NAME: قريش, Quraysh.
Name taken from Verse 1 where there is a mention of the word ”Quraysh”.
١ لِإِيلَافِ قُرَيْشٍ
1 For the accustomed security of the Quraysh
ENGLISH NAME: Quraysh Tribe.
CHAPTER NUMBER: 106
SURAH QURAYSH TOTAL VERSES: 4
SURAH QURAYSH TOTAL WORDS: 17
TOTAL UNIQUE WORDS WITHOUT REPETITION: 16
TOTAL LETTERS: 77
REVELATION PERIOD:
Meccan, Approx. 610 – 615 AD.
MAIN CHARACTERS:
God, Quraysh (An Arab Tribe)
SURAH QURAYSH MAIN TOPICS:
A Brief Account Of God’s Blessings On The Tribe Of Quraysh Where Muhammad Born, They Should Be Thankful To God For Protecting Them From Hunger And Fear.
SURAH QURAYSH KEY VERSES:
١ لِإِيلَافِ قُرَيْشٍ
1 For the accustomed security of the Quraysh –
٢ إِيلَافِهِمْ رِحْلَةَ الشِّتَاءِ وَالصَّيْفِ
2 Their accustomed security [in] the caravan of winter and summer –
SUMMARY OF TOPICS
1-2(A Brief Account Of God’s Blessings On The Tribe Of Quraysh Especially For Their Accustomed Security In the Trade Caravan of Winter and Summer), 3-4(They Should Worship God And Be Thankful To Him For Protecting Them From Hunger And Fear).
SURAH QURAYSH BRIEF COMMENTARY & BACKGROUND
This Surah has 4 verses. It takes its name from verse 1: “لِإِيلَافِ قُرَيْشٍ” (For the accustomed security of the Quraysh) where the word “قريش” meaning “Quraysh Tribe” appears. This Surah was revealed in Mecca most probably during the early days of Muhammad’s proclamation of his Prophethood. The previous Surah الفيل “Al Feel” and this Surah so closely relate that perhaps it was revealed immediately after “Al Feel” Some traditions state that some of the companions of prophet regard the two Surahs as one entity. They say that in the Quran copy belonging to Hadrat Ubayy bin Kab these were written as one Surah without the insertion of the Bismillah between them. Furthermore, as per traditions, Umar bin Khattab had once recited the two Surahs as one in the Prayer.
This Surah gives a brief account of God’s Blessings on the tribe of Quraysh where Muhammad born. It was the ruling tribe of Mecca. They were the custodians of the Kaaba, and their primary profession was trading, but the most significant gift was Kaaba, the House of the Lord. People from all over the world would come to visit it. Quraish had a lot of respect, prominence & power at that time. Also, it is a source of significant income through pilgrims. Sura al-Fil describes how God saved the Kaaba from destruction, while sura Quraysh describes the favors of God (the Lord of the House) on Quraysh.
It has also been said that the meaning of (إِيلَافِ) is what Quraysh would gather during their winter and summer journies to Yemen and Syria respectively and return to their city in safety due to the respect that the people had for them because they were the residents of Allah’s sanctuary.
To get a detailed idea of the background of Quraysh please read Muhammad’s Family & background, Hashim bin Abd Manaf and Abdul Muttalib bin Hashim.
