The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 5) — Page 1
General Remarks CHAPTER 46 AL-AḤQĀF (Revealed before Hijrah) This is the seventh and last Surah of the Ḥā Mīm group. Like other Surahs of this group, it was revealed at Mecca towards the middle of the Prophet's ministry before Hijrah, at a time when opposition to the new Message had become bitter, persistent and organized. Nöldeke places the revelation of the Sūrah immediately after chapter 7. It seems to resemble its sister Surahs of the Ḥā Mīm group in tone and tenor. The Surah has 36 verses including Bismillah and takes its title from v. 22. The preceding Surah had ended on the solemn declaration that "God is the Lord of the heavens and the earth, His is the Majesty, and He is the Mighty, the Wise. " In the present Surah the claim made in these words is justified. The Quran has been revealed by the Wise and Mighty God. God is Wise in the sense that the Quranic teaching is based on sound and solid foundations, and is supported by reason, common sense and accumulated human experience; and He is Mighty in the sense that by living up to its ideals and principles the Muslims will gain ascendancy and predominance over their opponents. The Surah deals primarily with the subjects of prophethood and Divine revelation, with special reference to the revelation of the Quran, and with Unity of God, and life after death, in regard to which fulfilment of prophecies made in the Quran is adduced as an argument. Subject Matter Like its six predecessors of the Ḥā Mīm group, the Sūrah opens with the subject of the Quranic revelation and Divine Unity which constitutes its main theme, and gives the following few arguments in refutation of idolatry: (a) Only that being can command and demand of us that we should adore and worship Him Who, besides being our Creator and Sustainer, is Almighty and All-Powerful and can therefore compel obedience to His laws and commandments; but the false gods of idolaters are not only not creators but are themselves created. (b) Idolatry finds no support in any revealed Scripture. (c) Human knowledge, reason, and experience repel it and revolt against it. (d) A deity which cannot, and does not, answer our prayer is of no 2897