Tafsir of Surah Al-Jumu'ah - Verse 4

The Virtues of Surat Al-Jumu`ah

Ibn `Abbas and Abu Hurayrah narrated that Allah's Messenger ﷺ used to recite Surat Al-Jumu`ah and Surat Al-Munafiqin during the Friday Prayer. Muslim collected this Hadith in his Sahih.

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

Everything praises and glorifies Allah Allah states that everything in the heavens and the earth glo

Allah the Exalted said in another Ayah,

وَإِن مِّن شَىْءٍ إِلاَّ يُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدَهِ

(Glorify Him and there is not a thing but glorifies His praise) (17:44) Allah said,

الْمَلِكُ الْقُدُّوسُ

(the King, the Holy,) meaning that He is the Owner and King of the heavens and the earth Who has perfect control over their affairs. He is the Holy, free of all shortcomings, His attributes are perfect,

العَزِيزُ الحَكِيمُ

(the Almighty, the All-Wise.) whose explanation is already discussed in many places.

The Favor that Allah granted by sending Muhammad ﷺ

Allah the Exalted said,

هُوَ الَّذِى بَعَثَ فِى الأُمِّيِّينَ رَسُولاً مِّنْهُمْ

(He it is Who sent among the unlettered ones a Messenger from among themselves,) the word `unlettered' here refers to the Arabs. Allah the Exalted said in another Ayah,

وَقُلْ لِّلَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ الْكِتَـبَ وَالاٍّمِّيِّينَ ءَأَسْلَمْتُمْ فَإِنْ أَسْلَمُواْ فَقَدِ اهْتَدَواْ وَّإِن تَوَلَّوْاْ فَإِنَّمَا عَلَيْكَ الْبَلَـغُ وَاللَّهُ بَصِيرٌ بِالْعِبَادِ

(And say to those who were given the Scripture and those who are illiterates: "Do you submit yourselves If they do, they are rightly guided; but if they turn away, your duty is only to convey the message; and Allah is All-Seer of (His) servants.) (3:20) Mentioning the unlettered ones in specific here does not mean that Muhammad ﷺ was only sent to them, because the blessing to the Arabs is greater than that of other nations. In another Ayah, Allah said,

وَإِنَّهُ لَذِكْرٌ لَّكَ وَلِقَوْمِكَ

(And verily, this is indeed a Reminder for you and your people) (43:44). Surely, the Qur'an is also a reminder for those other than Arabs to take heed. Allah the Exalted said,

وَأَنذِرْ عَشِيرَتَكَ الاٌّقْرَبِينَ

(And warn your tribe of near kindred.) (26:214) These Ayat do not negate Allah's statements,

قُلْ يَأَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنِّى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ إِلَيْكُمْ جَمِيعًا

(Say: "O mankind! verily, I am sent to you all as the Messenger of Allah.) (7:158), and,

لاٌّنذِرَكُمْ بِهِ وَمَن بَلَغَ

(that I may therewith warn you and whomsoever it may reach.) (6:19) and in His statement about the Qur'an,

وَمَن يَكْفُرْ بِهِ مِنَ الاٌّحْزَابِ فَالنَّارُ مَوْعِدُهُ

(But those of the groups that reject it, the Fire will be their promised meeting place.) (11:17) There are other Ayat that indicate that his Message is universal. He, may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, was sent to all people, mankind and the Jinns alike. We mentioned this meaning before in Surat Al-An`am producing various Ayat and Hadiths. All praise and thanks are to due to Allah. This Ayah testifies that Allah has indeed accepted the invocation of His friend Ibrahim when he supplicated Allah to send a Messenger to the people of Makkah from among them their own. One who will recite to them Allah's statements, purify them and teach them the Book and the Hikmah. So, Allah -- all praise and thanks be to Him -- sent him when the Messengers ceased and the way was obscure. Indeed it was a time when it was most needed. Especially since Allah hated the people of the earth, Arabs and non-Arabs alike, except for a few of the People of the Scripture, who kept to the true faith Allah the Exalted sent to `Isa bin Maryam, peace be upon him. This is why Allah said,

هُوَ الَّذِى بَعَثَ فِى الأُمِّيِّينَ رَسُولاً مِّنْهُمْ يَتْلُو عَلَيْهِمْ ءَايَـتِهِ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ الْكِتَـبَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَإِن كَانُواْ مِن قَبْلُ لَفِى ضَلَلٍ مُّبِينٍ

(He it is Who sent among the unlettered ones a Messenger from among themselves, reciting to them His Ayat, purifying them, and teaching them the Book and the Hikmah. And verily, they had been before in manifest error.) In ancient times, the Arabs used to adhere by the religion of Ibrahim, peace be upon him. They later changed, corrupted and contradicted it, choosing polytheism instead of Tawhid and doubts instead of certainty. They invented a religion that Allah did not legislate, just as the People of the Scriptures did when they changed and corrupted their Divine Books. Allah sent Muhammad ﷺ, with a great divine legislation, perfect religion that is suitable for all humans and Jinns. In it, there is guidance and explanations of all that they need in this life and the Hereafter. It draws them closer to Paradise and Allah's pleasure and takes them away from the Fire and earning Allah's anger. In it, there is the final judgement for all types of doubts and suspicion for all major and minor matters of the religion. In Muhammad ﷺ, Allah gathered all the good qualities of the Prophets before him, and gave him what He has never given the earlier and later generations of mankind. May Allah's peace and blessings be on Muhammad ﷺ until the Day of Judgement.

Muhammad ﷺ is the Messenger to Arabs and Non-Arabs alike

Allah said,

وَءَاخَرِينَ مِنْهُمْ لَمَّا يَلْحَقُواْ بِهِمْ وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ

(And others among them who have not yet joined them. And He is the Almighty, the All-Wise.) Imam Abu `Abdullah Al-Bukhari, may Allah have mercy upon him, recorded that Abu Hurayrah said, "We were sitting with the Prophet , when Surat Al-Jumu`ah was revealed to him;

وَءَاخَرِينَ مِنْهُمْ لَمَّا يَلْحَقُواْ بِهِمْ

(And others among them who have not yet joined them.) They said, `Who are they, O Allah's Messenger' The Prophet did not reply until they repeated the question thrice. At that time, Salman Al-Farisi was with us. So Allah's Messenger ﷺ placed his hand on Salman, saying,

«لَوْ كَانَ الْإِيمَانُ عِنْدَ الثُّرَيَّا لَنَالَهُ رِجَالٌ أَوْ رَجُلٌ مِنْ هؤُلَاءِ»

(If faith were on Ath-Thurayya (Pleiades), even then some men or a man from these people would attain it.)" Muslim, At-Tirmidhi, An-Nasa`i, Ibn Abi Hatim and Ibn Jarir collected this Hadith. This Hadith indicates that Surat Al-Jumu`ah was revealed in Al-Madinah and that the Messenger's Message is universal. The Prophet explained Allah's statement,

وَءَاخَرِينَ مِنْهُمْ

(And others among them) by mentioning Persia. This is why the Prophet sent messages to the kings of Persia and Rome, among other kings, calling them to Allah the Exalted and to follow what he was sent with. This is why Mujahid and several others said that Allah's statement,

وَءَاخَرِينَ مِنْهُمْ لَمَّا يَلْحَقُواْ بِهِمْ

(And others among them who have not yet joined them.) refers to all non-Arabs who believe in the truth of the Prophet. Allah's statement,

وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ

(And He is the Almighty, the All-Wise.) asserts that He is Almighty and All-Wise in His legislation and the destiny He appoints. Allah's statement,

ذَلِكَ فَضْلُ اللَّهِ يُؤْتِيهِ مَن يَشَآءُ وَاللَّهُ ذُو الْفَضْلِ الْعَظِيمِ

(That is the grace of Allah, which He bestows on whom He wills. And Allah is the Owner of mighty grace.) refers to the great prophethood that He granted Muhammad and the qualities that He favored his Ummah with, by sending Muhammad to them.

وَآخَرِ‌ينَ مِنْهُمْ لَمَّا يَلْحَقُوا بِهِمْ وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ (...And [ this Messenger is sent also ] to others of them who did not join them so far. And He is the All-mighty, the All-wise...62:3) The word 'akharin means 'other people' and the phrase لَمَّا يَلْحَقُوا بِهِمْ means 'those people who have not yet joined the unlettered people'. This refers to all those Muslims who will enter the fold of Islam until the Last Hour [ as transmitted by Ibn Zaid, Mujahid and others ]. This indicates that the succeeding generations of Muslims will be appended to the earlier generations of believers, that is, the noble Companions. This is great good news for the succeeding generations of Muslims. [ Ruh ].

Grammatically, there are two views regarding the conjoining of the word 'akharin. One view holds that it is conjoined to ummiyyin and it means that 'Allah has sent His Messenger ﷺ among the unlettered people and also among those who have not yet joined them'. Sending the Prophet ﷺ among the present unlettered people is quite obvious, but 'sending him among those who have not yet come' needs explanation. Bayan-ul-Qur'an explains that 'sending among them' stands for 'sending for them' because the preposition fi in Arabic is also used in the sense of 'for'. According to some other grammarians, however, the word 'akharin is conjoined to the objective pronoun him attached to the verb yu'allimu-hum, in which case the interpretation would be 'the Prophet ﷺ teaches the unlettered people and also the people who have not joined them so far'. [ Mazhari prefers the latter interpretation ].

Sayyidna Abu Hurairah رضی اللہ تعالیٰ عنہ narrates, as recorded in Bukhari and Muslim, that they were sitting in the company of the Holy Prophet ﷺ when Surah Al-Jumu'ah was revealed. He recited it to them, and when he reached the verse وَآخَرِ‌ينَ مِنْهُمْ لَمَّا يَلْحَقُوا بِهِمْ (...and others of them who have not joined them so far...62:3) they asked him who are these 'others'. He remained silent. They asked him the second time and he remained silent. They asked him the third time, and he put his blessed hand on the back of Sayyidna Salman Al-Farisi ؓ [ who was at that time in the gathering ] and said: "If faith were on Pleiades, even then some men or a man from these people would attain it." [ Mazhari ]. This narration does not specify people of Persia, but it does prove that they are included in the general sense of 'others'. This narration speaks greatly of all non-Arabs who embrace Islam. [ Mazhari ].

To send the prophets for the guidance of human beings is the expression of the same attributes of God at the level of humanity as those expressed in relation to material things at the level of the universe. The task of the Prophet Muhammad and other prophets was twofold—first, to convey the message of God to the people and, second, to awaken the consciousness of the people, so that they might understand godly matters and connect them with their real life. In future also, the work relating to dawah (the call for Truth) and reform will be twofold, i.e. the teaching of the Quran and intellectual and spiritual development.