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سُورَةُ الزُّمَرِ · 39:9
MeccanRevelation order ٥٩Juzʾ ٢٣Page ٤٥٩

أَمَّنْ هُوَ قَٰنِتٌ ءَانَآءَ ٱلَّيْلِ سَاجِدًۭا وَقَآئِمًۭا يَحْذَرُ ٱلْءَاخِرَةَ وَيَرْجُوا۟ رَحْمَةَ رَبِّهِۦ ۗ قُلْ هَلْ يَسْتَوِى ٱلَّذِينَ يَعْلَمُونَ وَٱلَّذِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ ۗ إِنَّمَا يَتَذَكَّرُ أُو۟لُوا۟ ٱلْأَلْبَٰبِ

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Saheeh International · EN

Is one who is devoutly obedient during periods of the night, prostrating and standing [in prayer], fearing the Hereafter and hoping for the mercy of his Lord, [like one who does not]? Say, "Are those who know equal to those who do not know?" Only they will remember [who are] people of understanding.

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Introduction

This is āyah 9 of Sūrat Az-Zumar (The Troops), the 59th sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Meccan period and sits within Juzʾ 23. Meccan verses tend to address faith, the oneness of God, and the hereafter.

This introduction is a starting point — the community and Bilal will enrich it over time.

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Revelation & occasion

Asbāb al-Nuzūl
Period
Meccan
Order revealed
59 of 114
Surah
Az-Zumar (39)
Occasion of revelation · Al-Wahidi

Is one who does devotions throughout the night, prostrating himself and standing, cau- tious about the next world and hoping for the mercy of his Lord? Say: “Are they equal, those who know and those who know not?” “Devotion” is undertaking the courteous acts of service outwardly and inwardly without slacken- ing or shortcoming, being cautious because of the threatened chastisement and hoping for the promised reward. This is the attribute of a group who are constantly at God's threshold in the station of ser- vice. Their makeup at the time of prayer becomes entirely reverence itself, and they are always burning in remorse because of shame for sin. One of the great ones of the religion said, “You must show reverence for God's commands, for it is not apparent which command brings proxim- ity to God. You must avoid all prohibited things, for it is not apparent which prohibition brings distance from God.” It has been said that putting God's commands into practice is of two sorts, one according to the property of servanthood, the other according to the property of love. The property of love is higher than the property of servanthood, because the lover's constant wish is for the Friend to command a service. Hence his service is all voluntary and nothing of it is coerced. He acknowledges the favors done to him, and he never lays favors on God, nor does he look for recompense. In contrast, a service that is done because of servanthood has both free choice and coercion. The person is seeking a reward and expecting recompense. The latter is the station of the worshipers and the common faithful, and the former is the at- tribute of the recognizers and the sincerely truthful. The two groups can never be equal. The worshipers are satisfied with the blessings and held back from the Beneficent, but the recognizers have reached the Presence and take ease in contemplating the Friend. The Pir of the Tariqah said, “How should I have known that reward is a freckle on the face of friendship? I always fancied that the greatest robe of honor was the reward. Now I have found out that in finding friendship all found things are nothing.” Say: “Are they equal, those who know and those who know not?” Knowledge is three: report- ed knowledge, inspired knowledge, and knowledge of the Unseen.

Commentary

Tafsir

4 works

Hafiz Ibn Kathir

Is one who is obedient to Allah, Ana'a Al-Layl prostrating and standing fearing the Hereafter and hoping for the mercy of his Lord? Say: "Are those who know equal to those who know not?" It is only men of understanding who will remember (9) The Obedient and the Sinner are not equal Allah says, 'is the one who is like this equal to one who associates others in worship with Allah and sets up rivals to Him?' They are not equal before Allah, as He says: لَيْسُوا سَوَاءً ۗ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ أُمَّةٌ قَائِمَةٌ يَتْلُونَ آيَاتِ اللَّهِ آنَاءَ اللَّيْلِ وَهُمْ يَسْجُدُونَ (Not all of them are alike; a party of the People of the Scripture stand for the right, they recite the Ayat of Allah Ana'a Al-Layl, prostrating themselves (in prayer).)(3:113). And Allah says here: أَمَّنْ هُوَ قَانِتٌ آنَاءَ اللَّيْلِ سَاجِدًا وَقَائِمًا (Is one who is obedient to Allah, Ana'a Al-Layl prostrating an…
Provenance

Chains of transmission

Oral — isnād

  1. ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation

    Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.

  2. 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation

    Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.

  3. TodayLiving chainsawaiting curation

    Continuous ijāzah chains link reciters today back to the Prophet ﷺ.

Verified isnād chains for this āyah will be added by curators.

Written — the manuscript record

  1. ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation

    The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).

  2. 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation

    Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.

  3. Modern printModern printawaiting curation

    The 1924 Cairo edition → today: the standard printed muṣḥaf used worldwide.

A curated chain of manuscript images for this exact āyah — roughly one per century — is coming. Help us source and verify them.

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And now — what do you think?

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Provenance

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