Surah Al-Mu'min

It is also called Surah Ghafir and Surah al-Tawl. As reported from Ibn Abbas, Ibn al-Zubayr, Masruq, and Samurah ibn Jundab, it is Meccan. Abu Hayyan narrated a consensus on this. From al-Hasan, it is reported that it is Meccan except for His saying, the Almighty: "And glorify with the praise of your Lord," because the prayers were ordained in Medina, whereas prayer in Mecca consisted of two rak'ahs without a fixed time. You know that the truth is the opinion of the majority: that the five prayers were ordained in Mecca; furthermore, it is not determined that the "glorification" in the verse necessarily implies the ritual prayer.

It has been said: It is Meccan except for His saying, the Almighty: "Indeed, those who dispute..." (the verse), for it is Medinan. Ibn Abi Hatim narrated from Abu al-'Aliyah and others that it was revealed regarding the Jews when they mentioned the Dajjal, and this is not a definitive text that it was revealed in Medina. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah said: When they say, "The verse was revealed regarding such-and-such," it is sometimes meant as the occasion of revelation, and sometimes it is meant that the matter is included in the verse even if it were not the cause, just as one says, "Such-and-such was intended by this verse." Al-Zarkashi said in al-Burhan: It is known from the custom of the Companions and the Successors that if one of them says, "The verse was revealed regarding such-and-such," he intends thereby that it encompasses this ruling, not that this was the cause of its revelation; it is of the category of deriving a ruling from a verse, not of the category of transmitting an occurrence. Yes, there will come—if God Almighty wills—from Abu al-'Aliyah that which is like a text regarding that.

Its verses are eighty-five according to the Kufans and Syrians, eighty-four according to the Hijazis, and eighty-two according to the Basrans. It is also said: eighty-six, and it is said: eighty-eight. The aspect of its opening's relevance to the end of Surah al-Zumar is that when He, the Glorified, mentioned there the final state of the disbeliever and the believer, He, the Exalted and Majestic, mentioned that He is the Forgiver of sin and Accepter of repentance, so that it might be an invitation to the disbeliever toward faith and abandonment of what he is upon. Between the two surahs themselves are aspects of relevance; it suffices in this that He mentioned in each of them the states of the Day of Resurrection and the states of the disbelievers therein—both in the gathering place and in the Fire—what He mentioned, and He detailed in this one of those matters what was not detailed in that one.

In Tanasuq al-Durar, it is mentioned that the reason for placing the seven Hawamim after Surah al-Zumar is the resemblance of their openings in beginning with the revelation of the Book. In the codex of Ibn Mas'ud, the beginning of al-Zumar is "(Ha-Mim)," and that is a clear relevance. Furthermore, the Hawamim are arranged due to their shared beginning with Ha-Mim and the mention of the Book, and that they are Meccan. Indeed, it has been reported from Ibn Abbas and Jabir ibn Zayd that they were revealed following al-Zumar in succession, like their arrangement in the codex.

Many reports have come regarding their virtue. Abu 'Ubayd narrated in Fada'il from Ibn Abbas, who said: "Everything has a core, and the core of the Quran is the Hawamim." He, along with Ibn al-Durays, Ibn al-Mundhir, al-Hakim, and al-Bayhaqi in Shu'ab al-Iman, narrated from Ibn Mas'ud that he said: "The Hawamim are the brocade of the Quran." It was also narrated by Abu al-Shaykh, Abu Nu'aym, and al-Daylami from Anas, may God be pleased with him. Al-Daylami and Ibn Marduyah narrated from Samurah ibn Jundab in a marfu' (attributed) manner: "The Hawamim are a garden from the gardens of Paradise."

Muhammad ibn Nasr and al-Darimi narrated from Sa'd ibn Ibrahim that he said: "The Hawamim used to be called the Brides." Ibn Nasr and Ibn Marduyah narrated from Anas ibn Malik that he said: "I heard the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, say: 'God Almighty gave me the seven long [surahs] in place of the Torah, and gave me the Ra'at (surahs starting with Alif-Lam-Ra) up to the Tawasins (surahs starting with Ta-Sin) in place of the Gospel, and gave me what is between the Tawasins and the Hawamim in place of the Psalms, and He distinguished me with the Hawamim and the Mufassal; no prophet before me recited them.'"

Al-Bayhaqi narrated in al-Shu'ab from al-Khalil ibn Murrah that the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: "The Hawamim are seven, and the gates of Hell are seven. Every Ha-Mim will come and stand at one of these gates, saying: 'O God, do not allow anyone who believes in me and recites me to enter through this gate.'"

Regarding specific verses of this surah, there is that which indicates their virtue. Al-Tirmidhi, al-Bazzar, Muhammad ibn Nasr, Ibn Marduyah, and al-Bayhaqi in al-Shu'ab narrated from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: "Whoever recites 'Ha-Mim' (the believer) to '...and to Him is the destination' (referring to verse 3) and the Throne Verse (Ayat al-Kursi) when he wakes in the morning will be protected by them until he reaches the evening, and whoever recites them when he reaches the evening will be protected by them until he wakes in the morning."

(In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Ḥā-Mīm)

It is read with the lightening of the alif and the quiescence of the mīm. Ibn ‘Āmir (in the narration of Dhakwān), Ḥamzah, al-Kisā’ī, and Abū Bakr read it with explicit imālah (inclination). Nāfi‘ (in the narration of Warsh) and Abū ‘Amr read it with imālah between the two states (partial inclination).

Ibn Abī Isḥāq and ‘Īsā read it with the fatḥah on the mīm—a vocalization used when two quiescent letters meet—because the fatḥah is light, as in ayna (where) and kayfa (how). It is also permitted that this be an accusative case by the implied verb "read," and it is treated as a diptote (non-declinable) due to its status as a proper noun and its feminine nature (because it signifies the surah), or due to its status as a proper noun and its non-Arabic resemblance—for fā‘īl is not a pattern among the structures of the Arabs; it is only found in non-Arabic tongues, such as Qābīl (Cain) and Hābīl (Abel). This was narrated from Sībawayh. In al-Kashf, it is stated that it is better to attribute the reason to definiteness (ta‘rīf) and composition (tarkīb).

Abū al-Summāl read it with a kasrah on the mīm based on the principle of the meeting of two quiescent letters, as in jīr (yes). Al-Zuhrī read it with both in the nominative case (raf‘); the apparent meaning is that it is a case-marking, so it is either a subject or the predicate of an omitted subject.

The discussion regarding what is intended by it is like the discussion regarding its counterparts. It is pluralized as Ḥawāmīm and Ḥāmīmāt. Regarding the latter, Ibn ‘Asākir cited in his History: "This is the Messenger of Allah who came with goodness, with Yā-Sīn and Ḥāmīmāt."

As for the former (Ḥawāmīm), several traditions concerning it have preceded. I do not think that anyone denies the authenticity of all of them, or claims that the term Ḥawāmīm in them is a corruption by non-Arab narrators. Furthermore, Abū ‘Ubaydah cited: "I swore by the seven that have been prolonged, and by the hundreds (mi’īn) after which I have been made to hundred, and by the eights I have doubled and repeated, and by the Ṭawāsīn that have been recited, and by the Ḥawāmīm that have been sevened, and by the Mufaṣṣal which has been distinguished."

Al-Jawālīqī, al-Ḥarīrī, and Ibn al-Jawzī held the view that it is not said Ḥawāmīm. In al-Ṣiḥāḥ, it is reported from al-Farrā’ that the common saying "the Ḥawāmīm" is not the speech of the Arabs. The author of Zād al-Masīr narrated from his teacher, the linguist Abū Manṣūr, that it is a mistake to say "I read the Ḥawāmīm," and that the correct way is to say "I read Āl Ḥam." In a tradition of Ibn Mas‘ūd: "If you have entered into Āl Ḥam, you have entered into lush, soft gardens that I find delightful." Consistent with this is the saying of al-Kumayt ibn Zayd in al-Hāshimiyyāt: "We found for you in Āl Ḥam a sign, interpreted by the pious and the learned among us."

The Ṭawāsīn are also called Ṭawāsīm with a mīm replacing the nūn according to them. What has been heard is sufficient to refute them. Yes, what they said is heard and accepted, as is what we said, but it must be known that Āl in their saying "Āl Ḥam," as al-Khafājī stated, is not the well-known āl meaning "family," but rather a word mentioned before names that cannot be dualized or pluralized—such as compound names like Ta’abbata Sharran (he carried an evil thing under his arm). When they intend to dualize or pluralize it—and it is a phrase where this is not possible, as such is not known in the speech of the Arabs—they add the word āl or dhawā before it. Thus, it is said: "The two men named Ta’abbata Sharran came to me" (jā’anī āl Ta’abbata Sharran or dhawātā Ta’abbata Sharran). So, Āl Ḥam means the Ḥawāmīm, and āl means "possessors of." What is intended is that to which this expression is applied and used; it is a metaphor for spiritual companionship. In the speech of al-Raḍī and others, there is an indication of this, although they did not explicitly interpret it, so you should preserve it. It is stated in al-Kashf that it is better to pluralize it as dhawāt Ḥam (the Ḥam-surahs), rather than Ḥawāmīm or Ḥāmīmāt, meaning the surahs accompanied by this expression, namely Ḥam.