الذاريات
Adh Dhariyat
Verses
60
Revelation
Makki
Period
Middle Makkan
Surah No.
51 / 114
Adh-Dhariyat opens with four powerful oaths by natural phenomena – the winnowing winds, the cloud-bearing winds, the easily running ships, and the angels distributing provision – all attesting to the truth of the divine promise of judgement. The surah then narrates the hospitality of Ibrahim to the angelic visitors and the story of the people of Lut, followed by accounts of Musa, 'Ad, Thamud, and Nuh as warnings. It closes with a declaration of the purpose of creation: worship of Allah alone, who is self-sufficient and requires nothing from His creation.
أسباب النزول
Revealed in the middle Makkan period as part of the sustained effort to convince the Quraysh of the reality of resurrection and the truthfulness of the Prophet. The opening oaths by atmospheric and cosmic phenomena were typical of the Meccan surahs that used observable natural realities as witnesses to divine truth. The closing verse (51:56) on the purpose of creation is among the most cited Quranic statements in Islamic theology.
“And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.”
The most cited verse on the purpose of creation in Islamic theology and spirituality. It defines 'ibadah (worship) in the comprehensive sense as the entire orientation of one's life toward Allah.
“And the heaven We constructed with strength, and indeed, We are [its] expander.”
A remarkable verse read by many modern commentators as a reference to the expanding universe, though classical scholars understood it as an affirmation of divine power in the creation and ongoing sustaining of the heavens.