Sūrat al-Mujādilah (Part 4)
Part 4 of observations on the structure and coherence of Sūrat al-Mujādilah
This is a continuation of a series on Sūrat al-Mujādilah (The Woman Who Pleaded and Argued). Please see Part 3 before moving ahead.
The penultimate section is a small parallel structure.
CONNECTIONS
[B3]/[B3’] – People will try and oppose Allah ﷻ and His Messenger ﷺ, but it does not matter because Allah ﷻ and His Messenger ﷺ will always dominate.
[B4]/[B4’] – Allah ﷻ describes those who oppose Him as “al-adhallīn,” which is the superlative form of the word and contains both the meanings of powerlessness and humiliation. In stark contrast, Allah ﷻ later describes Himself as “Powerful” and “ʿAzīz,” which contains both the meanings of honor and authority – two qualities lacking in the humiliated ones.
The final section is another mirror structure encompassing the final āyah.
CONNECTIONS
[A3]/[A3’] – Those who believe in Allah ﷻ and the Last Day will be given a lot of good on that Day. Good such as Allah’s eternal pleasure, their entrance into Paradise, and being from those honored to be labeled as Allah’s group.
[A4]/[A4’] – Like we have seen in a few sections above, the center can be broken down into a parallel structure to help give further clarity to the connection within.
[A4.1]/[A4.1’] – In return for rejecting the love of those who oppose Allah ﷻ and His Messenger – not an easy feat considering how close they were in blood relations – Allah ﷻ carves faith right into their aching hearts.
[A4.2]/[A4.2’] – Allah ﷻ mentions a short list of those who may be considered difficult to cut ties with, and in doing so, explicitly mentions those who would have been providing support and protection; fathers, brothers, and tribesmen. But because they gave up this worldly bond for Allah’s sake, He replaces it all with aid from a “Rūḥ” from Him. Rūḥ has several possible meanings which showcases the different avenues for help the believers are getting in exchange for their choices. Rūḥ could be the Angel Gabriel, the Quran, their empowered soul, or comfort.
In shā’ Allah, we will continue this series next week.
And Allah ﷻ knows best.