The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 4) — Page 931
CHAPTER 43 AZ-ZUKHRUF (Revealed before Hijrah) Place of Revelation, Title and Context According to Qurtubi there exists complete unanimity of opinion among scholars that this Surah, like its three predecessors, was revealed at Mecca. Ibn 'Abbas also lends his powerful support to this view. It is, however, difficult to assign an exact date to its revelation. Scholarly opinion generally is inclined to place it towards the end of the fourth or the beginning of the fifth year of the Call. The Surah takes its name from v. 36. The previous Sūrah had ended on the note that the revelation which descends on heavenly Messengers and Prophets by Divine command possesses an element of mystery. It was further stated that before revelation actually descended upon the Holy Prophet he was not conversant with its nature and significance, nor did he know what faith was. The present Surah opens with the affirmation that because the Quran has been revealed in a most clear and eloquent language and because it also deals with all basic truths and its teaching is easily comprehensible, therefore, in spite of the element of mystery in its revelation, there is no reasonable ground for anyone to reject it. It further says that God would not stop sending fresh revelation whenever there was genuine need for it, just as Prophets of God did not cease to come because they were mocked and jeered at. The system of the coming of Divine Reformers will continue despite anything the disbelievers might say or do. Summary of the Subject Matter The Surah, like its three predecessors, opens with the declaration that the Quran has been revealed by God, the Lord of all Honour and Praise, and proceeds to deal with the subject of Divine Unity-its basic theme-in a way and form different from that in which it has been dealt with in other Surahs of the Ḥā Mīm group. It further says that God, in order to establish His Unity, has been sending, from time immemorial, His Messengers and Prophets. They preached and taught that God was One. They were rejected and opposed and persecuted. But this did not cause God to stop sending new Prophets and new revelations. Prophets continued to appear in the fullness of time, and the greatest of them came in the person of the Holy Prophet Muḥammad. The Surah further develops this argument and says that God has created the heavens and the earth for the service of man, and that He has made full provision for his physical needs. Whenever the earth becomes dry and parched, and life is on the verge of extinction, God sends down fresh rain from heaven and the earth begins to vibrate with new life. When God has 2845