Surah Fatir – Abdul Rashid Ali Sufi

Fatir (The Originator) is the 35th surah of the Quran. A Meccan surah of 45 verses in the twenty-second juz, it is counted 43rd in the traditional order of revelation, after Al-Furqan. It celebrates God as the Originator of the heavens and the earth, contrasts His power with the helplessness of false gods, and describes those who inherit the Book.

Name

The surah opens: "Praise be to God, Originator (fatir) of the heavens and the earth, who made the angels messengers with wings, two, three or four" (35:1). Because of this verse it is also called Al-Malaika (The Angels). With Saba, which precedes it, it is one of the five surahs that begin with "Praise be to God".

Themes

• Mercy and need (35:2–18). No one can withhold the mercy God opens to people, nor release what He holds back (35:2). "O people, it is you who are in need of God, while God is the Self-Sufficient, the Praiseworthy" (35:15), and "no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another" (35:18). To God ascends the good word, raised up by righteous deeds (35:10).
• Signs in creation (35:9–13, 27–28). Rain reviving the earth, the fresh and salt seas, the white, red and black streaks of the mountains and the varied colours of people and animals. "Only those of His servants who have knowledge truly fear God" (35:28).
• The heirs of the Book (35:29–35). Those who recite the Book of God, pray and give hope for "a trade that will never perish" (35:29). The Book is inherited by three kinds of people: those who wrong themselves, the moderate, and those foremost in good deeds (35:32).
• Warning (35:36–45). The disbelievers had sworn that, if a warner came to them, they would be better guided than any other nation; when one came, it only increased their aversion (35:42). "The evil plot encompasses only its authors" (35:43).

The surah ends with God's forbearance: were He to punish people for all they earn, He would not leave a single creature on the earth, but He grants them respite until an appointed term (35:45).