As-Saffat (, , Those who rank themselves in Order,
George Sale translation
George Sale (1697–1736) was a British Orientalist scholar and practising solicitor, best known for his 1734 translation of the Quran into English. In 1748, after having read Sale's translation, Voltaire wrote his own essay "De l'Alcoran et ...
"Ranged in Row", "The Rangers") is the 37th chapter (
sūrah
A ''surah'' (; ; ) is an Arabic word meaning 'chapter' in the Quran. There are 114 ''suwar'' in the Quran, each divided into ayah, verses (). The ''suwar'' are of unequal length; the shortest ''surah'' (al-Kawthar) has only three verses, while ...
) of the
Qur'an
The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides ...
with 182 verses (''
āyāt'').
Regarding the timing and contextual background of the believed
revelation
Revelation, or divine revelation, is the disclosing of some form of Religious views on truth, truth or Knowledge#Religion, knowledge through communication with a deity (god) or other supernatural entity or entities in the view of religion and t ...
(''
asbāb al-nuzūl
Occasions or circumstances of revelation (in Arabic - ''al-nuzūl'') names the historical context in which Quranic verses were revealed from the perspective of traditional Islam. Though of some use in reconstructing the Qur'an's historicity, ''a ...
''), it is an earlier "
Meccan surah
A Meccan surah is, according to the timing and contextual background of their revelation ('' asbāb al-nuzūl'') within Islamic tradition, a chronologically earlier chapter ('' suwar'', singular ''sūrah'') of the Qur'an. The traditional chronolog ...
", which means it is believed to have been revealed in Mecca, rather than later in Medina.
Summary
*1-5 God swears that he is
only one
*6-10 The
devils not permitted to hear the
discourse of heaven
*11-12 The audacity of the
Makkan infidels
*13-15 They scoff at the Quran as the product of sorcery
*16-17 They reject the
doctrine of the resurrection
*18-21 The despair of the infidels on the
Judgement Day
The Last Judgment is a concept found across the Abrahamic religions and the ''Frashokereti'' of Zoroastrianism.
Christianity considers the Second Coming of Jesus, Jesus Christ to entail the final judgment by God in Abrahamic religions, God of a ...
*22-24 Idolaters and their idols and gods to be called to account
*25-29 They will dispute among themselves and reproach one another
*30-33 They shall all be punished in hell
*'
34
'' Makkan idolaters call their Prophet “a distracted poet”
*36-38 God protests his prophet's character and threatens the infidels
*39-47 Reward of believers in Paradise
In religion and folklore, paradise is a place of everlasting happiness, delight, and bliss. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical, eschatological, or both, often contrasted with the miseries of human ...
*48-53 Believers shall look down from heaven upon their infidel acquaintance in hell
*54-55 The righteous attribute their salvation to the grace of God
*56-59 They rejoice in life eternal
*60-62 The tree at Zaqqúm described
*63-66 The awful portion of the damned
*67-72 Makkan infidels follow in the footsteps of their fathers
* The story of Noah 73 Noah calls on God in his distress 74 He and his family are delivered 75-79 His name to be revered by posterity 80 The unbelievers are drowned
* The story of Abraham 81, 82 Abraham a follower of Noah's religion 83-85 He reproaches his father and neighbours for their idolatry 86-88 He excuses himself from attending the idolatrous rites of his townsmen 90-91 He first mocks the idols and then breaks them in pieces 95-96 God delivers him from the fire 97-107 God tries the faith of Abraham 108-111 His name to be revered by posterity 112-113 He receives Isaac by promise, who is blessed with him
* The story of Moses and Aaron
According to the Old Testament of the Bible, Aaron ( or ) was an Israelite prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of Moses. Information about Aaron comes exclusively from religious texts, such as the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament ...
114-115 God delivers them and their people from great distress 116 They conquer the Egyptians 117-118 God gives them the Book of the Law (Fourth) 119-122 Their names to be revered by posterity
* The story of Elijah 123 He is sent a prophet to his people 124-126 He preaches against idolatry 127 They accuse him of imposture 128 The infidels to be punished 129-132 His name to be revered by posterity
* The story of Lot 133-135 God delivers him and his family, except his wife 136 The rest of his people are destroyed 137-138 The Makkan infidels warned by the example of the Sodomites
* The story of Jonah 139-140 He is sent as a prophet and flees to a ship 141-144 He is swallowed by a fish for his action 145-146 He is cast on the shore and shaded by a gourd 147-148 He is sent to a multitude who believe
*149-160 The Makkans are rebuked for attributing offspring to God
*161-163 The reprobate only will be seduced by idolatry
*164-166 Muslims worship God, arranging themselves in ranks
*167-170 Infidels excuse their unbelief in vain
*171-173 Former apostles were assisted against the infidels
*174-179 The Prophet exhorted to await divine vengeance on unbelievers
*180-182 Praise be to God and peace on his apostles
Chronology
According to Egyptian chronology, it was the 56th ''sura'' to be revealed to
Muhammad
Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...
.
Theodor Nöldeke presents a different classification putting it in the 50th position and most precisely revealed in the second ''Meccan'' period (''see
Meccan sura).'' That period is marked by increasing opposition of the
Quraysh tribe
The Quraysh () are an Arab tribe who controlled Mecca before the rise of Islam. Their members were divided into ten main clans, most notably including the Banu Hashim, into which Islam's founding prophet Muhammad was born. By the seventh centu ...
against Muhammad and his followers and is distinguished by its focus on divine intervention and inspiration and also previous religious prophets. Although named Al-Saffat, the general theme of ''Sura'' 37 is the unity of
God
In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...
and His power to greatly reward and punish. We see in this ''Sura'' elaborations on the punishment of disbelievers and rewards of believers in the
Day of Judgment
The Last Judgment is a concept found across the Abrahamic religions and the '' Frashokereti'' of Zoroastrianism.
Christianity considers the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to entail the final judgment by God of all people who have ever lived, res ...
but also God's examples of how a true believer should be through enumerations of
biblical figures. One aspect of the ''Sura'' which can be relevant to the title (Ranged in Row, the rangers) is that it is threatening the people who attribute offspring to God, especially the pagans who believed that the angels were the daughters of God. ''“The rangers”'' or ''“Ranged in Row”'' refers to the angel who will be lining up on the Day of Judgment and refuting the idea of them being daughters of God (see Quran 37:1-5).
Parts of Q37:15-33; 43–68; 82–103;& 118-144 are preserved in the
Ṣan‘ā’1 lower text.
[Behnam Sadeghi & Mohsen Goudarzi,]
Sana'a and the Origins of the Qu'ran
, ''Der Islam'', 87 (2012), 37.
Structure and content
''Sura'' 37 could be divided into three parts following one characteristic of
Arabic Poetry
Arabic poetry ( ''ash-shi‘r al-‘arabīyy'') is one of the earliest forms of Arabic literature. Pre-Islamic Arabic poetry contains the bulk of the oldest poetic material in Arabic, but Old Arabic inscriptions reveal the art of poetry existe ...
widely known as tripartite division.
[''How to Read the Qur'an'' by Carl Ernst, pages 105–120] The first part goes from verses 1 to 74, the second part from 75 to 148 and the last part from 149 to 182.
37:1-74 Eschatological prophecy
The first part goes from verse 1 to 74 with
eschatological
Eschatology (; ) concerns expectations of the end of present age, human history, or the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions (both Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic), which teach that negative world ...
prophecy as central theme
[''The Cambridge Companion to the Qur'an'' by Jane McAuliffe, pages 104–112] but could be divided into two sub-parts: 1-10 and 11–74.
From verse 1 to 10, we have a snapshot of the setting of the
Day of Judgment
The Last Judgment is a concept found across the Abrahamic religions and the '' Frashokereti'' of Zoroastrianism.
Christianity considers the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to entail the final judgment by God of all people who have ever lived, res ...
. From this description, you see that there will be
angels
An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...
ranged in row claiming the unity of God (''37:1-6''), a higher assembly quite exclusive (''37:7-8'') and disbelievers who will be driven away for their perpetual torment (''37:9-10''). This same setting is consistent with the one described in ''Sura'' 78:38 in the early ''Meccan'' period: ''“On the day when the spirit and the angels stand in rows, they will not speak except for those to whom the Lord of Mercy gives permission, and who will say only what is right”''. However comparing this two verses, we see that the last one (''37:1-6'') has more details than the previous one (''78:38''). It almost seems that the latter is a continuation of the former. We can infer, from the combination of the two verses, that the angels ranged in row will vehemently refute what the pagans were putting forward about them (the angels) being the daughters of God (see
Arabian mythology
In pre-Islamic Arabia, the dominant religious practice was that of Arab polytheism, which was based on the veneration of various deities and spirits, such as the god Hubal and the goddesses al-Lāt, al-‘Uzzā, and Manāt. Worship was ...
) and will claim the unity of God under his permission.
From 11 to 74, the verses reveal the description of the Day of Judgment including a depiction of its dynamic in its smallest details. At the beginning of this sub-part (''11 to 39''), we are exposed to a
debate
Debate is a process that involves formal discourse, discussion, and oral addresses on a particular topic or collection of topics, often with a moderator and an audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for opposing viewpoints. Historica ...
between the
Prophet
In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divinity, divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings ...
and the angels on one side, and the disbelievers on the other side. Debates are mainly characteristics of middle ''Meccan suras''.
In this particular section, one could sense a two-way discussion between both parties, putting more stress on the feelings of one party: the disbelievers. This section starts with how the disbelievers use to refute the message of God and continue with how their attitude will change when they will be faced with the truth of the Day of Judgment. The ''Sura'' portrays their surprise, their regrets for not believing in the word of God and makes it seem that it will be too late for them to be saved because in the Day of Judgment, no one would be able to return to the world and chnage their ways (Since they had already been given a lot of time to do so before that Day). In addition, this section puts the Prophet in an intermediate position where he is made to transmit God's answers to them on that specific day: ''“Say, yes indeed, and you will be humiliated” (37:18).''
Finally, throughout verses 11 to 74 we see an interesting juxtaposition structure
which is very visible. The attitudes and experiences of people whose actions were good on earth and those whose actions were bad are explored back to back to make the contrast more visible but also to provide a picture of the scenery in the Day of Judgment with the two sides sitting not far away from each other. From verse 11 to 39, we have a description of the experience of the disbelievers on the D-day and follows, from verse 40 to 57, a contrasting experience of the believers where they comment on the fate of the disbelievers and how lucky they were not to be in their place: ''“By God, you almost brought me to ruin! Had it not been for the grace of my Lord, I too would have been taken to hell” (37:56).'' Finally we see again from verses 58 to 74 another description of the disbelievers’ experience. One specific detail that will be interesting to look at in this last part is the mention of a specific tree in verses 62 to 69: the tree of
Zaqqum whose fruits will be forced to people in hell to intensify their torment. In
Asbab al-nuzul
Occasions or circumstances of revelation (in Arabic - ''al-nuzūl'') names the historical context in which Quranic verses were revealed from the perspective of traditional Islam. Though of some use in reconstructing the Qur'an's historicity, ''a ...
, this tree is believed to be used to threaten the unbelievers among the Quraysh tribe.
37:75-148 Earlier messengers of God
In the early ''Meccan suras'', there was not any mention of the earlier messengers of God as present in the
Bible
The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...
but in the middle ''Meccan suras'' they are gradually brought in to translate their actions into great rewards in the
Afterlife
The afterlife or life after death is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's Stream of consciousness (psychology), stream of consciousness or Personal identity, identity continues to exist after the death of their ...
and therefore give good references to the common believers and unbelievers. This section particularly tackles some biblical figures with a snapshot of specific actions they took that translated into great rewards. It starts with
Noah
Noah (; , also Noach) appears as the last of the Antediluvian Patriarchs (Bible), patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5–9), the Quran and Baháʼí literature, ...
with a snapshot of the
Noah's Ark story in the Bible, putting a stress on how God helped him to save his people because he was a true believer. We also have a mention of the story of
Jonah
Jonah the son of Amittai or Jonas ( , ) is a Jewish prophet from Gath-hepher in the Northern Kingdom of Israel around the 8th century BCE according to the Hebrew Bible. He is the central figure of the Book of Jonah, one of the minor proph ...
, ''Yunus'', describing his fall in the ocean and how God saved him by making him be swallowed by a big fish. We therefore see a slightly different approach of the Quran from the Bible based on where the emphasis is put on in counting that story. We also see snapshots of stories about
Abraham
Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...
,
Moses
In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...
,
Aaron
According to the Old Testament of the Bible, Aaron ( or ) was an Israelite prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of Moses. Information about Aaron comes exclusively from religious texts, such as the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament ...
,
Elijah
Elijah ( ) or Elias was a prophet and miracle worker who lived in the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of King Ahab (9th century BC), according to the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible.
In 1 Kings 18, Elijah defended the worsh ...
and
Lot included in this section to serve the same purpose: stressing out God's rewards to his true servants (37:121) instead of limiting oneself in counting these stories as they occurred, as the Bible does.
149-182 Day of Judgment
In this last section, we are taken back into the Day of Judgment where the Quran is addressing the disbelievers one more time but differently. Here it is no longer a debate but one way speech. We see a succession of
rhetorical question
A rhetorical question is a question asked for a purpose other than to obtain information. In many cases it may be intended to start a discourse, as a means of displaying or emphasizing the speaker's or author's opinion on a topic.
A simple example ...
about certain claims the disbelievers are making that God, through Muhammad, is asking. He then develops into saying that those claims are all false and the disbelievers will know when the Day of Judgment comes. This section closes with a few praises to God making a ring structure
which is very noticeable. Indeed, as mentioned in the beginning, the angels were ranged in row praising God and we see here from 164 to 166 the same scenario and then from 180 to 182 we read again praises to God. The ''Sura'' therefore goes from one point and comes back to the same point at the end, making a ring.
References
External links
Q37:20 50+ translations, islamawakened.com
Quran 37Clear Quran translation
Mustafa Khattab is a Canadian–Egyptian Muslim scholar, imam, and university chaplain. He holds a professional ijâzah in the Ḥafṣ style of recitation. He is known for his translation of the Quran in "The Clear Quran" series.
Career
He ...
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Chronology of the Qura'n
{{Authority control
Saaffat
Abraham in Islam