Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Rahim.

In the Name of Allâh, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful. All the praises and thanks be to Allâh, the Lord of the 'Alamîn . The Only Owner of the Day of Recompense. You (Alone) we worship, and You (Alone) we ask for help. Guide us to the Straight Way. The Way of those on whom You have bestowed Your Grace , not (the way) of those who earned Your Anger, nor of those who went astray .

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51: (Al-Dhariyat)- Scattering Winds

(The Scattering Winds)

Section (juz' 26-27)

Number of Verses: 60

Sūrat adh-Dhāriyāt (arabic: سورة الذاريات‎, "The Winnowing Winds") is the 51st sura of the quran with 60 ayat. It mentions Abraham, Noah, the day of judgement and otherwise reiterates the essential Quranic message.

The Chapter has sixty Verses and it was revealed in Mecca.

The title of the Chapter derives from its opening Verse:

"By the scattering winds"

connoting harsh winds that scatter everything. The Chapter opening and closing with a treatment of Resurrection deals mainly with Divine Unity, Divine Manifestations in the world of existence, the story of angels receiving Abraham's (as) hospitality and bearing to him the glad tidings of a child to be born to him, warning against destruction of the people of Lot (as), and a reference to a number of Prophets (as) like Moses and Noah (as) and the peoples of 'Ad and Thamud.

Making mention of the history of former Prophets (as) and the hardships they experienced for guiding their peoples, the Chapter in question calls the Noble Prophet of Islam (S) to persevere and be patient in proclaiming his Call.

It is narrated from Imam Sadiq (as):

"One who recites Surah al-Dhariyat in the day or at night, God Almighty will improve his life and sustenance, providing him with abundant provision, and illuminating his grave with a light shining to the Day of Resurrection [provided that he acts upon Qur'anic Injunctions]."

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Benefits

There are 60 ayaat in this Surah and it was revealed in Makkah. In the commentary of Majma'ul Bayan it is narrated from the Holy Prophet (S) that the reward for reciting this Surah is ten times the number of moving winds or breezes.

Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (a.s.) has said that recitation of this Surah increases ones sustenance and makes it easy to earn. Drinking water in which this Surah was dissolved after being written acts as a remedy for back problems (e.g. backaches). If a pregnant woman wears a talisman of Surah ad-Dhariyaat, her pregnancy and delivery will be easy. Keeping this Surah close to a dying person makes his death easy.

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Lessons

This sixty-six verse chapter was revealed in Mecca and thus discusses basic Islamic concepts. It deals with the Hereafter and presents us with an invitation to accept the Oneness of God. The name comes from the winds that scatter dust mentioned in the first verse. The verses of this chapter have been described short pithy sentences that teach us to free our mind from earthly pursuits and yearn for the Hereafter.

Verses 1 – 6 God swears by the winds

God swears an oath, by the winds that scatter dust far and wide, by the clouds filled with rain, by the ships that sail with ease, and by those angels who distribute God's bounty by His command. What God has promised is true and the Day of Judgment will most definitely occur.

Verses 7- 19 A second oath

God swears another oath; this time by the sky and its starry pathways or orbits. People contradict each other about Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, and the Quran. Those who turn away from the truth are deluded and the liars will be completely destroyed, they are immersed in ignorance and heedlessness. They ask when the Day will come and are told that it will be the day they are thrown into the fire and told to taste what they were anxious to hasten. On the other hand, the righteous will be in gardens with rivers and springs accepting gifts from God. In their worldly life they were praying when others were sleeping and asking for forgiveness every morning. They shared what God had given them with the petitioner and the deprived.

Verses 20 – 23 Marvels and wonders

People of faith can see the signs all around them and inside themselves. Can you not see? The earth on which we live is an exhibition of God's marvels and wonders. The human being is a great miracle, put together with precision and complexity. Look to the heavens and see your provision, everything that you have been promised is there. God, the Lord of the heaven and the earth, swears an oath by Himself, all that He says is true; as true as if you were hearing yourself speak. The fact that you can speak is something you know to be an undisputable fact and another undisputable fact is that God tells only the truth.

Verses 24 – 46 Tales from the lives of the prophets

God asks Prophet Muhammad if he has heard the story about Prophet Abraham's honored guests. They came to Abraham and they greeted each other with words of peace. Abraham and his family served them a roasted calf but the guests did not eat. When Abraham noticed this, he became uneasy. They noticed his anxiety and told him not to fear for they came with good news. His wife hitherto barren was carrying his son. They could not believe such news and Abraham's wife struck her own face in complete amazement. The guests were angels, divine messengers, and they also told Abraham that they were going to a city of criminals to destroy them with rocks made of clay.

When the angels went to the town, although they searched, they could not find any believers except for one single family, the family of Lot. God saved them all except for Lot's wife; she perished with her people. In this is a sign for those who are able to see and understand. And the story of Moses is a sign. He was sent to Pharaoh with a clear message but Pharaoh and his council turned their backs and rejected Moses calling him a crazy person and a sorcerer. As a consequence of their actions they were cast into the sea.

In the people of Ad there is another sign. A wind was sent against them that tore everything to shreds. In Thamud the people were insolent, but for a time they were left to enjoy themselves. They were soon overtaken by a blast that rendered them unable to stand up and defend themselves. God uses the forces of nature to reign in and punish the disobedient. The people of Noah, who came before them were also lost in evil.

Verses 47 – 55 God's power

With His Power God constructed the skies and the vast expanse of the universe. God spread out the earth and made it perfect to sustain life. And He created everything in pairs in order that human beings might learn a lesson, think and ponder. So Prophet Muhammad must warn the people to turn to God and to do so quickly without hesitation. He must remind them not to worship any deity but God. All God's messengers and prophets have been called either a sorcerer or a mad person. Did the Meccans learn these words from the previous disbelievers? If Prophet Muhammad turns away he will incur no blame. But go on reminding people because it will benefit those who believe.

Verses 56 – 60 Why we are here

God says that He created the jinn and humankind in order that they should worship Him. This short statement is one of the foundations of Islam and answers the question, what is the purpose of life? God requires nothing else from them, no provision or food of any kind. It is God that is the Provider. He is all-powerful, invincible. And in the light of this universal truth God concludes with a warning to the wrongdoers. They will assuredly have their share of the punishment that afflicted their predecessors; there is no need for them to be impatient and try to hasten that day. On the Day of Judgment, they will surely be punished and there will be no escape. 

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The following is an explaination on this verse, given by the great scholar of the Holy Quran Mufti Muhammad Shafi:-

It states,

The Purpose of Jinn's and Mankind's creation

(And I did not create the Jinns and the human beings except that they should worship Me" ...... 51:56). This apparently may raise two questions: [1] If Allah has created a creature for a particular task, and it is His will that it should perform that task rationally it is impossible for it to deviate from that task, because doing anything contrary to the will of Allah is inconceivable. [211 The purpose of jinn's and man's creation has been restricted to the worship of Allah whereas there are many other underlying reasons and benefits in their creation.

Scholars have made different approaches to solve these problems. Some say that this verse pertains to the believer only, that is, only believing jinn and believing mankind are created for worship and for no other task. It is obvious that the believers are more or less steadfast to worship. This is the view of Dahhak, Sufyan Thawri and others, According to one version of Sayyidna Ibn 'Abbas , the word mu'minin does occur in the verse thus: 'And 1 have not created the believing jinn and mankind except that they should worship Me'. This version supports the view that the verse is only in connection with the believers.

Another answer to the question, given by Moulana Ashraf'Ali Thanawi (RA) is that: Allah has commanded all to worship, but at the same time He has equipped them with free will. Some of them exercised their God-given free will correctly and chose to worship Him, but others used their God-given free will incorrectly and deviated from worshipping Him. This is what Sayyidna 'Ali has said, as quoted by. Baghawi Tafsir Mazhari gives a plain and simple explication of this verse: Allah has equipped every jinn and man with the innate capacity to worship. Some use the capacity rightly and succeed, while others employ it wrongly in sinning and fulfilling their base emotions, and thus destroy it. The Messenger is reported to have said:

"Every child is born according to the fitrah but his parents [cause him to deviate from the unadulterated propensity] and turn him into a Jew or a Christian or a Magician.'

According to the majority of the scholars, fitrah here refers to the religion of Islam. Just as this Tradition tells us that every man is born with the natural capacity for Islam and true faith, but his parents adulterate and destroy that capacity, and put him on to the ways of disbelief, in the same way the phrase 'except that they should worship Me' could mean that every member of jinn and mankind has the natural, inborn capacity to worship. Allah, the Pure and Exalted, knows best. (Ma'ariful Quran vol.8pgs.186-187)

And Allah knows best

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Hadiths

Allah says in :

"And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me".

The above verse shows the same core purpose of life for both the humans and the jinn.

Many Non-Muslims enter into the religion Islam despite of having a Non-Muslim background because of some influence towards the religion Islam. Same is the case with jinn; the Non-Muslim jinn can also turn Muslims if they get inspired by the religion Islam.

At the time of Prophet Mohammad (P.B.U.H), a group of jinn were turned into Muslims when they heard the recitation of Holy Quran. At that time Allah revealed the following verses of Surah Jinn on Prophet Mohammad (P.B.U.H),

Say, [O Muhammad], "It has been revealed to me that a group of the jinn listened and said, 'Indeed, we have heard an amazing Qur'an. It guides to the right course, and we have believed in it. And we will never associate with our Lord anyone. [72:1-2]

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Question

The initial verses of Surah al-Dhariyat do not name angels, winds or any other thing but use only adjectives. Howcome some scholars came to translate it as Angles while others take it to refer to winds?

AnswerBy Tariq Mahmood Hashmi

The early exegetes have differed over the interpretation of the object of oaths in the inaugurating verses of the Surah. There are different interpretations. However, Mawlana Hamid Uddin Farahi forcefully claimed that these are attributes of the winds. He has tried to substantiate his conclusion through sound arguments. His pupil Mawlana Amin Ahsan Islahi as well as Mr Ghamidi believe that these refer to the winds. I would refer you to Mawlana Farahi's commentary on the Surah (translated by Tariq Mahmood Hashmi) so that you have access to his exposition of the verses and basis of his conclusions. Please refer to: Surah al-Dhariyat

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