Surah Ṣād

Meccan. It consists of eighty-six verses, and it is said: eighty-eight verses.

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

{Ṣād. By the Qur’an, possessor of the Reminder...}

{Ṣād}: Read with a sukūn (vowelless) by the majority of reciters, as it is a pause. It has also been read with a kasra and a fatḥa due to the meeting of two vowelless letters.

It is permissible for it to be in the accusative case (naṣb) by omitting the particle of oath and connecting its verb to it, as in their saying: "Allāha la-afʿalanna" (By Allah, I will surely do it). It is also permissible for it to be in the genitive case (jarr) by implying the particle of oath; the fatḥa here is in the place of the genitive, similar to saying: "Allāhi la-afʿalanna" (By Allah, I will surely do it), where it is indeclinable due to being a proper noun and feminine (as it signifies "the Sūrah"). Those who read it with a kasra and tanwīn treat it as declinable, interpreting it as "the Book" or "the Revelation."

It is said that the one who reads it with a kasra derives it from muṣādāt, which means opposition or equivalence. From this comes al-ṣadā (the echo), which opposes a sound in empty places. Its meaning would be: "What has opposed the Qur’an with your deeds? So act according to its commands and refrain from its prohibitions."

If you ask: The statement {Ṣād. By the Qur’an, possessor of the Reminder... Nay, those who disbelieve are in pride and opposition} appears disjointed and lacks cohesion. How is it organized?

I say: There are two ways to view it:

1. The letter is mentioned from the alphabet as a challenge and an alert to the miraculous nature of the Qur’an, as previously discussed at the beginning of the book. It is followed by an oath whose response is omitted because the challenge itself implies it. It is as if He said: "Ṣād. By the Qur’an, possessor of the Reminder, it is indeed a miraculous speech."
2. {Ṣād} is the predicate of an omitted subject, acting as the name of the Sūrah. It is as if He said: "This is Ṣād," meaning: "This is the Sūrah that has rendered the Arabs incapable." Then, "By the Qur’an, possessor of the Reminder," follows, just as you would say: "This is Ḥātim, and by Allah," meaning: "This is the one famous for generosity, and by Allah." Similarly, if you swear by it, it is as if you said: "I swear by Ṣād and by the Qur’an, possessor of the Reminder, that it is miraculous."

Then He says: {Nay, those who disbelieve are in pride}—that is, arrogance against submitting to this and acknowledging the truth—{and opposition} to Allah and His Messenger.

If you treat {Ṣād} as the object of the oath and connect {the Qur’an} to it, you may intend by "the Qur’an" the entire Revelation, or specifically this Sūrah. Its meaning would be: "I swear by this noble Sūrah and by the Qur’an, possessor of the Reminder," just as you say: "I passed by the noble man and the blessed soul," without intending by "the soul" anyone other than the man.

{The Reminder}: Means honor and fame, from your saying: "So-and-so is mentioned (madhkūr)," and "It is a source of honor (dhikr) for you and your people." Or it means admonition and warning, or the mention of what is needed in religion regarding laws and other matters, such as the stories of the prophets, the promises, and the threats.

The use of the indefinite form in {pride and opposition} is to indicate their intensity and severity. It has also been read as {in ghirra} (in heedlessness), meaning: in negligence regarding what is incumbent upon them of reflection and following the truth.

{How many a generation We destroyed before them, and they called out, but it was not the time for escape.}