Al-Ma'un
Al-Ma'un is the 107th surah of the Qur'an, with 7 ayat or verses.
According to Abul A'la Maududi in his , Ibn Abbas was cited by differing narrators as to whether it is a Medinan or Meccan surah. According to Maududi, it is more likely for the surah to be Medinan, given that the hypocritical unmindful worshippers addressed 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 from Nafiʽ al-Madani
Bismi l-lāhi r-raḥmāni r-raḥīm
’ar
Fadhālika l-adhi yadu‘‘u l-yatīm
Walā yaḥuḍḍu ‘alā ṭa‘ami l-miskīn
Fawaylu l-lilmuṣallīn
’al ladhīna hum ‘an ṣa
’al ladhīna hum yurā
Wayamna‘ūna l-mā‘ūn
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 said: "During the time of the Messenger of God we used to consider ma'un lending a bucket and cooking-pot."Ibn Abbas said: " are the ones who delay their prayer."
Conditions of revelation
According to 'Alī ibn Ahmad al-Wāhidī, Muqatil and al-Kalbi reported that the sūrah was revealed about Al-'As ibn Wa'il, while Ibn Jurayj reported that the immediate cause of relation was Abu Sufyan ibn Harb'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, an Islamic scholar of the Indian subcontinent, is known for his work on the concept of nazm, or coherence, in the Quran. Fakhruddin al-Razi, Zarkashi and several other classical as well as contemporary Quranic scholars have contributed to the studies. This surah belongs to the last group of surahs which starts from Surah Al-Mulk and runs till the end of the Quran. According to Javed Ahmad Ghamidi| Phase | From | To | Central theme |
| I | Al-Mulk | Al-Jinn | Indhar |
| II | Al-Muzzammil | Al-Inshirah | Indhar-i ‘am |
| III | At-Tin | Quraysh | Itmam al-Hujjah |
| IV | Al-Ma'un | Al-Ikhlas | Hijrah and Bara’ah |
| V | Al-Falaq | Al-Nas | The Conclusion/The End |