#QURAN
Period of Revelation
It was revealed before the migration to Habash. We learn from authentic traditions that Hadrat Ja'afar recited vv. 1-40 of this Surah in the court of Negus when he called the migrants to his court.
Historical Background
We have already briefly referred to the conditions of that period in the introduction to Surah Al-Kahf. Here we shall give a more detailed account of the same conditions, which will be helpful in grasping the meaning of this Surah and the other Surahs of the same period. When the chiefs of the Quraish felt that they had failed to suppress the Islamic movement by ridicule, sarcasm, and by holding out promises and threats and by making false accusations, they resorted to persecution, beating and economic pressure. They would seize new Muslims of their tribes and would persecute, starve and inflict physical torture on them in order to coerce them into giving up Islam. The most pitiful victims of their persecution were the poor people and the slaves and the proteges of the Quraish. They were severely tortured, imprisoned, kept hungry and thirsty, and were dragged on the burning sands of Makkah. The people would get work from the professional laborers but would not pay them their wages. As an illustration we describe below the story of Hadrat Khabbab bin Arat, which is narrated in Bukhari and Muslim :
"I used to work as a blacksmith in Makkah. Once I did some work for As bin Wa'il. When I went to ask for my wages, he said, 'I will not pay your wages unless you disown Muhammad'."
In the same connection Hadrat Khabbab says, "One day the Holy Prophet was sitting in the shadow of the Ka'abah. I went to him and said, 'O Messenger of Allah, now persecution has gone to its extreme; why do you not pray to Allah (for relief)?' At this the Holy Prophet was greatly moved. He said, 'The believers before you were persecuted much more than you. Their bones were scraped with combs of iron and their heads were cut with saws, but still they did not give up their Faith. I assure you that Allah will fulfill this Mission, and there will come a period of such peace that one would travel from Sanna to Hadramaut, and he will have no fear from anyone, save Allah. But you people have already become impatient'." (Bukhari)
30 окт 2024
