Surah Al-Anbiya

This Surah discusses the conflict between the Prophet ﷺand the chiefs of Makkah which was rampant at the time of its revelation. It answers those objections and doubts which were being put forward concerning his Prophethood, the doctrines of Monotheism (Tawhid) and the Hereafter. In the Surah, the chiefs of Makkah have also been rebuked for their plots against the Prophet ﷺand warned of the evil consequences of their wicked ways. They have been admonished to give up their opposition to the Message. At the end of the Surah they have been told that the person whom they considered to be a “distress and affliction” had in reality come to them as a blessing.

In v. 1-47 the following themes have been discussed in particular:

1. The objection of the disbelievers that a human being could not be a Messenger and therefore they could not accept Muhammad ﷺas a Prophet has been refuted.
2. They have been taken to task for raising many diverse and contradictory objections against the Prophet ﷺand the Qur’an.
3. Their concept of life has been proved to be false because it was responsible for their heedless attitude towards the Message. They believed that life was merely a sport and pastime and had no purpose - there was no accountability, reward or punishment.
4. The main cause of the conflict between the disbelievers and the Prophet ﷺ was their insistence on polytheism (Shirk) and antagonism to Monotheism.

So the doctrine of polytheism has been refuted and the doctrine of Monotheism reinforced by weighty but brief arguments.

1. Arguments and admonitions have been used to remove other false understandings. They presumed that Muhammad ﷺwas a false prophet and his warnings of a punishment from Allah were empty threats because no punishment had seized them despite their persistent rejection of the Prophet ﷺ.

In v. 48-91, instances have been cited from the important events from the lives of the Prophets to show that all Prophets were normal human beings except those characteristics exclusive to Prophethood. They had no share in Lordship and they prayed and worshipped Allah alone, imploring Him only.

1. All the Prophets had to pass through distress and affliction; their opponents did their utmost to thwart their mission but the Prophets still came out successful by Allah’s will.
2. All the Prophets had one ‘way of life’, the same as was being presented by the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. This was the only true way of life and all other ways were wrong.

In v. 92-106, it has been declared that only those who follow the right way will come out successful in the final judgement of Allah and those who discard it shall meet with the worst consequences.

In v. 107-112, the people have been told that it is a great favour of Allah that He has sent His Messenger to inform them of the reality of the Hereafter and to reaffirm that Allah is One. Interestingly, the Prophet ﷺis made to declare that he is unaware of the plan of Allah and that this knowledge of the future is with Allah and He alone will judge the people and decide their fate. Rather, he is simply a vehicle for the message and his responsibility is to convey that to the people. The Surah then ends with a reminder that Allah is the most Merciful and that his help is sought against the lies and disbelief of the people.