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The period of the revelation of this Surah also has not been mentioned in any authentic tradition, however its subject matter clearly shows that it was revealed consecutively after Surah Ad- Dukhan which is the middle stage of the Prophet's residence at Makkah. The close resemblance between the contents of the two Surahs makes them look like the twin Surahs.
It answers the doubts and objections of the disbelievers of Makkah about Tawhid and the Hereafter and warns them for their attitude that they had adopted against the message of the Qur'an.
This discourse begins with the arguments for Tawhid. In this connection, reference has been made to the countless signs that are found in the world, from man's own body, to the earth and heavens, and it is pointed out that everywhere around him, man finds things which testify to Tawhid which he refuses to acknowledge. If man sees carefully the variety of animals, the day and night, the rainfall and the vegetation thereby, the winds and his own creation, and ponders over them intelligently. He will find these Signs sufficiently convincing of the truth that this universe is not Godless, nor under the control of many gods, but it has been created by One God, called Allah, and He Alone is its Controller and Ruler. The countless forces and agencies that are serving his interests in the universe did not come into being just accidentally, nor have they been provided by gods and goddesses, but it is One God Alone Who has supplied and subjected these to him from Himself. If only a person uses his mind properly and rightly, his own intellect will proclaim that God Alone is man's real Benefactor and He Alone deserves that man should pay obedience to Him.
About the hereafter Allah says: "It is utterly against reason and justice that the good and the bad, the obedient and the disobedient, the oppressor and the oppressed, should be made equal ultimately. Just as you did not become living of your own accord, but became living by Our power, so you do not die of your own accord, but die when We send death on you. And a time is certainly coming when you will all be gathered together. You may not believe in this because of your ignorance today, but the time will come when you will see it yourself. You will be presented before Allah and your whole book of conduct will be laid open bearing evidence against each of your misdeeds. Then you will come to know how dearly has your denial of the Hereafter and your mockery of it cost you."
It is derived from the sentence wa tartt kullu ummat- in jathiyat-un of verse 28, implying thereby that it is the Surah in which the word jathiyah has occurred.
The period of the revelation of this Surah also has not been mentioned in any authentic tradition, but its subject matter clearly shows that it was revealed consecutively after Surah Ad Dukhan. The close resemblance between the contents of the two Surahs makes them look like the twin Surahs.
It answers the doubts and objections of the disbelievers of Makkah about Tauhid and the Hereafter and warns them for their attitude that they had adopted against the message of the Quran.
The discourse begins with the arguments for Tauhid. In this connection, reference has been made to the countless Signs that are found in the world, from man's own body to the earth and heavens, and it is pointed out that everywhere around him man finds things which testify to tauhid which he refuses to acknowledge. If man sees carefully the variety of animals, the day and night, the rainfall and the vegetation thereby, the winds and his own creation, and ponders over them intelligently, without prejudice, he will find these Signs sufficiently convincing of the truth that this universe is not Godless, nor under the control of many gods, but it has been created by One God, and He alone is its Controller and Ruler. However, the case of the person who is determined not to acknowledge and wants to remain involved in doubts and suspicions is different. He cannot be blessed with the faith and conviction from anywhere in the world.
A little below, in the beginning of the second section, it has been reiterated that the things man is exploiting in the world, and the countless forces and agencies that are serving his interests in the universe, did not come into being just accidentally, nor have they been provided by the gods and goddesses, but it is One God alone, Who has supplied and subjected these to him from Himself. If only a person uses his mind properly and rightly, his own intellect will proclaim that God alone is man's real Benefactor and He alone deserves that man should pay obeisance to Him.
After this, the disbelievers of Makkah have been taken to task and reproved for their stubbornness, arrogance, mockery and insistence on disbelief with which they were resisting the invitation of the Quran; they have been warned that this Quran has brought the same blessing which had been granted to the children of Israel before, by virtue of which they became distinguished above all the people of the world. Then, when they failed to recognize the true worth of this blessing and disputed their religion and lost it, this blessing now has been sent to them. This is such a code of guidance which shows the clear highway of Religion to man. The people who would turn it down by their own folly, would only prepare for their own doom, and only such people would become worthy of God's succor and mercy who would adopt obedience to it and lead a life of piety and righteousness.
In this connection, the followers of the Holy Prophet have been instructed that they should forbear and pardon the absurd and foolish behavior towards them of the people fearless of God, for if they showed patience God Himself would deal with their opponents and would reward them for their fortitude.
Then, there is a criticism of the erroneous ideas that the disbelievers hold about the Hereafter. They said that life was only this worldly life there was no life hereafter. Man dies in the course of time just as a watch stops functioning suddenly. The body is not survived by any soul, which might be seized and then breathed again into the human body some time in the future. In this regard, they challenged the Holy Prophet, saying: "If you lay a claim to this, then raise our dead forefathers back to life." In answer to this, Allah has given the following arguments
After giving these arguments Allah says most emphatically: "Just as you did not become living of your own accord, but became living by Our power, so you do not die of your own accord, but die when We send death on you. And a time is certainly coming when you will all be gathered together. If you do not believe in this because of your ignorance and folly today, you may not; when the time arrives, you will see for yourself that you are present before your God and your whole book of conduct is ready accurately, which bears evidence against each of your misdeeds. Then you will come to know how dearly has your denial of the Hereafter and your mockery of it cost you."
1 to 11 - Food for thought to those who are seeking the signs of Allah and If they do not believe in Allah and His revelations then in what report will they believe?
12 to 17 - Allah has subjected the seas and all that is between the heavens and the earth for human beings and\t Israelites made sects in their religion after the knowledge has come to them through Torah
18 to 21 - Wrongdoers are protectors of one another while the protector of righteous is Allah Himself
22 to 26 - He who has made his own desires as his god, Allah let him go astray and set a seal upon his ears and heart
27 to 37 - Allah's address to the disbelievers on the day of judgement