Essence of the Holy Qur’an — Page 129
129 Chapter 74 Al-Muddaththir J $ (Revealed before Hijrah) Date of Revelation and Context By common consent this S u rah was one of the first two or three S u rahs which were revealed at Mecca. This and the preceding S u rah (Al-Muzzammil) seem to be "twins" as they are so closely linked as regards the time of their revelation and their tone and tenor. The present S u rah , in fact, complements the subject-matter of the preceding one. The Muzzammil of the previous S u rah , immersed in devotional prayers and contemplation and passing through a period of intense preparation for the attainment of spiritual perfection, has become developed into the Muddaththir (destroyer of sin and vanquisher of the forces of evil, deliverer of mankind, their leader, guide and warner) of the present S u rah. From that time onward, the Holy Prophet’s life was no more his own. It was given to God. He preached the Divine Message with unswerving purpose, in the face of insult, opposition and persecution. The S u rah opens with a firm command to the Holy Prophet to stand up, proclaim the Truth he has and warn those who would not accept it—those whom wealth, power and position have rendered spiritually blind and deaf—that they would suffer punishment because they did not offer Prayers and did not feed the poor and because also that they indulged in vain pursuits. The S u rah ends on the note that the Qur’ a n is but a reminder and an exhortation. He, who accepts its Message, accepts it for the good of his own soul and he, who rejects it, does so to his own detriment.