Surah Naml Part 3 of 5

This is a recording of a live Quran Study Circle session. In part 3, we cover verses 41 to 58 of Chapter 27 of the Quran, Sura Naml. The Ant 

Sura Naml is a Makkan sūrah which takes its name from the valley of the ants through which Solomon’s army passes, mentioned in v. 18.  

The sūrah opens with several verses articulating common themes in the Quran regarding Final Judgment in the Hereafter and then turns to Moses’ encounter with the fire on the mountain, from which God spoke charging him with his mission to go to Pharaoh and free the Israelites (vv. 7–14). This is followed by an account of Solomon with his miraculous host of men, jinn, and birds and his encounter with the Queen of Sheba, who eventually comes before Solomon and embraces faith in the One God (vv. 15–44). The story of the Arabian prophet Ṣāliḥ and his people, the Thamūd, is recounted (vv. 45–53), describing a plot devised by Ṣāliḥ’s people to murder him. Lot’s story, including the destruction of his people for their iniquities, is told briefly (vv. 54–58). Next are several verses that challenge readers to meditate upon the Nature of God and His creation; the refrain Is there a god alongside God? punctuates the passage several times (vv. 59–64). 

The disbelievers challenge the Prophet regarding the reality of bodily resurrection and the coming of the end of the world and are then reminded that only God knows what is hidden in the heavens and on the earth and within the hearts of human beings (vv. 65–72). Verses describing how God will judge between those who differ on religious matters (vv. 75–81) are followed by a section that discusses eschatological realities, such as the “beast” that will rise as one of the portents of the end of the world, the marshaling of religious communities and the terror human beings will experience at the end of the world, the destruction of the mountains, and the consequences for those who do good and those who do evil (vv. 82–93). 

Intro taken from Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. The Study Quran: A New Translation and Commentary HarperCollins. Kindle Edition. 

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