Surah Saffat

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Sūrat aṣ-Ṣāffāt (Arabic: سورة الصافات‎, "Ranged in Row, The Rangers") is the 37th sura of the Qur'an with 182 ayat or verses believed to be revealed in Mecca.

According to Egyptian chronology, it was the 56th sura to be revealed to Muhammad. Theodor Nöldeke presents a different classification putting it in the 50th position and most precisely revealed in the second Meccan period (see Meccan sura). That period is marked by increasing opposition of the Quraysh tribe against Muhammad and his followers and is distinguished by its focus on divine intervention and inspiration and also previous religious prophets. Although named Al-Saffat, the general theme of Sura 37 is the unity of God and His power to greatly reward and punish. We see in this Sura elaborations on the punishment of disbelievers and rewards of believers in the Day of Judgment but also God’s examples of how a true believer should be through enumerations of biblical figures. One aspect of the Sura which can be relevant to the title (Ranged in Row, the rangers) is that it is threatening the people who attribute offspring to God, especially the pagans who believed that the angels were the daughters of God. “The rangers” or “Ranged in Row” refers to the angel who will be lining up on the Day of Judgment and refuting the idea of them being daughters of God (see Quran 37:1-5).

Sura 37 could be divided into three parts following one characteristic of Arabic Poetry widely known as tripartite division.[1] The first part goes from verses 1 to 74, the second part from 75 to 148 and the last part from 149 to 182.

Verses 1 to 74 The first part goes from verse 1 to 74 with eschatological prophecy as central theme[2] but could be divided into two sub-parts: 1-10 and 11-74.

From verse 1 to 10, we have a snapshot of the setting of the Day of Judgment. From this description, you see that there will be angels ranged in row claiming the unity of God (37:1-6), a higher assembly quite exclusive (37:7-8) and disbelievers who will be driven away for their perpetual torment (37:9-10). This same setting is consistent with the one described in Sura 78:38 in the early Meccan period: “On the day when the spirit and the angels stand in rows, they will not speak except for those to whom the Lord of Mercy gives permission, and who will say only what is right”. However comparing this two verses, we see that the last one (37:1-6) has more details than the previous one (78:38). It almost seems that the latter is a continuation of the former. We can infer, from the combination of the two verses, that the angels ranged in row will vehemently refute what the pagans were putting forward about them (the angels) being the daughters of God (see Arabian mythology) and will claim the unity of God under his permission.

From 11 to 74, the verses reveal the description of the Day of Judgment including a depiction of its dynamic in its smallest details. At the beginning of this sub-part (11 to 39), we are exposed to a debate between the Prophet and the angels on one side, and the disbelievers on the other side. Debates are mainly characteristics of middle Meccan suras.[2] In this particular section, one could sense a two-way discussion between both parties, putting more stress on the feelings of one party: the disbelievers. This section starts with how the disbelievers use to refute the message of God and continue with how their attitude will change when they will be faced with the truth of the Day of Judgment.

Last update

April 7, 2020

Surah Saffat

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