what is the main theme of surah al mumtahina? surah mumtahina is madinan surah and its name came from the Arabic word “al imtihan” which means in English “the test”.
Muslims have always been tested, their faith, loyalty, and obedience to Allah and his prophet, surah al mumtahina showed us that, since the days of the prophet peace be upon him, the immigrant women who migrated from Meccah to Al Madinah and asked to join the medina community were tested to prove their entire Faith and submission to Allah Almighty. Although the community began to be divided into Muslims and infidels, Muslims were tested in their love and affiliation with relatives, families, and tribes.
surah mumtahanah is a turning point in society, here Allah forbade Muslims from those relatives who fought Allah and his prophet, they would have to choose only one side, Allah and prophet, or infidels and their devils. surah e mumtahina is the thin line between faith, hypocrisy, and unbelief.
why the surah was named Al-Mumtahanah?
Al-Mumtahanah is one of the names of this surah and the reason for calling it by this noun is according to punctuation in Arabic:
1-The first one is Al-Mumtahanah and it means in Arabic ( the woman who will be tested), the story of this woman is the reason that this surah was called by this name.
Al-Mumtahanah:
She is Om Kalthom Bnt Okba Bn Abi Ma’it, she is the daughter of one of the worst infidels in Quraish and was killed in the battle of Badr, she got into Islam but secretly, because she was afraid of the anger of her father and the other masters of Quraish, so she hid her faith and was waiting the chance to migrate to the prophet peace be upon him to Al Madinah.
Then in the battle of Badr her father was killed, and the obstacle in her migration was finally removed, but sometimes things go in another way over our will, unfortunately, the agreement of Hudaibyah had occurred, and one of its clauses that if anyone came from Quraish to the prophet to get into Islam, the prophet should send him back and vice versa.
Om Kalthom continued her faith tests for the sake of Allah and decided to go to Madinah even if the prophet PBUH sent her back, when she arrived the companions of the prophet PBUH refused to send her after she entered Islam, but the prophet waited for the revelation to make his decision.
Allah revealed verse no10 which said:
O you who have believed, when the believing women come to you as emigrants, test] them. Allah is most knowing as to their faith. And if you know them to be believers, do not return them to the disbelievers; they are not lawful [wives] for them, nor are they lawful [husbands] for them. But give them [i.e., the disbelievers] what they have spent. And there is no blame upon you if you marry them when you have given them their due compensation [i.e., mahr]. And hold not to marriage bonds with disbelieving women, but ask for what you have spent and let them [i.e., the disbelievers] ask for what they have spent. That is the judgment of Allah; He judges between you. And Allah is Knowing and Wise.
Here, Allah commanded the believers to test her faith as in the verse no 12:
O Prophet when the believing women come to you pledging to you that they will not associate anything with Allah, nor will they steal, nor will they commit unlawful sexual intercourse, nor will they kill their children, nor will they bring forth a slander they have invented between their arms and legs,[ nor will they disobey you in what is right – then accept their pledge and ask forgiveness for them of Allah. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.
This is the test and she succeeded and finally, she lived in Madinah.
Al Mumtahina
the other name of this surah means in Arabic the surah that contains tests for the believers not only Om kalthoum but all the emigrant women who came to the prophet.
And in another point of view, you could find many tests for the believers among its verses, not only in the era of Muhammed PBUH but till the resurrection day, Muslims will be always tested in their loyalty to Allah, the work that could make them loyal to their wishes and desires, the relationships which will keep them away from Allah’s limits.
surah mumtahina mishary
what is surah mumtahina about?
Allah said in surat al ankabot verse no 2:Do the people think that they will be left to say, “We believe” and they will not be tested?!
Every Muslim will be tested in different ways, but the main test of our life is the complete devotion to Allah, we love, live, hate, fight, and die for the sake of him.
In surah al mumtahanah Allah showed us examples of those tests in the era of the prophet peace be upon him, and also, he showed us the exact meaning of devotion and loyalty in the story of Ibrahim peace be upon him.
where was surah mumtahina revealed?
surah al mumtahanah was revealed in Madinah.is surah al mumtahina makki or madani:
Al-Mumtahanah is a Medinan surah and according to the Qur’anic scholars, they classified the chapters of the Quran according to some characteristics into Madani and Makki, here are some the characteristics of the madani surah:
1- often includes the provisions and legislations of Islam as in the verse no 9
Allah only forbids you from those who fight you because of religion and expel you from your homes and aid in your expulsion – [forbids] that you make allies of them. And whoever makes allies of them, then it is those who are the wrongdoers(9)In this verse, it’s a forbade from Allah for those who believed in him and his prophet from the infidels who fought them and put obstacles in the way of the believers.
2-all verses which began with calling for the believers are madani verses as in verse no 1:
O you who have believed, do not take My enemies and your enemies as allies, extending to them affection while they have disbelieved in what came to you of the truth, having driven out the Prophet and yourselves [only] because you believe in Allah, your Lord. If you have come out for jihad [i.e., fighting or striving] in My cause and seeking means to My approval, [take them not as friends]. You confide to them affection [i.e., instruction], but I am most knowing of what you have concealed and what you have declared. And whoever does it among you has certainly strayed from the soundness of the way(1)
when was surah mumtahina revealed?
as we previously mentioned surah e mumtahina is a Madani surah, and Islamic scholars said that the Madani surahs are the chapters of the Quran which were revealed after the migration of the prophet and his companions to Al Madinah.surah mumtahanah was revealed after the revelation of Ahzab surah.
why was surah mumtahina revealed?
Allah revealed Quran over his prophet to show all mankind that Allah is the only God worthy to be worshiped, and to warn them that the disbelievers and hypocrites will deserve torment in the burning fire.
Some verses could be revealed for a particular reason as in the verse no 1:
O you who have believed, do not take My enemies and your enemies as allies, extending to them affection while they have disbelieved in what came to you of the truth, having driven out the Prophet and yourselves [only] because you believe in Allah, your Lord. If you have come out for jihad [i.e., fighting or striving] in My cause and seeking means to My approval, [take them not as friends]. You confide to them affection [i.e., instruction], but I am most knowing of what you have concealed and what you have declared. And whoever does it among you has certainly strayed from the soundness of the way.
This verse was revealed about one of the companions of the prophet PBUH and this is his story:
Hatib bin Abi Balta’ah
The prophet decided to open Meccah and this was known only between the prophet’s companions, When Hatib knew this, he sent a written letter to Meccah with a woman, Allah revealed to the prophet that the woman was on her way to mecca, and the prophet sent three of his companions to bring her back, and they found the letter.
When the prophet read the letter, he asked Hatib why he did this, Hatib said it wasn’t because he became a disbeliever, but because he was afraid that his family after Fath would be in danger, so if the master of Quraish read this letter they wouldn’t torture them.
The prophet felt he was honest, but he waited for the command of Allah. And the other reason for the revelation was about Om Kalthoum as we mentioned previously.
In which para is surah al mumtahina?
surah e mumtahina in the 28th para, and its order between the chapters of Quran 60.
how to memorize surah al mumtahina?
memorizing Quran is one of each Muslim’s aims, not only by recitation but also by understanding its meanings, we could use those steps to memorize any chapter of the Quran: the first step is to listen to the recitation carefully, then read the interpretation of the surah.
We can use mind maps in memorization to help us. Repeat each verse five times then, repeat the next and combine both verses, and do this till the end of the chapter. Use the part that you memorized in praying especially the night prayer.
surah mumtahina tafseer
surah e mumtahina composes of 13 verses, and contains more than one topic we will explain each topic and refer to its verses:
prohibition of loyalty to infidels
verse no 1
this verse refers to the story of a man called Hatib bin Balta’ah, he was a Muslim, but he secretly showed loyalty to infidels, even if it was because of his fear of his family, this is not permissible.
The evil intentions of infidels
Verse no 2
Even if Muslim allies infidels, they will always hope you lose, and they will keep spending all they have to turn you to their side.
Verse no 2
Even if those infidels are your relatives, it won’t prevent your torment making them allies without Allah.
Abraham, the loyal servant, and role model messenger
Verses 4-7
The story of Abraham and his companions, as the story of our prophet and his companions, came to teach us the true meaning of loyalty, Abraham stood against his father and his people, refused to worship their idols, and call them to worship Allah, the only true god.
Rollings of dealings with the infidels in Islam
Verses 8-9
Islam showed us the difference in dealings between the warrior infidels and nonwarrior infidels, we are forbidden from dealing with warrior infidels but it’s permissible to deal with a non-warrior infidel.
Provisions of Immigrant Women and their Pledge of Allegiance to the Prophet
Verses10-12
A story of one of the immigrant women, Al-Mumtahanah Om Kalthoum, her tests before migration and after it, the Islamic society was protected by this legislation. The immigrant women should have proved their loyalty, accept the moral Islamic legislations, and gotten rid of the ignorant habits of the infidels.
Confirmation of prohibition of infidels’ loyalty
Verse no13
surah mumtahina benefits
surah mumtahanah like many other chapters in the Quran hasn’t a particular hadith about its virtue but like all the verses of the Quran, there are many benefits of reading and recitation during the day and night., we can learn many lessons from surah mumtahanah as follows::
1-each Muslim will be tested during his life, our life is a test of whom we love and whom we hate, how we live, and how we deal with our brothers in Islam and with all mankind, and the results of those tests will determine our fate.
2-surah mumtahanah taught us that Islam teachings are based on sensitive balance, a thin line could make you apart from the right way, and you have to understand them quietly from the right source, for example, it’s mandatory to take care of ties of kinship, and take care of your neighborhoods even if there were not Muslims but with conditions; they might not be warriors against Islam, or supportive to Islamic enemies.
3-Allah is the owner of our hearts, and he is the only god worthy to be loved and worshiped, taking allies without him will be ended with our loss and sadness not only in the life after but also in the world life, the enemies of Islam will show you love and kindness, but Allah knew what is kept on their hearts.
4- Men and women are the same in Islam there are no differences between them and no superiority for one over the other, Muslim men can’t marry infidel and disbeliever women, and women are forbidden from their men.
5-Islam is the religion of forgiveness and peace, and its teachings are based on justice and charity.
6-all the prophets came with the same message because it’s from the same lord, Abraham taught us as Muhammad did, peace be upon them, he taught us complete devotion and submission to Allah.
Hadith on surah al mumtahina
there are no authentic hadiths about the virtues of surah mumtahanah, but the stories which were mentioned among its verses were illustrated via the authentic sunna by the prophet and his companions.
surah mumtahina dua
Abraham dua in verses 4-5 “Our Lord, upon You we have relied on, and to You, we have returned, and to You is the destination, Our Lord, make us not [objects of] torment for the disbelievers and forgive us, our Lord. Indeed, it is You who is the Exalted in Might, the Wise”.
surah mumtahina summary
surah mumtahina the sensitive balance of Islam, the Rollings of dealing with infidels, and the role model of loyalty and devotion. It may appear as a small chapter of the Quran but in fact, it weighs a heavy part in Muslim dealings, the thin line between faith, hypocrisy, and unbelief.
Many stories between its verses, Hatib bin abi balya’ah, Al-Mumtahanah om Kalthoum, the immigrant women, and Asmaa bin tabi Bakr.
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