Benefits and Virtues of Surah 41 Fussilat

41. Fussilat (Ha Meem as-Sajdah)

41.1 Narrated Anas bin Malik (رضي الله عنه)

That the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) recited:

إن الذين قالوا ربنا الله ثم استقامو

Verily those who say: “Our Lord is Allah, and then they stand firm (41:30)

– He said: “People have said it, then most of them disbelieved, so whoever dies upon it, then he is among those who stood firm.”

Jami` at-Tirmidhi Vol. 5, Book 44, Hadith 3250

41.2 Narrated Ibn Mas’ud (رضي الله عنه)

“Three men whose bellies were fat, but whose hearts had little understanding, were arguing at the House. Two of them were from Quraish and one was from Thaqif – or two from Thaqif, and one from Quraish. One of them said: ‘Do you think that Allah can hear what we are saying?’ Another said: ‘He can hear if we are loud, but He can not hear when we are quiet.’ Another said: ‘If He can hear when we are loud then He can hear when we are quiet.’ So Allah, the Mighty and Sublime revealed:

وما كنتم تستترون أن يشهد عليكم سمعكم ولا أبصاركم ولا جلودكم

And you have not been hiding yourselves, lest your ears and your eyes and your skins should testify against you (41:22).

Jami` at-Tirmidhi Vol. 5, Book 44, Hadith 3248

41.3 Al-Wahidi (رحمه الله) recorded

إن الذين قالوا ربنا الله ثم استقاموا تتنزل عليهم الملائكة ألا تخافوا ولا تحزنوا وأبشروا بالجنة التي كنتم توعدون

Indeed, those who have said, “Our Lord is Allah ” and then remained on a right course – the angels will descend upon them, [saying], “Do not fear and do not grieve but receive good tidings of Paradise, which you were promised (41:30).

‘Ata’ reported that Ibn ‘Abbas said: “This verse was revealed about Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (رضي الله عنه). The idolaters had said: ‘Allah is our Lord and the angels are His daughters; they will intercede with Him for us. This is why they were not upright’. The Jews said: ‘Allah is our Lord and Ezra is His son. Muhammad is not a Prophet’. This is why they were not upright. Abu Bakr (رضي الله عنه): ‘Allah is our Lord, alone without partners and Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) is His slave and Messenger’. This is why he was upright”.

(Asbab Al-Nuzul)

41.4 The Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said,

Everything has its fruit and benefits, and the fruit of the Qur’an is Ha-Meem (another name for Surah Fussilat). Chapters beginning with Ha-Meem are beautiful, fresh, fragrant, splendid meadows. Whosoever desires to walk around in the meadows of Paradise should recite these surahs.

(Al-Tadhkar Fi Afdal Al-Adhkar by Imam al-Qurtubi)

41.5 Mufti Shafi Usmani (رحمه الله) related about

ومن أحسن قولا ممن دعا إلى الله وعمل صالحا وقال إنني من المسلمين

And who is better in speech than one who invites to Allah and does righteousness and says, “Indeed, I am of the Muslims.” (41:33)

Sayyidah ‘A’ishah  (رضي الله عنها) has said that this verse is about mu’adhdhins (those who proclaim adhan), and that the words, ‘and acts righteously’ after this means offering of two rak’at of  prayers between adhan and iqamah.

It is narrated in a Hadith that the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said that the supplication between adhan and iqamah is not rejected [Abu Dawud and Tirmidhi -narrated by Sayyidna Anas (رضي الله عنه) -Mazhari]

The merits and blessings of adhan and its reply are very great, as stated in Sahih ahadith, provided that the adhan is proclaimed purely for Allah, and not for any payment or compensation. These ahadith have been collected in Tafsir Mazhari’.

(Ma’ariful Qur’an)

41.6 Ibn Kathir (رحمه الله) related about

ومن أحسن قولا ممن دعا إلى الله وعمل صالحا وقال إنني من المسلمين

And who is better in speech than one who invites to Allah and does righteousness and says, “Indeed, I am of the Muslims.” (41:33)

The Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) is the foremost among people in this regard, as Muhammad bin Sirin, As-Suddi and Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam (رحمهم الله) said. It was also said that what was meant here is the righteous Mu’adhdhin, as it was mentioned in Sahih Muslim: “The Mu’adhdhins will be the ones with the longest necks on the Day of Resurrection.”

In As-Sunan it is reported that the Prophet said: “The Imam is a guarantor and the Mu’adhdhin is in a position of trust. May Allah guide the Imams and forgive the Mu’adhdhin.”

The correct view is that the Ayah is general in meaning, and includes the Mu’adhdhin and others.

(Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

41.7 Hazrat Khalil bin Murah (رضي الله عنه) narrated

The Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) would not go to sleep until he recited Surah Tabaraka Allathee (Surah 67 Al-Mulk) and Ha Mim as-Sajdah (Surah 41 Fussilat).

(Shuayb ul Iman 2/468, Dur al-Manthur)

41.8 Imam Hakim Tirmizi (رحمه الله) narrated from ‘Abdur Rahman bin Abi Bakr (رضي الله عنه) in Nawadir al-Usool

I came to visit Hazrat Aisha (رضي الله عنها) while revelations were coming to the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم). The revelation then stopped. The Prophet said,”O Aisha give me my cloak”, and she did so. Then he went to the mosque and there he saw a man who was giving some advice. The Prophet sat down till the man finished his discourse. Then he started to recite Surah Fussilat. He made a long prostration. The people nearby saw this so Aisha sent a message to the Prophet that since she started living with him, she had never seen such a thing.

The Prophet raised his head from the long prostration and said, “It was to thank my Lord because He has done a favor for my Ummah.” Hazrat Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (رضي الله عنه) said, “What did Allah bestow upon you abut your Ummah?” He said Allah gave me the blessing that He will admit 70,000 persons from my Ummah to the Paradise without account. Hazrat Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (رضي الله عنه) said,  “O Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم), your Ummah is more and pure, ask your Lord for increase. The Messenger of Allah said, “I had done this, so Allah granted 70,000 people with each of the persons.” Hazrat Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (رضي الله عنه) said, “O Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم), ask more for your Ummah.” The Prophet made a gesture with his hand and then put it on his chest. Hazrat Umar (رضي الله عنه) said, O Messenger of Allah, I have memorized it.”

(Nawadir al-Usool p83, Dur al-Manthur)

41.9 Muhammad bin Ishaq has related on the authority of Muhammad bin Ka’b al-Qurzi (رحمهم الله)

One day some of the Quraish chiefs were sitting in their assembly in the Masjid al-Haram, while in another corner of the Mosque there was the Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) sitting by himself. This was the time when Hadrat Hamzah (رضي الله عنه) had already embraced Islam and the people of the Quraish were feeling upset at the growing numbers of the Muslims. On this occasion, Utbah bin Rabi’ah (the father-in-law of Abu Sufyan) said to the Quraish chiefs: “Gentlemen, if you like I would go and speak to Muhammad (upon whom be Allah’s peace and blessings) and put before him some proposals; maybe that he accepts one of them, to which we may also agree, and so he stops opposing us.”

They all agreed to this, and Utbah went and sat by the Holy Prophet. When the Holy Prophet turned to him, he said: “Nephew, you know the high status that you enjoy in the community by virtue of your ancestry and family relations, but you have put your people to great trouble: you have created divisions among them and you consider them to be fools: you talk ill of their religion and gods, and say things as though all our forefathers were pagans. Now listen to me and I shall make some suggestions. Consider them well: maybe that you accept one of them.” The Holy Prophet said: “Abul Walid, say what you want to say and I shall listen to you.”

He said, “Nephew, if by what you are doing, you want wealth, we will give you enough of it so that you will be the richest man among us; if you want to became an important man, we will make you our chief and will never decide a matter without you; if you want to be a king, we will accept you as our king; and if you are visited by a jinn, whom you cannot get rid of by your own power, we will arrange the best physicians and have you treated at our own expense.” ‘Utbah went on speaking in this strain and the Holy Prophet went on listening to him quietly. Then he said, “Have you said, O Abul Walid, what you had to say?” He replied that he had.

The Holy Prophet (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) said: “Well, now listen to me.”Then pronouncing Bismilah ir Rehman-ir-Raihm he began to recite Surah Fussilat, and Utbah kept on listening to it, putting his hands behind his back and leaning on them as he listened. Coming to the verse of prostration (v. 38) the Holy Prophet prostrated himself; then raising his head, said, “This was my reply, O Abul Walid, now you may act as you please.” then Utbah arose and walked back towards the chiefs, the people saw him from afar, and said: “By God! Utbab’s face is changed. He does not look the same man that he was when he went from here.” Then, when he came back and sat down, the people asked, “What have you heard?”

He replied, “By God! I have heard something the like of which I had never heard before. By God, it’s neither poetry, nor sorcery, nor magic. O chiefs of the Quraish, listen to what I say and leave this man to himself. I think what he recites is going to have its effect. If the other Arabs overcome him, you will be saved from raising your band against your brother, and the others will deal with him. But if he overcame Arabia, his sovereignty would be your sovereignty and his honor your honor.” Hearing this the chiefs spoke out:”You too, O father of Walid, have been bewitched by his tongue.” Utbah replied, “I have given you my opinion; now you may act as you please.” (Ibn Hisham, vol. I, pp. 313-314).

[Tafhim Al-Quran by Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi (رحمه الله)]