of ahl here suggests the location rather than the state of the One, the Only God. Related to “people” or “family,” the most common meanings of ahl, are notions of “home” or “origin,” so “source” seems to capture both God as the focus (for taqwa) and as the force (for maghfira). These are Beautiful Names only found here in the Quran.
Sura 75
Resurrection (Al-Qiyama)
75:13Arabic bima qaddama wa-akhkhara: literally, “what they advanced and what they delayed.”
75:18Through the Archangel Gabriel.
75:19This directive is parallel to that given in 20:114: “And Prophet, don’t be overhasty reciting the Quran before [each] revelation to you is completed. Rather, say, ‘My Lord, increase my knowledge.’ ”
75:27Arabic man raqin: literally, “who is a curer?”
75:35Arabic laka: literally, “to you” but here personifying the end or death.
Sura 76
Humankind (Al-Insan)
76:18A spring in paradise, mentioned only here.
76:23Arabic nazzalna alaikum al-Quran tanzil: literally, “We sent down the Quran with a sending down,” which seems to imply all at once, as in 97:1: “We revealed this Word on the night of decree,” although others view it as having been sent down gradually or in stages.
Sura 77
Those Sent Out (Al-Mursalat)
77:4The reference is clearly to angels as the mediators.
77:30Arabic shuʿab: literally, “branches.”
Sura 78
The Announcement (Al-Nabaʾ)
78:19Arabic wa-futihat al-samaʾ fa-kanat abwab: literally, “the sky was opened, and became doors.”
78:20Arabic fa-kanat sarab: literally, “and became a mirage.”
78:30Arabic fa-lan nazidakum illa ʿadhab: literally, “We will not increase you except in torment.”
78:38A title of the Archangel Gabriel.
78:40The ironic echo of dust at death comes elsewhere, e.g., in 56:47 where disbelievers protest: “When we die, when we are dust and bones, will we really be resurrected?” Instead of only being raised up, they also experience more torment (v. 30 above).
Sura 79
Those Who Force Out (Al-Naziʿat)
79:7The first blowing of the trumpet brings about the last day when all perish, and the second blow resurrects them.
79:16A valley near Mount Sinai.
79:20Turning the staff into a serpent.
79:25Arabic al-akhira wa-al-ula: literally, “in the last life and the first.”
Sura 80
He Frowned (ʿAbasa)
80:1The opening verse reflects the occasion for revealing this verse: the Prophet had ignored someone who was literally blind, while trying to convince others, pagan Meccan leaders, of the truth of his prophecy. The blind man, ʿAbd Allah ibn Umm Maktum, became a devoted follower of Islam; he also served as one of the first muezzins, those who call other Muslims to prayer at the obligatory daily times.
80:4Arabic dhikra: literally, “a reminder.”
80:5Arabic man istaghna: literally, “who considers himself free of need.”
80:10The theological lesson here is clear: God, not the Prophet, moves people to accept His revelation. Other verses confirm the same lesson (e.g., 28:56 and 18:28), but less directly.
Sura 81
The Folding Up (Al-Takwir)
81:3Arabic idha al-jibal suyyirat: literally, “when the mountains are moved”; however, they actually vanish. See 20:105–7: “They ask you about the mountains. Say, ‘My Lord shall blast them into fragments. He will leave them leveled as a plain. You shall see there neither peak nor vale.’ ”
81:7The reference echoes a theme that recurs throughout the Quran: the cleaving of two groups on the right and the left, sorted into the good and the bad, some rewarded, others condemned, on the day of judgment.
81:19The Archangel Gabriel, with Muhammad as his companion (v. 22).
81:23A further reference to the vision of heaven, where Muhammad sees Gabriel; see 53:5–7: “one mighty in power has taught him, one imbued with great strength, who stood at the horizon’s peak.”
81:27Arabic ʿalamin: literally, “all the worlds.” See Glossary, page 529.
Sura 83
Those Who Defraud (Al-Mutaffifin)
83:7Sijjin is a place in eternity equivalent to prison (sijn).
83:18Arabic ʿilliyyina: literally, “lofty places,” mirroring Sijjin (vv. 7, 8).
83:27Another fountain in paradise.
Sura 84
The Splitting Asunder (Al-Inshiqaq)
84:7Arabic kitabahu literally: “His book.” It seems preferable to pluralize the two groups, since once again, this “record” refers to the ultimate record, the Mother of the Book, umm al-kitab. See Glossary, page 532.
Sura 85
The Constellations (Al-Buruj)
85:4Those “who made the pit” could refer to the story of a Yemeni king, Dhu Nawas al-Yamani, who ordered a huge pit to be dug and filled with fire, into which were thrown those who had converted to Christianity before the advent of Islam (Tabari). It could also refer to disbelievers who make their own “hell,” a related image of which appears in the Psalms (94:13, where “a pit is dug for the wicked”).
85:18The fate of Pharaoh is often described in the Quran (e.g., 7:103–17), while the people of Thamud are usually linked with the people of ʿAd (e.g., 7:65–73), their common fate decreed by their denial of the messengers sent to them.
85:20Arabic min waraʾihim: literally, “from behind them.”
85:22“A preserved tablet” seems to be another name for “the repository of all scripture” (Arabic, umm al-kitab, literally “the Mother of the Book”), cited in 3:7, 13:39, and 43:4. See Glossary, page 532.
Sura 86
The Night Traveler (Al-Tariq)
86:11Arabic wa-al-samaʾ dhat al-rajʿ: literally, “by the sky as it returns,” implying the change of weather, the cycle of sun and rain.
Sura 87
The Most High (Al-Aʿla)
87:19Abraham is not usually thought to have received a written revelation or scripture, but since there is the Testament of Abraham in Jewish-Christian apocrypha, scripture about Abraham may assumed to be scripture by him, all preserved in umm al-kitab, the Mother of the Book, the lodestone of all revelation (3:7).
Sura 89
The Breaking Dawn (Al-Fajr)
89:2The number “ten” could refer to the first ten nights at the beginning of Muharram, the first month in the Muslim year, or it could refer to the first ten nights of Dhu al-Hijjah, the month of pilgrimage. See 2:196: “those without means should fast for three days during the major pilgrimage, and seven days upon your return, ten days in all.”
89:3If one accepts “ten nights” as a reference to the month of pilgrimage, it is marked both by “odd”—three plus seven—and “even”—ten. There are numerous other explanations of this elliptical reference.
89:9The people of ʿAd and Thamud belonged to a pre-Islamic group that rejected the prophet Hud, cited in 7:65–72 (and repeated in 11:50–60 and 26:123–40).
89:10Arabic dhi al-awtad: literally, “owner of the tent pegs.”
89:24Arabic hayati: literally, “my life [to come],” not the present life—i.e., good deeds accrued in this life will be of benefit in the life to come.
Sura 91
The Sun (Al-Shams)
91:11A more extended account of this incident is provided in 7:73–79, where the prophet Salih urges the people of Thamud to serve God alone and explains to them that God’s she-camel, which was sent as a sign to them, should be left unharmed and allowed to pasture. But the leader of the most rebellious and proud faction in Thamud denounces the believers and the disbelieving faction slaughters the camel, thereby bringing divine retribution.
Sura 92
Night (Al-Layl)
92:7Arabic fa-sanuyassiruhu li al-yusra: literally, “We will ease for them the path to ease.”
92:18Arabic yatazakki: literally, “to promote purity.”
Sura 93
Morning Light (Al-Duha)
93:1The word duha refers to the period of time from after sunrise until before noon. In 91:1 and 79:29 it indicates the full brightness of the sun.
93:3According to Ibn ʿAbbas, as reported by Ibn Kathir, this verse was revealed after a lapse in the revelations given to the Prophet, which caused him great anxiety and which prompted the polytheists to taunt that “his Lord has abandoned him and hates him.” The verse is intended to answer the taunt by reassuring the Prophet of his mission.
Sura 94
The Broadening (Al-Sharh)
94:2Arabic wizraka: literally, “your burden.”
94:4Arabic dhikraka: literally, “your remembrance.”
94:8Arabic: wa-ila rabbika fa-rghab: literally, “and to your Lord be attentive” or “turn your attention.”
Sura 95
The Fig (Al-Tin)
95:3Mecca.
95:7Arabic din: literally, “religion” as in 109:6 (“you have your religion and I have mine”) but also connoting judgment as in 1:4 (“Ruler of the day of reckoning”) and reward as in 24:25 (“their due recompense”). Here “reckoning” seems most apt. See Glossary, page 530.
Sura 96
Clot of Blood (Al-ʿAlaq)
96:9From this verse to the end (vv. 9–19), the person recalled and rebuked is likely Abu Jahl, an early, fierce enemy of the Prophet. He and his companions will be ensnared by “the angels of hell” (v. 18).
Sura 97
The Night of Decree (Al-Qadr)
97:1Arabic inna anzalnahu: literally, “We revealed it.”
Sura 98
Clear Proof (Al-Bayyina)
98:5The syntax is slightly inverted here.
98:7Arabic khair al-bariyat: literally, “the best of creation.”
Sura 99
The Earthquake (Al-Zalzala)
99:4Arabic akhbaraha: literally, “her news.”
Sura 100
Racing Steeds (Al-ʿAdiyat)
100:1Arabic wa-al-ʿadiyat: literally, “by the racing steeds, panting.” Since some commentators have taken the initial five lines to be an invocation not of Arabian horses but of wayward souls, charging after their own interests, it seems preferable to make that comparison explicit in the translation. “By those racing like steeds, panting” welds together the two parts of this sura (vv. 1–5 and 6–11), underscoring their stark ethical imperative: not to be ungrateful but mindful “that on that day, their Lord shall be fully Aware of them” (v. 11).
Sura 101
The Thundering Calamity (Al-Qariʿa)
101:1Arabic al-qariʿa: literally, “the striking calamity,” alluding to the day of judgment (v. 4).
Sura 102
Competing for Worldly Gain (Al-Takathur)
102:5Arabic ʿilm al-yaqin: literally, “knowledge of certainty.”
102:7Arabic ʿain al-yaqin: literally, “eye of certainty.”
Sura 104
The Backbiter (Al-Humaza)
104:9Arabic ʿamad mumadda: literally, “extended pillars.”
Sura 105
The Elephant (Al-Fil)
105:1An Ethiopian army attempted to invade Mecca either in the 540s, two or three decades prior to Muhammad’s birth, or in 570 CE, the year of his birth. The army had an elephant at its head. Birds are said to have pelted the soldiers with stones, providing the drama at the heart of this verse.
Sura 106
Quraysh (Quraysh)
106:1This sura should be connected to the previous one, signaling that the Quraysh, the tribe of Muhammad, had survived the mid-sixth-century Yemeni assault due to God’s grace, not their own military prowess.
Sura 108
Abundance (Al-Kawthar)
108:1There are several hadith that relate kawthar (“abundance”), cited only here in the Quran, to a river in paradise. Its initial meaning, in reference to Muhammad and believers, is that in quality as well as measure, goodness will