Sūrat al-Qaṣaṣ (Part 6)
Sūrat al-Qaṣaṣ (Part 6)
Final part of observations on the structure, organization and coherence of Sūrat al-Qaṣaṣ
This is the final part of our breakdown of Sūrat al-Qaṣaṣ (The Story). Check out the previous part before proceeding.
Recall that we began this study with an overview of the entire sūrah:
We have thus far covered the first two Sections in detail. We will now turn our attention to the final part, Section [A’] - Story of Qārūn, which we previously showed being organized on a macro-level as so:
What follows is the detailed micro-structuring of the Story of Qārūn.1
Ring Structure of Āyāt 69-88 (Story of Qārūn)
CONNECTIONS
[A]/[A’] – Both parts share much of the same language through their usage of “Master (rab),” “there is no God but Him (lā ilāha illā hu),” and “His is the judgment, and to Him you will be returned (la-hu al-ḥukmu wa ilay-hi turjaʿūn).”
[B]/[B’] – Allah ﷻ describes His natural signs, which indicate the presence of a Creator. Towards the end of the sūrah, Allah ﷻ warns us not to be diverted from His revealed signs.
[C]/[C’] – Two different types of “mercy (raḥmah).” The first is in reference to the night and day, and the second is in reference to revelation.
[D]/[D’] – The disbelievers will be called forth to bring their false gods. The corresponding āyah says that the Messenger ﷺ is commanded to tell the disbelievers that Allah ﷻ already knows who comes with guidance – as opposed to a false god – and who is in clear error.
[E]/[E] – On the Day of Judgment, Allah ﷻ will bring forth a witness (i.e., a prophet) and ask the disbelievers to bring proofs, at which point they will realize their faults. Then Allah ﷻ says in the related āyah that whoever does good (like a prophet) will have better than it, and those who do bad (like the disbelievers) will have exactly what they earned.
[F]/[F’] – Qārūn was from the people of Moses, but he tyrannized them when instead he should have stuck with them since they were a righteous people.
[G]/[G]’ – Both parts share the usage of “the home of the Hereafter (al-dār al-ākhirah).”
[H]/[H’] - Allah ﷻ reminds us not to forget our portion of this life and to do well with it. Then the scholars at the time of Moses explain that Allah ﷻ controls the portions of sustenance and that Allah ﷻ confers favor upon people in order for them to do well in this world.
[I]/[I’] – Allah ﷻ forbids the spreading of corruption on earth (al-‘arḍ) which connects to the consequences of Qārūn, who was swallowed by the earth (al-‘arḍ) for being arrogant and spreading corruption.
[J]/[J’] – Qārūn claimed that he received his wealth through his own knowledge. This is in contrast to the real people of knowledge – described as having been given their knowledge by Allah ﷻ - who gave advice to their people.
[K]/[K’] – Allah ﷻ destroyed people who were stronger and had more wealth than Qārūn. The corresponding section appropriately shows Qārūn flaunting his power and wealth.
[L] – The criminals are not going to be asked about their sins, which is similar to Qārūn who was swallowed up suddenly. This brief center of the ring nicely summarizes the state of Qārūn and his like, and Allah ﷻ who is able to take people to account in any matter He pleases.
And with that we conclude the micro-structural breakdown of Sūrat al-Qaṣaṣ! Now that we have an appreciation of the internals of the sūrah, let us return to the big picture and point out some of the more subtle parallels between the beginning and ending sections, [A] – Story of Moses and [A’] – Story of Qārūn.2
Allah ﷻ says in the beginning of the sūrah, “These are verses of the clear Book (al-Kitāb).” And He says in the end of it, “Indeed, [O Muhammad], He who imposed upon you the Qur'an will take you back to a place of return. Say, ‘My Lord is most knowing of who brings guidance and who is in clear error.’ And you were not expecting that the Book (al-Kitāb) would be conveyed to you, but [it is] a mercy from your Lord. So, do not be an assistant to the disbelievers” Thus, He mentioned the Book in the beginning as well as the end.
Then He mentioned towards the end that He will “take you (Muḥammad) back (rāddu-ka) to a place of return,” in other words, his land, which is similar to how He returned Moses to his mother, incapsulated in the words, “Indeed, We will return him (rāddū-hu) to you.”
Allah ﷻ also says in the end of the sūrah, “So, do not be an assistant (lā takūnanna ẓahīran) to the disbelievers,” which correlates to what was mentioned in the beginning of the sūrah in the story of Pharaoh. Pharaoh claimed divinity, then Allah ﷻ destroyed him and all those who were supporters of his. Allah ﷻ says, “So We took him and his soldiers and threw them into the sea. So, see how was the end of the wrongdoers.” This also has a subtle connection to the statement of Moses when he said, “My Lord, for the favor You bestowed upon me, I will never be an assistant (lan ‘akūna ẓahīran) to the criminals.”
And Allah ﷻ knows best.
Thus concludes our look at Sūrat al-Qaṣaṣ! Hope you enjoyed it and learned something new.
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Special thanks to Hasan Mangrio for his help throughout this sūrah outlining the macrostructures, some microstructures, as well as aiding in outlining this massive, final ring structure.
The following is translated from Dr. Fāḍil Ṣālih as-Sāmirrā’ī’s work, “The Relationship Between the Suwar in Their Beginnings and Ends (at-Tanāsubu Bayna as-Suwari fi al-Muftataḥi wa al-Khawātīm).”