Surah 29

Al-'Ankabut

(The Spider)

(Makkan Period)

Title

The title of this surah is derived from the word 'ankabut ("spider") used in the verse: "The case of those who took others than Allah as their protectors is that of a spider...." (verse 41). To put it differently, it is the surah in which the word spider occurs.

Period of Revelation

Verses 56-60 seem to indicate that the surah was revealed on the eve of some Muslims' migration to Abyssinia, which took place during the Makkan period of the Prophet's life. This is borne out by fragments of internal evidence. The state of affairs obtaining at that time quite conspicuously forms the surah's background.

Some Qur'ānic scholars, however, are of the view that the first ten verses of the surah were revealed in Madīnah whereas the rest of the surah was a Makkan revelation. This assumption rests on the premise that there is a reference to hypocrites in the surah. Now, since hypocrites only appeared in the Madīnan period, these scholars consider the early verses to have been revealed at the same time. This opinion, however, is incorrect, because the hypocrisy mentioned in this surah is of a very different kind from that which became evident during the Madīnan period. What is referred to here as hypocrisy had its roots in the fear that severe persecution and torture would be perpetrated on the believers if they remained faithful to Islam. Quite obviously, this kind of hypocrisy could only have surfaced in the Makkan rather than the Madīnan period. For in the Madīnan period, hypocrisy arising from fear of persecution was evidently out of the question.

In like manner, other scholars of the Qur'an, taking note of the directive to migrate in the surah, concluded that al-'Ankabut was the last surah revealed in Makkah. Again, this conclusion is not sound. For, before migrating to Madinah, some Muslims had sought refuge in Abyssinia. It is pertinent to note that these views about the time-frame of the surah's revelation are of a conjectural nature. They are based on evidence provided by the surah's contents and are not directly corroborated by authentic traditions. However, if one studies the contents of the surah as a whole, it is evident that the conditions mentioned therein are in fact those obtaining at the time of the Muslims' migration to Abyssinia rather than to Madīnah.

Subject Matter and Main Themes

It is evident from a study of the surah that, at the time of its revelation, the Muslims were exposed to severe persecution and torment in Makkah. This was when the unbelievers vigorously opposed Islam and committed untold excesses against the Muslims. It was against this backdrop that God revealed this surah, on the one hand to raise the true believers' morale and on the other to arouse a sense of shame among those believers whose faith was weak. At the same time, the Makkan unbelievers were also warned not to invite God's scourge upon themselves, the kind of scourge that enemies of the Truth have encountered throughout all ages.

In this connection, some of the questions agitating a number of Muslim youths of the time are also addressed. These youths were being compelled by their parents to dissociate themselves from the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him). The unbelievers on occasion even reminded them that the very Qur'ān in which they believed made it imperative that they be dutiful towards their parents. Citing this Qur'ānic instruction, they urged them to comply with their parents' command. They stressed that if the believers failed to do so, they would be guilty of violating an injunction of their own faith. A response to this is made in verse 8.

Likewise, fellow tribesmen of some new converts to Islam asked them to renounce Islam. They assured these converts that they would bear the consequences of the latters' forsaking their faith, that they would bear the brunt of Divine punishment. Furthermore, they said that they would step forward in the Hereafter and admit that they had impelled these converts to renounce Islam. The point being stressed here is that it would be those who had persuaded the believers to abjure their faith, rather than those who abjured as a result of their pleading who would be punished. A response to this is made in verses 12-13.

The stories recounted in the surah draw attention to God's Prophets of yore, stressing how they too were subjected to harrowing torture and often for long periods of time, but eventually God came to their rescue. The moral of the stories being that the Makkan Muslims need not panic for they too, like those earlier Prophets, are bound to receive God's help but first they too must go through a period of test and trial.

Apart from imparting this lesson to the Muslims, the surah also carries a note of dire warning to the Makkan unbelievers. The fact that they were not being punished instantly should not delude them into believing that they will not face such punishment. They were witnesses to the ruins of earlier nations. Was this not enough to drive home to them that doom ultimately overtakes evil-doers, whereas God comes to the aid of His Prophets?

The Muslims were also directed that if they could no longer bear the persecution perpetrated against them, they should forsake their hearths and homes and migrate to some other land rather han forsake their faith. God's earth, in any case, is immensely vast. They should migrate to any land where it would be possible for them to freely serve and worship Him.