An Enlightening Commentary into the Light of the Holy Qur'an vol. 15

Surah Sad, Chapter 38

No. 38 (Revealed at Mecca)

88 Verses in 5 Sections

The Feature of Surah Sad

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In The Name of Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful

This Surah was revealed at Mecca and contains eighty eight verses.

The name of this Surah, which is one of the Qur’anic abbreviated letters, is taken from its first verse. Similar to Surah As-Saffat, the verses of this Surah are about the continuation of the current of prophethood during the length of history and the opposition of the polytheists and pagans against the belief of Unity and Resurrection.

In Surah As-Saffat, the names of some Divine prophets such as: Noah, Abraham, Lot, Moses, Aaron, Elyas (Elija) and Yunus were mentioned. Here, this Surah mostly refers to the life history of David, Solomon, and ’Ayyub (Job).

The ending part of this holy Surah refers to the event of the creation of man, the angels’ prostration unto Adam and the disobedience of Satan in order that the believers recognize the innate greatness of man with Allah and that they avoid following Satan.

The Virtue of Recitation of This Surah

In the virtue of this Surah that for its beginning has been called Surah Sad, a tradition narrated from the Prophet of Islam (S) denotes that he said:

“Whoever recites Surah Sad, will Allah give him reward as much as the weight of every mountain that Allah had subjected it for David (as), and He protects him from persisting in committing sins whether minor or major.”[^1]

In another tradition Imam Baqir (as) said:

“Whoever recites Surah Sad in the night before Friday will be given good rewards of the world and the Hereafter (by Allah) as much that have not been given to anyone of the people save the Divine prophets and the near-stationed angels, and Allah admits him and all those he loves from among his household in Paradise, even the servant who served him.”^2

If we put the content of this Surah beside these rewards, the relation of these rewards with those instructions will be made clear, and again it is an emphasis on this fact that the purpose is not a mere dry recitation of the Surah, but it is a recitation that inspires contemplation and creates decision, a contemplation and decision which leads to action, in a manner that the content of the Surah may be practised in man’s living.

[^1]: Majma‘-ul-Bayan, Vol. 8, P. 463