
6.	أ م ن	18	879
7.	ق و م	13	660
8.	إِلَىٰ	12	742
9.	إِلَّا	12	663
10.	أ ت ي	10	549

Root Word	Frequency in Surah	Frequency in Qur'an
أ ل ه	44	2851
ق و ل	25	1722
ع ل م	23	854
ٱلَّذِى	22	1464
ك و ن	21	1390
أ م ن	18	879
ق و م	13	660
إِلَىٰ	12	742
إِلَّا	12	663
أ ت ي	10	549

Period of Revelation

[ edit ]

"Verses 56 to 60 clearly show that this Surah was sent down a little before the migration to Abyssinia, during the period of extreme persecution of the Muslims at Makkah. This is supported by the subject matter as well. The disbelievers were opposing Islam and the new Muslims were being subjected to severe torture and oppression. Such were the conditions when God sent down this Surah to strengthen and encourage the Muslims, as well as to admonish the hypocrites. The disbelievers of Makkah were also threatened not to invite a similar fate to the past nations that denied the truth." [Ref: Mawdudi]

Background Reasons for Revelation

[ edit ]

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

Relevant Hadith

[ edit ]

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

Lessons/Guidance/Major-Issues/Reflections

[ edit ]

Allah tests the Believers to see who is truthful and who is a liar.
Be kind to parents but do not obey them in matters of shirk (associating anyone else with Allah).
Those who say: "Follow us, we will bear your burden on the Day of Judgement," are liars.
The Prophet Nuh admonished his people for 950 years not to commit shirk.
The Prophet Ibrahim admonished his people not to commit shirk, for which they tried to burn him alive, but Allah saved him.
The Nations of 'Ad, Thamud, Madyan and Fir'on rejected the Rasools of Allah, as a result Allah destroyed them all.
Parable of those who take protectors other than Allah, is that of the dwelling of a spider and the fact that the weakest of all the dwellings is the dwelling of a spider.

Tafsir Zone

Overview (Verses 36 - 40)

Different Types of Punishment

The sūrah then gives brief references to different communities of unbelievers and the ends they suffered, starting with Shu`ayb’s people:

And to the people of Madyan We sent their brother Shu`ayb, who said: ‘My people, worship God alone, and look forward to the Last Day, and do not act wickedly to spread corruption on earth.’ But they accused him of lying. Thereupon an earthquake overtook them and the morning found them lying lifeless on the ground in their very homes. (Verses 36-37)

In this reference to the Prophet Shu`ayb we see the unity of the divine message and the essence of faith: “Worship God alone, and look forward to the Last Day.” (Verse 36) Worshipping God alone is the basic rule of faith. Looking forward to the Day of Judgement would ensure that they stopped their evil ways. For example, they deliberately defrauded people when they measured or weighed for them in business. They also looted from those who passed through their lands, deprived them of what they had, and generally spread corruption, behaving arrogantly.

Furthermore, they took a stand against their prophet, accusing him of lying; therefore, God destroyed them. He brought into force His law of punishing unbelievers who deny their messengers: “Thereupon an earthquake overtook them and the morning found them lying lifeless on the ground in their very homes.” (Verse 37) We mentioned previously the earthquake that shook their land after a great blast left them stunned in their homes, unable to stir. Thus they were left lifeless in fitting requital for their repeated terrorization of others.

Next the sūrah refers very briefly to the punishment inflicted on the `Ād and Thamūd:

And the `Ād and Thamūd [We also destroyed]. This has been evident to you from their dwellings. Satan had made their evil deeds seem goodly to them, and thus had turned them away from the path [of God] despite their having had the ability to perceive the truth. (Verse 38)

The `Ād lived at al-Aĥqāf in southern Arabia, close to Ĥadramaut, while the Thamūd lived in al-Ĥijr in northern Arabia, close to al-Qurā Valley. The `Ād were destroyed by devastating winds, while the Thamūd were destroyed by a stunning blast. Their dwellings, however, still stood and the Arabs of Makkah passed by them on their traditional winter and summer trade trips, thus seeing for themselves the destruction heaped upon these formerly powerful communities.

This brief reference to these two communities reveals the same cause of their going astray as indeed that of other communities: “Satan had made their evil deeds seem goodly to them, and thus had turned them away from the path [of God] despite their having had the ability to perceive the truth.” (Verse 38) They had minds and could see the pointers to divine guidance, but Satan tempted them away, making their deeds seem fair to them. Satan frequently plays on such people’s arrogance and false self-esteem. The result being that such communities often succumb to delusions of power and wealth. Thus, Satan turns them away from the only path of true guidance that leads to faith. He thus loses them the chance to save themselves, despite their having the ability to perceive the truth.

Another very brief reference is made to earlier unbelievers: “Qārūn [i.e. Korah], Pharaoh and Hāmān! Moses had come to them with all evidence of the truth, but they behaved with arrogance on earth. Indeed, they could not escape.” (Verse 39) Qārūn as we learned in the previous sūrah was one of Moses’ people. He behaved wrongfully towards them, using his wealth and knowledge in oppressive ways. He did not listen to the advice of honest and sincere people who counselled him to follow the path of moderation, humility and justice. Pharaoh was a terrible despot who committed ghastly and horrible crimes, enslaving people and sowing discord between them. In brutal defiance of all justice, he killed the male offspring of the Children of Israel but spared their females. Hāmān was his minister who managed his schemes, assisting him in his tyrannical rule. “Moses had come to them with all evidence of the truth, but they behaved with arrogance on earth.” (Verse 39) Their wealth, power and cunning could not protect them from God’s punishment. They could not escape it. It engulfed them all. “Indeed, they could not escape.” (Verse 39)

Those who possessed power, wealth, the means to overpower others as well as the means to ensure their own survival have all gone. God destroyed them all after they had long oppressed and persecuted others:

We took each one of them to task for their sins: upon some of them We let loose a deadly storm wind; and some were overtaken by a blast; and some We caused to be swallowed by the earth; and some We caused to drown. It was not God who wronged them, but it was they who had wronged themselves. (Verse 40)

The `Ād were smitten by a windstorm. This lifted small stones which hit and killed people. The Thamūd were destroyed by a stunning blast, Qārūn was swallowed by the earth, whilst Pharaoh and Hāmān were drowned. All were punished on account of their wrongdoing: “It was not God who wronged them, but it was they who had wronged themselves.” (Verse 40)

Ibn Kathir (English)

Sayyid Qutb

Sha'rawi

Al Jalalain

Mawdudi

الطبري - جامع البيان

ابن كثير - تفسير القرآن العظيم

القرطبي - الجامع لأحكام

البغوي - معالم التنزيل

ابن أبي حاتم الرازي - تفسير القرآن

ابن عاشور - التحرير والتنوير

ابن القيم - تفسير ابن قيّم

السيوطي - الدر المنثور

الشنقيطي - أضواء البيان

ابن الجوزي - زاد المسير

الآلوسي - روح المعاني

ابن عطية - المحرر الوجيز

الرازي - مفاتيح الغيب

أبو السعود - إرشاد العقل السليم

الزمخشري - الكشاف

البقاعي - نظم الدرر

الهداية إلى بلوغ النهاية — مكي ابن أبي طالب

القاسمي - محاسن التأويل

الماوردي - النكت والعيون

السعدي - تيسير الكريم الرحمن

عبد الرحمن الثعالبي - الجواهر الحسان

السمرقندي - بحر العلوم

أبو إسحاق الثعلبي - الكشف والبيان

الشوكاني - فتح القدير

النيسابوري - التفسير البسيط

أبو حيان - البحر المحيط

البيضاوي - أنوار التنزيل

النسفي - مدارك التنزيل

ابن جُزَيّ - التسهيل لعلوم التنزيل

علي الواحدي النيسابوري - الوجيز

السيوطي - تفسير الجلالين

المختصر في التفسير — مركز تفسير

Overview (Verses 36 - 40)

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… Login to enter your comments

Miscellaneous Issues

[ edit ]

A spider web, spiderweb, spider's web, or cobweb is a device created by a spider out of proteinaceous spider silk extruded from its spinnerets, generally meant to catch its prey. Insects can get trapped in spider webs, providing nutrition to the spider

External Links

[ edit ]

Surah 29. Al-`Ankabut - Saad al Ghamidi https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSjcWTXbPTw&index=29&list=PLhM2xiAUdw2cAqW_o3zZkbhJNw0bnaBZN
Surah 29. Al-`Ankabut Mahmoud Khalil Al Hussary https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSUQtDMtrH8&index=29&list=PLxpAkjlGauHfMFWX22VZWOKpzjr-vH_BM
Surah 29. Al-`Ankabut Muhammad Al Luhaydan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=re3ph5yU1bw&list=PLxpAkjlGauHfKAYuQLRNAZomoezhfhRZe&index=29
Idris Akbar Al-`Ankabut https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvevPlIw8-w
Surah 29. Al-`Ankabut muhammad Minshawi https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pj4Ejp65V3o&list=PLxpAkjlGauHdUcO_uc-8F8J2NUQRDZjPG&index=29

Overview - Surah 29: al-`Ankabut (The Spider )

Surah Introduction

Contents

Overview

Central Theme

Connection of the name of the Surah and its Ayaat

Connection between the beginning and the ending of the Surah

Manuscripts / Inscriptions

14th Century

17th Century

18th Century

4th Century

2nd/3rd Century

9th century

16th Century

706 H 1306 CE

669 H (1270 CE)

15th Century CE

3rd /4th Century Hijrah

1st Century Hijrah (7th Century CE)

Late 1st century / early 2nd century of Hijra.

Late 1st century / early 2nd century of Hijra.

Connection of the Surah to the Surah before/after it

The Virtues of the Surah

Special Features of the Surah

Important key and unique words of the Surah

Unique Root Words to this Surah only

Top 10 Most Frequent Root Words used in this Surah

Period of Revelation

Background Reasons for Revelation

Relevant Hadith

Lessons/Guidance/Major-Issues/Reflections

Tafsir Zone

Wiki Forum

Miscellaneous Issues

External Links