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سُورَةُ الزُّمَرِ · 39:55
MeccanRevelation order ٥٩Juzʾ ٢٤Page ٤٦٤

وَٱتَّبِعُوٓا۟ أَحْسَنَ مَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكُم مِّن رَّبِّكُم مِّن قَبْلِ أَن يَأْتِيَكُمُ ٱلْعَذَابُ بَغْتَةًۭ وَأَنتُمْ لَا تَشْعُرُونَ

٥٥
Saheeh International · EN

And follow the best of what was revealed to you from your Lord before the punishment comes upon you suddenly while you do not perceive,

IntroductionRevelationTafsirTransmissionDebate
Bio

Introduction

This is āyah 55 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 24. 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.

Bio

Revelation & occasion

Asbāb al-Nuzūl
Period
Meccan
Order revealed
59 of 114
Surah
Az-Zumar (39)

No specific occasion of revelation (Asbāb al-Nuzūl) is recorded for this āyah in al-Wāḥidī's collection. Many verses were revealed without a single triggering event.

Commentary

Tafsir

4 works

Hafiz Ibn Kathir

Say: "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves! Despair not of the mercy of Allah, verily, Allah forgives all sins. Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (53)"And turn in repentance (and in obedience with true faith) to your Lord and submit to Him before the torment comes upon you, (and) then you will not be helped. (54)"And follow the best of that which is sent down to you from your Lord, before the torment comes on you suddenly while you perceive not! (55)Lest a person should say: "Alas, my grief that I was undutiful to Allah, and I was indeed among those who mocked. (56)Or (lest) he should say: "If only Allah had guided me, I should indeed have been among those who have Taqwa. (57)Or (lest) he should say when he sees the torment: "If only I had another chance, then I should indeed be among the doers of good. (58)Yes! Verily, there came to you My Ayat and you denied …
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.

The wall

And now — what do you think?

The text, its history and the classical commentary are laid out above. Share your own understanding, ask a question, or reason with others.

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Provenance

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