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Surah 77. Al-Mursalat, Ayah 1

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وَٱلْمُرْسَلَـٰتِ عُرْفًا
Wa a lmursal a ti AAurf a n
CONSIDER these [messages,] sent forth in waves1
  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., one after another: an allusion to the gradual, step-by-step revelation of the Qur'an. By contrast, the next clause (verse {2}) obviously relates to the impact of the divine writ as a whole. For my rendering of the adjurative particle wa as "Consider", see surah {74}, first half of note [23].

By the emissary winds, which are sent forth one after another.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
By those 'winds' sent forth successively,
  - Mustafa Khattab
By the emissary winds, (sent) one after another
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
By the (Winds) Sent Forth one after another (to man's profit); 5863 5864
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

This Sura begins with an appeal to five things, as pointing to the substantive statement in verse 7, that the Day of Justice and Judgment is bound to come, and we must prepare for it. It is difficult to translate, but easy to understand, if we remember that a triple thread of allegory runs through this passage (verses 1-7). The five things or phases, which will be presently considered in detail, refer to (a) Winds in the physical world, (b) Angels in the Kingdom of Allah, and (c) Prophets in the human world, connecting it with the Kingdom of Allah.

Understanding the reference to Winds, we can see that they are powerful factors in the government of the physical world. (1) They come gently as harbingers of the blessings of rain and fertility (xv. 22; xxx. 48); but (2) they can come as violent tornadoes, uprooting and destroying (li. 41-42); (3) they can scatter seeds far and wide, and (4) they can separate chaff from grain, or clear the air from epidemics; and (5) they literally carry sound, and therefore Messages. All these things point to the power and goodness of Allah, and we are asked to believe that His promise of Mercy and Justice in the Hereafter is indeed true. Cf. this passage with li. 1-6 (Zariyat) with which it has many affinities.

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