Al-Ma'un (, , "Small Kindnesses, Almsgiving, Acts of Kindness, and Have You Seen") is the 107th surah of the

Qur'an The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides ...

, with 7 ''ayat'' or verses. : ۝ Have you seen the one who denies the ˹final˺ Judgment? :۝ That is the one who repulses the orphan, :۝ and does not encourage the feeding of the poor. :۝ So woe to those ˹hypocrites˺ who pray :۝ yet are unmindful of their prayers; :۝ those who ˹only˺ show off, :۝ and refuse to give ˹even the simplest˺ aid. According to

Abul A'la Maududi Abul A'la al-Maududi (; – ) was an Islamic scholar, Islamist ideologue, Muslim philosopher, jurist, historian, journalist, activist, and scholar active in British India and later, following the partition, in Pakistan. Described by Wilfred C ...

in his
Chapter Introductions to the Quran
', Ibn Abbas was cited by differing narrators as to whether it is a Medinan or

Meccan Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above sea level. Its metropo ...

surah. According to Maududi, it is more likely for the surah to be Medinan, given that the hypocritical unmindful worshippers addressed (especially in verses 4-6) would not have been seen in Mecca, where Muslims were persecuted for practicing their religion openly. Whereas in Medina, where Muslims held power, such people would be expected.

Summary

*1-3 Denunciation of those who deny the Quran and oppress the orphan *4-7 Hypocrites rebuked for neglect of prayer and charity

Text and meaning

Text and transliteration

Warsh Abu Sa'id Uthman Ibn Sa‘id al-Qebṭi, better known as Warsh (110-197AH), was a significant figure in the history of Quranic recitation (''qira'at''), the canonical methods of reciting the Qur'an. Alongside Qalun, he was one of the two prima ...

from

Nafiʽ al-Madani Abu Ruwaym Ibn Abd ar-Rahman Ibn Abi Naim al-Laythi ()(70-169AH), better known as Nafi al-Madani, was one of the transmitters of the seven canonical Qira'at, or methods of reciting the Qur'an. Outside of Egypt, his method of Qur'an recitation is t ...

Topic

This surah is concerned with two of the core teachings of Islam, how one prays and how one gives. The Surah discusses the character of those who claim to be Muslims but are oblivious of the hereafter. These people deprive the orphans of their rights, are heedless to the dues of the destitute, and pray without holding God in remembrance, forgetting the objective behind prayer. Their charitable acts are a display of their false piety, since they do not give for the love of God. The Surah has been so designated after the word al-ma`un occurring at the end of the last verse.

Abdullah ibn Masud Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud (; ) was a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad whom Sunni Islamic tradition regards the greatest interpreter of the Quran of his time and the second ever. He was also known by the ''kuniya'' Abu Abd al-Rahman.Muhammad ...

said: "During the time of the Messenger of God we used to consider ma'un (things of daily use) lending a bucket and cooking-pot."

Ibn Abbas ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās (; c. 619 – 687 CE), also known as Ibn ʿAbbās, was one of the cousins of the Prophets and messengers in Islam, prophet Muhammad. He is considered to be the greatest Tafsir#Conditions, mufassir of the Quran, Qur'an. ...

said: "(Those who are neglectful of their prayer) are the ones who delay their prayer."

Conditions of revelation

According to 'Alī ibn Ahmad al-Wāhidī (d. 468/1075), Muqatil and al-Kalbi reported that the sūrah was revealed about Al-'As ibn Wa'il, while

Ibn Jurayj Abd al-Malik ibn Abd al-Aziz ibn Jurayj (, 80 AH/699 CE - 150 AH/767 CE) was an eighth-century ''faqīh'', exegete and hadith transmitter from the Taba' at-Tabi'in. Biography Ibn Jurayj was born in Mecca in 80 AH/699 CE. His father Abd al-Aziz w ...

reported that the immediate cause of relation was

Abu Sufyan ibn Harb Sakhr ibn Harb ibn Umayya (; ), commonly known by his ' Abu Sufiyan (), was a prominent opponent-turned companion and father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He was the father of the first Umayyad caliph Mu'awiya I () and namesake of the S ...

's driving an orphan away with a stick.

Placement and coherence with other surahs

The idea of textual relation between the verses of a chapter has been discussed under various titles such as ''nazm'' and ''munasabah'' in non-English literature and ''coherence'', ''text relations'', ''intertextuality'', and ''unity'' in English literature.

Hamiduddin Farahi Hamiduddin Farahi (18 November 1863 – 11 November 1930) was an Indian Islamic scholar known for his work on the concept of ''nazm'', or coherence, in the Quran. The modernist Farahi school is named after him. He was instrumental in prod ...

, an

Islamic Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

scholar of the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

, is known for his work on the concept of nazm, or coherence, in the Quran.

Fakhruddin al-Razi Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī () or Fakhruddin Razi () (1149 or 1150 – 1209), often known by the sobriquet Sultan of the Theologians, was an influential Iranian and Muslim polymath, scientist and one of the pioneers of inductive logic. He wrote vari ...

(died 1209 CE), Zarkashi (died 1392) and several other classical as well as contemporary Quranic scholars have contributed to the studies. This surah belongs to the last (7th) group of surahs which starts from Surah

Al-Mulk Al-Mulk () is the List of chapters in the Quran, 67th chapter (surah) of the Quran, comprising 30 ayat, verses. Surah Al Mulk emphasizes the greatness of Allah and His creation, urging believers to reflect on the signs of God's power in the uni ...

(67) and runs till the end of the Quran. According to

Javed Ahmad Ghamidi Javed Ahmad Ghamidi (born 7 April 1952) is a Pakistani Islamic scholar and philosopher who is the founder of Al-Mawrid Institute of Islamic Sciences and its sister organisation ''Danish Sara''. He is regarded as one of the most influential and ...

Connection with previous surah

In the previous pair of sūrahs –

Al-Fil Al-Fīl (, "The Elephant") is the 105th chapter (surah) of the Quran. It is a Meccan sura consisting of 5 verses. The surah is written in the interrogative form. : ۝ Have you not seen Prophethow your Lord dealt with the army of the Eleph ...

and Quraysh (surah) – it is explained that the tribe of

Quraysh The Quraysh () are an Tribes of Arabia, Arab tribe who controlled Mecca before the rise of Islam. Their members were divided into ten main clans, most notably including the Banu Hashim, into which Islam's founding prophet Muhammad was born. By ...

has been blessed with the favors of peace and sustenance because of the

Kaaba The Kaaba (), also spelled Kaba, Kabah or Kabah, sometimes referred to as al-Kaba al-Musharrafa (), is a stone building at the center of Islam's most important mosque and Holiest sites in Islam, holiest site, the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Sa ...

. These blessings should have induced them to worship the Lord of this Sacred House with all sincerity and should have striven to fulfill the objective for which it was built and given in their custody. Surah al-Ma‘un is directed at the Quraysh, and its theme is to inform their leadership, of the doom that has been destined for them because of their crimes.

Connection with next surah

This surah complement the subject-matter of the next surah

Al-Kawthar Al-Kawthar () is the 108th chapter (sūrah) of the Quran. It is the shortest chapter, consisting of three '' ayat'' or verses: : ۝ We have given thee abundance :۝ So pray to your Lord and sacrifice o Him alone :۝ Indeed, your enemy is the ...

. The first surah presents a charge sheet of the crimes of the leadership of the Quraysh, the characters of the Quraysh chiefs is depicted along with the warning, while the succeeding surah declares their removal from the custodianship of the

and gives glad tidings to Muhammad.

Nouman Ali Khan Nouman Ali Khan (born 1978) is an American Islamic speaker who founded the Bayyinah Institute for Arabic and Qur’anic Studies after serving as an instructor of Arabic at Nassau Community College. He has been named one of the 500 most influent ...

Notes

References

External links

Quran 107

Clear Quran translation Mustafa Khattab is a Canadian–Egyptian Muslim scholar, imam, and university chaplain. He holds a professional ijâzah in the Ḥafṣ style of recitation. He is known for his translation of the Quran in "The Clear Quran" series. Career He ...

*
The Holy Qur'an
translated b
Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Three translations at Project Gutenberg
*
"Qur'anic Verses (107-9, 110-112)"
is a manuscript that dates back to the 15th century and features ''Al-Ma'un'' {{Authority control

Ma'un Al-Ma'un (, , "Small Kindnesses, Almsgiving, Acts of Kindness, and Have You Seen") is the 107th surah of the Qur'an, with 7 ''ayat'' or verses. : ۝ Have you seen the one who denies the ˹final˺ Judgment? :۝ That is the one who repulses the o ...

Alms in Islam