Surah az-Zumar

It is also called "al-Ghuraf" (The Chambers), as stated in al-Itqan and al-Kashshaf, due to the Almighty’s saying: "They will have chambers, above them other chambers."

Ibn al-Durays, Ibn Marduyah, and al-Bayhaqi in al-Dala'il narrated from Ibn Abbas that it was revealed in Mecca, without exception. Al-Nahhas narrated from him that he said: "Surah az-Zumar was revealed in Mecca, except for three verses that were revealed in Medina concerning the murderer of Hamza: 'Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves...'" up to three verses." Some added: "Say, 'O My servants who have believed, fear your Lord'" (the verse). This was mentioned by al-Sakhawi in Jamal al-Qira'ah, and Abu Hayyan narrated it from Muqatil. Others added: "Allah has sent down the best statement" (39:23), which Ibn al-Jawzi narrated. It is mentioned in al-Bahr from Ibn Abbas that the exceptions are: "Allah has sent down the best statement," and His saying: "Say, 'O My servants who have transgressed against themselves,'" etc. Others say [it is entirely Meccan] except for seven verses, beginning from His saying, Glory be to Him, "Say, 'O My servants who have transgressed against themselves'" until the end of the seven verses.

As for its verses: they are seventy-five in the Kufan count, seventy-three in the Syrian count, and seventy-two in the others. The details of the differences are in Majma' al-Bayan and elsewhere.

The reasoning for the connection between the beginning of this Surah and the end of [Surah] Sad is that the Almighty said there: "It is but a reminder to the worlds," and here the Majestic One says: "The revelation of the Book is from Allah." In this, there is a perfect coherence, such that if the Basmala were omitted, the speech would not seem dissonant. Furthermore, the Almighty mentioned at the end of [Surah] Sad the story of the creation of Adam, and mentioned at the beginning of this [Surah] the creation of his mate from him, and the creation of all mankind from him. He mentioned their creation in the wombs of their mothers, creation after creation, then mentioned that they are mortal, then mentioned the Resurrection, the reckoning, Paradise, and Hell, and concluded with the words of the Almighty: "And it will be judged between them in truth, and it will be said, '[All] praise is to Allah, Lord of the worlds.'" Thus, the Majestic One mentioned the conditions of creation from the beginning to the end of the Return, connected to the creation of Adam, peace be upon him, mentioned in the preceding Surah. Between the two Surahs are other aspects of connection that become apparent through reflection, so reflect.

Az-Zumar: (1) The revelation of the Book from . . . . .

"In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. The revelation of the Book..."

Al-Farra and Al-Zajjaj said: It is a subject (mubtada’), and His saying, the Exalted, "from Allah, the Exalted in Might, the Wise" is its predicate. Another view is that there is an elided subject, meaning: "This which is mentioned is a revelation," and "from Allah" is connected to "revelation." The first view is more sound, as stated in al-Kashf. "The Book" refers to the entire Quran, and the sentence—according to this view—is as if it were a justification for why it is a reminder to the worlds, or for His saying, the Exalted, "And you will surely know its information after a time."

The manifest meaning is that what is intended by "the Book" in the second view is the [specific] surah, because, by virtue of the nobility of the mention, it is closer to the consideration of presence required by the demonstrative pronoun therein. "Tanzil" (revelation) is in the sense of "munazzal" (revealed), or it is intended to convey intensity (hyperbole).

Abu Hayyan estimated the subject to be a pronoun referring back to the "reminder" in [the previous verse] "It is nothing but a reminder," and he made the sentence an expository commencement (isti’naf bayani), as if it were asked, "What is this reminder?" and the answer was, "It is the revelation of the Book," with "the Book" in this case being the Quran. Regarding "revelation," both aforementioned possibilities apply.

Under the possibility of it being the predicate of an elided subject, it is permissible that "from Allah" is a second predicate, or that it is the predicate of another elided subject—meaning, "This [revelation of the Book] is from Allah"—or that it is a circumstantial qualifier (hal) from "the Book." It is also permissible for the circumstantial qualifier to be from the genitive component (mudaf ilayh) because the possessive construction acts like a verb. It is also permissible to be a circumstantial qualifier from the hidden pronoun in "revelation," assuming it means "revealed," or to be a circumstantial qualifier from "revelation" itself, with the operative factor therein being the meaning of indication (ishara).

This has been critiqued by the argument that the meanings of verbs do not act [as operative factors] if that in which they reside is elided. For this reason, they rejected Al-Mubarrad’s statement regarding the verse of Al-Farazdaq: "And since there is no human like them," that "like them" (mithlahum) is in the accusative as a circumstantial qualifier, and its operative factor is the elided adverbial—meaning, "There is no human in existence similar to them"—on the grounds that the adverbial is a semantic operative factor that does not act upon an elided element.

Ibn Abi Ablah, Zayd bin Ali, and ‘Isa recited "Tanzil" in the accusative case, based on an elided verb, such as "Read" or "Heed."

The mention of the attributes of Might (al-‘izzah) and Wisdom (al-hikmah) is to signal the manifestation of their effects in the Book through the implementation of its rulings and the enforcement of its commands and prohibitions without any refuter or obstructer, and because everything within it is built upon the foundation of profound wisdom.