Surah Fussilat – Yousef Bin Noah Ahmad

Fussilat (Explained in Detail) is the 41st surah of the Quran. A Meccan surah of 54 verses, it spans the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth juz and is counted 61st in the traditional order of revelation, after Ghafir. The second of the Ha-Mim surahs, it defends the Quran against those who refused to listen to it and praises those who remain steadfast and call others to God.

Names and context

The name comes from verse 3: "a Book whose verses have been explained in detail (fussilat), an Arabic Quran for people who know". It is also known as Ha-Mim As-Sajda, because of its verse of prostration (41:38 for most jurists, 41:37 for some). According to the biography of the Prophet by Ibn Ishaq, the Qurayshi notable Utba ibn Rabi'a came to offer him wealth or power if he gave up his preaching; the Prophet answered by reciting the opening of this surah, and Utba advised Quraysh to leave him alone.

Themes

• The rejected Book (41:1–8). The disbelievers say: "Our hearts are veiled from what you call us to" (41:5). The Prophet replies that he is only a man like them, to whom it is revealed that their God is One (41:6).
• Creation (41:9–12). God created the earth in two days and set its provisions in four; then He turned to the heaven, which was smoke, and said to it and to the earth: "Come, willingly or unwillingly." They said: "We come willingly" (41:11).
• Warning and witnesses (41:13–29). The Meccans are warned of a thunderbolt like that of 'Ad and Thamud. On the Day, their ears, eyes and skins testify against them (41:20–22); al-Bukhari and Muslim report from Ibn Mas'ud that verse 22 was revealed about three men who wondered whether God could hear their conversation. The disbelievers had said: "Do not listen to this Quran, and drown it out with noise" (41:26).
• Steadfastness (41:30–36). Angels descend upon "those who say 'Our Lord is God' and then remain steadfast", telling them not to fear or grieve (41:30). No one is better in speech than one who calls to God (41:33), and evil is to be repelled with what is better, turning an enemy into a devoted friend (41:34).
• Signs and the Book (41:37–54). The sun and the moon are not to be worshipped, but their Creator; falsehood cannot reach the Quran "from before it or from behind it" (41:42). "We will show them Our signs on the horizons and within themselves until it becomes clear to them that it is the truth" (41:53).

The Ha-Mim series continues with Ash-Shura.