Tafseer Of Surah Yaseen (Part 1)
The Sura begins with the following verses:
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
يس
وَالْقُرْآنِ الْحَكِيمِ
إِنَّكَ لَمِنَ الْمُرْسَلِينَ
1. Ya-Sin.
2. By the Qur’an, full of wisdom (i.e. full of laws, evidences, and proofs),
3. Truly, you (O Muhammad S.A) are one of the Messengers
The Sura begins with the word ‘Ya Seen’, which is from among the Huruf Al Muqata’at (isolated letters). These letters/words are placed at the beginning of some Suras of the Holy Quran, in order to show the miraculous nature of the Holy Quran. It sent a message to the Arabs that these words were made with the same letters that they used in their alphabet, yet, they were totally unable to arrange the letters in such an eloquent style as given in the Quran, and were also ignorant of the meanings of these letters. Therefore, it became evident that the Quran was not ‘made-up’ by Muhammad (S.A), instead, it was a revelation which was sent by Allah, the Lord of the worlds.
While explaining the word ‘Ya Seen’, the great companions (Sahabahs) like Abdullah bin Abbas (R.A), Abdullah bin Masood (R.A) and others have stated that it means, ‘O Human being’ (and the addressee is the Prophet Muhammad S.A). The great Tabi’ee scholar, Saeed bin Jubair (A.R) has stated that ‘Ya Seen’ is a name from among the names of the Prophet (S.A). Imam Malik (A.R) has stated that ‘Ya Seen’ is a name from among the names of Allah. (Tafseer Al Qurtubi vol.15 pg. 9 Maktaba Rasheediya Queta Pakistan)
The great scholar, Al Maawardi has narrated from Ali (R.A) that the Prophet (S.A) said, ‘Allah has named me with seven names in the Quran. They are: Muhammad, Ahmad, Taha, Yaseen, Al Muzammil, Al Mudathir, Abdullah’. (Tafseer Al Qurtubi vol.15 pg. 9-10)
It is narrated from Abdullah bin Abbas (R.A), Saeed bin Jubair and Ikrama that the word ‘Ya Seen’ is from the Ethiopian language. (Tafseer Ibn Katheer vol.5 pg. 271; Tafseer Ibn Jareer vol.22 pg. 175)
Having addressed the Prophet (S.A) by saying ‘O Human being’, ‘O Man’, ‘O Muhammad’, Allah goes further to swear by the Holy Quran and states, ‘By the Quran, full of wisdom’. Here, Allah takes an oath on the Quran and says that it is filled with wisdom. It is also the ‘well-established’ book which has been sent with all its laws for the guidance of man.
Having sworn by the Quran, Allah says to the Prophet (S.A), ‘Truly, you (O Muhammad) are one of the Messengers’. While explaining this verse, Imam Qurtubi has quoted the narration of Abdullah bin Abbas (R.A) in which he said, ‘The unbelievers of the Quraish said to the Prophet (S.A), ‘You are not a messenger and Allah has not sent you to us’. In response to this, Allah took an oath by the Quran and made it abundantly clear to the unbelievers of the Quraish that Prophet Muhammad (S.A) was indeed from among the Messengers.
Swearing by the Quran was done for the sake of emphasis, and to make it firmly established that the Prophet (S.A) was a Messenger of Allah, and that Allah Himself had testified to the Prophet (S.A) being upon the path of true guidance. This is evident in verse 4 which states:
عَلَىٰ صِرَاطٍ مُّسْتَقِيمٍ
- On a Straight Path (i.e. on Allah’s religion).
It means that the path the Prophet (S.A) walked upon, and the message which he preached to the people, were based on guidance and truthfulness. It was the straight path which all prophets walked upon, and was free from error, crookedness and misguidance.
SuraYaseen continues in verse 5 and states:
تَنزِيلَ الْعَزِيزِ الرَّحِيمِ
- (This is a Revelation) Sent down by the All-Mighty, the Most Merciful.
It means that the Quran which came with the Prophet (S.A) was a revelation which came directly from Allah, the All Mighty and Most Merciful.
It was not a fabrication, nor was it a compilation of the spoken words of Muhammad (S.A). Instead, it was revealed by the One who is All Mighty in His kingdom and Most Merciful to His creation. It came directly from Allah.