Period of Revelation
All commentators are agreed that it is a Makki Sura; a study of its subject matter and
style shows that this too is one of the earliest Suras to be revealed at Makkah.
Theme and Subject Matter
In it some of the evils prevalent among the materialistic hoarders of wealth in the
pre-Islamic days have been condemned. Every Arab knew that they actually existed in
their society; they regarded them as evils and nobody thought they were good. After
calling attention to this kind of ugly character
the ultimate end in the Hereafter of the people having this kind of character has been
stated. Both these things (i. e. the character and his fate in the Hereafter) have been
depicted in a way which makes the listener automatically reach the conclusion that such
a man fitly deserves to meet such an end. And since in the world
people of such character do not suffer any punishment
but seem to be thriving instead
the occurrence of the Hereafter becomes absolutely inevitable. If this Sura is read in the
sequence of the Suras beginning with Az-Zilzal
one can fully well understand how the fundamental beliefs of Islam and its teachings
were impressed on the peoples minds in the earliest stage in Makkah. In Sura Az-Zilzal
it was said that in the Hereafter man's full record will be placed before him and not an
atom's weight of good or evil done by him in the world will have been left unrecorded. In
Sura Al- Adiyat
attention was drawn to the plunder and loot
blood-shed and vandalism
prevailing in Arabia before Islam; then making the people realize
that the way the powers given by God were being abused
was indeed an expression of sheer ingratitude to Him
they were told that the matter would not end up in the world
but in the second life after death not only their deeds but their intentions and motives
too would be examined
and their Lord fully well knows which of them deserves what reward or punishment. In
Sura Al-Qariahafter depicting Resurrection the people were warned that in the
Hereafter a man's good or evil end will be dependent on whether the scale of his good
deeds was heavier
or the scale of his evil deeds was heavier:In Sura At- Takathur the people were taken to
task for the materialistic mentality because of which they remained occupied in seeking
increase in worldly benefits
pleasures
comforts and position
and in vying with one another for abundance of everything until death overtook them.
Then
warning them of the evil consequences of their heedlessness
they were told that the world was not an open table of food for then to pick and choose
whatever they pleased
but for every single blessing that they were enjoying in the world
they would have to render an account to their Lord and Sustainer as to how they
obtained it and how they used it. In Sura Al-Asrit was declared that each member
each group and each community of mankind
even the entire world of humanity
was in manifest loss
if its members were devoid of Faith and righteous deeds and of the practice of
exhorting others to truth and patience. Immediately after this comes Sura Al-Humazah
in which after presenting a specimen of leadership of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance
the people have been asked the question: "What should such a character deserve if not
loss and perdition?"
