An Enlightening Commentary into the Light of the Holy Qur'an vol. 12

Surah Ash-Shu‘ara, Chapter 26

(The Poets)

No. 26, (revealed at Mecca)

227 verses in 11 sections

The Feature of the Surah

In The Name of Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful

This holy Surah consists of two hundred and twenty seven verses. It has been revealed in Mecca and, next to Surah Al-Baqarah, and it contains the largest number of verses in comparison with other Suras of the Qur’an.

Through four verses at the end of this Surah, faithful poets have been admired while the poets who compose some vain poems have been reproached, and that is why this holy Surah has been entitled Shu‘ara’, and its other name is Ta Sin Mim.

There has come the biography of some prophets in this Surah, such as Moses, Abraham, Noah, Lut, Salih, Hud, and Shu‘ayb (Jethro), as well as the pertinacious conflicts of people against them.

At the end of each biography of these prophets, the Qur’an says:

“Verily in that there is a sign, but most of them do not believe.”

“And verily, your Lord certainly is He, the Mighty, the Merciful.”

And, therefore, this verse has been repeated eight times in order to sooth the Prophet of Islam (S)and to tell him not to be afraid of the pertinacity of the people of Mecca since all prophets had encountered some people like them.

Yes, historical events are the best means for strengthening the believers’ spirits, promoting the insight, tolerance, and a planning for struggling against the enemies’ threats in the future. That is why the leaders of the society must be aware of the history of the society.

The Virtue of the Surah

The holy Prophet of Islam (S) said:

“One who reads this Surah will not get sunk and his home will be save from burglary and fire; and one who writes this Surah on a paper and mixes it with water and drinks it, all his diseases may be healed by Allah.”[^1]

[^1]: Majma‘ ul-Bayan, Fakhr-i-Razi, Qurtabi, Tibyan, and Ruh-ul-Ma‘ani