DASRSUL QUR'AN SURATUL MU'MIN (40: VERSES 80-86)

Title, Date of Revelation and Context:
With this chapter begins a group of Surahs, all of which have the same
abbreviated letters, viz. حم) Ha Mim) affixed to them and which open with the
subject of the revelation of the Quran. Being similar in style and contents,
they belong to the same period. According to Ibn ‘Abbas and ‘Ikrimah, they
were revealed at Mecca at a time when opposition to Islam had become
persistent, organized and bitter (vv. 56 & 78) and the Holy Prophet’s enemies
were even seeking to kill him (v. 29).
The Surah seems to derive its title from v. 29 where a "believing man"
from among the people of Pharaoh is represented as giving a speech, full of
pathos and sound reasoning, in support of Moses. The Surah is also known as
Ghafir after the Divine attribute غافر i.e. the Forgiver of sins (v. 4). It has 86
verses including Bismillah.
Towards the close of the last Surah, the Holy Prophet was comforted
with the assurance that very soon Divine judgement will issue forth between
him and his enemies. The forces of darkness will be routed; idolatry will
disappear from Arabia, and the whole country will reverberate with the praises
of God, the Lord of all the worlds Who has not confined His guidance to any
one particular people, but has blessed all with it. The present Surah opens
with the most welcome declaration that the Great and Mighty God has
revealed the Quran to preach truth to all nations of the world, and that God’s
majesty and holiness demand that righteousness should be established in the
world and disbelief obliterated from it.
Subject Matter:
As mentioned above, the Surah opens with a firm declaration that the
time has come when truth will triumph over falsehood and righteousness over
evil, and the praises of God will be sung in the land where idolatry had been
rampant. This great consummation will be brought about by means of the
Quran. The enemies of truth will strain every nerve to retard the progress of
Islam and will put all sorts of obstacles in the way of its propagation and
expansion. They will also use their influence and powerful resources to nip its
tender plant in the bud. But they will fail in their evil designs and endeavours.
The Holy Prophet is told not to be deceived and overawed by the glamour of
power and great material resources of disbelievers. They are destined to come
to a sad end. The Holy Prophet is further told that his opponents are not the
only people to oppose truth. There have been before them people who alsosought to kill their Prophets and exterminate their missions. But God’s
punishment overtook them. So will punishment of God seize disbelievers of
the Holy Prophet. And when punishment came upon them, they will curse
themselves and vainly seek a way out of their dreadful predicament. But they
will suffer the consequences of their evil deeds and of opposition to truth,
because they have ignored the lesson of history and have not profited by the
fate of opponents of Prophets of past generations.
The Surah then proceeds to refer to the case of Moses as an illustration
of the sad end to which the opponents of the Holy Prophet are bound to come.
Moses was sent to Pharaoh, Haman and Korah with the Divine Message; they
sought to take his life. But they were foiled in their wicked designs. While
Pharaoh rejected Moses’ invitation to truth, a "believing man" from his own
household gave a most pathetic but convincing speech, exhorting his people
not to seek to kill a man (Moses) whose only fault was that he said that Allah
was his Lord, and who possessed sound and solid proofs to support and
establish his case. The "believing man" told his people that if they did not
cease opposing Moses, they would meet with the sad fate which the people of
Noah and ‘Ad and Thamud tribes had met. He further warned them that they
should not be misled by their wealth, power and material resources, for all
these things were transitory and, that it was the Hereafter which was the place
of permanent stay and where the good and the righteous will be provided with
blessings that will know no end. The Surah further states that instead of
benefiting by the very sincere advice of the "believing man," Pharaoh mocked
and jeered at him and wanted, as it were, to go up to heaven to have a peep, as
he sarcastically and jeeringly said, at the God of Moses. But the God of Moses
made him see a manifestation of His great power in the depths of the deep sea.
He was cursed in this life, and on the Day of Resurrection he will enter the
fire of Hell at the head of his people. This is the end of those who, in the pride
of their wealth and prestige, reject the Message of God.

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Jazakallah