Last aayah and last Surah
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's
Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:
As salamu alaikum wa rehmatullahi wa barakaatuhu,
I`ve always thought that the last ayat to be revealed was in
Baarakallahu feekum
was salamu alaikum wa rehmatullahi wa barakaatuhu
(There
may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum
does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from
our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)
Answer:
In the
name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness.
Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray,
none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no
person, no grave, no prophet, no imam,
no dai, nobody!) worthy of
worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His
slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
There are
two opinions amongst the scholars regarding the last Aayah to be revealed.
Some
scholars are of the opinion that the Aayah 281 of
Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah was the last Aayah to be revealed:
281 And fear the day when ye shall be brought back to Allah. Then shall every soul be paid what it earned
and none shall be dealt with unjustly.
The
majority of the scholars in Islam are of the opinion that the last Aayah of the
Holy Quran was this verse in Chapter 5 Surah Maidah
Aayah 3:
This day have I perfected your religion
for you, completed my favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your
religion.
Your
Question: And was
Chapter 9 Surah Taubah was firstly not the last revealed full Surah to
be revealed, nor was it revealed completely in one discourse, but rather
in three discourses.
The first discourse (verses 1-37), was revealed in
Zil-Qa'adah A.H. 9 or thereabout just before the Hajj period.
The second discourse (verses 38-72) was sent down
in Rajab A.H. 9 or a little before this, when the Holy Prophet was engaged in
making preparations for the Campaign of Tabuk.
The third discourse (verses 73-I 29) was revealed
on the return from the Campaign of Tabuk.
The
majority of the scholars in Islam are almost unanimous in their opinion that
the last complete Surah to be revealed in full is the 110th
Surah of the Quran, Surah An-Nasr:
1 When comes the Help of
Allah and Victory.
2 And thou dost see the
People enter Allah's Religion in crowds
3 Celebrate the Praises
of thy Lord, and pray for His Forgiveness: for He is Oft-Returning (in Grace
and Mercy).
Hadrat Abdullah bin Abbas (r.a.) states that Surah Nasr is the
last Surah of the Quran to be revealed, i.e. no complete Surah was sent down to
the Holy Prophet after it.
Related by Muslim Nasai, Tabarani, Ibn Abi Shaibah, Ibn Marduyah.
According to Hadrat Abdullah bin Umar (r.a.), Surah Nasr was sent down on the occasion of
the Farewell Pilgrimage in the middle of the Tashriq Days at Mina, and after it
the Holy Prophet rode his she camel and gave his well known Last Sermon.
Related by Tirmidhi, Bazzar, Baihaqi, Ibn Abi Shaibah, Abd bin
Humaid, Abn Yala, Ibn Marduyah.
Baihaqi in Kilab al-Hajj has related from the tradition of Hadrat
Sarra bint-Nabhan (r.a.) the Sermon which the Holy Prophet gave on this
occasion. She says: "At the
Farewell Pilgrimage I heard the Holy Prophet (saws) say: ‘O people, do you know
what day it is?’ They said: ‘Allah and
His Messenger (saws) have the best knowledge.’
He (saws) said: ‘This is the
middle day of the Tashriq Days.’ Then he (saws) said: ‘Do you know what place
it is?’ They said: ‘Allah and His
Messenger (saws) have the best knowledge.’
He (saws) said: ‘This is Masharil-Haram.’ Then he (saws) said: ‘I do not
know, I might not meet you here again. Beware, your blood and your honor are
forbidden, until you appear before your Lord, and He questions you about your
deeds. Listen: let the one who is near convey it to him who is far away.
Listen: have I conveyed the message to you?’
Then, when we returned to Madinah, the Holy Prophet passed away not many
days after that."
If these traditions are read together, it appears
that there was an interval of three months and some days between the revelation
of Surah An-Nasr and the Holy Prophet's (saws) death, for historically the same
was the interval between the Farewell Pilgrimage and the passing away of the
Holy Prophet.
Ibn Abbas says that when the Surah Nasr
was revealed, the Holy Prophet (saws) said that he had been informed of his
death and his time had approached.
Related by Musnad Ahmad, Ibn Jarir,
Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Marduyah.
In the other traditions related from
Hadrat Abdullah bin Abbas, it has been stated that at the revelation of Surah
Nasr, the Holy Prophet (saws) understood that he had been informed of his
departure from the worId.
Related by Musnad Ahmad, Ibn Jarir,
Tabarani, Nasai, Ibn Abi Hatim, Ibn Marduyah.
Whatever
written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance,
and whatever of error is of me. Allah
Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.
Your Brother in Islam,
Burhan
Wister