The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 4) — Page 474
CHAPTER 27 AN-NAML (Revealed before Hijrah) Context and Date of Revelation The immediate connection of this Surah with its predecessor consists in the fact that towards the end of the latter Surah it was stated that in accordance with the invariable and time-honoured Divine practice the Faithful will triumph and disbelievers will meet with discomfiture and will come to grief. As the main subject of the last Surah related to the defeat and destruction of disbelief, great stress was laid in it on the fact that consistently with that practice ruin will seize the opponents of the Holy Prophet also. In the present Surah, however, greater emphasis has been laid on another more subtle aspect of the same subject, viz. that despite the weakness of believers in power, prestige and material resources, their cause has always progressed and prospered. Though towards the close of the Surah a brief reference has been made to the ultimate destruction of disbelief, much greater emphasis has been laid on the basic religious principle that those who listen to the voice of God and give intellectual and ideological allegiance and unqualified and unstinted support to the Divinely established system, always achieve success and honour. In this connection it is mentioned that the progress of Muslims will not be temporary and short-lived, but will extend over a long period, and unlike the Israelites who were rulers only in their own country, Muslims will conquer and rule over vast lands. Another point worth special notice which serves as a connecting link between the present and the preceding Surah is that towards the close of the preceding Surah the disbelievers were mentioned as saying that the Holy Prophet was a poet and that satans descended upon him. To this taunt or charge of the disbelievers the Surah returned the answer that satans descended only upon sinful liars and forgers who mixed falsehood with truth. This is why a hotchpotch of much falsehood mixed with a little truth could never produce any good results. It further said that the poets follow no great aim or fixed programme in life. They wander, as it were, distractedly in every valley and do not practise what they preach. They follow satans and are in turn followed by those who have lost the right path. To continue and elaborate the subject the present Surah opens with a firm declaration that the Quran is God's own revealed Word. It explains fully and completely all matters that concern man's spiritual life and supports its principles and ideals with sound and cogent arguments. It has been revealed to the Holy Prophet from the Wise and Almighty God. Its followers worship their Lord morning and evening. 2388