Surah Sad ayat 1 Tafsir Quran 38:1

﴿ص ۚ وَالْقُرْآنِ ذِي الذِّكْرِ﴾
[ ص: 1]

38:1 Sad. By the Qur'an containing reminder...

Sād God knows best what He means by this letter. By the Qur’ān bearing the Remembrance that is bearing the Pronouncement; or what is meant is that the Qur’ān is a Book of renown the response to this oath has been omitted in other words ‘It is not as the Meccan disbelievers say that there are many gods’.

S (Sadd) an Alphabetic letter emblematic of inability to emulation- and by the Quran which

Which was revealed in Makkah بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. وَالْقُرْءَانِ ذِى الذِّكْرِ ( By the Qur'an full of reminding. ) means, by the Qur'an which includes all that is in it as a reminder and a benefit to people in this life and the Hereafter.
Ad-Dahhak said that the Ayah, ذِى الذِّكْرِ ( full of reminding. ) is like the Ayah, لَقَدْ أَنزَلْنَآ إِلَيْكُمْ كِتَـباً فِيهِ ذِكْرُكُمْ ( Indeed, We have sent down for you (O mankind ) a Book in which there is Dhikrukum) ( 21:10 ).
i.e., your reminder.
This was also the view of Qatadah and of Ibn Jarir.
Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Isma`il bin Abi Khalid, Ibn `Uyaynah, Abu Husayn, Abu Salih and As-Suddi said: ذِى الذِّكْرِ ( full of reminding. ) "Full of honor," i.e., of high standing.
There is no contradiction between the two views, because it is a noble Book which includes reminders and leaves no excuse and brings warnings.
The reason for this oath is to be found in the Ayah: إِن كُلٌّ إِلاَّ كَذَّبَ الرٌّسُلَ فَحَقَّ عِقَابِ ( Not one of them but denied the Messengers; therefore My torment was justified. ) ( 38:14 ).
Qatadah said, "The reason for it is to be found in the Ayah: بَلِ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ فِى عِزَّةٍ وَشِقَاقٍ ( Nay, those who disbelieve are in false pride and opposition )." This was the view favored by Ibn Jarir. بَلِ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ فِى عِزَّةٍ وَشِقَاقٍ ( Nay, those who disbelieve are in false pride and opposition. ) means, in this Qur'an there is a reminder for those who will be reminded and a lesson for those who will learn a lesson, but the disbelievers will not benefit from it because they فِى عِزَّةٍ ( are in false pride ) meaning, arrogance and tribalism, وَشِقَاقٍ ( and opposition. ) means, they are stubbornly opposed to it and go against it.
Then Allah scares them with news of how the nations who came before them were destroyed because of their opposition to the Messengers and their disbelief in the Scriptures that were revealed from heaven.
Allah says: كَمْ أَهْلَكْنَا مِن قَبْلِهِم مِّن قَرْنٍ ( How many a generation have We destroyed before them! ) meaning, disbelieving nations. فَنَادَوْاْ ( And they cried out ) means, when the punishment came to them, they called for help and cried out to Allah, but that did not save them at all.
This is like the Ayat: فَلَمَّآ أَحَسُّواْ بَأْسَنَآ إِذَا هُمْ مِّنْهَا يَرْكُضُونَ - لاَ تَرْكُضُواْ وَارْجِعُواْ إِلَى مَآ أُتْرِفْتُمْ فِيهِ وَمَسَـكِنِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُسْأَلُونَ ( Then, when they perceived (saw ) Our torment, behold, they ( tried to ) flee from it.
Flee not, but return to that wherein you lived a luxurious life, and to your homes, in order that you may be questioned.) ( 21:12-13 ).
Abu Dawud At-Tayalisi recorded that At-Tamimi said, "I asked Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, about the Ayah: فَنَادَواْ وَّلاَتَ حِينَ مَنَاصٍ ( And they cried out when there was no longer time for escape. ) He said that it was not the time for them to call or flee or escape.
Muhammad bin Ka`b said, concerning the Ayah: فَنَادَواْ وَّلاَتَ حِينَ مَنَاصٍ ( And they cried out when there was no longer time for escape. ) "They called for Tawhid when their lives were over, and they resorted to repentance when their lives were over." Qatadah said, "When they saw the punishment, they wanted to repent when there was no longer time to call out." Mujahid said: فَنَادَواْ وَّلاَتَ حِينَ مَنَاصٍ ( And they cried out when there was no longer time for escape. ) "It was not the time to flee or escape." Allah says: وَّلاَتَ حِينَ مَنَاصٍ ( when there was no longer time for escape. ) meaning, there was no time to escape or run away; and Allah knows best.

(38:1) Sad, *1 and by the Qur'an full of exhortation! *2

Sad. By the Qur'an containing reminder... meaning

*1) Although like alI other enigmatic letters ( mugatta'at ) it is difficult to determine the meaning of the letter Suad also, yet the interpretation of it given by Ibn 'Abbas and Dahhak is quite plausible.
According to them, it implies: Sadiq-un fi' qauli-hi, or Sadaqa Muhammad-un: Muhammad ( upon whom be Allah's peace and blessings ) is Truthful: whatever he says is the very Truth.

*2) The words dhi-dh-dhikr of the Text can have two meanings: ( 1 ) Dhi sharaf: the noble Qur'an; and ( 2 ) Dhi at-tadhkir: the Qur'an which is full of admonition, or the Qur'an which serves as a reminder, or arouses a heedless person.

 

Which was revealed in Makkah بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. وَالْقُرْءَانِ ذِى الذِّكْرِ ( By the Qur'an full of reminding. ) means, by the Qur'an which includes all that is in it as a reminder and a benefit to people in this life and the Hereafter.
Ad-Dahhak said that the Ayah, ذِى الذِّكْرِ ( full of reminding. ) is like the Ayah, لَقَدْ أَنزَلْنَآ إِلَيْكُمْ كِتَـباً فِيهِ ذِكْرُكُمْ ( Indeed, We have sent down for you (O mankind ) a Book in which there is Dhikrukum) ( 21:10 ).
i.e., your reminder.
This was also the view of Qatadah and of Ibn Jarir.
Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Isma`il bin Abi Khalid, Ibn `Uyaynah, Abu Husayn, Abu Salih and As-Suddi said: ذِى الذِّكْرِ ( full of reminding. ) "Full of honor," i.e., of high standing.
There is no contradiction between the two views, because it is a noble Book which includes reminders and leaves no excuse and brings warnings.
The reason for this oath is to be found in the Ayah: إِن كُلٌّ إِلاَّ كَذَّبَ الرٌّسُلَ فَحَقَّ عِقَابِ ( Not one of them but denied the Messengers; therefore My torment was justified. ) ( 38:14 ).
Qatadah said, "The reason for it is to be found in the Ayah: بَلِ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ فِى عِزَّةٍ وَشِقَاقٍ ( Nay, those who disbelieve are in false pride and opposition )." This was the view favored by Ibn Jarir. بَلِ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ فِى عِزَّةٍ وَشِقَاقٍ ( Nay, those who disbelieve are in false pride and opposition. ) means, in this Qur'an there is a reminder for those who will be reminded and a lesson for those who will learn a lesson, but the disbelievers will not benefit from it because they فِى عِزَّةٍ ( are in false pride ) meaning, arrogance and tribalism, وَشِقَاقٍ ( and opposition. ) means, they are stubbornly opposed to it and go against it.
Then Allah scares them with news of how the nations who came before them were destroyed because of their opposition to the Messengers and their disbelief in the Scriptures that were revealed from heaven.
Allah says: كَمْ أَهْلَكْنَا مِن قَبْلِهِم مِّن قَرْنٍ ( How many a generation have We destroyed before them! ) meaning, disbelieving nations. فَنَادَوْاْ ( And they cried out ) means, when the punishment came to them, they called for help and cried out to Allah, but that did not save them at all.
This is like the Ayat: فَلَمَّآ أَحَسُّواْ بَأْسَنَآ إِذَا هُمْ مِّنْهَا يَرْكُضُونَ - لاَ تَرْكُضُواْ وَارْجِعُواْ إِلَى مَآ أُتْرِفْتُمْ فِيهِ وَمَسَـكِنِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُسْأَلُونَ ( Then, when they perceived (saw ) Our torment, behold, they ( tried to ) flee from it.
Flee not, but return to that wherein you lived a luxurious life, and to your homes, in order that you may be questioned.) ( 21:12-13 ).
Abu Dawud At-Tayalisi recorded that At-Tamimi said, "I asked Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, about the Ayah: فَنَادَواْ وَّلاَتَ حِينَ مَنَاصٍ ( And they cried out when there was no longer time for escape. ) He said that it was not the time for them to call or flee or escape.
Muhammad bin Ka`b said, concerning the Ayah: فَنَادَواْ وَّلاَتَ حِينَ مَنَاصٍ ( And they cried out when there was no longer time for escape. ) "They called for Tawhid when their lives were over, and they resorted to repentance when their lives were over." Qatadah said, "When they saw the punishment, they wanted to repent when there was no longer time to call out." Mujahid said: فَنَادَواْ وَّلاَتَ حِينَ مَنَاصٍ ( And they cried out when there was no longer time for escape. ) "It was not the time to flee or escape." Allah says: وَّلاَتَ حِينَ مَنَاصٍ ( when there was no longer time for escape. ) meaning, there was no time to escape or run away; and Allah knows best.

And from his narration on the authority of Ibn ’Abbas that he said upon the interpretation of Allah’s saying ( Sad. ): ’( Sad. ) He says: Sad by the Qur’an, i.e. repeat the Qur’an until you distinguish between faith and disbelief, the prophetic wont and blameworthy innovation, truthfulness and lying, the lawful and the unlawful, good and evil; it is also said that Sad stands for barring ( sadd ) from the guidance, i.e. the barring of the people of Mecca from the Truth and guidance; it is also said that it stands for Abu Jahl; and it is also said that it stands for truthful ( sadiq ) in his speech; and it is also said that Sad is one of Allah’s names; and it is also said that it is an oath by which Allah swore ( By the renowned Qur’an ) by the Qur’an which possesses honour and clarity of exposition; it is an honour to those who believe in it and it is a clear exposition of the people of old as well as of future generations of people. Allah swore by the Qur’an,

Sad [These letters (Sad etc.) are one of the miracles of the Quran and none but Allah (Alone) knows their meanings]. By the Quran full of reminding.

Page 453 English transliteration