Surah al-Ma'un

Introduction

It is called Surah Ara'ayta (Have you seen), ad-Din (the Religion), and at-Takdhib (the Denying). It is Meccan according to the majority, and Ibn Marduyah narrated this from Ibn Abbas and Ibn al-Zubayr, as mentioned in ad-Durr al-Manthur. In al-Bahr, it is stated to be Medinan according to Ibn Abbas and Qatadah, and this is also reported from al-Dahhak. Hibat Allah, the blind commentator, said: "Half of it was revealed in Mecca regarding al-As ibn Wa'il, and half of it was revealed in Medina regarding Abdullah ibn Ubayy the hypocrite." Its verses are seven according to the Kufans and six according to the others.

When He, Glorified be He, mentioned in Surah Quraysh, "And fed them against hunger," He condemned here, Exalted and Majestic be He, the one who does not encourage the feeding of the poor. And when He said there, "Let them worship the Lord of this House," He condemned here, Glorified be He, the one who is heedless of his prayer. Or, when He enumerated the blessings of Allah upon Quraysh—while they did not believe in resurrection and recompense—He followed His favor upon them with a threat of retribution and a warning of His punishment. Thus, He said, Exalted is the Speaker:

In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.

"Have you seen him who denies the Recompense?"

This is an interrogative sentence intended to arouse the listener’s curiosity to know who this denier is, and to highlight that this is something a religious person must know in order to avoid him and his actions. It also serves to express astonishment at his behavior.

The address is directed to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah exalt him and grant him peace) or to anyone fit to be addressed. "Seen" (araita) here means knowledge that takes a single object. Al-Hufi said it is permissible for it to be literal vision (basariya). Under either interpretation, it is permissible for it to be used metaphorically to mean "inform me" (akhbirni). In that case, it would take two objects: the first being the relative pronoun (alladhi), and the second being omitted; the estimation being "who is he?" or "is he not deserving of punishment?" The assertion that the metaphorical usage of "seeing" cannot be anything other than literal vision is subject to scrutiny, as is the absolute claim that the address particle (kaf) cannot be attached to literal vision, for there is no barrier to this once metaphorical usage is established; therefore, it does not necessarily follow that it must be knowledge-based. In the reading of Abdullah [ibn Mas’ud], it is rendered "Araytaka" (أرأيتك), with the address particle added to emphasize the ta.

"The Recompense" (al-din) refers to requital, which is one of its meanings—as in the saying, "As you recompense, so shall you be recompensed." In the same vein are the words of Mujahid: "the reckoning," or "Islam," as is the most famous interpretation. Perhaps the one who interpreted it as "the Quran" held a similar view, as did those who, like Ibn Abbas, interpreted it as "the oneness of Allah, Mighty and Majestic is He."

Al-Kisa'i read it as Arayta (أريت) by omitting the hamza, as if he carried the past tense [verb] in the omission of its hamza over its present tense [counterpart], where the omission is consistent. This is akin to the analogy of ta'id (تعد) being distant in its inflection. Perhaps the starting of the verb here with the interrogative hamza facilitated the omission because of its resemblance to the present tense verb starting with a hamza. Hence, this reading is stronger in justification than what is found in the [poetic] line: "O companion, have you seen or heard of a shepherd / who returned to the udder what was milked into the vessel?"

It has been said that the past tense of verbs was appended after the interrogative hamza in Arayta due to their strong resemblance and the lack of difference [between them] except for a fatha, which, due to its lightness, is in the ruling of a sukun. However, this is not compelling, even if it is claimed to be the most plausible.