26. Ash-Shuara (The Poets) |
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Maududi's Introduction |
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The Surah takes its name from verse 224 in which the word Ash-Shu`araa'
occurs.
The subject matter and the style show, and the traditions confirm,
that it was revealed during the middle Makkan period. According to Ibn
Abbas, Surah Ta Ha was revealed first, then Surah Al Waqiah, and then Surah
Ash-Shu'araa.(Ruh-ul-Ma'ani, Vol. xx, p. 64). About Surah Ta Ha it is
well known that it had been revealed before Hadrat Umar embraced Islam.
The background of the Surah is that the disbelievers of Makkah were
persistently refusing, on one pretext or the other, to accept the
message of Islam given by the Prophet (Allah's peace be upon him). Sometimes they would say
that he did not show them any sign to convince them of his
Prophethood; sometimes they would brand him as a poet or a sorcerer
and mock his message; and sometimes they would ridicule his Mission,
saying that his followers were either a few foolish youth, or the poor
people and slaves -- whereas, they argued, if his Mission had really some
value for the people, the nobles and the elders would have accepted it
first. Thus, while on the one hand, the Prophet (Allah's peace be upon him) was becoming
wearied by his efforts to show them rationally the errors of their
creeds and prove the truth of the Doctrines of Tauhid and the Hereafter,
the disbelievers, on the other, were never tired of adopting one kind
of obduracy after the other. This state of affairs was causing great
anguish and grief to the Prophet (Allah's peace be upon him).
Such were the conditions when
this Surah was revealed. It begins with words of consolation to the Prophet
(Allah's peace be upon him), implying, "Why do you fret for their sake?If these
people have not believed in you, it is not because they have not seen
any Sign, but because they are obdurate. They will not listen to
reason they want to see a Sign which makes them bow their heads in
humility. When this Sign is shown in due course of time, they will
themselves realize that what was being presented to them was the
Truth."
After this introduction, till verse 191, one and the same
theme has been presented continuously, and it is said: "The whole
earth abounds in such Signs as can guide a seeker after truth to
Reality, but the stubborn and misguided people have never believed
even after seeing the Signs, whether these were the Signs of the
natural phenomena or the miracles of the Prophets. These wretched
people have stubbornly adhered to their erroneous creeds till the
Divine scourge actually overtook them." It is to illustrate this that
the history of seven of the ancient tribes has been told, who
persisted in disbelief just like the disbelievers of Makkah. In this
connection, the following points have been stressed:
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