Surah 46
(The Sand Dunes)
(Makkan Period)
Title
The title of the surah is derived from the word al-ahqaf, meaning sand dunes, which occurs in verse 21.
Period of Revelation
Verses 29-32 relate an event which indicates that this surah was revealed in either the tenth or eleventh year of the Prophet's mission. These particular verses narrate that the jinn came, heard the Qur'an and then went back to their abode. This incident, according to those reports of Hadith and Sirah on whose authenticity there is absolute agreement, took place when the Prophet was returning from Ta'if to Makkah, and had halted at Nakhlah, which is where this incident took place. According to all authentic historical reports, the Prophet's journey to Ta'if took place three years before Hijrah. Hence it is obvious that the surah was revealed either towards the end of the tenth or at the beginning of the eleventh year of his Prophethood.
Historical Background
The tenth year of the Prophet's mission was marked by severe hardships. For three years, all the clans of the Quraysh had imposed a total boycott on the Banu Hashim and the Muslims. As a result, the Prophet (peace be on him) was confined, along with his Companions, to Shi'b Abi Talib. The Quraysh had imposed such stringent sanctions that no food supplies could reach the Muslims. Indeed, it was only during the Hajj season that they could buy some provisions. However, when they did approach any trader, Abu Lahab would ask that person to charge the believers an exorbitant price, one which they could not afford. He then bought the item himself at that high price. He did this in order to win over the traders to his side. Given that this boycott continued for three long years, it inevitably and painfully hurt the Muslims and the Banu Ḥāshim. So much so that they were forced at times to subsist on grass and the leaves of trees.
When the boycott finally came to an end, the Prophet's uncle, Abu Talib, who had been a source of great strength to him, died. Within another month, the Prophet's wife, Khadijah, also passed away. Since the beginning of his Prophethood, she had been a tremendous help and consolation for him. In view of these sorrowful events, the Prophet (peace be on him) referred to that year as the year of sorrow.
After the deaths of Khadijah and Abū Ṭālib, the Makkan unbelievers' temerity and hostility towards Islam reached new heights, this to the extent that they started flagrantly persecuting the Prophet (peace be on him). It was even hard for him to go out. Ibn Hisham relates that it was during this period that a wicked member of the Quraysh threw dirt at his head in broad daylight. Eventually, the Prophet (peace be on him) left for Ta'if in order to invite the Banu Thaqif to Islam and if they refused to do so, to ask, at least, to let him carry out his mission there.
Since he could not afford a ride, he went all the way to Ta'if on foot. Some reports suggest that he had gone there alone, while others indicate that he was accompanied by Zayd ibn Ḥārithah. During his few days' stay there he called on all the leading people and chiefs of the town, one by one. However, the Ta'if chiefs refused to listen to him and asked him to leave town immediately. As he so left the town, the Thaqif chiefs incited all the resident urchins to misbehave towards him. Let loose, they hurled abuses and showered stones on him. The Prophet (peace be on him) was so badly wounded that his shoes were filled with blood. He then sat down beside the wall of an orchard and prayed to God:
O Allah! I complain to You of the feebleness of my strength and the slenderness of my resources and my humiliation in people's sight. O Most Merciful of the merciful! You are [especially] the Lord of the weak; You are my Lord as well. To whom are You entrusting me? To one who will be cruel and harsh towards me? Or are you entrusting my affairs to any close friend of mine? [Yet] if You are not displeased with me, I do not care. But the well-being You grant me is more commodious for me. I take Your shelter, invoking the light of Your Countenance that replaces darkness with brilliance and puts one's state on a sound footing in both this world and the Hereafter. I seek Your protection against Your anger or displeasure. I will keep seeking Your pleasure until such time that You are pleased with me. There is no power nor authority other than Yours. ('Abd al-Malik ibn Hishām, al- Sirah al-Nabawiyah, Muṣṭafā al-Saqqā et al. eds., Beirut: Dār Iḥya' al-Turāth al-'Arabī, n. d., vol. II, pp. 60-2.)
In this heartbroken state, as the Prophet (peace be on him) approached Qarn al-Manāzil, he noted clouds appearing in the sky. When he looked up, he found Gabriel there, who told him: 'God has noted the response of your people to your call. He has directed the angel of the mountains to see you. Order him as you please.' Then the angel of the mountains appeared and greeted the Prophet (peace be on him) and told him: 'If you tell me, I will make the mountains of both sides fall together on these people.' To this he replied: 'No! I rather hope that God will raise from their future generations those who would worship the One True God.'
(Bukhārī, Kitāb Bad' al-Khalq, Bāb Dhikr al-Mala'ikah; Muslim, Kitāb al-Jihad wa al-Siyar, Bāb mā Laqiya al-Nabī min Adhā al-Mushrikīn wa al-Munafiqin ; and Nasā'ī, al-Sunan al-Kubrā, Kitāb al-Nu‘ūt, Bāb al-Sami'.)
The Prophet (peace be on him) stayed at Nakhlah for a few days. During those days, when he was once reciting the Qur'ān as part of his prayers, a group of jinn passed by. When they listened to the Qur'an, they embraced faith and, upon their return to their abodes, started preaching Islam in their own ranks. God gave the Prophet (peace be on him) the glad tiding that while the members of his community were averse to his call, many jinn had accepted it and were preaching it among themselves.
Subject Matter and Themes
This was the backdrop in which this surah was revealed. On reading it in the above context one is not left with any doubt that the Qur'an could be the product of the Prophet's mind. It is patently clear from the study of the surah that 'The revelation of this Book is from Allah, the Most Mighty, the Most Wise' (verse 1). This is evident from the fact that the surah does not show any trace of those feelings that naturally arise in a person who passes through such heart-rending circumstances. Had the Qur'an been the Prophet Muḥammad's own composition, it would have reflected his distresses at the series of shocks, the volley of hardships and his heart-rending experiences in Ta'if. The supplication of the Prophet (peace be on him) quoted above reflects his innermost feelings. However, this surah, which belongs to the same period, displays no trace of such emotion.
The theme of the surah is to warn the unbelievers against the consequences of their errors. They were proud about clinging to their erroneous ways. Not only that, they were bent on condemning the Prophet (peace be on him), who was sincerely trying to wean them away from their errors. For them, life was no more than a mere sport and they did not regard themselves as answerable to anyone. They rejected monotheism altogether, for they firmly believed that their idols had a share in Divinity. Nor did they consider the Qur'an to be the Word of God. They also held false and odd notions about Messengership, which they applied in judging the Prophet's claim. One of their assumptions was that since their chiefs had not accepted his call, it could not be true. They dismissed Islam simply on the grounds that it was professed by some immature youth, some poor people and slaves. For them the doctrines of the Day of Judgement, of an Afterlife and Divine recompense were absolutely meaningless. This surah briefly refutes all their fallacious notions, one after another. They are warned that if they reject the message of the Qur'an and refuse to accept Muḥammad (peace be on him) as God's Messenger, they will suffer loss and destruction.