Al-Ankabut (The Spider): (1-2) Alif Lam Mim

First Issue: Connection of the Beginning of this Surah to the Preceding One

There are several views regarding this connection:

The First View: When Allah Almighty said in the preceding Surah:

{Indeed, He who imposed the Qur'an upon you will surely return you to a place of return} (Al-Qasas: 85)

This likely meant He would return the Prophet (peace be upon him) to Mecca, victorious over the disbelievers, seeking retribution. Since this prospect involved the hardship of fighting, which was difficult for some, Allah then said:

{Alif Lam Mim. Do people think that they will be left to say, "We believe,"}

...and not be commanded to strive (Jihad).

The Second View: At the end of the preceding Surah, Allah said:

{And call to your Lord} (Al-Qasas: 87).

Calling to Allah involved verbal attacks, spears, and striking, as the Prophet (PBUH) and his companions were commanded to fight if the disbelievers did not believe merely through the call. This was difficult for some, so Allah said:

{Do people think that they will be left...}

The Third View: At the end of the preceding Surah, Allah said:

{Everything will perish except His Face} (Al-Qasas: 88).

Following this, Allah mentioned what refutes the deniers of the Resurrection. He said:

{His is the judgment, and to Him you will be returned.}

This means not everything perishes without return; rather, everything that perishes will return to Allah.

Given this, know that those who deny the Resurrection say there is no benefit in obligations (Takalif) because they are hardships in this life with no benefit in the hereafter, as there is no return after perishing and annihilation. When Allah clarified that they will return to Him, He then explained that the matter is not as they assume; rather, the obligation (Taklif) is good, so that He may reward the grateful and punish the ungrateful. Thus, He said:

{Do people think that they will be left...}

...unobligated, without any deeds by which they return to their Lord.

Second Issue: The Wisdom of Opening this Surah with Disconnected Letters (Huruf al-Muqatta'ah)

We must first present a general discussion on opening Surahs with these letters.

The Wise One (Allah) — when addressing someone who is heedless or preoccupied with worldly matters — presents something before the intended speech to draw the listener's attention and focus their heart, before commencing with the main purpose.

This preliminary matter might be speech with an understandable meaning, like saying, "Listen," or "Pay attention to me," or "Be with me." It might be something that implies speech, like calling out, "O Zayd!" or "Hey Zayd!" It might be an incomprehensible sound, like whistling behind someone to make them turn, or a non-vocal sound like clapping hands to make the listener turn their attention.

The more complete the heedlessness, and the more important the intended speech, the more emphasis is placed on the preliminary attention-grabber. This is why one calls a nearby person using the Hamza (e.g., A-Zayd), and a distant person using Yā (e.g., Yā Zayd). For the heedless, one first calls out, "O Zayd!"

Given this, even though the Prophet (PBUH) had an alert heart, he was still human, occupied with one matter after another. Thus, it was appropriate for the Wise One to precede the intended speech with letters that act as alerts.

Furthermore, if these letters do not have an understood meaning, they are more effective in achieving the purpose (alerting) than preceding letters that do have meaning. This is because if the preliminary matter is coherent speech, the listener might think that is the entire message and cease paying attention. However, if they hear a sound without meaning, they will remain attentive until they hear something else, certain that what they heard was not the main purpose. Therefore, preceding the intended speech with letters that have no established meaning in language carries profound wisdom.

If someone asks, "What is the wisdom in singling out certain Surahs for these letters?" We reply: Human intellect is incapable of grasping the minute details of all things, and Allah knows all things best. However, we mention what Allah guides us to:

Every Surah whose opening contains the disconnected letters also mentions the Book, the Revelation, or the Qur'an in its beginning. Examples:

• {Alif Lam Mim. That is the Book...} (Al-Baqarah: 1-2)
• {Alif Lam Mim. Allah! There is no god but He, the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsisting... He has sent down to you the Book...} (Al-'Imran: 1-3)
• {Alif Lam Mim Sad. A Book sent down to you...} (Al-A'raf: 1-2)
• {Ya Sin. By the Qur'an...} (Ya Sin: 1-2)
• {Sad. By the Qur'an...} (Sad: 1)
• {Qaf. By the Glorious Qur'an...} (Qaf: 1)
• {Alif Lam Mim. The revelation of the Book...} (As-Sajdah: 1-2)
• {Ha Mim. The revelation of the Book...} (Al-Jathiyah: 1-2)

Exceptions: Three Surahs: {Kaf Ha Ya 'Ain Sad} (Maryam: 1), {Alif Lam Mim. Do people think...} (Al-'Ankabut), and {Alif Lam Mim. The Romans have been overcome...} (Ar-Rum: 1-2).

The wisdom in opening Surahs that mention the Qur'an, Revelation, or Book with these letters is that the Qur'an is great, the sending down (of revelation) carries weight, and the Book carries a burden, as Allah says:

{Indeed, We will cast upon you a weighty saying} (Al-Muzzammil: 5).

Every Surah that mentions the Qur'an, the Book, or the Revelation at its beginning is preceded by an alert that necessitates the listener's steadfastness to hear it.

One might object: "Every Surah is part of the Qur'an, so listening to any Surah is listening to the Qur'an, whether it explicitly mentions the Qur'an or not. Therefore, an alert should be at the beginning of every Surah."

Also, some Surahs mention the Revelation or the Book but do not begin with these letters, such as:

• {Praise be to Allah, who has sent down to His Servant the Book...} (Al-Kahf: 1)
• {A Surah which We have sent down...} (An-Nur: 1)
• {Blessed is He who sent down the Criterion (Al-Furqan)...} (Al-Furqan: 1)
• {Indeed, We sent it down in the Night of Decree...} (Al-Qadr: 1)

Our Reply: Regarding the first objection: While every Surah is part of the Qur'an, the Surah that mentions the Qur'an or the Book is drawing attention to the entire Qur'an. For example, {Ta Ha. We have not sent down the Qur'an to you...} (Ta Ha: 1-2), although it is only a part of the Qur'an, it refers to the whole Qur'an. This is like a book sent from a king to his servant concerning some matter, versus another book sent from him stating: "We have written to you books containing Our commands, so implement them." Clearly, the burden of the second book is heavier than the first.

Regarding the second objection (Surahs starting with Alhamdulillah or Tabarak): These are praises intended for Allah, and a servant should never be heedless of praising Allah. Therefore, they do not require an alert, unlike commands and prohibitions. The mention of the Book in them serves to describe the greatness of the One being praised.

As for {A Surah which We have sent down}: We have already explained that it is part of the Qur'an and mentions its own revelation. The Surah that mentions the entire Qur'an is more weighty upon the soul.

As for {Indeed, We sent it down} (Al-Qadr): We say this is not addressed to someone preoccupied with something else, evidenced by the use of the pronoun (it), which refers back to a previously mentioned or known entity. The Ha (it) refers to something known to the Prophet (PBUH), meaning he was already alert, so no alert was needed.

Know that alerting has occurred in the Qur'an without using meaningless letters, such as in:

• {O mankind, fear your Lord. Indeed, the earthquake of the Hour is a tremendous thing.} (Al-Hajj: 1)
• {Awaiting, O Prophet, fear Allah...} (Al-Ahzab: 1)
• {Knowledge! O Prophet, why do you prohibit...} (At-Tahrim: 1)

This is because these are tremendous, overwhelming matters. Fearing Allah as He should be feared is a great matter, so it is preceded by a call (Nida') used for the distant and heedless concerning it, as a warning.

As for this Surah, it is opened with these letters, yet it does not begin by mentioning the Book or the Qur'an explicitly. This is because the Qur'an carries weight due to the obligations and meanings it contains. This Surah mentions all obligations when it says:

{Do people think that they will be left to say, "We believe,"}

Meaning, they will not be left merely by saying that, but they will be commanded with various types of obligations. Thus, the meaning found in Surahs that mention the Qur'an (which contains commands and prohibitions) is present here.

If someone asks about the verse in Surah At-Tawbah, which is similar in meaning:

{Or do you think that you will be left, while Allah has not yet made evident those who have strived among you...} (At-Tawbah: 16) ...and yet it is not preceded by the disconnected letters, we reply: The answer is very clear. This verse in At-Tawbah is the beginning of a statement, evidenced by the interrogative particle Hamza ("Or do you think..."). The opening of Al-'Ankabut, however, is in the middle of a discourse, evidenced by the interrogative particle Am ("Or..."), and alerting occurs at the beginning of speech, not in its middle.

As for {Alif Lam Mim. The Romans have been overcome...}, its explanation will come in its proper place, God willing. This concludes the discussion on the letters.

Third Issue: The Grammatical Analysis of {Alif Lam Mim}

The full discussion on this, including the transmitted views on its interpretation, was covered in Surah Al-Baqarah. We add here that these letters have no grammatical inflection (I'rab) because they function like alerting sounds.

Fourth Issue: The Reason for the Revelation of these Verses

There are several sayings:

1. It was revealed concerning 'Ammar ibn Yasir, 'Ayash ibn Abi Rabi'ah, Al-Walid ibn Al-Walid, and Salamah ibn Hisham, who were being tortured in Mecca.
2. It was revealed concerning people in Mecca who emigrated, but the disbelievers pursued them. Some were martyred, and the rest escaped.
3. It was revealed concerning Mihja' ibn 'Abdullah, who was killed on the Day of Badr.

Fifth Issue: Interpretation

His saying: {Do people think that they will be left...} Meaning: Do they assume they will be left merely by saying, {We believe,} and that they will not be tested (fitnah) with physical and financial obligations?

Grammarians differed regarding {that they say}: Some said: "They will be left by saying, 'We believe.'" Others said: "They will be left while saying, 'We believe.'"

The apparent meaning of the second view suggests they are prevented from saying, "We believe," similar to saying, "Do you think you will be left if you strike Zayd?" (meaning, you are prevented from striking him). This is unlikely, as Allah does not prevent anyone from saying, "I believe." Rather, the meaning intended by this commentator is that they will not be left saying, "We believe," without being tested; rather, they will be prevented from this combination unless they fulfill the obligations imposed upon them.

Sixth Issue: The Conceptual Benefits

The ultimate goal of creation is worship, and the highest aim in worship is attaining the love of Allah, as mentioned in the Hadith: "The servant never ceases to draw near to Me with acts of worship until I love him." Whoever's heart is most filled with the love of Allah holds the highest rank with Allah.

However, the heart has an interpreter, which is the tongue, and the tongue has confirmations, which are the limbs. These confirmations have purifiers. If a person says with their tongue, "I believe," they have claimed love for Allah in their heart. They must therefore have witnesses. When they use their limbs to fulfill the structure of faith, they obtain witnesses confirming their claim. If they sacrifice their life and wealth in Allah's path, and purify their deeds by abandoning all else, their witnesses who confirmed their statement are purified. Then their name is recorded in the registers of the lovers, and their portion is established among the close ones (Muqarrabin).

This is alluded to by His saying:

{Do people think that they will be left to say, "We believe,"}

Meaning: Do they think their claim will be accepted without witnesses, and their witnesses without purifiers? No, rather, all of this is necessary for them to be among the lovers.

Second Benefit

The lowest rank a servant can attain is being a Muslim, as anything below that is a degree of disbelief. Islam is the first rank attained by the servant. Once this rank is achieved, their name is written, and their portion is established.

However, those employed by kings are of different types: some are diligent in their duties and advance from one service to a higher one. Some are lazy and slow, moving from one service to a lower one. Some remain in their post without change. Some have their appointment terminated, and their name erased from the registers.

Similarly, among the servants of Allah, a Muslim might be devout, focused on worship, and receptive to happiness, so they are moved from the rank of the believers to the degree of the certain (Muqinin), which is the rank of the close ones. Some might be little in obedience, preoccupied with frivolity, so they are moved to a lower rank: the rank of the disobedient and the hard-hearted. Some may belittle their faults and magnify their sins, thus being deprived of worship and joining the stubborn, being stoned (rejected). Some remain in the first degree of Paradise—the simpletons.

Therefore, Allah gives good tidings to the obedient and striving:

{Do people think that they will be left...}

Meaning: Do they think they will remain in the initial station? No, rather, they will be moved to the highest degrees, as Allah says:

{And those who were given knowledge, [their ranks] will be raised degrees.} (Al-Mujadilah: 11) {Allah has preferred the striving ones over the sitting ones by a degree.} (An-Nisa: 95).

Conversely, He warns the lazy:

{Do people think that they will be left to say, "We believe,"}

Meaning: If they say, "I believe," but remain in disobedience, they will be left at that level, and that will be accepted from them? No, rather, they will be moved to a lower station: the station of the disobedient or the disbeliever.

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