Surah Sad

Introduction

It is Meccan, as has been narrated from Ibn Abbas and others. It has also been said that it is Medinan, but this is not correct, as Al-Dani has stated.

It consists of eighty-eight verses according to the Kufan count, eighty-six according to the Hijazi, Basran, and Syrian counts, and eighty-five according to the count of Ayyub ibn al-Mutawakkil alone. It has been said that no one held "Sad" to be a verse on its own, as has been said regarding other such letters at the beginning of Surahs, though there is a discussion to be had regarding this.

It is like a completion to the one before it, in that it mentions prophets (peace be upon them) who were not mentioned in the former, such as David and Solomon. And since He, the Exalted, mentioned previously regarding the disbelievers that they said: "If we had a message from those of old, we would surely be the chosen servants of Allah," and that they disbelieved in the Reminder when it came to them, He, the Almighty and Majestic, began this Surah with the "Quran containing the Reminder," and detailed what was summarized there regarding their disbelief. In this, there is the connection that there is, and whoever examines it closely will discern other connections. And Allah, the Exalted, is the Grantor of success.

Sād. By the Qur’an, possessor of Reminder...

Sād: In the view of the majority, this is read with a quiescent dāl at the pause. Ubayy, al-Hasan, Ibn Abi Ishaq, Abu al-Summal, Ibn Abi ‘Ablah, and Nasr ibn ‘Asim read it as Sādi with a kasrah on the dāl. The apparent reason for this kasrah is the meeting of two quiescent letters; it is a letter among the letters of the alphabet, similar to Qāf and Nūn.

Ibn Jarir recorded from al-Hasan that it is an imperative from sādā (to oppose/confront), i.e., ‘ārid (confront). From this comes the word sadā (echo), which is what opposes the first sound and mirrors it in empty places or against high, solid objects. The meaning is: "Confront the Qur’an with your deeds," meaning: act according to its commands and prohibitions. ‘Abd al-Wahhab said: "Present it to your deeds, and see where your deeds stand in relation to the Qur’an." It is also said to be an imperative from sādā meaning hādith (to speak/narrate), with the meaning: "Narrate the Qur’an." This is also narrated from al-Hasan, and it is close to the first view.

‘Isa, Mahbub from Abu ‘Amr, and a group read it Sāda with a fatha on the dāl. They read Qāf and Nūn with a fatha as well. It is said this is also for the meeting of two quiescent letters, seeking lightness. It is also said to be a case-marking vowel (i.e., accusative), assuming Sād is the object of a hidden verb—that is, "Read Sād" or "Recite Sād"—or it is governed by an implied oath particle after the removal of the preposition, due to the sense of magnification that the verb carries transitively, like the expression: "By Allah (Allāh), I will surely do it." Or, it may be in the genitive case due to an implied oath particle. It is diptote (mamnu‘ min al-sarf) because it is a proper noun and feminine, based on it being a name for the Surah. Al-Sharif mentioned that when a named entity becomes famous by a specific term being applied to it, the entity is observed within that term, and in this regard, the consideration of femininity for the name is valid.

Ibn Abi Ishaq, in one narration, read Sādin with a genitive case and tanwīn. This is either because a triliteral with a quiescent middle may be fully declined (some say this is more likely), or because it is considered a name for the Qur’an (which is one of the possibilities), thus the two conditions for being a diptote were not met, making it fully declinable. The argument that this is because it is a proper noun for the meaning of the Surah and not its title—and thus it lacks the feminine quality to create the two conditions required—is not free from doubt. Ibn al-Sumayqa’, Harun al-A‘war, and al-Hasan, in one narration, read Sādu with a damma on the dāl, as if considering it the name of the Surah and a predicate for a deleted subject: "This is Sād."

Regarding its meaning, those not bound by the reading of the majority hold various opinions, as is the case with other openings of the Surahs. Ibn Jarir recorded from Abu Salih that Jabir ibn ‘Abd Allah and Ibn ‘Abbas were asked about Sād, and they replied: "We do not know what it is." This is the position of many regarding similar instances. ‘Ikrimah said: Nafi‘ ibn al-Azraq asked ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Abbas about Sād, and he said: "Sād was an ocean in Mecca, and upon it was the Throne of the Most Merciful when there was neither night nor day." Ibn Jubayr said: "It is an ocean by which Allah will revive the dead between the two blasts [of the Trumpet]." Allah knows best the authenticity of these reports.

Ibn Jarir recorded from al-Dahhak that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Allah is truthful (sadaqa Allāh)." Ibn Marduyah recorded from him that he said: "Sād says, 'I am Allah, the Truthful (al-Sādiq).'" Muhammad ibn Ka‘b al-Qurazi said: "It is a key to the names of Allah: Samad (The Eternal), Sāni‘ (The Creator of things made), and Sādiq al-Wa‘d (The Truthful in promise)." It is also said it refers to the turning away (sudūd) of the disbelievers from the Qur’an. Another view is that it is a letter strung together on the path of challenge; several scholars of verification inclined toward this. Some say it is a name for the Surah—this is the view of al-Khalil, Sibawayh, and the majority. Others say it is a name for the Qur’an. Others say other things based on the various readings, as you have heard.

It is strange that some said Sād [refers to] Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) "conquered (sāda) the hearts of the creation and won them over until they believed in him." Perhaps the one who said this considered it a past tense verb, with the end opened (fatha) or quiescent for the sake of the pause. I do not agree with this, nor do I approve of it as a perspective. In some of these views, it has no grammatical position; in others, it is considered the object of an oath, the object of a hidden verb, or the predicate of a deleted subject. In some, it is essentially an oath. Among the variations in the recitations, what is implied is what is not hidden from you. In short: if it is not considered the object of the oath, then the wāw in His saying (Exalted is He), "By the Qur’an, possessor of the Reminder," is for an oath. If it is considered the object of the oath, the wāw is for conjunction to it. However, if it were an oath in the accusative case due to omission and connection, the conjunction would be based on the meaning and the original structure.

The difference between them can be literal, such as if "the Qur’an" refers to the entire book and "Sād" refers to the Surah, or vice versa, or if "Sād" refers to the ocean mentioned earlier and "the Qur’an" to the whole book or the Surah. It may also be a difference in consideration, as if each refers to the whole Surah or the whole Qur’an, as has been said. The requirement for eloquence free from affectation is not hidden. It is weak to consider the wāw as being for an oath as well, based on the statement of a group that the convergence of two oaths upon one subject is weak.

"The Reminder" (al-Dhikr): As Ibn Jarir recorded from Ibn ‘Abbas, it means nobility (al-sharaf), from which is His saying (Exalted is He): "And indeed, it is a Reminder for you and your people." Or [it means] the memory, or the sermon for the people, as narrated from Qatadah and al-Dahhak. Or, it is the mention of what is needed in matters of religion—the laws, judgments, and other stories of the prophets (peace be upon them), the news of past nations, and the promises and threats, as has been said.

As for the answer to the oath (jawab al-qasam), some say it is stated; the Kufans and al-Zajjaj say it is His saying: "Indeed, that is the truth—the disputing of the people of the Fire." Al-Farra’ objected to this, saying, "We do not find it straightforward because it is very far from the oath." Al-Akhfash said: "It is: 'Indeed, all of them—they only denied the messengers.'" A group said: "How many generations We destroyed before them," and the lām (of the oath) was deleted—i.e., la-kam—because the speech had become lengthy, just as it was deleted from "Certainly (qad) the believers have succeeded" after His saying, "And the sun..." al-Farra’ and Tha‘lab related this, and al-Tabarsi objected, saying it is a mistake because the lām does not enter the object, and kam is the object.

Abu Hayyan said these sayings must be discarded. Al-Samarqandi quoted some as saying it is: "But those who disbelieved..." etc., for "but" (bal) is for negating what is before it and affirming what is after it; its meaning is: "The disbelievers are not but in pride and opposition." It is permitted that this speaker meant "but" is additional in the answer, or the answer was linked by it for its function of meaning affirmation.

It is said it is Sād itself, as it means "Allah is truthful" or "Muhammad (peace be upon him) is truthful." This is attributed to al-Farra’ and Tha‘lab, and it is built upon the permissibility of the answer to the oath preceding the oath, and the belief that [the expression] denotes what was mentioned. Even so, there is obscurity in Sād itself being the answer. It is said it is the whole sentence "This is Sād," meaning the Surah which incapacitated the Arabs; it is as if it were said: "This is the Surah which incapacitated the Arabs."

"And the Qur’an, possessor of the Reminder"—this is as if you said, "This is Hatim—by Allah," meaning "This is he who is famous for generosity—by Allah." This is also based on the permissibility of precedence. It is said it is deleted; al-Hufi estimated it as: "The truth has come to you," and the like; Ibn ‘Atiyyah as: "The matter is not as you claim," and the like. Some researchers estimated it as: "What the disbelievers disbelieved was due to a flaw they found," and pointed to it with His saying: "But those who disbelieved..." etc. Another estimated: "It is miraculous," and pointed to it with what is in Sād regarding the indication of challenge—based on it being a name of a letter of the alphabet mentioned by way of challenge and alerting to the miracle—or what is in "By Sād," or "This is Sād" indicating that, based on it being the name of the Surah, or that it is obligatory to act upon it, indicated by Sād based on it being an imperative of musādāh (confrontation). Some estimated it otherwise. In al-Bahr, it should be estimated here as what was established as the answer to the oath by the Qur’an in His saying: "Yā Sīn. By the wise Qur’an. Indeed, you are from among the messengers." This estimation is strengthened by the mention of warning (nidhārah) here in His saying: "And they wondered that a warner from among them has come to them," and there in His saying (Exalted is He): "To warn a people." Thus, the message includes warning and glad tidings.